Weekly thoughts from Mike Yunker, Director of AnaPauo Retreats, as we reflect on what it means to truly experience and be transformed by saying saying yes to Jesus loving invitation to rest (Matthew 11:28).
One of the greatest stories you'll find in the Old Testament is a little tale about a crippled man named Mephibosheth whose name means, "one who dashes shame to pieces." Take a listen and remember, God's opinion of you is ALWAYS the most accurate! Check us out anapauoministries.com
Can you be a worshipper God desires if you never sing a single song? Is there any hope for those of us who just don't connect with contemporary worship and struggle with the whole experiential thing? Today Mike addresses what worship is and how the greatest act of worship is always the riskiest. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
The story of Cain and Abel is a classic story of what happens when sin overtakes us, yet God is keenly aware of our brokenness and invites us to walk it out with Him. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
It's not uncommon for us to hear the command, "Fear God!" Really? We are told to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" yet what does that really mean? Today Mike takes time to unpack what it means to experience fear in the midst of a loving relationship with God who loves us as we are, 100%. www.anapauoministries.com
So what does it mean "to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ?" (2 Cor. 10:5) In this 30 minute lesson, Mike looks at the problem of modern-day rules and regulations and instead challenges us to allow temptations to lead us into intimacy with the heart of God.
John 14:1-4 is typically one we hear when we're at a memorial service. We are reminded Jesus is preparing a room for when we die and spend eternity with him. What if that "room" was not meant to be a place for us in the future but for us today? Listen to Mike share how Jesus and the Father desire for you to be present with them here and now. Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
In this episode, Mike looks at 1 Kings 18-19 and what life can look like when we are in the midst of overwhelming despair. If you or someone you know is wrestling with depression or thoughts of suicide, please reach out by calling 1-800-273-8255. Check us out on the web at www.anapauoministries.com
WE'RE BACK!!! Sorry for the hiatus but it's great to sit back down with you and re-engage what it means to live life in the Spirit and in the Kingdom. Today's episode is a bit of catching up on what is going in the life of the ministry and why love is the riskiest business of all.
In this podcast Mike shares one of his favorite theological works and describes how being called to imitate Jesus is more of an invitation than a command. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Have you ever had a situation go from bad to worse only to look up to God and say, "Thank you very LITTLE!" Today Mike looks at the story of Gideon and reminds us that the God we long for resides at the end of ourselves. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Today Mike pulls a few pages from his own recovery work and shares how crucial acceptance is to our healing. This is one of those podcasts you'll want to listen to again and again. Look us up on the web at anapauoministries.com
Today Mike discusses how forgiveness has always been the bedrock of God's love towards us. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Today's podcast is an abbreviated episode from the beautiful town of Frenchglen, more specifically Paige Springs. Mike takes some time to reflect on the origin of beauty and why its part of our imago dei to desire and enjoy things that are "pleasing to the eye." www.anapauoministries.com
This week Mike reflects on what it means to truly be known by God and how His intimate love for us drives out the fear of hearing "Who are you?" Check us out anapauoministries.com
Are we permitted to have doubts, especially on Easter Sunday? Mike shares his Easter experience and reflects on his heart as he asks himself the simple yet revealing question, "Do I really believe this stuff?" Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Mike picks up where he left off last week, taking a deeper look at James 2 and how vital it is to have a safe community to be known for both who we are and who we are not. Check us out on the web at anapauoministries.com
We all want mercy to win! We all need mercy to win! What happens when we, the people of God, exchange judgement for mercy? Why we would be moved to do such a thing when our hearts desperately crave a safe community to be flawed humans? Listen to Mike open up his heart about what mercy can really do in a Jesus-centered community. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Taken from the classic parable of the Good Samaritan, Mike dives deep into what it means to have compassion for yourself in a way that translates into compassion and mercy for others. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Conflict in healthy relationships is an invitation to expand our capacity to experience grace, mercy and forgiveness. In this episode Mike opens up about what it means to have a good fight and how conflict, when wrestled on the turf of God's grace, strengths our friendships. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
Today Mike takes a look at Acts 14 and invites into embracing our broken humanness. With our wounds on full display, God brings validity to the Good News that grace really can change everything. Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
A must listen as Mike tells the heartfelt story of Paul being impacted by grace in a profound way and how that grace is passed onto others, esepcially his soon to be friend, Sosthenes. You won't want to miss this. Check us out at anapauoministries.com
In this episode Mike looks at the early days of Paul and discusses how trauma that gets cursed by our enemy can cause us to live insanely. Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
Now we're getting to the real heart of the matter! Mike begins addressing how trauma and the evil that attends to our pain impacts not only how we view ourselves but ultimately how we view the world we live in. These next few lessons are key to us beginning to understand the roots of grace-filled healing and hope! www.anapauoministries.com
Mike finishes up some thoughts he began last week concerning how the Bible should and shouldn't play a role in how we open up our hearts to God's love and grace. In this episode we look at how many of us have been taught to expect certain blessings from learning the Bible at the expense of not developping a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit in the context of community. Check out our website at anapauoministries.com
Where does the Bible fit into true Spirit-led transformation? Mike begins wrestling with this pertinrnt question in this 2 part series. Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
To start 2019 Mike jumps into the parable of the hidden treasure and the fine pearl out of Matthew 11. Here we learn how beliefs shape our view of God and how we understand Scripture, especially the parables. You will definitely want to begin your new year with these truths in mind. Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
From a hotel room in Portland, Oregon, Mike opens up about what it means have our beliefs about change as a result of grace. 2nd Corinthians 12 leads each of us into rethinking what it means when God says, "My grace is sufficient for you." Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
Mike begins going deeper in Straight To The Heart as he looks at how our beliefs about God, ourselves and others shape how we feel. With Romans 7 as the context, we begin to learn that our inability to change how we feel and behave is directly connected to our literally "flesh." Check us out at www.anapauoministries.com
Psalm 51 is a popular among many Christians today for comfort and guidance when they are struggling with sin, shame and grief. Today Mike challenges us to rethink how we approach Ps. 51 and how Jesus' grace, mercy and forgiveness transforms how we feel about our sin, shame and regret. You will want to buckle up for this episode! Check us out at anapauoministries.com
In todays episode, Mike speaks to the importance of our feelings and how they are things that primarily drive our behavior and tell when our spirits are doing okay or not. Check us out on the web at anapauoministries.com
In this episode we begin looking at the top of the "iceberg of transformation" which is behavior, how it relates to our personal transformation and why its vital to see beyond the "do's and dont's" many seem to focus on. In short, our behavior and the behavior of others is an invitation to enter deeper into what is truly happening in our lives and the real wrestling matches of the heart. Check out our website at anapauoministries.com
In this podcast Mike transitions from focusing on God's love and grace for each of us and begins laying out how that grace impacts our lives in a away that transforms us. Using the concepts found in Straight to the Heart, Mike lays the groundwork to begin opening up our hearts and minds to real transformation. Check out our website at www.anapauoministries.com
Mike is at it again, this time opening up Luke 7 and revealing how forgiveness is the seed bed of love. In this episode we learn that true love is embedded in our brokenness and shame rather than our good works and victories. Mike challenges the notion that we are sinners saved by grace but instead we are beloved children of God who periodically sin.
In this installment Mike looks at how our view of God and His feelings towards us determine how we respond to Him and those around us. We learn what drives us into conformity and how His overwhelming love for us truly shape our hearts and minds! Don't forget to check out our website at anapauoretreats.com
Today Mike looks at the basis for what makes transformation a natural response to God's love, mercy and grace. At the heart of it all, God's will is for each of us to be touched by His grace in such a way that we desire more of Him, thus releasing more of ourself to Him. Enjoy! www.anapauoretreats.com
In this final installment on "Safe Community," Mike points out how acceptance and honesty are crucial to experiencing Christ-centered transformation in grace filled relationships. Visit our website at anapauoretreats.com for details.
This podcast picks up where Mike left off last week as he dives into the importance of being embedded in a safe community and uses the story of Jesus in the Garden to draw out key traits of what a safe community is. Please check us out anapauoretreats.com to learn more abot our ministry.
It's vital we each have places/relationships in our lives where we can be known for who we are and for who we are not. In this podcast, Mike begins a series on the importance of community and how safe communities are essential to spiritual formation. Check out our website at anapauoretreats.com
Today Mike spends time unpacking Luke 14 and Jesus' challenge to "hate" those closest to us, inlcuding ourselves and how these verses actually invite us into a deeper level of initmacy with God and a better understanding as to how His love can bring healing to our deepest hurts. Check us out at anapauoretreats.com
This week I have the privilege of sitting in my living room with my life long friend Chad Hansen. I wanted to him to share his experience of joining the paid ministry later in life after working 20+ years in the "real world" and how his view of church and pastors has changed and grown. I love this guy a bunch and I look forward to many more conversations in the future. Check us out at anapauoretreats.com
I'm a lot like Moses when I don't receive God's rest for me. I get crazy busy, my heart begins to grow resentful and fill with self-pity and I become irritable and unreasonable without even knowing it. In Exodus 33 we see a snapshot of Moses wrestling with God, thinking he needed one thing but God, who knows him and is proud of him, wants to give him something much better. Enjoy today's ramblings and share us with your friends. www.anapauoretreats.com
In this epsiode Mike dives into the subject of rest and draws on the story of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5. It is this story we can see some of the symptoms of a life that is crying out for anapauo and how Jesus invites us to be "in our right minds."
In this first episode Mike introduces the heart of AnaPauo Retreats as well as tells a bit about his story and why we are passionate about helping men and women experience the healing grace of God through finding safe places to be vulnerable, honest and fragile. You can find out more about our retreats at www.anapauoretreats.com
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