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Inola church of Christ, 741 Southwest Boulevard, Inola, OK (2026)

06/14/2026

LIFE IN HIS SON Once saved always saved? Saved by faith only? Give a listen to what John says. You will find it interesting and, possibly, challenging.

06/12/2026

THREE SMILES THAT TOUCHED MY LIFE Tanya was one of my church members—the nurse waiting for me as I entered the door for surgery. I can still see her face with that special, reassuring smile. But now, surgery was over, recovery was over and I lay in bed, looking at the six inch diagonal incision across my right side. My right kidney was gone. The wait began. Questions. Questions on top of questions. Is it really cancer? How bad? Has it spread? What kind of treatments will there be? Will I die soon? What will my wife do if I die? If you have been there, you know—questions, but at this point, no answers.

Having been a preacher for over forty years, I knew something about the suffering of cancer. My mind went back in time, to Nicoma Park and my first year of ministry. I was told, “Please visit my mother. She has cancer and there is nothing they can do.” So, I arrive at the house and am escorted to her room. How would I cheer her up? How could I encourage her? I really didn’t know. Old and frail, sister Dodd greeted me with a kindly smile. I fumbled at comforting words but she didn’t seem to really need them. I suppose she appreciated my efforts, but when I left, I pondered. She had actually encouraged me! She was at peace with God and life . . . and death and that special smile in the face of it all. Years later, I would find comfort in her example.

But now it was wait. Wait some more. The appointment date with Dr. Confer was set. But oh, the in-between waiting, not knowing, anticipating and dreading the day all at the same time. I and my wife approached the receptionist. “Bill Keele,” I said, “we have an appointment.” Dr. Confer’s nurse soon appeared, looked at us and gave a huge special smile, “I think you’ll like what he has to say!” Precious, precious words! I know she hadn’t told me a lot and yet, she took away some of the dread we felt as we entered and were seated. “Has my nurse already told you the news?” he asked. I didn’t want to get her into trouble, so I fumbled at a vague answer. “She does that,” he said. I honestly think he was glad that we had already been given more than a glimmer of hope. Now it was his turn.

“We believe we got it all. We don’t believe it has spread.” Tears. You know about tears of sorrow, but I also hope you know tears of joy and relief. Dr. Confer kindly gave us time to share our joy. Treatments? No chemo. No radiation. “You will be checked every three months for the first year” and he laid out the lengthy process. For the next fifteen years, every exam, scan and x-ray was approached with the knowledge that it could return or some other kind of cancer could be found. But I know this for a fact! That surgery did not clear me of all cancer for the rest of my life. It only took care of the cancer I had at that time.

I did what I needed to do to get the cancer removed, but it took others to make it happen. I no more saved myself from renal cell carcinoma than I can save myself from sin. That would be saying that our part in being baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins makes it all our work or “water salvation!” I must do what the Great Physician asks me to do in order for Him to remove my sin! Faith built upon the word of God. Repentance in turning from sin and turning to the will of God. Confession of my faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Baptism in water for the remission of my sins. I didn’t obtain forgiveness on my own merit any more than I was able to obtain removal of my cancer by my own doing. During surgery, the cancer was removed. During baptism I share in the death of Christ and God raises me to a new life in Christ (Romans 6:3-5).

How simply and plainly Paul explains this in Colossians 2:12, “having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Did you catch it? Raised up with Him (Colossians 2:12), Being saved (Mark 16:16), forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), washing sins away (Acts 22:16), putting on Christ (Galatians 3:26-27), having sins washed away (Acts 22:16), being saved (1 Peter 3:21)—the accomplishment of all of these things through baptism in water are possible ONLY through the working of God! Cancer removed by a physician. Sins removed by the Great Physician.

Bill Keele, D.Min. Inola Church of Christ

This article was published four years ago, but we still need to be reminded to the joy that our smiles can give to others. We also need to be reminded that the cancer of sin can only be removed by the blood of Jesus, the Great Physician.

06/07/2026

LOVE AND . . . DOCTRINE? Does love care about doctrine? Does God care if you or I modify His doctrines to fit our culture. Does God want us to modify His doctrines as given in the New Testament to fit the twenty-first century. Or, more interesting, does God want me to modify His teachings in the New Testament to fit my preferred life-style? And, as some may think, is love and doctrine enemies?

06/06/2026

ENDOWED BY OUR CREATOR “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

So states the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, dated July 4, 1776. Notice, immediately, the appeal to the Creator as the source of our existence. Creator. One who brought us into being. One who establishes what is right and, by implication, what is wrong. That the Creator exists and has the authority to determine what is best for humanity is called a self-evident truth.

Further, the document claims that humanity is endowed with “certain” or identifiable unalienable Rights. This means that there are certain rights we have and certain rights we do not have from our Creator. Obviously, the Declaration of Independence is not inspired of God. Yet, it does make claim that man, within himself, does not determine his own rights and wrongs. The Declaration does not establish this truth. This truth was and is established by God through Scripture.

Under the guise of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” much of humanity has sought to determine its own morality, its own rights. Do we want to know what the Creator says about the role of husband and wife? Do we want to know what the Creator says about sexual relations outside of marriage? Do we want to know what the Creator says about homosexuality? Do we want to know what the Creator says about the validity of life within the womb? Do we want to know what the Creator says about racial prejudice? Do we want to know what the Creator says about the role of parents and children? Do we want to know what the Creator says about cursing and foul language? Do we want to know what the Creator says about how we treat one another? Do went to know what the Creator says about the function of civil government? If we do, the Supreme Court of the United States is not the final authority nor or federal, state, county or city judges. The Creator is. We must get our answers to questions such as these from His word, the Bible. More specifically, we must get our answers from the Covenant for all humanity that God put into effect at Jesus’ death—the New Testament.

If there is no God, there is no right and wrong. There is only power and weakness. Might makes right. Weakness has no say. Personal happiness is the highest achievement. Personal unhappiness is the bottom of the barrel. Each woman and man is her or his own god. As stated in the book of Judges, chapter 17 and verse 6, “. . . every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Some may believe that “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is the ultimate desire of the Creator for all humanity. How often do the moral standards of the Creator get violated because “God just wants me to be happy.” NO! Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” It is within these truths we seek to build our Life, exercise our Liberty and pursue our Happiness.

Bill Keele, D.Min.
Inola church of Christ
Painting by John Trumbull, 1818

05/31/2026

LAW OR LOVE? Which is it? Or is it only one or the other? Or is it both? Some think that following the New Testament as a pattern is law and not love or grace. But, can you think of any command that God has ever given that did not come out of His nature of love and grace? We must not confuse justice and loyalty with legalism. God's justice and loyalty is His grace and love.

05/29/2026

OBEY THE GOSPEL? How does Scripture put it? Very plainly in 2 Thessalonians 1:8, “inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” Believe this? Claim to be a Christian? Believe the Bible? Your answer to these last three questions will determine how seriously you take obedience to the gospel.

So, what is the gospel? Let’s go to 1 Corinthians to get a starting point. Paul says in chapter 15, verses one and two, that he wants to remind them of the gospel—which I preached, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are being saved—if you hold fast. Then the very next thing he tells them is the truths of first importance of the gospel. This is not the totality of the gospel—the New Covenant of Jesus—but the foundation upon which the total gospel stands. He includes four things in the next sentence of verses three through five. Here they are. Jesus died for our sins. He was buried. He was raised from the dead. He appeared alive to people.

Now to the point of this article. The entirety of the gospel, Jesus’ New Covenant, is built upon these truths: the death, burial, resurrection and the evidence of life after death. So, let’s go on to the question. How does anyone “obey” the death, burial, resurrection and life after death? Look with me at God’s answer. I will mark the four aspects of the foundation of the gospel with an asterisk.

Romans 6:3-5, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death*? (4) We were buried* therefore with him by baptism into death*, in order that, just as Christ was raised* from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life*. (5) For if we have been united* with him in a death* like his, we shall certainly be united* with him in a resurrection* like his.

Your preacher may tell you this is only a symbol of what happened when you accepted Jesus into your heart with a prayer. But nowhere in the context is anything inferred but the reality of what actually takes place when a penitent believer is baptized.

Consider the stated results, actual results! Baptized into Christ. Buried with Him. Why? In order that—so that what happens next will happen. As Christ was raised from the dead we too are raised to walk in newness of life. When? When we come up out of the waters of baptism. Only if we are united with Him in a death like His can we be united with Him in a resurrection like His. How and when does this happen? God has given us the answer through His servant, the apostle Paul.

This event did not happen to Saul of Tarsus when he fasted and prayed for three days and nights. It happened when he obeyed the command Jesus sent to him through Ananias when he told Saul, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Paul clearly explains the exact meaning of his baptism in Romans 6:3-5. Baptism is not a symbol. It is the reality of when and how we obey the gospel.

Bill Keele, D.Min. Inola church of Christ

Why is Romans 10:13 quoted as if Romans 6:3-5 was not the moment when this happens?
Photo from The Holton File

05/24/2026

WALK IN THE LIGHT? How do you do that? Is there any sure-fire set of instructions and information? Yes, at least a short portion of the answer is found in the writings of the apostle John. It is called The First Epistle of John. Enjoy!

05/21/2026

I THOUGHT . . . BUT WAS I WRONG! We were downsizing. Our Winnebago motorhome had been sold for enough to buy a great used diesel pickp. Now, we were in the market for a travel trailer. We had set a tentative limit of ten thousand dollars. Camper dealer after camper dealer. We came and went. All of this time we were checking internet sales of used travel trailers. Too small. Too ragged. Not enough room. No fifth wheel.

Then . . . we found one. The price was right and the pictures were great. In the photos, it was better than anything we had seen and we went to see it. (I should have suspected something when I had to drive up a steep gully washed gravel road to get there.) Both Kay and I were delightfully surprised at how roomy it was, how attractive it was and that it was in our price range. I didn’t want to make a commitment to buy it, but I was willing to risk five hundred dollars to get the dealer to hold it until I could get an “expert” to come and give it the once-over. He agreed. He wrote out the agreement. We both signed it and I gave him a check to hold it until I made my final decision in a day or two.

When I got home that evening, I examined the agreement. It was not an agreement to hold the trailer until I made the decision, it was a bill of sale. “So this is a bill of sale and you can hold me to it?”I asked the next day. I received the answer I expected, “Yep.” It wasn’t what he verbally agreed to. It was not what I verbally agreed to. He put me under obligation without my knowledge. I know. Dumb move on my part. So, at this point, I didn’t bother to get the “expert.” It was too late.

My first pay check for preaching was over sixty-five years ago. I have spent a lot of time getting an education. But I do not ever want anyone to think they can stand in front of God and use me as an excuse for doing something wrong “because the preacher said so.” No one that has ever heard one of my sermons or read one of my articles or had a conversation with me about spiritual matters will stand in front of me on the day of judgment. All people will be held accountable for what they know of the word of God. For us, it is specifically the New Covenant/Testament of Jesus. And, everyone will be held accountable for their deeds as compared to the words of Scripture.

“Behold, I thought . . .” won’t get it. We must approach life in the same way Jesus did. It is written. It is written. It is written. Plus, Jesus would often challenge His listeners with “Have you not read . . .?” Jesus was exact in giving us the words of the Father (John 12:48-50). He was exact in His obedience to His Father (John 14:31). Even good men can preach the wrong baptism (Acts 19). And although those men had been baptized, it did not save their souls. They had to submit to the correct baptism.

Further, I haven’t even begun to talk about preachers that are in it for the money, the power, the popularity or whatever else. And worse . . . even in the Old Testament, many people did not want to hear God’s word. They insisted “prophesy to us pleasant things.” And there were false prophets willing and happy to do just that.

We must have book, chapter and verse from the New Covenant of Jesus in our mind and our heart. We must be able to give an answer for the reason of the hope that lies within us with book, chapter and verse. Why? Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Preachers, parents, friends or strangers can say so, but that doesn’t make it so. But, when God says so, it is so.

Bill Keele, D.Min. Inola church of Christ

Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash (NOTE: The guy in the picture is not me, just how I felt about being "had" by my own ignorance.

05/19/2026

PLAIN SPOKEN JOHN False teachers and false doctrines were coming into the church Jesus built from many directions. There were those wanting to incorporate various practices of the Law of Moses into Christianity. There were the superior intellectuals that valued enlightenment far above the authority of the written Word. There were those who decided that only spiritual things are real and material things only "seem" real. So . . . how can a Christian walk in the light in the midst of these challenges to stay faithful? Listen to First John, chapter one.

05/15/2026

A PINK FLOWER AND MOTHERS’ DAY On Mothers’ Day, a red flower reminds us and proclaims to others that our mother is still living. She may be a young woman, a mother for the first time. She may be in a nursing home with dementia to the point that she does not recognize her own family. But she is alive and we honor her. The white flower, however reminds us that she is gone and announces to others around us that our mother is deceased. As we grow older, the crop of white flowers among our crowd increases and, before long, we stand without a living mother or father.

The red flower and the white flower, both, can have meanings and feelings that almost go from A to Z. Some mothers have not been the mother God wanted them to be. Other mothers have been among the best Christian individuals we know. Nevertheless, our mothers brought us into the world and, as a result, we have the opportunity to God, His plan of salvation and the hope of heaven. We cannot blame ungodly parents for our failure to be what we can be. Nor can we rely upon the godliness of our parents to usher us into heaven. As one professor of mine used to say, “Every tub sits on its own bottom.”

But I want to propose a pink flower for some of us whose mother is deceased—perhaps even many of us. Pink is made up of white and red. I propose that the white acknowledges that she has died. It could be recently or years in the past. We honor her with the white. We remember her. We recall the good times and the tough times. But we happily honor her though she is no longer with us.

But what about the red? I propose that the red represents her life and influence that still lives within us. For, without a doubt, godly mothers can make impressions that help guide us through some of life’s greatest challenges. Those hugs she gave us still comfort us. The words of encouragement have become the same words we use to encourage our children. Her patience, her understanding, her love—these things and more remain with us and some of these things will be passed on to our children and grandchildren.

In the past number of years, the outstanding women that have been honored publicly tend to be those who have careers. They have done outstanding work in various fields—the military, industry, social work, civil rights, public education, the medical field and the list could go on. More and more young girls are being encouraged to train themselves for a meaningful career.

And motherhood? It seems to be slipping through the cracks of career. Some who have chosen to be a full—time mother when the children are at home have been relegated to second class womanhood. I am not talking about the ability to have a baby. I am talking about being a mother to the children. So many are handing off their children to their own parents in the name of giving their children a “better life than they had.” Others are handing them off to baby sitters and school systems as quickly as possible. Others find motherhood being trapped at home, separated from the exciting world that is “out there.”

You want motherhood to be rewarding? Then carefully consider the example of Lois and Eunice: “I am mindful, “ Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:5, “of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that is in you as well.” Surely, the most important role of a mother is to help her children grow up to be God’s children?

Bill Keele, D.Min. Inola church of Christ

You never asked to be born? So what. Who did? Now make the best of it. How? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and body and your neighbor as yourself.

Inola church of Christ

06/14/2026

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