Gobsmacked By Grace

With so much talk --and fear -- over the Coronavirus, how important to turn to a timeless Biblical story from 2 Kings that teaches an effective way to pray whenever we feel surrounded by danger and instead see we are surrounded by God’s love and grace.

How can such a small conjunction, ‘but’, make such a huge difference in meaning? Whether digging into the Bible or trying to be a good manager giving feedback, this tiny word can either unintentionally erase what has gone before or importantly shift thought to new possibilities.     

Our figurative ‘bus’ heads for Capernaum, exploring the house of Peter as well as the synagogue location where Jesus preached from the Isaiah scroll. Capernaum is at the northwestern part of the Sea of Gennesaret (or Sea of Galilee).  Nearby is Tagbha where the multiplication of the loaves and fishes took place.  Finally, we visit Ginosar, the site of the ancient fishing boat pulled from the Sea recently, and end with a boat ride on the Lake.

This episode opens in Tiberius where many tourists love to stay while visiting the Galilee for several days.  The events that center around this most famous lake of Christianity, the Sea of Galilee, fill the Gospels.  We explore Caesarea Philippi where Jesus clarifies his identity with his disciples, and the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus gave his most famous sermon, another seminal New Testament event.

This next travel episode starts with ancient Megiddo, the Biblical sight where Revelation’s author believes a final battle between good and evil will occur – at Armageddon.  Then to Nazareth, where Jesus was raised, and on to Cana where the water turned into wine. 

Suppose you’re about to land at the Tel Aviv airport and want to tour Biblical sites throughout Israel?  These next few podcasts are an itinerary I know well and highly recommend.  This episode covers ancient Joppa where Peter realized inclusion, not exclusion, is needed, through Caesarea Marittima and up to Mt. Carmel near Haifa.

Ephesus was one of the great Apostle’s favorite places, and where he worked, taught and spoke truth to power.  Consider how he can be a leadership role model and what his background did to uniquely qualify him to answer a hypothetical ‘want ad’ from God.

What does gold, “Seven Days in Utopia” and the book of Acts have to do with one another?  This episode explores discipleship and apostleship, the difference and which one might matter for you through the lens of contemporary film and the dramatic events in Acts of the Apostles and how they unfold. 

This podcast is a dive into one of Jesus’ earliest experiences: the wilderness temptations and how he chose to respond.  And so are we choosing how to respond in every situation -- as Nelson Mandela learned and demonstrated.

We look at the Biblical account of Daniel’s three young friends who ended up in a fiery furnace, yet not even ‘the smell of smoke’ was on them when they were released.  Is that possible today? How do we apply it to very real challenges such as the physical and emotional fires around us?

How Jesus’ disciple, Simon Peter, has his own breakthrough about inclusion and exclusion and what it can teach us in these times of such a political divide.  This podcast looks at how our spiritual evolution can bring us to a place that gives much more peace and calm.

How to apply the principles of Marie Kondo’s system of cleaning out and discarding to our thinking in order to make room for the new and more important ideas we need. This podcast episode looks at two Bible stories that reveal how timeless these principles are.

Here is one of Jesus’ lesser-known parables that is a bit tricky, about workman and the wages they’re paid.  It sounds very economic, but it’s more about a kind of divine version of equality of opportunity.