SURE WORD Ministry

09/04/2026

Let Every Breath Be a Prayer

Join Jamal Sankey in the ninth part of his series, "How to Pray Effective Prayers."



https://youtu.be/vCJ7-E1aCis

09/04/2026

From Dad's Desk ✍🏽

September 4, 2026

You Can't Live on Yesterday's Manna

"And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning." — Exodus 16:19

Every morning Israel stepped outside and found God's provision waiting for them. Manna covered the ground, enough for every household and enough for that day.

But there was a strange instruction attached to the blessing: don't save it for tomorrow.

Some tried anyway. Perhaps they thought they were being practical. If God provided today, why not store a little away just in case there wasn't any tomorrow?

But the manna they kept bred worms and stank.

God was teaching Israel more than how to gather food. He was teaching them how to depend on Him.

Yesterday's provision was evidence of God's faithfulness, but it was never intended to replace today's dependence upon Him.

We can make the same mistake spiritually. Yesterday's prayer cannot substitute for communion with God today. The Bible study that fed you last week cannot replace opening His Word this morning. Even a powerful experience with God can become stale when we begin living on the memory of what He did instead of seeking Him for what we need now.

There is nothing wrong with remembering yesterday's manna. Israel would eventually preserve some of it as a testimony of God's faithfulness. The problem was trying to live on it.

God gave fresh manna every morning because He wanted His people to learn that His mercies were not exhausted by yesterday's need.

Neither are they exhausted by yours.

Carry this thought with you:

Yesterday's manna can remind you that God is faithful, but only today's gathering will feed you for today's journey.

09/03/2026

THE PERSONALITY OF THE SPIRIT

QUESTIONS: Some say the Holy Spirit is a person; others say He is a personality; and still others say He is a power only. How long should this remain a matter of discussion?
Some say that Christ was both divine and human while on earth; others say, "No, He was only a man, and miracles were performed through Him by the Holy Spirit." Which is correct?

ANSWERS: The Bible says...



https://thesureword.org/the-personality-of-the-spirit/

09/03/2026

From Dad's Desk ✍🏽

September 3, 2026

When the Candle Needs Trimming

"And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it." — Exodus 30:7

Something about the sanctuary service caught my attention. Every morning Aaron was instructed to "dress the lamps."

The lamps were already burning. Yet burning yesterday did not mean they needed no attention today.

A lamp could still have oil and still need its wick trimmed. As it burned, the wick accumulated what had already been consumed. If left unattended, that buildup could interfere with the clarity of the flame. So the priest regularly tended the lamps—not because the fire had necessarily gone out, but so they could continue to burn as they should.

There is something in that for us.

Not everything God removes from our lives is sinful. Sometimes it is simply something that has served its purpose and now needs to be trimmed away. Yesterday's responsibilities, experiences, methods, even successes can accumulate until we are carrying things God never intended us to keep carrying.

We can be burning for the Lord and still need tending.

That is why time with God is more than getting enough spiritual fuel to make it through another day. It is also allowing our heavenly High Priest to examine the wick—to remove what has been spent, straighten what needs attention, and keep the light burning clearly.

Don't wait until the flame goes out before allowing Christ to tend the lamp.

Carry this thought with you:

Sometimes the secret to burning brighter is allowing Christ to trim away what has already served its purpose.

09/02/2026

From Dad's Desk ✍🏽

September 2, 2026

When the Axe Floated

"And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim." — 2 Kings 6:6

Of all the miracles recorded in Scripture, this one can seem almost too small to matter.

A borrowed axe head fell into the water.

No nation was in danger. No army needed defeating. No one was sick or dying. A young man had simply lost something that did not belong to him, and he was distressed because he was responsible for returning it.

Yet God intervened.

That tells us something about Him. We sometimes divide our lives into things important enough to bring to God and things we think we ought to handle ourselves. But what mattered to that young man mattered enough for God to notice.

And notice what Elisha asked: "Where fell it?"

The recovery began by identifying the exact place where the loss occurred.

There is wisdom in that. When something has been lost in our spiritual lives—our consistency in prayer, our appetite for the Word, our tenderness toward others, our faithfulness in some responsibility—we can spend a lot of time regretting the loss without asking where it happened.

Sometimes restoration begins with an honest look back: Where did I lose this? What changed? Where did I become careless?

God knew exactly where the iron was. But He still asked the man to identify where it fell.

Maybe there is something in your life today that needs recovering. Don't just mourn what is missing. Ask the Lord to help you recognize where you lost it—and then meet Him there.

Carry this thought with you:

God already knows where you lost it; restoration begins when you are willing to acknowledge it too.

09/01/2026

DID THE KARAITE JEWS DISPROVE OCTOBER 22, 1844?

OBJECTION: Please refute the evidence presented in the article "Day of Atonement of the Karaite Jews in 1844" by Robert K. Sanders.

ANSWER: The Bible says...

#1844

https://thesureword.org/did-the-karaite-jews-disprove-october-22-1844/

09/01/2026

From Dad's Desk ✍🏽

September 1, 2026

Don't Mistake Leaves for Fruit

"And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves..." — Mark 11:13

The fig tree Jesus approached looked promising from a distance. It had leaves. It had the outward appearance of life. But when He came near and examined it, the Bible says, "he found nothing but leaves."

There is a difference between looking fruitful and actually bearing fruit.

It is possible to know the language of Christianity, attend worship, discuss the Bible, defend the truth, and become very familiar with religious things while our character remains unchanged. Those things have their place, but none of them can substitute for the fruit God desires to see in the life.

The closer Jesus came to the tree, the more its true condition became apparent.

That is worth thinking about. Christianity is not primarily about what our lives look like from a distance. What does Christ find when He comes near? Is there greater patience than there used to be? More kindness? More self-control? A deeper love for God and others? Is the truth we profess actually changing our life?

Leaves can impress people— everyone likes a big lush shade tree. Fruit is what matters to God.

Today, don't be satisfied merely because your life has the appearance of Christianity. Ask the Lord to make the life behind the profession as real as the profession itself.

Carry this thought with you:

Don't measure your walk with God by the leaves others can see, but by the fruit Christ finds when He comes near.

08/31/2026

From Dad's Desk ✍🏽

August 31, 2026

Don't Leave the Gates Unguarded

"And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them..." — Nehemiah 7:3

Nehemiah had accomplished something remarkable. The wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt despite opposition, threats, discouragement, and attempts to stop the work.

But once the wall was finished, Nehemiah did not assume the danger was over.

He gave careful instructions concerning the gates.

That caught my attention. It was not enough to build the wall; they also had to guard what entered through it. A strong wall with carelessly opened gates could undo everything they had worked so hard to restore.

There is a spiritual lesson there.

We can spend years allowing God to rebuild areas of our lives and then become careless about what we permit back in. What we watch, what we listen to, the conversations we entertain, the influences we welcome, and even the thoughts we repeatedly indulge all have access to the heart.

Spiritual growth does not eliminate the need for spiritual vigilance.

There are some doors God helped us close that do not need to be reopened. There are some influences we learned to live without that we do not need to reconsider. There are victories worth guarding.

Nehemiah understood that rebuilding Jerusalem was only part of the responsibility. What had been restored now had to be protected.

The same is true of us.

Carry this thought with you:

Don't become careless with the gates simply because God has helped you rebuild the walls.

08/28/2026

From Dad’s Desk ✍🏽

August 28, 2026

What God Hears

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” — Matthew 12:36–37

Yesterday we considered something beautiful: when those who feared the Lord “spake often one to another,” God listened, and a book of remembrance was written before Him.

But there is another side to that thought.

God hears the other words too.

Jesus said that “every idle word” will be brought into account in the judgment. That ought to make us stop and think.

Words do not have to be profane to be harmful. A careless criticism. An unnecessary remark about someone else’s character. Something repeated that was never ours to repeat. Words spoken in irritation that leave a wound long after our anger has passed. Even words spoken jokingly can reveal something about the heart from which they came.

Jesus takes our words seriously because our words reveal us. Just before these verses He said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The judgment of our words is therefore not about God keeping a petty record of verbal mistakes. Our speech is evidence of what has been living in the heart.

That makes yesterday’s thought even more meaningful.

If heaven remembers the conversations that honor God, and heaven also records the careless words for which we must give account, then perhaps we should become much more intentional about what leaves our mouths.

Before you say it, ask: Does it need to be said? Is it true? Is it mine to say? Will it help the person who hears it? And would I be comfortable meeting these words again in the judgment?

We will.

Carry this thought with you:

If every word will meet us again in the judgment, let us speak today in a way we will not be ashamed to hear tomorrow.

08/27/2026

THE SABBATH AND THE PAPACY

QUESTION: Mr. Gamble writes in The True Sabbath of God, ...the Papacy did not begin until A.D. 1073. However, I understand that you teach that the Sabbath was changed long before then. If there was no pope at that time, how could the pope have changed the Sabbath?

ANSWER: The Bible says...

“If the pope, centuries after the apostolic times, changed the Sabbath, there would be no trouble locating the time and the pope who did it. Such a person has never been found.”