In the ‘valley’

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… God can enable flowers to grow in the valley!

Posted 2-20-25

Valentine’s Day 2025 has arrived

By Steven Brodsky

… Happy Valentine’s Day.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

May the readers of this column be abundantly blessed with love today and evermore.

John 3:16: ^“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Posted 2-14-25

Inside San Quentin’s yard

By Steven Brodsky

… was the venue for Ben Fuller to perform and to share some of his testimony (about God’s grace in his life) with San Quentin inmates.

From that ministry opportunity:

Ben Fuller, and others, will be performing in Lancaster County, PA at WJTL Fest on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Visit WJTL Fest – The Junction Center | WJTL for information and a link to purchase tickets.

Posted 2-3-25

We’re ‘the reason that He went to the cross’

By Steven Brodsky

… Let’s “look up and see the cross.”

Isaiah 53 (KJV) – Who hath believed our report?

Posted 1-28-25

Feeling that God is against you?

By Steven Brodsky

… God has unfathomably great plans for those who are His!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Romans-8-28/

Posted 1-26-25

One of the blessings of the godly in more advanced years

By Steven Brodsky

… is the capacity to continue to bear (wonderful/prime) fruit.

What a blessing that is, as the psalmist no doubt had observed prior to penning Psalm 92!

Take special note of Psalm 92:14: https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/psa/92/1/s_570001.

Posted 1-22-25

White as the snow that fell last night

By Steven Brodsky

… on this tree, is the cleansed-of-the-stain-of-sin condition of those who have truly accepted God as their Lord and Savior:

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Posted 1-20-25

What might the words that we’ve spoken since the start of 2025 reveal about our hearts?

By Steven Brodsky

… This rhetorical question may be invaluable to some of us.

Luke 6:45: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

What does it mean that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45)? | GotQuestions.org

 Whatever might accurately be revealed by examining our words, it’s prudent to be mindful that God is a transformer of hearts!

Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

Posted 1-17-25

‘Christmas Gone Viral’

By Steven Brodsky

May Christmas Gone Viral temporally and eternally bless readers of this column.

Christmas Gone Viral | Full Movie 2017 – YouTube

Posted 12-6-24

‘Closer than a brother’

By Steven Brodsky

… is the friend identified in “God Really Loves Us”:

If you have the same friend, may your “life testify hallelujah”!

James 2:23: “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

John 15:15: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

Posted 12-5-24

Hallelujah for hard fought hallelujahs

By Steven Brodsky

… and hallelujah for Brandon Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”

A powerful video:

Psalm 34:1: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Of course, dear readers, there may be times when such blessings and praise will be hard fought.

Posted 11-21-24

To commemorate Billy Graham’s birthday (and for other reasons): ‘How to Get to Heaven’

By Steven Brodsky

… sharing this video (recorded in 1963):

Billy Graham was born on November 7, 1918.

He got to heaven on February 21, 2018.

A 2018 interview titled “Rev. Billy Graham’s Passing: A Revisit With Paul Heil, Host of ‘The Gospel Greats’ Radio Show” is posted at: Conversations With Paul Heil, Founder and Former Host of ‘The Gospel Greats’ Radio Show – delcoculturevultures.com.

Posted 11-7-24

Those who’ve accepted this ‘unspeakable gift’ can be thankful before, during, and after Thanksgiving (all the days of the year)

By Steven Brodsky

… by choosing to cultivate thankfulness to God, though words of gratitude will “fall short.”

2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Have questions about this gift? Visit: https://www.gotquestions.org/indescribable-gift.html.

Hallelujah.

Posted 10-29-24

I don’t know

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… if Rocky Raccoon, the fictional character in the Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon,” actually read any words in the Bible that was placed in a hotel room by The Gideons International.

I can tell you that many people have been eternally blessed by their having read verses in Gideons-placed Bibles.

Lives have been transformed.

About The Gideons International: https://www.gideons.org/about.

About “Rocky Raccoon”: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-beatles/rocky-raccoon.

Posted 10-25-24

About being unashamed of the gospel

By Steven Brodsky

… Sharing the lyric video for Matthew West’s “Unashamed” and a Bible verse (unashamedly):

Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Posted 10-14-24

God’s children

By Steven Brodsky

… can take God at His word.

Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Photo by Steven Brodsky

What it means to be children of God: https://www.gotquestions.org/children-of-God.html.

Posted 9-22-24

Prayer is the subject 

By Steven Brodsky 

… of this brief post and this song:

James 5:16: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Have questions about prayer?

You may find answers to some or all of those questions at:

Does God answer prayers? | GotQuestions.org

Are there any conditions to answered prayer? | GotQuestions.org

Posted 9-12-24

Aaron Wilburn’s ‘The People That God Gives You’

By Steven  Brodsky

… was referenced here in the summer of 2020.

Circumstances of life have affirmed the value of the song’s message for me and many others.

I first heard “The People That God Gives You” on the syndicated radio show that Paul Heil hosted for many decades.

The song has continued to be a blessing to me (and I believe to some of the people that God has given me).

Be blessed.

1 John 4:7-8:

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Paul Heil was interviewed for this column in 2018 and 2016. The interviews are accessible at: https://delcoculturevultures.com/2017/03/14/a-conversation-with-paul-heil-host-of-the-gospel-greats-syndicated-radio-show/.

Posted 9-5-24

‘Sweeter than honey’

By Steven Brodsky

… was the taste of God’s words to the psalmist.

Psalm 119:103: ^“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

This verse came to my mind while I was enjoying a spoonful of wildflower honey a few minutes ago.

Some of this column’s readers will recall the verse the next time they taste honey.

And some will recall the verse when they next taste the sweetness of the Bible.

Posted 8-27-24

One thing that we can’t take back from the enemy

By Steven Brodsky

… unfortunately, is stolen time.

Our lives are short, like the lifespan of a vapor.

James 4:14: “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Time is valuable, including the time spent to write this column installment and the amount of time that readers will spend engaging with the installment.

God-willing, our time will be well-spent.

Take the time to watch (and enjoy!) this video:

Posted 8-14-24

Have you been redeemed?

By Steven Brodsky

… Hallelujah, if you, dear Entertainment, Culture and More column reader, have been redeemed.

For all of us to enjoy, Big Daddy Weave’s “Redeemed”:

Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Posted 8-12-24

Every morning

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… God’s mercies are new!

Lamentations 3:22-23: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Posted 7-10-24

If you’ve found a friend in Jesus

By Steven Brodsky

… the lyrics of this song may tell your story also:

John 8:36: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Posted 6-24-24

Shackled and unshackled listeners

By Steven Brodsky

… have been enjoying episodes of UNSHACKLED, the iconic radio drama show, since 1950.

Episodes of UNSHACKLED are accessible at: https://unshackled.org/on-demand/browse-all-programs/.

John 8:36: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Posted 6-6-24

‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ – 1 Corinthians 15:55

By Steven Brodsky

… This video is embedded here especially for the miracle children who regularly visit the sections of the Entertainment, Culture and More column:

Posted 4-10-24

A life that is proof of what God can do

By Steven Brodsky

You may know people who’ve experienced God-enabled transformation similar to the kind that Stephen McWhirter sings about in “My Life Is Proof.”

I do.

Matthew 19:26 KJV: “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Posted 4-4-24

Need a reminder that the battle has already been won?

By Steven Brodsky

… If you do, you’ve come to the right place.

Psalm 63:4: “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.”

Posted 2-19-24

‘But the cross says they’re wrong’

By Steven Brodsky

… thankfully.

Posted 12-4-23

Leonard Cohen and Billy Joe Shaver drew upon the same Bible verse

By Steven Brodsky

… The verse is Isaiah 64:6. As translated in the King James Version, the verse reads: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

I’m writing about Leonard Cohen’s “If It Be Your Will” and Billy Joe Shaver’s “If You Don’t Love Jesus.”

Most people who’ve heard the songs haven’t encountered the verse directly (and most of this column’s readers haven’t heard the Billy Joe Shaver song).

In the Leonard Cohen song, Isaiah 64:6 is alluded to in the line: “In our rags of light, all dressed to kill.”

In the Billy Joe Shaver song, an allusion to the verse appears as: “Take your rotten rags of righteousness and stuff ’em up your self.”

“If It Be Your Will”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXoqQAvkLfQ&ab_channel=LeonardCohen-Topic.

“If You Don’t Love Jesus”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MbF0bc7iEs&ab_channel=Boofitts. The song is “strident,” as I described it during a radio interview that I did with Billy Joe Shaver a number of years ago.

Posted 8-2-21