Christian Natural Health

This was the first podcast I did on AI in 2024: https://drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/what-the-bible-says-about-artificial-intelligence And these are the rest of my notes, if you want to visit some of the verses I didn't read... שָׁמַע šāmaʿ: - to hear, listen to, obey, discern, perceive, understand- Listening to God specifically, and obeying: - Solomon's request (1 Kings 3:9): what he asks for is a heart that שָׁמַע šāmaʿ - to hear, listen to, obey, discern, perceive, that he might שָׁפַט šāp̄aṭ - judge, govern, vindicate, punish, and בִּין bîn - discern, understand, consider between good and evil. God gives him a heart that is חָכָם - ḥāḵām - wise, skilful, shrewd, learned, prudent, as well as בִּין bîn - discern, understand, consider between good and evil. - Gen 22:18: Abraham obeys God and was willing to offer Isaac (and now all the nations of the earth will be blessed), and then God reiterates this promise to Isaac (Gen 26:5) - Ex 15:26: If the people will listen and do God's commandments, they will be healed - Ex 23:22: if the people will listen, God will fight against their enemies - Ex 24:27: The people promise they will do what God said - (and many more examples of listening to God and obeying, esp in Psalms)- God's šāmaʿ to our prayers--if He hears, He responds (1 John 5:14-15) - Gen 16:11: He heard Hagar's distress and told her she'd have Ishmael - Gen 17:20: Abraham asks God to bless Ishmael and God agrees - Gen 29:33: Leah's prayers to God for children because she is hated - Ex 2:24: God heard the groanings of the Israelites - (and many, many more)- Listening and taking action (whether the action is good or bad, doing what the other person wanted or not--what is heard just prompts a response): - Gen 3:8: Adam and Eve šāmaʿ God after they ate the fruit, and hid themselves. - Gen 3:17 Adam šāmaʿ Eve (hearkened to): he ate the fruit when she asked him to. - Gen 11:7: God confused speech at the Tower of Babel so that they would not šāmaʿ each other - Gen 14:14: Abram heard (šāmaʿ) Lot was taken captive, and it caused him to gather an army - Gen 16:2: Sarai told Abram to sleep with Hagar, and he listened (šāmaʿ) to her - Gen 18:10: Sarai overhears (šāmaʿ) God's promise of a child... but her response is to laugh - Gen 27:5: Rebekah overhears (šāmaʿ) Isaac's word to Esau and takes matters into her own hands. - (and many, many more) שָׂכַל śāḵal: to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper, skill. Interesting that the same word means the knowledge of how to act, and also to prosper and gain favor - cause and effect are wrapped up in the same word. - Incidentally, the same word (sāḵāl), but spelled with a samekh (סָכָל) instead of a shin (שָׂכַל), means fool (Ecclesiastes 2:19, 7:17, 10:3, 10:14, Jeremiah 4:22, 5:21) - samekh סָ root meaning: a shield, leaning on, "supporting" or, in a negative sense, "blocking" (blocking one from God's wisdom) - vs shin שָׂ: A letter of fire, illumination, light - This is the word used in Gen 3:6, describing the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It apparently thus also means the ability to choose your allegiance. It is spelled there with a shin... - To understand the bigger picture and act accordingly: - Deut 32:29: "O that they were wise, that they understood (śāḵal) this, that they would consider their latter end!" - 1 Sam 18:5: "And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely (śāḵal): and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants." - Same word twice - for emphasis? 1 Sam 18:15: "Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself (śāḵal) very wisely (śāḵal), he was afraid of him." - Ps 32: 8: "I will instruct thee (śāḵal) and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." - Prov 1:2-3: This is the purpose of Proverbs: - "To know wisdom (hok-maw) and instruction; to perceive (bîn) the words of understanding (bînâ), To receive the instruction of wisdom (śāḵal), justice, and judgment (mišpāṭ), and equity." - This is the action as well as the adjective in most Proverbs translated "wise": 10:5, 10:19, 14:35, 15:24, 16:20, 16:23 (here it was the verb, to teach), 17:2, 19:14 (translated prudent here), 21:11 (here it's the passive verb, is instructed), 21:2 (here it's to consider), 21:16 (understanding here), - Isa 44:18: Jesus quoted this about people not understanding his parables " They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand (śāḵal)" - To prosper or to have favor: - Deut 29:9: "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper (śāḵal) in all that ye do." - Joshua 1:7-8: "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper (śāḵal) whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success (śāḵal)." - Also used for this meaning in Proverbs: 17:8- To be skillful: Dan 1:4, 1:17 (describing the Hebrew children) - In Job 34:35, Elihu speaking: "Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom (śāḵal)."- Prophecies of Jesus having śāḵal: Isaiah 52:13 Wisdom: חָכְמָה: (hok-maw):—skilful, wisdom, wisely, wit. - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," Ps 111:10, and "For the LORD giveth wisdom" (Prov 2:6). You can't have wisdom apart from His counsel (Prov 21:30).- God made the earth with wisdom (Jer 10:12, 51:15, Ps 104:24)- Humility precedes wisdom (Prov 11:2)--because fear of the Lord is a posture of humility (Prov 15:33, 1 Pet 5:6-7, Matt 5:3, 5). - If instead you trust in your own heart (reasoning), you are a fool - but wisdom will deliver you from trouble (Prov 28:26). - But too much wisdom can also somehow lead to pride, and pervert: Isaiah 47:10, Eze 48:4-17 (allegory of Satan) - and "knowledge puffs up" (1 Cor 8:1)- It's "the principal thing" (Prov 4:7), better than anything else we can desire (Prov 8:11, 16:16).- It described the Israelites if they followed God's laws (Deut 4:6), leaders anointed by God with the wisdom to lead (Deut 34:9) - For children, physical discipline eventually teaches wisdom (Prov 29:15).- An example: 2 Sam 20:22: the Israelite woman whose city is besieged because Sheba son of Bichri, a rebel against King David, was within. She speaks to Joab, finds out they want Sheba and if they give him up, Joab will spare the city. So "in her wisdom" (hok-maw) she promises they will throw his head to them over the wall. They do so, and Joab and his army departs. This is wisdom: not simply reacting with the typical emotions of anger, fear, etc from being besieged, but instead identifying and articulating both problem and solution. - Elihu says that he will teach Job and his three friends, who accuse God, wisdom (Job 33:33). - He later says that it is God who puts wisdom and understanding in our hearts (Job 38:36), and that he deprived animals of the same ability. A person who lacks understanding can only be controlled with physical consequences, by contrast (Prov 10:13) - and kids have to start out learning by physical discipline (Prov 29:15) as they are inherently foolish. - Numbering our days leads to wisdom (Ps 90:12) - bc we're "redeeming the time bc the days are evil?" (Eph 5:16) This sounds like wisdom is also discerning what truly matters vs what is passing away. - 2 Chron 1:10: in this version Solomon does ask for חָכְמָה: (khok-maw), and knowledge מַדָּע madāʿ- Then 1 Kings 3:28: after Solomon's judgment between the two would-be mothers (where he infers from the story that the real mother will love the child more than herself, and uses that to reveal hearts), the people conclude that he has חָכְמָה: (khok-maw). The Queen of Sheba came and asked him hard questions and there was nothing he couldn't answer (1 Kings 10:1-9).- Jesus displayed this kind of wisdom: - Prophesied: Isaiah 11:2 "And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" In the NT: akouō (to hear, hearken, give audience): carries a similar "and to understand and obey/respond" implication as does šāmaʿ: Matt 15:10, 17:5, 18:15, Mark 7:14, Mark 12:29, Luke 8:21, 9:35, 10:16, 11:28, John 6:60, 8:23, 8:47, John 10:20, John 11:41-42- Matt 7:24, Luke 9:47-48: the man who hears and does what Jesus says is like the house built on the rock- John 5:25: those who hear Jesus (and respond) will have life--spiritually and literally (v 28)- If the people in the cities don't hear your words, shake the dust off your feet: Matt 10:14, Mark 6:11 - Matt 10:27: preach whatever you akouō from Me- Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31: The Queen of Sheba went to akouō Solomon's wisdom- Luke 10:39: Mary prioritized hearing Jesus- John 10:3, 16, 27: the sheep hear His voice- John 16:13 The Holy Spirit tells us what He hears from the Father- "He who has ears to hear, let him hear": Matt 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, 4:33, 7:16, 8:18, Luke 8:8, 14:35- Those who heard and understood were astonished: Mark 6:2- Luke 16:29-31: Those who hear Moses and the prophets and understand what they hear will also hear about Jesus (because they pointed to Him)- Matt 11:4-5, Luke 7:22: John's disciples were to go back and tell him what they had seen and heard- Luke 10:24: Wise men of old desired to hear what the disciples heard - He speaks in parables bc the people don't have ears to hear: Matt 13:13-18, Mark 4:12, 4:23, Luke 8:10 - The parable of the sower: those who hear but don't understand have nothing to take root. This is the precondition for wisdom. Matt 13:19, Mark 4:15, Luke 8:12 - But if you do understand, you still have to maintain single focus so it's not choked out: Matt 13:20-23, Mark 4:16-20, Luke 8:13-15- "Take heed what/how you hear" precedes "with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Mark 4:24, Luke 8:18: what you listen to (and respond to) determines the direction of your life. - Also often used to just mean to hear with your ears (many places) phronimos (intelligent, wise, prudent, i.e. mindful of one's interests)- Matt 7:24: the man who builds his house upon a rock by doing what Jesus says rather than just hearing it is phronimos - Matt 24:45, Luke 12:42: the wise servant is the one whom the Master will find doing what he was told, when the Master returns. - Matt 25: the parable of the wise virgins (also prepared with oil); the parable of the talents right after this seems to imply the same (looking ahead and making the most of what we've been given) though the word 'wise' doesn't appear there. - Luke 12:42-48: describes the foolish servants who know the will of their master but when he returns, he finds them disobeying. - Matt 10:16: wise as serpents, harmless as doves: - AW: This means we aren’t totally defenseless. Wisdom is a powerful force that gives us an advantage. - Luke 16:8: the parable of the unjust steward - he's called wise (shrewd) for looking out for his own interests. (Still not sure what the point of this parable was) Sophia: wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters. The varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs, the science and learning, the act of interpreting dreams and always giving the sagest advice, the intelligence evinced in discovering the meaning of some mysterious number or vision, devout and proper prudence in intercourse with men not disciples of Christ, skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth, the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living; supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God.- Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31: Jesus used this word to describe Solomon's wisdom - Acts 7:10 same word describes Joseph, and 7:22: Moses - Matt 13:54, Mark 6:2: the people said Jesus had this after listening to his teachings and were astonished- Luke 12:11-12, 21:15: God promises to give His followers such godly wisdom that none of our adversaries would be able to resist it - Acts 6:10: example of this - 1 Cor 1:17, 2:5: and yet Paul says the wisdom of words is insufficient; the gospel needs power to back it. That's because (worldly) wisdom wouldn't receive it--the world considers godly wisdom foolishness (1 Cor 1:19). The wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God are diametrically opposed! (1 Cor 1:20-25) - 1 Cor 2:6-8: Paul again contrasts the wisdom "of this age" with the wisdom of God. (Makes me think of sāḵāl - same word, two spellings, one meaning foolish, depicting that the person is blocked off from God's wisdom, and one meaning wise, and the letter means that he is guided by the light of God's wisdom). Even so, the natural man considers the things of God foolish (1 Cor 2:14), and God likewise considers the wisdom of this world foolish (1 Cor 3:19-20). - Jesus also said God hid Him from the "wise and prudent" (of that age) and revealed them to babes (Matt 11:25).- James 1:5: we can ask God for sophia- Matt 5: The Beatitudes teach an inversion of the world's wisdom: how the world actually works. - It's summed up with Matt 6:33 (and Luke 12:22-34): "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." - Matt 10:27-31 says similar: don't fear men; fear God (trusting that He loves you). Live in single-minded allegiance to Him. And 11:39: "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." If you "find your life" apart from Him, you've lost everything: the ultimate foolishness. He repeats this: Matt 16:25-26 - and Deny yourself, take up your cross - if you desire to save your life you'll lose it, and if you lose your life for Him you'll find it (Luke 9:23-27, John 12:25). - As you do this, by abiding in Him, You get whatever you desire (John 15:7-8, 16) - Mary and Martha: another lesson about singleness of focus on Him being the most important thing (Luke 10:38-42). - Luke 11:33-36: it takes light and a receptive eye to see. Jesus is always shining - It’s our eyes that don’t see. Jesus was telling us how to get our eyes opened to His light: we have to be single in our focus on Him. The Greek word that was translated “eye” in this verse is “OPHTHALMOS.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines this Greek word as “singleness of motive.” If our attention is divided, however, we will have the darkness of this world in us instead of God’s light. - So it isn't that we have to have "VIEW" rather than a POINT of view in order to see the bigger picture. Rather, our point of view needs to be fixed on Him, and then everything else will find its proper alignment. - True leaders must serve all (Mark 9:35, 10:43-45, Luke 22:26). Last will be first, and first will be last (Mark 10:31, Luke 13:30). If you humble yourself you will be exalted, and if you exalt yourself you will be humbled (Luke 14:11, 18:14). - What you give, you get back and then some (Luke 6:38, 14:14, 18:29-30) - Luke 12:16-21: Conversely, a fool is one who lays up treasure for himself in this life. - Luke 19:12-27: the parable of the minas: The wicked servant was motivated by fear; he didn't trust the master's heart, and didn't use what he had. So he lost even that. - He draws a hard line: all in or all out (Luke 11:22)-- because this is a war (Luke 9:58-62). You must comparatively hate everyone, even your own life, in comparison to Him (Luke 14:26). No one is neutral. He describes opponents in adversarial language ("lambs among wolves", Luke 10:3), and everything hinges on what people do with the message of the Kingdom (10:11-16). You either love the light or love the darkness (John 3:19-21). - So many parables Matt 24:45, Matt 25, Luke 12:42-48, Luke 13:24-30) are about servants doing what their master wants while he is away so that he will find them so doing when he returns... probably bc the point is "redeem the time bc the days are evil" (Eph 5:16) and numbering our days gives wisdom (Ps 90). It seems the point is, time is short, and the stakes are very high, so be single-minded in your focus on Jesus and the Kingdom. - Luke 14:25-33: Just as a king wouldn’t engage in war without thoroughly considering all the possible outcomes, so no one should attempt to become a disciple of Jesus without counting the cost. It would be better never to start following Jesus than to start and then turn back (Luke 9:62 and 2 Peter 2:20-22). - The rest of the Sermon on the Mount: teaches that what matters isn't actions (as all their teachers had told them), but motive--and ultimately this goes back to allegiance. - Matt 11:28: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden" - with trying to follow the law. So stop both trying to be good enough, and also trying to follow your own wisdom. - Spirit vs flesh: allegiance determines this too. We have to come to Him, and He will give us the Spirit, without which we cannot successfully worship Him (John 4:24). Outwardly keeping the OT was all in the flesh, and it would never work. It was never meant to. Only the Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63).- He repeatedly says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matt 11:15, 13:9), and explains that those who have [wisdom] will get more, and those who have chosen not to hear and see will lose even what they have (Matt 13:10-17) - The parable of the sower: God's word brings wisdom (Prov 21:30), but the people have to hear and understand (šāmaʿ). If they don't, the enemy will steal it right away (13:19). The one who hears, understands, and receives with joy, but has no root--he might šāmaʿ, but if he doesn't śāḵal (act accordingly), he won't bear fruit either. Same with the one who is choked with the cares of the world. But the one who both šāmaʿ (hears and understands) and śāḵal (acts accordingly, is a doer of the word) is the one who will bear a harvest--seeking the Kingdom and letting God bring the supply for their needs and increase. - The parable of the two sons: the one who says he won't do the will of the father but does has truly śāḵal, while the one who says ok and doesn't is just a hypocrite: Matt 21:28-32 - In dealing with the Pharisees: their "wisdom" said good was following the law, and anyone who didn't do so according to their own teachings must be evil. The people surely could have been confused by what is good and what is evil. So Jesus clarifies: - makes the distinction of the spirit vs the letter of the law (Matt 9:11-13, 12:3-8, 12:11-12, 15:17-20, John 7:22-24) -- and also illustrates how they've added their own "letters of the law" and elevated those above what God actually said (Matt 15:3-9) - Uses the logic of motive (a house divided cannot stand): Matt 12:24-30, Luke 11:16-22). - tells the people to judge good and evil by the fruit it produces: Matt 12:33-35 - When they're trying to trap them, He: - turns the tables and asks them a question He knows they won't answer for political reasons: Matt 21:23-27 (John's baptism: from heaven or men), Matt 22:41-45 (how David can call his son 'Lord' - bc He's also God, which they didn't want to admit) - gives them an accurate non-answer: Matt 22:15-22 (the image of Caesar on the denarius) - answers the real question, rather than the one they were asking: Matt 22:23-33 (is there a resurrection of the dead?)- Enigmatic, dark sayings: Matt 8:20-22, 9:16-17, 12:31-32, Matt 13:35 (prophesied that this would be the case, in Ps 78:2) - He seems to jump topics without bothering to explain the connection (Matt 12:38-42: the pharisees ask for a sign. He says they'll get the sign of the prophet Jonah - in retrospect we know this was his death and resurrection. Then because they still won't believe, they will be condemned... and says "this wicked generation" will be like a wicked spirit cast out that then returns and brings more evil spirits, 12:43-45) - He jumps from one metaphor to another without explaining the connection (from the parable of the sower - God's word - to a lamp - God's word too) and then just says "if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 4:21-22). Then "take heed what you hear" - if you steward and obey the word you have been given, you'll get more. But he never says that this refers to the word explicitly either (Mark 4:24-25) - Luke 12: all over the place: the "do not worry" passage, followed by servants being faithful while their master is away, followed by Christ bringing division on the earth within families, and then "discern the time," and then "make peace with your adversary" -- are these related? - He speaks to John's disciples in a riddle only John will likely understand (Matt 11:2-6) - In what way is the kingdom of God "tiny" only to later grow and become large? (Luke 13:18-21) and what is the point of saying so? - He just changes the subject to what He wants to talk about (Matt 12:48-50): "your mother and brothers are here," and he says, "those who are my mother and brothers are those who do the will of My Father." - Another example: Luke 12:14-15: someone comes to him and asks him to arbitrate inheritance between brothers. He says that's not his job, and then warns the crowd against covetousness. - He clearly understood the foundations of how the world worked--why things were the way they were. Everyone around him saw only the carnal, visible, literal reality, and lived and reacted on that level. He was frustrated by this, and tried to teach: - What matters is not external actions, but the motive of the heart, which eventually comes out in words (Matt 15:16-20) - Reality bows the knee to faith: Matt 16:8-11, 17:20-21, 18:18-20, 21:21-22, Mark 11:22-24 - This is why He was so impressed with the Centurion: he understood that Jesus' authority transcended the physical world (Luke 7:9). Everyone else was so focused on the practical reality that this never even occurred to them. - Jesus met people on this physical level and gave them evidence (Luke 24:38-43) but said that wasn't the highest form of faith (John 20:29) - He understood the big picture: not just what was, but why things were the way they were, God's original purpose, and how He fit in (Luke 4:18-21, 24:25-27) - Because He knew context, rather than just the words and commands of scripture, Satan couldn't twist it to trap Him either (Luke 4:2-12.) - All the prophets that the Pharisees spent their life studying pointed to Jesus, and they missed it (Matt 16:2-4, John 5:38-40, 46-47)... because they were focusing on keeping the literal letter of the law (to the point of physical phylacteries, from Deut 6:8). It seems to never have occurred to them why things were the way they were. - I suspect their focus on minutiae and not on the underlying realities was also what allowed them to stop looking at the Lord as their source, which led to misplaced priorities, and greed (John 2:16 - buying and selling at the temple). I can see how they might have justified this, that it didn't *preclude* prayer and sacrifice to have a little side business going there too. But it revealed the focus of their hearts, and where their trust was, and effectively made God's real purpose for the Temple into a footnote. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This biblical retelling of the Resurrection comes from my book, "Messiah: Biblical Retellings." It's read for you by James R Cheatham, the narrator for all five of my Biblical Retellings series on audio! The books are free on Kindle Unlimited, and they're on "All You Can Listen" on Audible here. Happy Easter! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This podcast comes from two blog posts: This is part 1 and this is part 2. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Jacob Liberman is a pioneer in the fields of light, vision and consciousness, and the author of several books, including Take Off Your Glasses And See. Originally trained as an optometrist and vision scientist, his life changed in 1976 after the miraculous healing of his own eyesight, leading him to a deeper understanding of light and the science of life. Having helped countless individuals recover their eyesight, he began to understand the words of Jonathan Swift, “Real vision is the ability to see the invisible.” To learn more about Dr Liberman's work, see jacobliberman.org. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This is the fourth in a series on biblical Covenants. You can find part 1 here: https://drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/biblical-covenants-an-introduction Part 2: https://drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/covenants-part-2-terms-and-symbols Part 3: https://drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/covenants-part-3-adams-and-noahs-covenants-and-what-about-job This one explores how the book of Job fits into the covenant framework. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week's podcast comes from this blog post: Not Losing Weight, Despite Doing Everything Right? Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Cynthia Scott has led prayer initiatives across Pittsburgh and beyond, including citywide gatherings, prayer for national events, and a daily prayer call for the nation. Passionate about honoring God and praying for revival in America, she has written numerous prayer guides and now offers "Celebrating GOD, Our FOUNDER, at America’s 250th Birthday." This work reflects her conviction that God’s providence shaped the United States and calls believers to honor Him as our true Founder and help to shape our future through prayer. Cynthia resides near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To learn more about Cynthia, go to godourfounder.com Find her on Instagram @godourfounder Or you can get a copy of her book, Celebrating GOD, Our FOUNDER, at America’s 250th Birthday, here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Andrew Colsky is the host of Sleep Science Today, an international radio show and podcast focused on the science of sleep, nervous system regulation, mental health, and whole-person wellbeing. He is a licensed mental health clinician with specialized training in behavioral sleep medicine, working extensively with insomnia, anxiety-driven sleep disruption, trauma recovery, and nervous system health. To learn more about Andrew, go to sleepsciencetoday.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Carl Joseph grew up in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, where an early exposure to religion left him searching for the tangible presence and power of God. In his mid-twenties, he relocated to the United States and built a successful 20-year career as a petroleum engineer. Carl devoted himself to ministry in 1999— serving in street outreach since 2003, prison ministry since 2009, and pastoring for five years in the Denver area. In 2016, Carl transitioned into full-time ministry. Today, he equips believers around the world to walk in the fullness of God’s promises and embrace their God-given potential. His ministry website has welcomed more than 750,000 visitors since its inception and his podcast, Lions Unchained has produced over 200 episodes, and he’s the author of “Lionheart: Unleash the Warrior Within.” Carl’s passion is to help Christians move from head knowledge to a lived experience of God’s presence and power in daily life. To learn more about Carl, go to carljosephministries.com or you can find a copy of his book, “Lionheart: Unleash the Warrior Within" here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr Alan Bauman is the founder and CEO of Bauman Medical, an international leading treatment center in the field of hair restoration. Dr. Bauman received his Medical Doctor degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY and underwent internship and residency training in surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan before dedicating his expertise to the specialized fields of hair transplant surgery and the treatment of hair loss. With a particular focus on androgenetic alopecia or hereditary male or female pattern hair loss, Dr. Bauman has established himself as an authority in the industry. He is a frequently invited faculty member and guest expert at numerous international scientific meetings and live surgery workshops and has been featured in hundreds of news stories in the media. Dr. Bauman is one of approximately only 200 physicians worldwide to achieve the certification from the esteemed American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS). He was voted “#1 Top Hair Restoration Surgeon” in North America by Aesthetic Everything for the 7th consecutive year, “Top Hair Restoration Surgeon of the Decade”, and received the 2022 “Lifetime Achievement Award in Hair Restoration”. He was also recognized by Forbes as one of “10 CEOs Transforming Healthcare in America” and included in the ApeToGentlemen’s list of the World’s Best Hair Transplant Doctors for 4 years straight. To learn more about Dr Bauman and his clinic, see baumanmedical.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Kurt grew up in a Christian home where his parents were very involved in ministry outreaches to the poor, outcast, and downtrodden. From a young age he was impressed by the joy and fulfillment of seeing lives restored and hope given to the hopeless. He determined early on that he wanted to follow Christ and make a real and lasting difference in people's lives. Although Dr. Bravata did not initially set out to become an addictionologist, he soon felt called by God to share his grace by helping to lead people out of lives of deeply rooted hurt, dysfunction, and addiction. As a Family Physician Dr. Bravata simply responded to the need for effective, evidence-based treatment of Substance Use Disorders in his rural patient population. This growing passion led Dr. Bravata to seek education in addiction medicine, become DATA 2000 waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, and eventually obtain Addiction Medicine Board Certification through the practice pathway provided by the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM). Along the way, Dr. Bravata has been involved in local and national Family and Addiction Medicine leadership, education, and publication. To learn more about Dr Bravata, you can find him under the handle livefreeordiet on Facebook, X, Truth Social, and Instagram, or you can find his book at livefreeordiet.com or anywhere books are sold. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Daniel Harmon is the creator and showrunner of Tuttle Twins TV Show, an award-winning cartoon that teaches kids about principles of freedom and economics. Tuttle Twins is based on the book series that has sold over 5 million copies. In 2020, Tuttle Twins set a record as the #1 crowdfunded kids show in the world! Daniel is a creative entrepreneur and co-founded Harmon Brothers, a renowned video advertising agency that has driven billions of views and over $700 million in sales. Daniel is also a co-founder of VidAngel and Angel Studios. To learn more about Tuttle Twins, go to angel.com/tuttletwins or you can download the Angel app and watch the first few seasons for free! Additional notes from the show: Daniel and Lauren discussed a children's show concept featuring a grandmother with a time-traveling wheelchair who takes her grandchildren back in time to learn lessons from historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman. They agreed that the show would need to be entertaining enough to compete with platforms like Netflix and Disney+ while incorporating educational principles that are not currently being taught in public schools. Daniel emphasized that the show's goal is to provide parents with a resource to pass on their values to their children, comparing it to the original Spider-Man's theme of "with great power comes great responsibility." Engaging Children and Parents Through Storytelling Daniel discussed the educational approach of his show, emphasizing its appeal to both children and parents through humor and storytelling. He highlighted the show's focus on critical thinking and its success in engaging parents, with over 80% of episodes watched by parents alongside their children. Daniel also explained the role of the Angel Guild, a group of paying members who act as gatekeepers for new content, ensuring that only episodes deemed to "amplify light" are released. Lauren learned that the first three seasons are available for free on the Angel app, while the fourth season requires Angel Guild membership to access. Crowdfunding and Content Development Challenges Daniel explained the history of crowdfunding for media content, highlighting successful campaigns for TV shows like The Chosen and Tuttle Twins. He noted that BitAngel, a filtering company, eventually merged with the original content development company to avoid potential conflicts between their business models. The discussion touched on the challenges of managing both filtering and original content development under one company. Clean Content Demand and Split Daniel explained that VidAngel was split into two separate companies, with the original content side becoming Angel, where his show now lives. He noted that there is a high demand for clean content, with approximately half of the United States wanting parental controls in the early days of Angel. Lauren observed that this situation illustrated Romans 8:28, highlighting how God can bring beauty from difficult circumstances, and asked Daniel about the demand for clean content compared to what Hollywood produces, to which Daniel confirmed the demand is high, particularly among values-based audiences. Uplifting Content for Universal Appeal Daniel discussed Angel's mission to create content that amplifies light and uplifts audiences, emphasizing stories with good morals, ethics, and values, similar to Disney's historical approach. He highlighted that such content appeals to a broad audience beyond religious or Christian viewers. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Brook Sheehan is a chiropractor, functional health practitioner, and creator of bodyOS, a framework that helps women move from health striving to peaceful partnership with the body God designed. After spending years on opposite ends of the wellness spectrum, first completely disconnected from her body, then obsessively chasing “perfect health,” God led her into a new way of healing rooted in simplicity, listening, and trust. She hosts the your body speaks podcast and is the creator of the Talk to Me, Body Affirmation Card Deck. Her work helps women decode their body’s signals, align with God’s rhythms, and break free from the cultural pressure to do more, try harder, and push through. To learn more about Dr Sheehan, see drbrooksheehan.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

In this video, we discuss how to interpret God's dealings with mankind in scripture through the lens of the covenants in place at the time - and we look at the first two that appear in the book of Genesis, from Genesis 1-9. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. was the long time CEO of a multi-million dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry. Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Dr. Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own clients AND a self-funded research program with more than 40,000 participants. He earned his Ph.D. is in psychology from Yeshiva University in 1991. To learn more about Dr Livingston and to get a free copy of his latest e-book and other free giveaways, see defeatyourcravings.com In this podcast we address: - Overcoming Food Cravings Effectively - Understanding Brain's Role in Eating - Causes and Strategies for Overeating - Decision Fatigue and Well-being Strategies - Healthy Eating and Habit Transformation - Success Strategies and Resilience - Craving Extinction Strategies Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

BERIYTH = covenant in Hebrew: a compact, covenant, confederacy, or league. - Two Hebrew root words : BARAH, (to eat) and BARA’ (meaning to cut, carve out, to create). Ancient covenant characteristics: - blood bond broken only by death - unbreakable agreement between at least 2 parties - made with a sacred oath in which the terms of the agreement were stated - unending loyalty and faithfulness - complete union of 2 parties in which all assets, liabilities and responsibilities are held mutual - Entering into a covenant: none of the symbols or memorials do it--they just represent it. The two covenant heads have to agree to the terms--it's a contract. All the rest is ceremony. Customs to symbolize a covenant - The shedding of blood / sacrifice of animals - Covenant heads - Exchange of names - Exchange of property - Exchange of garments - The Covenant Meal - Covenant Titles (Friend) - Memorial of the covenant Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr Kate Davis is a chiropractor and a Functional Medicine doctor who personally battled chronic gut issues for nearly a decade, only to find out that she had a massive parasite infection. Leveraging her healing journey, she has since helped hundreds of women to overcome chronic gut conditions, from constipation and bloating to IBS and acid reflux. To learn more about Dr Kate, follow her on Instagram at @DrKateDavis (DM her 100 for her special offer mentioned in the show!) or visit her at drkatedavis.com/home Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Mitch Matthews is a success coach, speaker, and creator of the top 1% podcast DREAM THINK DO — where he helps high-achieving leaders and entrepreneurs dream bigger, think better, and do more of what they were put on the planet to do. He’s worked with organizations like Nike, NASA, and Disney, and he’s the creator of The Authority Bridge — a proven process that helps professionals turn their experience into a coaching and speaking business they love. To learn more about Mitch, go to mitchmatthews.com To get his free prayers for coaches, go to mitchmatthews.com/11prayers Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Donna VanLiere’s 18 books include The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing, which were adapted into movies starring Rob Lowe and Neil Patrick Harris. Donna has won a Retailer's Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver Angel Award, two Audie Awards (seven nominations) for best inspirational fiction, and a Gold Medallion Book of the Year nomination, and she is an inductee in the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence. She has spoken at the prestigious Patricia Adams Lecture Series at Heidelberg University, Among Friends conferences, Women of Faith events, and Extraordinary Women conferences. Donna’s newest book, Looking for Christmas, is available now for pre-order, and she is currently finishing Looking for God, which will release in the spring of 2026. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Bishop Daniel serves as President of GFA World, one of the most effective, large-scale Christian missions organizations operating today. With over 20 years of leadership in one of the largest missions movements in the world, Bishop Daniel offers rare, firsthand insight into what it takes to reach those who don’t know Christ today. He leads a movement that is transforming entire communities across Africa and Asia—not with Western resources alone, but by raising up indigenous missionaries equipped to bring the Gospel through long-term, culturally rooted impact. GFA World reaches remote villages with education, clean water, health care, and the Gospel, while Sisters of the Cross minister to women in red-light districts and leper colonies. They mobilize the church to go where others can’t—or won’t. To learn more about GFA World or to get a copy of Bishop Daniel's father's book, go to GFA.org or https://www.gfa.org/offer/freebook/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Aaron Hartman is a triple-board-certified physician, clinical researcher, and founder of Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine. His medical career took a radical turn when conventional medicine failed his adopted daughter, Anna, who was born with cerebral palsy. Determined to find answers beyond pharmaceuticals and surgery, he dove into functional medicine—and watched his daughter make what specialists said was impossible progress. That experience reshaped his entire view of healthcare. Today, Dr. Hartman helps patients across the country reclaim their health when traditional medicine says “there’s nothing more we can do.” His new book, “ UnCurable: From Hopeless Diagnosis to Defying All Odds,” shares his personal and professional transformation and reveals what modern medicine often overlooks about the body’s ability to heal. To learn more about Dr Hartman, you can go to www.aaronhartmanmd.com To learn more about his book and pick up a copy, go to uncurablebook.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr Ian Day has over 25 years of experience in the medical field, and currently serves as Medi-Share/Christian Care Ministry’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Vice President of Medical Affairs. In this role, he leads Medi-Share’s clinical initiatives and ensures compassionate, comprehensive care for its members. Dr. Day has been a Central Florida resident since the 1990s, and serves as an elder at a church in Cape Canaveral. He enjoys spending time with his wife visiting their grandchildren, travelling, SCUBA diving, and beekeeping. To learn more about Dr Day, see his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-day-md-cpe-faafp-08194148 To learn more about Medishare, see medishare.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Adhesions—internal scar tissue that can form after injury or surgery—cause serious medical problems such as infertility, intestinal blockages, and chronic pain. While surgery is the usual treatment, it often causes more adhesions. After Belinda Wurn developed painful adhesions following surgery and radiation, she and her husband Larry Wurn spent three years creating a hands-on physical therapy method to reduce adhesions without surgery. The therapy relieved Belinda’s pain and later helped other patients—some of whom became pregnant despite prior infertility diagnoses. Working with Dr. Richard King, a hospital Chief of Staff, they established a research team to study their results. To date, 18 peer-reviewed medical studies have shown the Wurn Technique® can effectively replace surgery for various conditions linked to adhesions, including infertility, endometriosis, and pain. A controlled study by surgeons from Harvard, Stanford, and others showed the method reduced life-threatening small bowel obstructions by 15-fold. To learn more about the Wurn Technique, and the Clear Passage clinics, visit www.clearpassage.com, or call 352-336-1433 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Daniah Greenberg is the founder of the Tree of Life Translation of the Holy Bible. A wayward Catholic with Jewish ancestry, she came to faith in Messiah Yeshua, Jesus Christ, during her college years when she ended up lost in a jail cell. Daniah is singularly focused on teaching practical biblical literacy across generations and does so with wisdom and grace. She has appeared on TBN Praise, Point of View Radio, Jewish Voice, Cornerstone, CBN, Daystar, God’s Learning Channel, Watchman Broadcasting and preached at hundreds of churches, synagogues, conferences and retreats. Daniah is a spark plug for community activism and energizes catalytic change wherever she goes. Her hope is to restore not only the Jewish roots of Christian faith, but to actively support faith-filled females who believe they are critically - and equally - valuable to the Kingdom of God. To learn more about Daniah, go to tlvbiblesociety.org You can download the Tree of Life Bible app in Google Play and in the app store You can find the Tree of Life Bible Translation here. You can get a copy of her book, "Biblical Feminism" here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Joan Hunter is the daughter of Charles and Frances Hunter, also known as “The Happy Hunters.” She is a healing minister, dynamic teacher, and accomplished author who has devoted her life to carrying a message of hope, deliverance, and healing to the nations. Having emerged victorious from tragic circumstances, impossible obstacles, and immeasurable devastation, Joan is able to share a message of hope and restoration to the brokenhearted, deliverance and freedom to the bound, and healing and wholeness to the diseased. Joan’s life demonstrates her sincere desire to see the body of Christ live free, happy, and whole. Joan and her husband, Kelley Murrell, live in Pinehurst, Texas. To learn more about Joan, go to joanhunter.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The Rosetta stone, discovered 1799: The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek. Allowed us to unlock hieroglyphics Covenant is to scripture interpretation the same way. Should we follow the Law? Keep the Sabbath? God in the OT can seem very harsh, and in the NT He's all about love--has He changed? Does God cause evil or not? OT: Amos 3:6 “ shall there be evil in a city and the Lord has not done it?” and Isa 45:7 “I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things”. NT: 1 John 1:5 “God is light and in him is no darkness at all”. John 10:10: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb 13:8), and “God is not a man that he should lie or the son of man that he should change his mind” (Num 23:19). The difference has to do with the covenants in place at the time. How did David have the courage to face Goliath? He knew His covenant (1 Sam 17:26, 36) circumcision was a sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 17:10-14) which covered all Isaac's descendants (Gen 17:19). Included: God will bless those who bless Abraham and his descendants, and curse those who curse them (Gen 12:3) + "The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways" (Deut 28:7) (Mosaic covenant in place by this time too) Jonathan and his armor-bearer knew the same promises applied (1 Sam 14:6). Covenant = Testament (Diatheke) Old and New Testament = Old and New Covenant New Covenant anticipated at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19-20), fulfilled by the cross (Hebrews 8:6-7). Gospels before this are still under the Old Covenant (Mosaic). Jesus 'didn’t come to destroy the law but fulfill it' (Matt 5:17) After the cross: Galatians 3:12: "the law is not of faith, being made a curse for us" Romans 4:7 “you died to the law” Gal 5:4: “Christ is become of no effect unto you; whosoever of you are justified by the law you are fallen from grace.” Paul’s anger in Galatians 5:12 against those who insisted that circumcision (part of the Abrahamic covenant) should continue for Christians--if used as a tool for justification Rom 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This podcast comes from this blog post: Why Is It So Expensive to Eat Healthy? Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Haley Scully, MA, is an experienced and relatable conference speaker, author and trainer who has been with Hope for the Heart since 2011. Currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Ministry Operations, she began her journey within the organization by working in onsite counseling programs before transitioning to international ministry, where she has provided training in over 35 countries. In her role, Haley oversees various initiatives, fosters partnerships, coordinates resources, and delivers fundamental counseling, coaching and care ministry training for church leaders and parachurch organizations globally. Additionally, she co-hosts the acclaimed podcast, Hope Talks, where she shares practical insights on discovering hope amidst everyday challenges. Haley holds a degree in Communications from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Counseling from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is deeply passionate about connecting those in distress with hope in Christ and applying God’s Word to their daily lives. To learn more about Haley, go to hopefortheheart.org Or you can learn about the upcoming conference at hopetogether.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Rob Rene is a faith-driven entrepreneur who turned personal struggle into a movement. After years of chronic fatigue and dead-end solutions, Rob founded Exodus Strong—blending Biblical wisdom with cutting-edge science to restore vitality. With a knack for business and a passion for ministry, he’s now equipping Christian communicators to fund their missions while sparking 1 million new Bible readers through better health. To learn more about Rob and Exodus Strong, go to exodusstrong.com. You can also request a sample at exodusstrong.com/free He will soon be launching his biohacking website at biohackingville.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Since January 1993, Dean Sikes has dedicated himself to spreading messages of hope, traveling extensively to high schools, Teen Challenge Centers, and prisons across the United States and internationally. To date, he has participated in over 4,200 events, delivering the empowering “You Matter” message to millions of teenagers. In addition to his outreach initiatives, Dean hosts YOU MATTER Television, a national broadcast, and engages with tens of millions on social media annually. As a published author, he has written thirty-two books that serve as invaluable resources for teenagers and their families. Dean resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with his wife, Lori, and their children. To learn more about Dean, see youmatter.us or you can get his latest book, "You Matter," here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week's podcast comes from this blog post on C15:0. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Alemu Beeftu, Founder and President of Gospel of Glory, has traveled globally for decades, training and equipping Christian leaders to foster sustainable societal changes for the kingdom of God. Dr. Beeftu has a passion for training pastors, business professionals and politicians to develop national leadership infrastructures. He presently concentrates on transformational leaders of various ages, who have the calling, gifting, and character to foster sustainable societal change for the Kingdom of God. Dr Beeftu earned a BA from Biola University and a Masters and Doctoral Degree in Curriculum Design and Community Development from Michigan State University. With more than 40 years of experience in these and related fields, Dr. Beeftu has become an accomplished and sought-after leadership trainer. He has also continued to provide leadership worldwide for the body of Christ for over fifty-five years. He, his wife Genet and their family make their home in Corinth, Texas. To learn more about Dr Beeftu and his ministry, see goglory.org You can find his latest book, "Divine Dialogues," anywhere books are sold. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today's podcast comes from this blog post, "Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) Benefits: Natural Immune Modulator for Inflammation" Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. David Cooper serves as the Lead Pastor of Mount Paran Church of God in Atlanta, Georgia, with 13,000 members. He is a noted author, therapist and recording musician. He serves as adjunct instructor for Southeastern University, Richmont University, and other institutions on leadership, Christian counseling, preaching and pastoral ministry. He holds a graduate degree in Counseling from the University of Georgia and a doctoral degree from Erskine Seminary. He is a licensed professional counseling with the state of Georgia. His newest book, “Armageddon Approaching,” releases on July 29th. To learn more about Pastor Cooper, you can follow him on social media as Pastor David Cooper, visit his church website at www.mountparan.com, or get a copy of his book, "Armageddon Approaching," here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today's podcast comes from this blog post: Beyond NSAIDs: Natural Inflammation Resolution with SPMs Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Beatty Carmichael is a business strategist and author who bridges science and the spiritual realm to help people experience breakthrough. He’s the founder of Agent Dominator, a gifted Bible teacher who teaches deep Bible truths in an easy-to-understand manner, author of five books, and creator of a research-based prayer process that’s helped many find freedom from pain, anxiety, and addiction—often in just days. His book, The Prayer of Freedom, outlines how spiritual laws (based on James 5:16) govern healing and personal transformation. He and his wife have three adult children. To learn more about Beatty or to get a copy of his book, go to theprayeroffreedom.com 
 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Brad Johnson is a Writer and Psychology Professional who specializes in coaching urban Christians how to healthily progress in their career and communication. Using the pen name BJ Communicates, he releases music, podcasts, books, and digital platform shows aimed at inspiring and encouraging urban people. Brad’s newest book release, "Hard Conversations Book II: Over & Over," hit shelves on July 1, 2025. It’s the follow-up to his impactful first book, "Hard Conversations: Book 1 – Breadcrumbs to the Past" — an inspirational urban fiction story that invites readers to confront trauma, rediscover their identity, and lean into grace and restoration. To learn more about Dr Johnson, you can find him on any social media platform under BJ Communicates. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Rebecca Corwin is a former university professor andRegistered Dietitian Nutritionist with a successful career inresearch and education. She earned degrees in education,clinical dietetics, behavioral sciences, and biopsychology,completing postdoctoral training at Cornell University andthe NIH. Over 23 years at Penn State, she rose to fullProfessor in Nutritional Sciences, published 59 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters, and mentoredstudents at all levels. Though an agnostic for much of herlife, she became a passionate follower of Christ in 2006,dedicating herself to studying, teaching, and writing aboutHis Word. Dr. Corwin now serves in multiple leadership roleswithin her church and recently published Arise and Eat!, herfirst full-length book. To learn more about Dr Corwin, go to ariseandeat.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Almost every Christian denomination accepts that God is sovereign--which is interpreted to mean that He always does precisely what He pleases, and everything that happens on earth has either His explicit or implicit stamp of approval. So when we find ourselves in a crisis--we or someone we love gets a terminal diagnosis, or we don't have enough money to make the mortgage and may lose the house, or we're in the direct path of a natural disaster, etc--we pray for a miracle, because we all know that God can do anything He wants. And who knows? Maybe He'll say yes. But if He says no, the common theology goes, it's because He sees the bigger picture. He knows more than we do, and we have to just trust that He knows best. That sounds so spiritual, doesn't it? Some believers manage to weather these trials of faith, pointing to Job as their example, when he said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21) and "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15). (One side note. When you hear of a great saint who loses everything and yet clings to their trust in God anyway, certain that He has a greater purpose for their loss, does that inspire you to praise God--or to praise that great saint? Who actually receives the glory for that?) This theology has its roots in Calvinism, which espouses an extreme form of predestination (meaning that God chooses whether each of us will ultimately be saved, or damned, before we're ever born. He has to do this, they argue, because it is God who gives us the faith even to be saved, Eph 2:8-9, and if He withholds that faith, salvation for that individual is impossible.) So God, in this theological persuasion, decides a priori who will be saved and who will not, and then punishes those to whom He has not given the faith to be saved for their sins. They do have scriptures to back up their argument--if you take them out of context. One of the big ones is Romans 9:18-21, which says: "Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?' But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?'" In this passage, Paul was comparing Israel's hardness of heart in rejecting the Messiah to Pharaoh from the time of the Exodus (Romans 9:15-17). The reason it took ten plagues and the decimation of Egypt for Pharaoh to finally release the Israelites was because Pharaoh's heart was hardened, far beyond reason. Paul's point in this passage was that God did this so that He could display His power to the Israelites, delivering them with great signs and wonders (Romans 9:17). If Pharaoh hadn't resisted, it would not have taken great miracles to do it. (In the same way, Paul argues, the fact that Israel had rejected Jesus gave the Lord the opportunity to bring the Gentiles in to the New Covenant, too.) But if God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, is Pharaoh still responsible for his own actions? If we go back to the original source text, we can see that this isn't quite the whole story. God did tell Moses in advance that He would harden Pharaoh's heart before the plagues ever began (Ex 4:21, 7:3). But for the first five plagues, Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, 9:7). It was only by the sixth plague that the scripture says God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex 9:12). Pharaoh still made his own choice first; God just enforced it and used it for His own purposes. I love the analogy Charles Capps uses to explain this. If one sets clay and wax out in the hot sun, the sun will harden the clay, but melt the wax. The sun adds the same heat to both, but the substance (wax or clay) determines its effect. A potter chooses whether to make “noble or ignoble” vessels from clay not arbitrarily, but on the basis of the quality of the clay. If the clay is supple and pliable, it can be made into something beautiful; if it is brittle, it might not be fit to shape into something worthy of display. God works with what we give him. In the same way, in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), the sower sows the Word indiscriminately, but it is the condition of the soil that determines the harvest. Luke later writes that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), and Peter writes that He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9, more on this later). Likewise, any reasonable person would have been terrified into obedience by the plagues, long before they progressed to the death of the firstborn. And some of the Egyptians did believe and take refuge in Goshen, and the final exodus included “a mixed multitude” (Exodus 12:38), meaning some of the Egyptians were convinced, converted, and left with them. God gave the Egyptians the opportunity to escape the plagues that might otherwise have caused death, telling them to pull their livestock and their servants inside before the hail (Exodus 9:19), and to paint their doorposts with the blood of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:22-23), which was symbolic of and foreshadowing the blood of Christ. Again, the Lord is “not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He didn't want to harm the Egyptians, but neither did he want them to keep His people in bondage. So, did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Yes, but perhaps only in the sense that God performed the miracles, and Pharaoh’s heart was such that those miracles caused him to dig in his heels. We’ve all met stubborn people like this, with whom any direct attempt at persuasion will cause them to double down on their original position. God does not override our free will, so in this case, He worked with it, using it to His advantage. Our choices do matter. But He's so amazing that He takes those choices and still manages to work “all things together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). As a result of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, God’s people had a legacy of spectacular stories to remind their children and their children’s children of His might on their behalf. My point in saying all that is just that the argument that God sovereignly controls everything that happens is inconsistent with the overall teachings of scripture; even the individual verses that seem to suggest that don't stand up to scrutiny. But a larger problem is that, taken to its logical conclusion, the theological position that God's will is absolute, and will come to pass no matter what we do, leads to a sense of futility. Why pray--why even evangelize--if God is going to do what He's going to do, regardless? To their credit (though against logic), most Calvinist denominations recognize that the scriptures are very clear that we should still both evangelize and pray, and they therefore preach that we should do both, just because God said we should. (Sort of the equivalent of a parent saying, "Because I said so, that's why!") But historically, many Protestant denominations stemmed from or were heavily influenced by Calvinist doctrine. As a result, until about the late 18th and early 19th century, almost all missionary activity around the world came from the Catholic church, which I suspect was precisely because it held no doctrine of predestination, so they thought their efforts could make an eternal difference. Motivation matters. (Protestant missions largely date back to William Carey's work in India in 1793. The London Missionary Society was founded two years later, in 1795, and in 1810, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was founded.) Even if we're not ultimately each predestined for heaven or hell, God is still sovereign, though, right? He knows way more than we do. So doesn't that mean sometimes He'll say no to our prayer requests, and when we all get to heaven, we'll understand why? Yes, God is sovereign in the sense that He is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing, but He is not all-controlling (and I covered this extensively in this podcast https://www.drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/why-bad-things-happen-from-a-biblical-perspective on why bad things happen, from a biblical perspective). God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; they did anyway. Was that God's will? Certainly not! He did everything He could to keep them from doing it, short of making them automatons, when He told them, don't do it. Likewise, any sovereign can set laws that his citizens may not necessarily obey. The US is a sovereign nation and in 1974 the administration set the "National Maximum Speed Law" of 55mph. But many drivers exceeded that speed limit daily. The New English Translation has the word “sovereign” appear more than any other biblical translation (368 times). Not one of the original Hebrew or Greek words connotes the idea that He controls everything that happens. Most of the time, "sovereign" is just the way they render God’s names. The word sovereign is often translated from Shaddai (meaning Almighty) when it’s part of God’s name (48 times in the OT). Other times it’s translated from ‘elohiym: supreme God, as a superlative, or ‘elyown, meaning High or Most High. Sometimes it's thrown in as part of the transition of ‘Adonay: an emphatic form of the Lord. Sometimes it's translated from tsaba’, also translated the Lord of Hosts, meaning one who commands an army. In some cases the word sovereign is used to describe God's characteristics, but in context, it doesn't mean what we typically mean by the word (that His will always happens). The NET version of 1 Chronicles 29:11 says, "O LORD, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all." Only this translation uses the word sovereign; the others , translate it Head. This word connotes the idea of a supreme ruler, but not of one who always gets His way. Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield (magen: shield, buckler, protector).” The same verse is translated in NET: "For the LORD God is our sovereign protector." Clearly the word magen does not indicate that He always gets His way, either. Sovereign power is also translated as holiness from qadash: "to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate." This word is used in Ezekiel 28:25: "'This is what the sovereign LORD says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power (or holiness) over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob." It doesn't mean supreme dictator there either. Micah 5:4 says, "He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the LORD's strength, by the sovereign authority of the LORD his God. They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored even in the distant regions of the earth.” Sovereign authority here is the words ga'own (exaltation, majesty, pride) shem (name, reputation, fame, glory): thus, it's better translated “in the majesty of the name” of the Lord. Not a supreme dictator there either. Habakkuk 2:14 says, "For recognition of the LORD's sovereign majesty will fill the earth just as the waters fill up the sea." Sovereign majesty here is yada (to know, to perceive, to make known) kabowd (glory, honour, glorious, abundance), also translated “for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.” Still not indicating ultimate control over everything that happens. Of course God's will does not always come to pass. As I mentioned earlier, the classic example of this is 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance,” and 1 Timothy 2:4: “[He] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Matthew 18:14 also says, “Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world, not just those who are saved. 1 John 2:2 says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world”, and 1 Tim 4:10 says, "That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” This doesn't sound like a God who created anyone for the expressed purpose of eternal damnation to me. On the contrary, He did everything He could possibly do to save us all, short of making us automatons. But not everybody will be saved, because He doesn't force us to choose Him--nor does He make any of our other decisions for us, either. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." God wills it; He paid an enormous price for it; but He won't get all of us, because we get a choice. There are other verses that imply the concept of sovereignty as we typically define it (in the sense that when God decides to do something, He does it, and no one can stop Him). Here are a few of those verses: Job 42:2: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Isaiah 46:10: “I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” Romans 8:28: “All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” (i.e. He can use bad and work it for good.) But these verses refers to God’s right and His power -- they say nothing about voluntary restrictions that God has placed upon His own power. Those limitations are defined by the covenants God had in place with mankind at various points in history. Once He gives His word that He will do this and not that, He cannot violate it--He exalts His word even above His name (Psalm 138:2). It's the integrity of His word that literally holds the universe together (Hebrews 1:3). Again, more on this in this podcast: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/why-bad-things-happen-from-a-biblical-perspective and extensively more in "Blood Covenant Origins" and "Blood Covenant Fulfilled" from this book series: https://www.drlaurendeville.com/books/biblical-retellings). A quick overview, though: since God gave the earth to man in the garden, and man decided to obey Satan, God had to find a legal entry to get back in. That was the purpose of the covenants—first the Adamic, then the Noahic, then the Abrahamic, then the Mosaic, and now finally, the New Covenant. In the middle three there were stipulations of what we had to do, and therefore what God would do for us, if we kept up our end. But there were provisions for blessings even in those. For instance, a common Old Testament example I've heard preached to back up the idea that we never know what God's going to do, but we should have faith in Him anyway, is Daniel 3:18. Here's how that verse is preached: "If you throw us into the fiery furnace, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not save us, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." Except that's not what that verse actually says. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego, the Hebrew kids in Babylonian exile in that story, were under the Mosaic covenant, and they were on the right side of it--so they had a right to the blessings (Deut 28:7), and they knew it. They knew God’s promises. That’s why they were able to stand up to the king—just like David could call Goliath that “uncircumcised Philistine,” absolutely convinced of the outcome, because he had a covenant, and Goliath didn’t. In the story in Daniel, what the verse actually says is, “If you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” The Jewish captives respond saying, “If that is the case” (implying, if you will throw us in to the furnace, the subject of the previous verse). Then they say, “But if not”—and the Hebrew never qualifies if not what. People tend to assume they are saying “but if God doesn’t deliver us” (the end of the previous thought). But it could just as easily have meant, “If it is not the case that you will throw us into the fiery furnace,” just like it did in previous verse. This would change the entire meaning of the verse, and would be far more consistent with the rest of scripture. I can think of no instances anywhere in scripture where someone put faith in God’s covenant promises, and God did not come through. He can’t not come through—because again, He exalts His word above His very name (Ps 138:2)! In the New Covenant, Jesus paid to make sure we are always on the blessing side, having fulfilled the law perfectly on our behalf, and become the curse for us (Gal 3:13). Because of that, every single promise is now Yes and Amen in Him (2 Cor 1:20). When Christ saved us, the word in Greek is sozo—that word appears 110 times in the New Testament. It includes spiritual salvation, but it also means physical healing, to rescue from physical danger, and to deliver from the penalties of judgment. All of these things are accessed by faith. Scripture doesn’t say that sometimes God says no to physical healing; on the contrary, every time someone came to Jesus for healing, they got it—and He was the exact image of the Father (Col 1:15), doing nothing but what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). He turned no one away, saying, “Nope, this one is God’s will for you, to bring glory to Himself.” What brings God glory is healing, not sickness (John 9:1-4), and the “fruit” of answered prayers (John 15:7-8). It’s the blessings of God on our lives that are supposed to get the attention of the world around us. So back to the issue of praying for miracles. The theological position of most Christian denominations is that God can do anything, but there’s no guarantees that He will. Because of course, we can look around and see so many good Christians (some of the best!) who pray, and don’t seem to receive. What are we to do with that? Shouldn’t we adjust our theology to account for all of these practical examples… no matter what the Bible actually says? My dad died of cancer when he was 48 years old. We had lots of people praying. I had several well-meaning believers after the fact try to console me with the idea that God “allowed” this to happen for some inscrutable reason of His own… maybe someone might come to the Lord as a result of our loss, someone suggested. (What actually happened was that I became a religious Pharisee for about 10 years, going through the motions, but I didn’t trust God at all. I figured, based on that theology, that God was like an army general who made sacrifices for the greater good, and sometimes—sorry!—it’s you. The effect on the rest of my family's faith and outlook on the world was similar to mine, or worse.) All of that is predictable in hindsight, because cancer and death are the fingerprints of the Enemy, not of God. The Enemy comes to “steal, kill, and destroy”—Jesus came that we might “have life, and have it more abundantly.” It’s very clear who does what. But the vast majority of the body of Christ today preaches this confused theology, attributing horrific things to God under the strange explanation that because God’s ways are higher than our ways, somehow from His perspective, bad is good, and wrong is right, and once we all get to heaven, we’ll understand. (No wonder I didn’t trust God anymore when I believed this. How could I trust a God like that?) I get why the Church at large preaches this—they’re trying to make the Bible fit our experience. God's supreme sovereignty is a nice, spiritual-sounding explanation which borrows from the long Calvinistic tradition, even if we don't take it quite to that extreme (though some denominations still do even that). But what finally set me free was when I realized that God’s definition of good and mine are actually the same. That my dad’s death at such a young age was never His will. That how God dealt with mankind at various times in history was dependent upon the covenants in place at the time--and today, we're under the best covenant of all, the one where all the curses for disobedience are paid for in full, and all that's left is the blessing, which we can receive by faith. Here's what that doesn't mean: it doesn't mean that faith is a new form of works, that God now watches to see if we reach the critical threshold of faith before He doles out our miracle... and if we don't quite get there, ah, too bad, try harder next time. No! He's not responding in real time to our faith at all, deciding which requests to grant and which to refuse. God already provided every blessing in spiritual form in Christ’s atonement, 2000 years ago (Gal 1:3, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24). We receive all of those blessings now the same way we receive salvation: by faith. It's "in your account" already, as it were, just waiting for you to make a withdrawal--just like salvation is freely available, waiting for you to accept it. But God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). He doesn’t sovereignly say yes to one person and no to another for things that we know are in His will—if we know that we’re asking for something already in His explicit will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, we know we already have the requests made of Him (1 John 5:14-15). (That is the key, though--we can only have faith that we'll receive things that were already paid for in the atonement of Jesus. We can ask God for other things outside of that, but in those cases, God might say yes, or He might say no, for our own good--James 4:3. So it's quite useful to know scripture, so you can know for sure what you can stand on!) Back to my dad, and so many others besides. At that time, my family didn’t know any of this. We thought, we should pray, we should ask, and maybe God will say yes and maybe He will say no. But that’s not faith—that’s hope. And God didn’t say no—He said yes, 2000 years ago! Jesus paid an incredibly high price for God to say yes. Jesus also gave us the formula of how to receive in Mark 11:23-24: believe, and don’t doubt. If you do that, it’s as good as done. Unopposed faith (without doubt, James 1:6-8) is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). It’s cruel to tell people that they didn’t receive their miracle because they didn’t believe hard enough, or pray long enough, though. But the solution to that isn’t to blame God’s “sovereignty” instead! (That’s how people lose their faith—who wants to serve a God whom they believe “allowed” the Holocaust, or 9-11, or child trafficking, or etc to happen?) Rather, the solution is to understand that we’re in a war, and that Satan is seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). While he’s a defeated foe ever since the cross (Col 2:15), and we now have authority over him through Jesus (Matt 28:18, Eph 1:17-19), most of us don’t know it. We don’t know that, with the authority we now have, Satan’s only weapon against believers now is deception and fear (2 Cor 10:3-5)—and of course anything he can indirectly control against us that is part of the fallen world. But Jesus has already overcome the world on our behalf (John 16:33). And understanding God’s perfect love for us casts out fear (James 4:18). Because if He loves us enough to send Jesus, how will He not also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32)? But most of us are so focused on what we see, on the things this world says, that a cancer diagnosis, for example (or any other terminal doctor’s report, or insurmountable financial problem, etc), strikes fear into our hearts. Whatever we focus on, we magnify—and if we’re in a church that tells us maybe God will come through and maybe He won’t (for things that He’s explicitly promised in His word), then we’re standing on shifting sand. It’s hard enough to deal with our own doubt and unbelief, without being surrounded by the doubt and unbelief of others. But absolute trust God’s word—even if it means isolating ourselves from well-meaning believers who might cause us to doubt—is the only way. Jesus on numerous occasions got away from the crowds or put everyone out of the house except for his few top disciples before he performed a miracle. Abraham received because he did not consider anything except God’s promises (Romans 4:19). He didn’t have a contingency plan (or at least he didn’t anymore after the whole Ishmael thing was out of the way). Because he didn’t consider any of the natural circumstances, he didn’t waver in his faith. In the same way, today, our lack of fear of Satan’s schemes is proof to him that we’re going to win (Phil 1:28)—and if we stand firm (Eph 6:13-14) and resist the devil, sooner or later, he has to flee (James 4:7). We’ll win, if we don’t quit. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Eric Osansky is a chiropractor, clinical nutritionist, and a certified functional medicine practitioner who has been helping people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions since 2009. He is the author of the books "Natural Treatment Solutions for Hyperthyroidism and Graves' Disease", "The Hyperthyroid Healing Diet", and "Hashimoto's Triggers", is the host of the Save My Thyroid podcast, and the creator of the “Healthy Gut Healthy Thyroid” newsletter. Dr. Osansky was personally diagnosed with Graves’ disease, and after seeing how well a natural treatment approach helped with his condition, he began helping others with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions. To learn more about Dr Osansky, go to SaveMyThyroid.comor you can type in Save My Thyroid to any podcast player to find his podcast. You can check out his books here: "Natural Treatment Solutions for Hyperthyroidism and Graves' Disease" "The Hyperthyroid Healing Diet" "Hashimoto's Triggers" Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a Board-Certified Internal Medicine physician, work-life integration researcher, and the founder of Restorasis – a workplace wellbeing consulting agency. She is an international thought leader in her field and has been featured in numerous media outlets including Prevention, MSNBC, Women’s Day, FOX, Fast Company, Psychology Today, CNN, INC, and TED.com. She is the author of several books, including her bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, which explores the seven types of rest essential to optimizing productivity, increasing happiness, overcoming burnout, and living your best life. To date, over 250,000 people have discovered their personal rest deficits through her free assessment at RestQuiz.com. You can learn more about Dr. Saundra at DrDaltonSmith.com or at ichoosemybestlife.com. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. David Lipman owns Physical Evidence Chiropractic and is a seasoned chiropractic physician who has successfully treated thousands of patients. With a deep personal commitment to bio-optimization, Dr. Lipman has achieved extraordinary levels of strength, endurance, and overall health well into his 60s. His mission is to share the knowledge and processes that have profoundly benefited his life, helping others achieve optimal health and wellness. To learn more about Dr Lipman, visit physicalevidenceconnect.com or you can find him on Instagram and Facebook under @bocaratonchiropractor Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

God tells us not to be afraid BUT to trust Him--so fear and faith are opposites. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Josh 1:9). "Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you'" (Isaiah 35:4). "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10). "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you" (Isaiah 43:1-2). "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Tim 1:7). "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you" (Deut 31:6). "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1). "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears." (Ps 34:4). Faith (and trust) work through love, and when we understand His love, we cannot also fear (or doubt): "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32). "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18). "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). "...but faith work(s) through love" (Gal 5:6). "...cast(ing) all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Heb 11:6). "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Prov 3:5-6). If you REALLY believe that you have what you ask when you pray, there will be no fear... because you believe you already have it. "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (Matt 11:23-24). "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1). So you should be in rest, no matter what happens between when you ask and when you see it. Even if trials arise, you should still be in rest: "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work. that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:2-8). "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His" (Heb 4:9-10). When Satan comes to try to steal from you, resist: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you" (1 Peter 5:8-10). "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones" (Prov 3:7-8). "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore" (Eph 6:13-14). Lack of fear (and thus, faith) is evidence to Satan that you're going to win: "and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God" (Phil 1:28). "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." (1 John 5:4). If it's been a long time coming, do not give up: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life" (Prov 13:12). "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Gal 6:9). But instead, keep your eyes on the Lord, and not on your problem: David did this, when he encouraged himself in the Lord after Ziklag and his men threatened to stone him: 1 Sam 30:1-8 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matt 11:28-30, Msg translation) "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb 12:1-2). Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today's podcast comes from this blog post, Clostridia Overgrowth and Autism Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today's podcast comes from this blog post: Back Pain: Structural or Not? Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

John Veal is the Senior Pastor/Prophet of Enduring Faith Christian Center (non-denominational) in Chicago and the CEO of John Veal Ministries, Inc. He is passionate about pursuing God’s mandate to preach, teach and activate people within the prophetic. John is a regular contributor to Charisma Magazine Online, The Elijah List, IMAG, Spirit Fuel, Reformation Today and other publications. He’s been featured on various media outlets, including Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural, Elijah Streams, Glory Road TV and The Shaun Tabatt Show. Dr. Veal is a highly sought-after conference speaker due to his uncanny prophetic accuracy, humor, candor and unconventional preaching style. He has traveled the nations, presenting a myriad of prophetic training and ministry. He’s the recent author of "Destroying Demonic Tactics: 8 Supernatural Strategies to Defeat Satan’s Newest Schemes." John currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, Elisa, and their three children. To learn more about John, go to johnveal.org or you can learn more about his church at www.faith2endure.com You can get a copy of Destroying Demonic Tactics: 8 Supernatural Strategies to Defeat Satan’s Newest Schemes here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today's podcast comes from this blog post, The Cycle of Autonomic Dysfunction and Inflammation Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Jake Weidmann is a professional artist and is certified as one of only nine Master Penman in the world. He holds the title as the youngest Master Penman by three decades and is the youngest to ever attain the title. A few of Jake's peers (other Masters) have done work for the White House, Queen Elizabeth and even the Pope. His journey into calligraphy has been the "special sauce" for everything he now creates, incorporating the traditional calligraphic flourishing into his fine art. While he typically works with private clients, Jake has worked with Apple, Inc., Crossway Books, and Biola University and has spoken from countless stages including Tedx and Q and was featured on PBS Television. He is the author of "Old Soul, New Creation: Experiencing God Through a Life of Art & Faith". To learn more about Jake and his art, books, and other projects, go to jakeweidmann.com Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. William West, a Harvard and Johns Hopkins-trained oncologist and researcher, has advanced cancer care and research for over three decades. As a Christian and lifelong member of one of the largest Methodist Churches in the U.S., he has lectured for more than forty years on the myth of science and faith being at odds, believing they support one another and that science reveals God. His first book, Sacred Science: Understanding Divine Creation, releases April 11, 2025, from Post Hill Press. To learn more about Dr West, go to sacred.science, or you can purchase his book Sacred Science here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Born in the desert southwest and raised in a middle-class mining family, Walter Hill volunteered for the US Navy immediately after graduating high school. Deployments took him all over Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle-East. His natural gift for communicating faith emerged at this time. Following his honorable discharge, he was almost immediately engaged in full time ministry, both traveling and local. He was invited to lead his first congregation at the age of 28. It grew significantly and three other pastorates—and a church plant—followed. Now, with over 25 years of ministry experience navigating the trials and triumphs of faith, he is sharing some of the lessons he’s learned in joy and resilience. Through his thoughtful storytelling, Walter invites readers to rediscover hope, deepen their faith and embrace the abundant life Christ offers. He’s been happily married for 34 years and has two adult children and one grandchild. Walter resides in Casper, Wyoming. To learn more about Walt, see walterhill.net or you can find his book, "Amazed Again" on Amazon here. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Drs. Mark Sherwood, and Michele L. Neil-Sherwood are the powerhouse team behind Tulsa’s Functional Medical Institute, where they’re revolutionizing wellness with a whole-person, comprehensive results-driven approach. Their mission is to empower people to overcome self-imposed health challenges and break free from unnecessary medications. Best-selling authors, national TV personalities, and filmmakers, they’ve inspired millions with their dynamic message of true healing. With groundbreaking health products like Kingdom Fuel & Kingdom Krunch, plus their global reach and influence, Drs. Mark and Michele are redefining what it means to live well and thrive. To learn more about Dr Mark, to go sherwood.tv Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.