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Send us a textPart 2 of 2We're back with Part 2 of our fascinating conversation with Phanish Puranam, Professor of Strategy and Organizational Design at INSEAD.In this episode, we explore the next frontier: how intelligent algorithms don't just support organizations—they shape them. From AI ethics and algorithmic bureaucracy to the future of human-AI teams, universal income, and debunking myths, Phanish offers a provocative look at how organizations can—and should—adopt AI in a human-centric way.⏱️ Chapters00:12 – Algorithmic Bureaucracy01:23 – AI Ethics04:24 – Blockchain07:51 – AI as Team vs. Individual Agents11:59 – New Skills15:12 – Predictions & Universal Income17:20 – Adopting AI in a Human-Centric Way19:02 – AI Myths
Send us a textPart 2 of 2We're back with Part 2 of our fascinating conversation with Phanish Puranam, Professor of Strategy and Organizational Design at INSEAD.In this episode, we explore the next frontier: how intelligent algorithms don't just support organizations—they shape them. From AI ethics and algorithmic bureaucracy to the future of human-AI teams, universal income, and debunking myths, Phanish offers a provocative look at how organizations can—and should—adopt AI in a human-centric way.⏱️ Chapters00:12 – Algorithmic Bureaucracy01:23 – AI Ethics04:24 – Blockchain07:51 – AI as Team vs. Individual Agents11:59 – New Skills15:12 – Predictions & Universal Income17:20 – Adopting AI in a Human-Centric Way19:02 – AI Myths
This is part 2 of 2We join Top Chef Canada under a freeway and no one even offered us a hit. WTF? To watch this recap on video, listen to our White Lotus bonus episodes, and participate in live episode threads, go to Patreon.com/watchwhatcrappens. Tickets for the Mounting Hysteria Tour are now on sale at watchwhatcrappens.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
We noticed it was super busy around the building this morning - listeners messaged in what was going on but more specifically HOW MUCH it costs to participate!Bella Ramsey spoke to us about The Last Of Us season 2We spoke about day time tv shows you'd watch when you were home sick from schoolGavin (Gav) was todays player of FM104's Ins2grand Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
While Bill is on a research and writing sabbatical for the next 6 weeks we decided it's important to revisit the horrors we laid out in our Project 2025 podcast series, Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal – and tie them to what's actually happened so far. Chapter Two depicts the personal story of Eve, a nurse struggling with infertility, whose treatment is threatened by the new president's actions. The episode explores how the president's policies are impacting everyday Americans, particularly women and families, by interfering with reproductive freedom and the right to self-determination. The author of the serialized novel “2025,” upon which this podcast series is based, David Pepper, highlights how the fictional story is turning into fact, underscoring the very real and devastating consequences a second Trump term and the implementation of Project 2025 are having. You can read Chapter Two of David Pepper's “2025: A Novel” at davidpepper.substack.com/p/2025-a-novel-chapter-2We'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode. J. Smith Cameron read the chapter and audio finishing by Marilys Ernst. This series is produced by David Pepper, Melissa, Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman. Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and the Bill Press Pod.Today's Podcast is supported by The Ironworkers Union. More information at Ironworkers.orgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When Jesus faced the worst kind of suffering—betrayal, humiliation, torture, and death—He didn't focus only on the pain of the moment. Instead, He looked beyond it to what the suffering would produce: redemption, resurrection, and the salvation of many. He endured because of the joy set before Him.Hebrews 12:2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Join the Adult Bible Study: https://soulwinnerz.org/adultBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
To equip the Saints we apply Biblical truth, practical steps, and spiritual strength.Hebrews 12:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Join the Adult Bible Study: https://soulwinnerz.org/adultBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
What Significance Does 2038 Hold For Believers TS Wright part 2We first discussed this topic – way back in episodes 1354 and 1355…almost 300 episodes ago… praise God… That topic is “What Is the Significance of the Year 2038.” And our guest today, wants to remind everyone of that date – so much so – he incorporates into his email address… Scott Wright is back with us today – and today – we want to remind everyone of WHY he wants to remind everyone of the soon coming year, 2038. So, with that as the introduction, help me welcome back to the program, Scott Wright! Scott, can you believe the last time we talked about this was almost 300 episodes ago – way back in 2023…? Last time, as we concluded our interview – and you gave your email address, I mentioned that it had been awhile since we shared the meaning behind you including “2038” in your email… So – Let's review that information… I'll let you start by giving us your email address and then – you take it from there! Amen! CONTACT INFORMATION: Email: gccgodcenteredconcept2038@gmail.com Book: “God Centered Concept Journal: Making God's Word My Ways.” - on Amazon Podcast: The God Centered Concept _____________________________________________Check Out These Amazing LinksPastor Bob "HIGHLY" recommends "Captivate.FM" as YOUR podcast host! They have a lot of very helpful features (and more all the time) - and NO CHARGE for the features or upgrades!ModernIQs is a sponsor of the Kingdom Cross Roads Podcast Newsletter: Transform your creative workflow with ModernIQs! Explore AI-powered tools for content creation, from smart question generators to automated blog writers. Streamline and create with ease! Go to ModernIQs.com for more information!Grow your faith and your business with The Faith-Based Business Newsletter! Get practical tips, biblical insights, and strategies for success. Subscribe at FaithBasedBiz.Substack.com and tune in to the podcast at FaithBasedBusinessPodcast.com!Dive deep into biblical prophecy with Revelation Warning! Explore end-times insights, scriptural truths, and what they mean for today. Start your journey at RevelationWarning.com.Ready to share your faith and grow your business? Join FaithCaster Academy! Learn to create impactful podcasts that amplify your message. Start today at FaithCasterAcademy.com!
Power of Sin [Morning Devo]It's unlikely to achieve a sinless perfect life on this side of eternity, but we can experience increased victory over sin.1 John 3:2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
We will spend this Advent season studying the book of Malachi. Through Malachi, the Lord reproves and pursues his people - calling them to remember his covenant, seek him genuinely, and prepare for his coming. This week we look to Malachi 3:6-12.“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21We should give proportionally.On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper… 1 Corinthians 16:2 We should give sacrificially. …for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 2 Corinthians 8:2We should give cheerfully.Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7We should give locally. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Galatians 6:6 We should give generously. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share… 1 Timothy 6:18For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9Life Church exists to glorify God by making disciples who treasure Christ, grow together, and live on mission. Salisbury, NCFollow us online:lifechurchnc.comFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter
Anchor Passage: Luke 2:25-32; Hebrews 1:1-2We're all searching for direction and wisdom to help us through the complexities of life. Join us as we discover how Jesus is our perfect Prophet!First Time? Start Here: https://rock.marinerschurch.org/connectcardCan we pray for you? https://rock.marinerschurch.org/page/692You can find information for all our Mariners congregations, watch more videos, and learn more about us and our ministries on our website https://www.marinerschurch.org/---------------------------------------------------------------- FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marinerschurch • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marinerschurch • Twitter: https://twitter.com/marinerschurch • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinerschurch • Online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariners.online-------------------------------------------------------------------- Support the ministry and help us reach people worldwide: https://www.marinerschurch.org/give/Like podcasts? Check out more from Mariners Church https://www.marinerschurch.org/podcast-channels/
0:00 2008年英语专业四级 对话11:24 2008年英语专业四级 对话23:16 2008年英语专业四级 对话32008年英语专业四级 对话1Is that Anne Shaw?是安妮·肖吗？Yes,speaking.是的，请讲。Hello,it's Eric from London.你好，我是伦敦的埃里克。Hello,Eric. How can I help you?你好，埃里克。我能帮你什么吗?I'm fixing up our next project team meeting and I just wanted to check some possible dates with you.我正在安排下一个项目小组会议，我只是想和你核对一下可能的日期。Fine.Let me just get my diary. OK. Which dates are you looking at?很好。我去拿我的笔记本。好的。哪个日期比较方便呢？I've spoken to the others and they prefer either the third week of May or the second week of June.我和其他人谈过了，他们五月的第三周或六月的第二周是可以的。Yes,both those weeks are pretty clear at the moment, except for the eleventh of June.好的，除了6月11日，其他时间都可以。Right, I've got that.好的，我记下了。So,where's the meeting taking place this time?这次会议在哪里举行呢？It was going to be in London, but I spoke to Carlos in Mexico City and he suggested Chicago. He thinks it'll be more convenient for most of the team.本来要在伦敦，但我和墨西哥城的卡洛斯谈过，他建议去芝加哥。他认为这对团队的大多数人来说会更方便。He's probably right. It would certainly be much easier for me as well, because I can fly from Toronto. And I'm sure you could find a meeting room somewhere near the airport.他可能是对的。对我来说当然也容易多了，因为我可以从多伦多飞过来。我肯定你能在机场附近找到一个会议室。That's a good idea. I'll check out some hotels in that area and get back to you towards the end of the week.这是一个好主意。我会看一下那个地区的一些酒店，然后在周末之前给你回复。Fine,but I'm not in the office on Friday.好的，但是星期五我不在办公室。OK,I'll call you later in the afternoon on Thursday.好的，我周四下午晚些时候给你打电话。No problem. Bye!没问题。再见！2008年英语专业四级 对话2We're having a debate on advertising Thursday evening, and I have to take part.我们星期四晚上要进行广告辩论，我必须参加。That's interesting. I should like to hear what people think about advertising.这很有趣。我想听听人们对广告的看法。What's there to say? We must have advertising, mustn't we?我们一定要做广告，是吗?Why?为什么？Well,we wouldn't know what there was to buy if we didn't have advertisements.如果没有广告，我们就不知道要买什么。Yes,that's true, up to a point. Advertisements provide information that we need. If someone has produced a new article, naturally the seller wants to tell us about it.然而，在某种程度上，这是事实。广告提供我们需要的信息。如果有人生产了一个新物品，卖家自然会告诉我们。Yes,and the advertisements tell us which product is the best.是的，广告告诉我们哪个产品是最好的。Do they? I don't think so. Every manufacturer says that his product is the best,or at least tries to give the impression. Only one can be the best, so the others are misleading, aren't they?他们吗？我不这么想。每个制造商都说他的产品是最好的，或者至少是想给人留下好印象。只有一个是最好的，所以其他的都是误导，不是吗？Well,in a way, I suppose, but we don't have to believe them, do we?嗯，在某种程度上，我想，但我们不一定要相信他们，不是吗?Are you saying that advertisements aren't effective?你是说广告没有效果吗?I don't think that intelligent businessmen would spend millions of dollars on advertising if nobody believes the advertisements, do you?如果没有人相信这些广告，我不认为聪明的商人会在广告上花费数百万美元，你认为呢？Perhaps not, but after all, it's their money that they're spending.也许不是，但毕竟，他们花的是自己的钱。Is it? I think not. The cost of advertising is added to the price of the article.是吗？我认为不是。广告费用是加在商品价格上的。You and I and all the other people who buy the article pay for the advertising.你和我以及所有其他购买这个物品的人都要为广告付费。Well,I suppose we get something for our money-some information.好吧，我想我们的钱可以得到——一些信息。Yes, but don't forget it's often misleading information, and sometimes harmful.是的，但是不要忘记它经常是误导信息，有时是有害的。Harmful?有害的？What about advertisements designed to persuade young people to smoke cigarettes? Wouldn't you say they're harmful?说服年轻人吸烟而设计的广告怎么样？它们不是有害的吗？You've given me a lot to think about. I'm quite looking forward to the debate now!你告诉我的这些信息我需要好好消化一下。我现在不期待辩论了！2008年英语专业四级 对话3So Mr. Brown, this is your bed, and as you can see, there are three other beds in the ward. Have you got everything you need?布朗先生，这是你的床，正如你所看到的，病房里还有另外三张床。你需要的东西都准备好了吗?Yes,nurse, I think so. I followed the hospital's advice and I've only brought a few belongings with me.是的，护士，我想是的。我听从了医院的建议，只带了几件行李。Good,you can see the reasons why we ask you to do that. The cupboard is really very small.很好，你可以看到我们要求你这么做的原因。这个碗柜真的很小。Yes.Nurse, can you tell me what the visiting hours are?是的。护士，您能告诉我探病时间吗?Yes,of course. They're in the afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30 and in the evening from 7:00 to 8:00. But remember that only two people can see you at the same time.好的，当然。下午2：30到4：30，晚上7：00到8：00。但要记住，一次最多有两个人探病。I see. What other rules are there?我明白了。还有什么规则呢？Yes.We start pretty early. We wake you at 6:00 and breakfast is at 8:00; Lunch is at noon; there's tea at 3:30 and supper is at 6:00.是的。我们起床很早。我们6点叫醒你，8点吃早餐;正午吃午餐;下午三点半有茶，六点钟吃晚餐。Oh,that's very different from what I've been used to. You'd better tell me therest of the rules here.哦，这和我以前的习惯很不一样。你最好告诉我这里的其他规则。Yes.Well, you can see the no smoking sign. We don't allow smoking in the wards, and the same goes for alcohol. However, if you do need to smoke, there are special lounges.是的。嗯，你可以看到禁止吸烟的标志。我们不允许在病房吸烟，也不允许喝酒。然而，如果你确实需要吸烟，有专门的休息室。Oh, I don't smoke, so it doesn't affect me.哦，我不抽烟，所以对我没有什么影响。Good.真好。
Text: Hebrews 11:39-12:2We face many challenges as we walk with the Lord, sometimes we feel like throwing in the towel. The good word given us is to not grow weary but to keep moving - keep walking, keep serving, keep loving, keep worshiping. There is great joy set before us!
Believers respect and pray for those in authority, recognizing that God can work through governments to maintain order and justice. Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.org➡️ Support sOUL wINNERZ, Inc. (Tax-Deductible)Donate: https://soulwinnerz.org/DonateCash App: https://soulwinnerz.org/CashAppBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Absolute Power: Egypt's Mighty Warrior Pharaohs pt. 2We had to take time to answer a question from the fam."How far did the Kings rule outside the boundaries of Egypt?” Please use my Amazon Affiliates Link ➜ https://amzn.to/3UfbbHg
We are Myriam & Elyse, your Book Bound Besties! Follow along as we dive deep into your favourite books, have unhinged chats, and theorize about what's to come.This week we are introducing our book for Season 4, A Kingdom of Flesh and FireWe read some sweet messages from out Bestie communityElyse's is back on the tandem read *rejoice!*Elyse asks the unanswered questions she hopes to answer in book 2We read the synopsis for the bookWe give a run down of season 4Check out Smoke Show Sauce and use code BBB15 at checkout for a 15% discount off your purchase.https://smokeshowsauce.com/Support our show through our Amazon shop!https://www.amazon.ca/shop/bookboundpod?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_aipsfbookboundpod_87KHZB6H05FBE71S95E5 Thank you for listening! Please rate this podcast and leave a review, it'll help other people find us. Don't forget to send this podcast to your book besties :) Instagram @bookboundpod Tiktok @bookboundbesties Youtube @BookBoundBestiesIf you have any questions, comments or feedback email us at bookboundpod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Respect must be given to other adults, including school authorities.Titus 3:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.org➡️ Support sOUL wINNERZ, Inc. (Tax-Deductible)Donate: https://soulwinnerz.org/DonateCash App: https://soulwinnerz.org/CashAppBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Maintaining an eternal perspective in our thinking.Colossians 3:2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.org➡️ Support sOUL wINNERZ, Inc. (Tax-Deductible)Donate: https://soulwinnerz.org/DonateCash App: https://soulwinnerz.org/CashAppBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Welcome to the Kids Ministry and Leadership Podcast. This month we are delving deep into what an Outcome Based Ministry looks like and how it can bring tangible outcomes. Show notes for this ep will be below.Check us out!WebsiteInstagramThe OneHope framework consists of five crucial steps: Discover, Design, Do, Document, and Dream. Matthew 7:16.1. DiscoverEffective ministry begins with having a crystal-clear understanding of reality. We need to put on the hat of a learner and start asking questions. Proverbs 4:7We must use various methods such as formal or informal inquiries, collecting qualitative or quantitative information, or consulting primary or secondary sources. Proverbs 18:172. DesignNext, we move to Design. This step envisions what a church or ministry worker should do and what Kingdom change should happen.It is our chance to solve the issues identified in the Discover phase. Proverbs 29:18We need to put on our thinking hats together with a good team, bringing key partners and influencers to the table. Our aim is to design solutions that lead to action. As we plan, we remember Proverbs 16:3.For example, based on our earlier discovery, we could design a mentorship program for at-risk youth, with specific goals for academic improvement, character development, and spiritual growth. Good design always leads to action.3. DoThe third step is Do, which means implementing the designed program effectively and efficiently. James 1:22This is our chance to try our solutions: to execute our plans and allow real members of our ministry groups to interact with our designs, programs, and products.The Church exists to make disciples and elevate the Gospel. We must not be afraid to try new ideas and new ways of doing things, as Psalm 96:1.In our example, we would implement the mentorship program with weekly sessions, incorporating tutoring, life skills workshops, and spiritual guidance. Matthew 28:194. DocumentThe fourth step is Document. Documenting is crucial for evaluating fruitfulness.We want to keep track of our progress to evaluate where we have succeeded and where we have opportunities to improve. Habakkuk 2:2We need to collect data on participation, engagement, and progress towards goals. Peter Drucker once said, 'What gets measured, gets done.'If transformation is our pursuit, we should look to document and measure indicators that show evidence of transformation.For instance, we might document improvements in the youths' academic performance and collect personal testimonies of life changes. Matthew 7:16 I love the quote “It doesn't take a leader to start something but rather a leader to STOP something”. This all comes about as we document and see if what we thought was the solution actually is working.5. DreamFinally, we come to Dream. Dreaming is looking to the future.After assessing our progress in the Document stage, dreaming allows us to imagine more solutions and more ways to impact lives.Jeremiah 29:11We need to identify what needs to change or be dropped in our ministry approach and shape the future through continuous improvement. Ephesians 3:20.For example, based on the success of our mentorship program, we could dream of expanding it to additional communities and incorporating new elements such as career counselling and family support."By following these steps, we ensure our ministry efforts are purposeful, impactful, and continually evolving to meet the needs of those we serve.Consider these questions:How are you pursuing outcomes? In what areas is your ministry bearing fruit? What transformations are you measuring?
Michael Vaughn thinks dads need to step upA Fresh Story Podcast, season 9, episode 2We chatted with Michael Vaughn, also known as World Shaker, to explore the complexities of family, fatherhood, and finding unexpected connections. Michael shares his journey of discovering a family secret that profoundly altered his family dynamics. We dive into the importance of open communication and the emotional challenges of navigating such revelations, emphasizing empathy and understanding in the face of complex family dynamics.Michael also discusses his journey to fatherhood, detailing the preparations for his daughter's birth and the emotional highs and lows that came with it. From building the crib to creating a birthing plan, Michael reflects on the challenges and joys of becoming a parent, particularly during the unique circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He stresses the importance of maintaining open communication with his partner throughout pregnancy and labor, and offers insights into what to expect during labor and delivery.Additionally, Michael opens up about his unexpected journey into TikTok, where he found a supportive community of parents. This episode highlights the power of online communities in providing connection and support, and explores how personal interests like Dungeons & Dragons influence Michael's parenting style. We discuss breaking negative family patterns, the significance of positive male role models, and the value of building a robust support network, including stepfathers and extended family, to navigate life's challenges successfully. Michael's story underscores how sharing personal experiences can foster community and support.Michael's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldshaker/Michael's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@world.shakerMentioned in this episode:Join the Fresh Starts Collective!Whether you're an ambitious entrepreneur, a dedicated student, a heads down writer or simply striving to achieve your professional goals, the Fresh Starts Collective is here for you. We believe that surrounding yourself with a supportive community can be the key to unlocking your full potential. The Fresh Starts Collective offers daily community gathering - whether it's VirtualCo-Working and Body Doubling, Open Office Hours or Accountability Hour - community support and growth, networking opportunities and access to marketing, design and writing professionals to bounce ideas off of, pick the brains of or crowd source some ideas. The Fresh Starts Collective is $35/month.Fresh Starts CollectiveBecome a Fresh Starts Expert!What is the Fresh Starts Expert Membership? The Fresh Starts Expert Membership is a business membership for entrepreneurs, experts, and small business owners to support them in business development, marketing efforts, public relations, networking, and community engagement. The membership includes a standalone profile on Fresh Starts Registry's website, weekly virtual coworking, open hours business coaching, and accountability groups, as well as exclusive press and media opportunities, workshops, seminars, a content and video library of resources, a podcast episode, and so much more. Membership is $55/month. Fresh Starts Registry is the first and only support registry platform for people to access the items and experts they need during life transitions. Fresh Starts has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Today Show, and more. It was founded in 2021 by sisters Olivia Dreizen Howell and Genevieve Dreizen. Who can be an expert? An expert is simply a small business owner, freelancer, entrepreneur, solopreneur, writer, creator, podcaster - or more! See HERE for a list of potential expert...
Find others who are godly to help bear the burden.Galatians 6:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgDonate: https://soulwinnerz.org/DonateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
God will meet your needs through these difficult days. Run to God for help.Psalm 91:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgDonate: https://soulwinnerz.org/DonateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Psalm 130: Waiting for Divine Redemption: A Song of Ascents; 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Ephesians 4:25-5:2We light this flame to remind us: love is the center. As we grow and connect, mature and deepen: love remains the center. When the light of truth burns all else away: love remains.-Eric Hepburn
The group makes their way from Tharbad down to Lond Daer in this episode.Between Chapters 1 & 2We are playing The One Ring 2nd Edition campaign Tales from the Lone-LandsCharactersLofar Sturnstone, Dwarf of Durin's Folk - played by MattBungarian Sandheaver, Hobbit of Bree - played by AllenThe Widow, Wild man of the Wood - played by JonFinrod, High Elf of Rivendale - played by Jesse
Having spent a bit of time in Bree the group sets out south for Lond Daer!Between Chapters 1 & 2We are playing The One Ring 2nd Edition campaign Tales from the Lone-LandsCharactersLofar Sturnstone, Dwarf of Durin's Folk - played by MattBungarian Sandheaver, Hobbit of Bree - played by AllenThe Widow, Wild man of the Wood - played by JonFinrod, High Elf of Rivendale - played by Jesse
Psalm 22:1-5This psalm begins abruptly, with a disturbing scene: someone who knows and trusts God is forsaken, and cries out to God in agony.David Guzik“How do you continue to walk with God when you don't feel His presence and it feels like He isn't with you?”THE WALL.What is The Wall?What is important here is to note that the trials we encounter each day are not the Wall or “dark night of the soul.” Trials are traffic jams, annoying bosses, delayed airplay departures, car breakdowns, fevers, and barking dogs in the middle of the night.Peter ScazzeroJOHN OF THE CROSS PHOTO*continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.Philippians 2:12b-13Wilderness seasons don't purify us from sin, Jesus already did that. It's done. It is finished.“DARK”How do we know we are in “the dark night”? Our good feelings of God's presence evaporate. We feel the door of heaven has been shut as we pray. Darkness, helplessness, weariness, a sense of failure or defeat, barrenness, emptiness, dryness descends upon us. The Christian disciplines that have served us up to this time “no longer work.” We can't see what God is doing and we see little visible fruit in our lives.Peter Scazzero“NIGHT”weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.Psalm 30:5“SOUL"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.Psalm 22:1-2We're going on a bear huntWe're going on a bear huntI've got my binocularsI've got my binocularsI'm not scaredI'm not scaredOoh, look at that tall, wavy grassIt's so tallWe can't go over itWe can't go under itWe're just gonna have to go through itSwish, swish, swish, swishThe Kiboomers“DO I TRUST GOD?”10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.Philippians 4:10-14When we make it through the wall, we no longer have a need to be well known or successful, but to do God's will. We have now tasted what it means to live in union with the love of God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Peter ScazzeroFor the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.Deuteronomy 2:7When you accept the fact that sometimes seasons are dry and times are hard and that God is in control of both, you will discover a sense of divine refuge, because the hope then is in God and not in yourself.Charles SwindollGoing through “The Wall” helps us un-learn:Pride: They have a tendency to condemn others and become impatient with their faults. They are selective in who can teach them.Avarice: They are discontent with the Spirituality God gives them. They never have enough learning, are always reading many books rather than growing in poverty of spirit and their interior life.Luxury: They take more pleasure in the spiritual blessings of God rather than God Himself.Wrath: They are easily irritated, lacking sweetness, and have little patience to wait on God.Spiritual Gluttony: They resist the way of the cross and choose pleasures like children do.Spiritual Envy: They feel unhappy when others do well spiritually. They are always comparing.Sloth: They run from that which is hard. Their aim is spiritual sweetness and good feelings.Going through “The Wall” helps us learn:How to be needy.“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 5:318 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:18-21How to be okay with mystery.“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.Isaiah 55:8-9 If you understand, it is not God you understand.Augustine of Hippo The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped — it requires an active participation in following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory, in circumstances that become clear only in the hesitations and questionings, in the pauses and reflections where we engage in prayerful conversation with one another and with him.Eugene PetersonHow to wait for God.Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.Psalm 27:14How to not be tied down. 29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who b...
How do we explain the utter insanity of the days in which we live?Pastor Steve teaches the importance of standing for Truth and KNOWING the Truth⚓︎Scripture:2 Corinthians 4:4Revelation 12:121 John 5:191 Kings 22:1-23John 8:44Revelation 21:8, 22:152 Thessalonians 2:9-12Romans 1:18, 24-281 Timothy 4:1-2We need to know the Truth so the Truth can set us free! (John 8:32, Ephesians 6:10)---------SUBSCRIBE ▶️ Receive our latest videos:https://www.youtube.com/c/PastorSteve...ABOUTPastor, author and speaker Steve Berger is known for his straight talk in dealing with various hot-topic cultural issues that many pastors avoid. In 2021, he founded Ambassador Services International with his wife, Sarah. He serves on the Executive and Pastoral Advisory Boards for Promise Keepers International, and the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast Board. Whether preaching or writing, in great joy or pain, Steve longs to be a proclaimer of the grace and hope that Jesus came to offer. Since June of 1987, he has been married to Sarah, the love of his life, and together, they have four beautiful children and four grandchildren.LEARN MORE
This is part 2We visited Birmingham to giggle down memory lane with the classic RHOC S12E17 “A Case of the Vickis” episode. The entire thing is like a living room comedy, taking place in one location, and the results are hilarious. Watch our video recaps and get our bonus episodes at Patreon.com/watchwhatcrappensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Have you ever used a prayer journal? Do you feel that writing your prayers down is beneficial?Psalm 141:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: sELAH rADIO Network https://soulwinnerz.org ::::::::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgSupport: https://soulwinnerz.org/donateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Larry Wood, the All Time New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest winner, joins us to talk about the current New Yorker contests, the latest CartoonStock contest and our favorite cartoons from this week's issue of the New Yorker.Last chance to preorder Larry's upcoming book on the cartoon contest here:https://www.amazon.com/Your-Caption-Has-Been-Selected/dp/1250333407/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2T36QCZS5V4D4&keywords=lawrence+wood&qid=1699478163&sprefix=laurence+wood%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-2We discuss the winning entry for Contest #892 (Moster looking over man reading)Finalists for Contest #894 (Clowns looking at art)Current Contest #896 (Giant chicken in fast food joint)Finalists for the last CartoonStock contest (Princess and Unicorn)We finish with our favorite cartoons from the current issue.Send us questions or comments to : Cartooncaptioncontestpodcast@gmail.com
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
Consider your own transformation story. What were you like before Christ? How have you changed since knowing the Lord?Romans 12:2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsor: https://betransformed.ioSupport: https://soulwinnerz.org/donateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Even during times of silence - God is listening...Psalm 22:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgSupport: https://soulwinnerz.org/donateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-blaze-bible-study--525630/support.
Three Small Words from John 15In John 15, Jesus lays out our position in Christ and the key or path to the Higher Christian Life in the story of a vine and its branches. I mean, it really couldn't be more clear. This key is found in the simple word abide. We are to abide in Him— which means “to rest, remain, dwell, to make our home.” Or, literally, “to be united as one with Him in heart, mind, and will.” It is the definition of a fully surrendered life.Yet before we discover the concept of abiding in verse 5, we first must move through the first three verses of John 15, which often present a disturbing picture of God as our Father and is, more often than not, misinterpreted by well-meaning preachers and Bible scholars. And by misunderstanding the definition of three key words— takes away, prunes, and clean— we can fail to find the amazing encouragement Jesus offers those who are not quite up to meeting His standard of faithfulness or righteousness.Takes Away, Prunes, and CleanSo, let's look at these three verses as they are found in our Bibles, compare them to what they say in Greek, and see if something is “lost in translation.”“I am the true (real, genuine, one who cannot lie) vine, and My Father is the vinedresser (farmer, one who tills the earth or ground)” – John 15:1This simply sets the stage and introduces the cast of characters:God = VinedresserJesus = VineWe = Branches of the Vine (John 15:5)He continues,“Every (pás) branch (where) in Me (Christ, vine) that does not bear (to bring, carry, have) fruit He (Father, vinedresser) takes away (aírō – G142); and every (pás) branch (implied, in Me) that bears (to bring, carry, have) fruit He (Father, vinedresser) prunes (kathaírō G2508), (why) that it may bear (to bring, carry, have) more fruit” – John 15:2We are now introduced to the first two of our three important words: aírō and kathaírō. The third one, katharós, is found in verse 3.“You are already clean (katharós – G2513) because of the word which I have spoken to you” – John 15:3Three Key WordsWe now have three Greek words that we need to define to see if our English translation does them justice. And I think, after you see the definitions for yourself, you will see it does not.From The New Testament Word Study Dictionary by Spiros Zodhaites:“takes away” – (aírō – G142)This word is translated as “takes away” in our English Bibles. But that is not what it means.prunes – (kathaírō G2508)And this word is translated as “prunes” in our English Bibles. And, yet again, that is not what it means in the Greek.clean – (katharós – G2513)Finally, this word is correctly translated as “clean.” So now, what does this verse look like?Vine and the BranchesThe Vinedresser, our Father, no longer takes away unfruitful branches but lifts them up, supports them, and helps them once again become fruitful, just like a natural farmer would do to his crops.“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch (where) in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away (takes up, lifts up, elevates, to rise);In a phrase, he builds a trellis to support the fallen branches of His vine.But it gets better.“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch (where) in Me that does
Would you rather be at peace with God through Jesus Christ or be at peace with the world?Romans 5:1-2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgSupport: https://soulwinnerz.org/donateBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the_blaze_bible_study/support.
"The fear of the Lord.”Isaiah 11:2We continue looking at the foundational aspects of the 7 Spirits of God with a focus on the Fear of the Lord.Partner Financially with Unedited Life
Scripture Reading: Acts 4:32-5:16 32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 34 For there was no one needy among them because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds from the sales 35 and placing them at the apostles' feet. The proceeds were distributed to each, as anyone had need. 36 So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and placed it at the apostles' feet. 1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 2 He kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife's knowledge; he brought only part of it and placed it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land? 4 Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God!” 5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it. 6 So the young men came, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you paid this amount for the land?” Sapphira said, “Yes, that much.” 9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 10 At once she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear gripped the whole church and all who heard about these things. 12 Now many miraculous signs and wonders came about among the people through the hands of the apostles. By common consent they were all meeting together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high honor. 14 More and more believers in the Lord were added to their number, crowds of both men and women. 15 Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and put them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow would fall on some of them. 16 A crowd of people from the towns around Jerusalem also came together, bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits. They were all being healed. Main ThemesThe GoodOur reading begins immediately after we are told that all the believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:31). There seems to be a pattern that after such outpourings of the Spirit the community experiences power and unity.One Heart and MindWe are told first that the community is of “one heart and mind.” This expression is not exclusive to biblical writers. The exact same expression and also close variations of it were used by other writers to express unity, particularly in friendship relationships (although not exclusively). I think that this is an important clue. I have been in several situations where believers wonder what such unity means and how to achieve it. Perhaps the answer is familiar—too familiar—so we rather avoid it. We should be true friends of our brothers and sisters in Christ.Moreover, the expression “one heart and mind,” literally “one heart and soul,” seems to recall the Old Testament. The mention of heart and soul in the same phrase appeared in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). Undoubtedly the reference that would have been in every ancient Jew's mind would have been the Shema prayer in Deuteronomy 6:5-6. (The Shema prayer is one of the most famous prayers in the Bible. It was a daily prayer for ancient Israelites and is still recited by Jewish people today.)Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind [literally, heart], your whole being [literally, soul], and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5-6The Ideal CommunityWe have already discussed the “ideal community” that was the early church in chapter 2. At the end of chapter 4, we encounter that ideal community again. Everything was held in common. (The imperfect verbs suggest not a sale of all property upon conversion but believers selling their property when needs arose and contributing to a common fund supervised by the apostles.)Much like the idea of being of “one heart and mind,” the idea of holding everything in common was especially attributed to friends. Biblically speaking, it seems like the fulfillment to Deuteronomy 15:4-5:However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is giving you as an inheritance, if you carefully obey him by keeping all these commandments that I am giving you today. Deuteronomy 15:4-5That the goods were deposited at the apostles' feet means that the apostles were the managers who would supervise distribution among the needy. The location at their feet also indicates submission. The apostles were the leaders of the movement. That the apostles used all the funds for the needy contrasts them with members of the religious elite who exploited others economically. The contrast intensified by the fact that the goods were distributed according to need.The apostles gave testimony with great power, which probably implies miraculous works and bold speech. We are also told that “grace was on them all.” This phrase is difficult to interpret. Consider when the same words were used to speak about Jesus.And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor [literally, grace] of God was upon him. Luke 2:40, emphasis addedConsider also Paul's use of the word in Romans and Ephesians:And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. Romans 12:6But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured captives; he gave gifts to men.” Ephesians 4:7-8So, grace could mean God's favor, empowerment, or both.Barnabas—The Good ExampleMaybe Barnabas was singled out because his monetary contribution to the church was the largest. Although some scholars think so, one must wonder whether Luke—who seems critical of the wealthy and concerned for the poor—would have thought that to be reason enough. The more likely explanation is that this reference works as an introduction to Barnabas, who will play a larger role later in the story.Joseph was an incredibly common name at the time, so giving a “Joseph” a nickname was not unusual. (The same is true of the name Simon.) We could also make a connection with instances in the Old Testament in which a person was renamed—naming a person signified authority over them. So, perhaps this shows Barnabas submission to the apostles. His nickname, however, relates not to submission but to encouragement. Later passages in Acts confirm that the name was well placed. Barnabas is from Cyprus. Many Jews lived in Cyprus at the time. Perhaps Barnabas' associations with Cyprus help explain his wealth. Cyprus was a prosperous land both rich in minerals (especially copper but also gems) and agriculture. Presumably, this made the field Barnabas sold quite valuable.Notice that Barnabas does everything right. That's the point. He sold a field. He placed the money at the feet of the apostles. He showed generosity, charity, love, unity, and submission to the leadership. I point this out because we are about to read the “bad example.” In my opinion, the chapter division was placed incorrectly. The story of Barnabas is clearly meant to be contrasted with story of Ananias and Sapphira.The BadAnanias—What Did He Do Wrong?Immediately after the introduction of Barnabas, we read “Now a man named Ananias.” Like I said above, these two stories are clearly meant to be read together and contrasted. Let's review what Ananias did.Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. He kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife's knowledge; he brought only part of it and placed it at the apostles' feet. Acts 5:1-2We learn the key detail from the verses that follow: Ananias pretended like the money he placed at the apostles' feet was all the sale proceeds.What is so wrong about this? Think about it. After all, the guy donated a bunch of money to the church. Doesn't the good outweigh the bad (that is, the lie)? Was he required to give the whole amount? Did he keep back too much? Let's address these questions.Sanctity, Honor, and HypocrisyWe could say that the early chapters of Acts describing the “ideal community” emphasize sacrificial giving, and Ananias failed to give sacrificially. However, as we will discuss in a moment, Peter makes clear that Ananias had no obligation to give. Instead, the passage in chapter 5 emphasizes the community's sanctity.Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be honored in God's community. One does need to read much of the Bible, Old or New Testament, to encounter verses about the dangers of seeking honor for oneself.You are still exalting yourself against my people by not releasing them. Exodus 9:17How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don't seek the praise that comes from the only God? John 5:44As all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.” Luke 20:45-47Notice that even if sharing was voluntary, the incentive to engage in the practice for selfish reasons is still there. When voluntary practices become a dominant practice of a group, they exert considerable influence on other members to conform to the new standard. Moreover, benefactors in the ancient Mediterranean world expected public honor. Honoring oneself by pretending to engage in sacrificial behavior is also a blatant example of hypocrisy. If you participated in our study of John, then you know that this was a recurring (perhaps the main) issue that Jesus had with the religious leaders.He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'” Mark 7:6“Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward! But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4Of course, I cannot mention hypocrisy without quoting the “7 woes.”“But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.' Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.' You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” Matthew 23:13-33Hypocrisy is obviously bad. But is it really that big of a deal? After all, we do not read of Jesus slashing through Pharisees and leaving them for dead. We also do hear of the apostles attempting to violently subjugate anyone, or performing destructive miracles that force the crowds to behave honestly. How is Ananias worse than the experts in the law and the Pharisees such that he should be struck dead on the spot? God judged impostors within the community much more severely than false prophets or leaders outside of it.The apostle Paul expresses a similar distinction in his first letter to the Corinthians.I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you. 1 Corinthians 9-13God sacrificed his one and only beloved son to create a path for salvation; He also protected the early church from the sins of hypocrisy and self-aggrandizing which would have prevented the good news from going forth to the world.Satan Filled His HeartAnanias's behavior seeking to deceive the community recalls the betrayal of Judas: both men had Satan in their hearts. Recall Luke's description of Judas:The chief priests and the experts in the law were trying to find some way to execute Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. He went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he might betray Jesus, handing him over to them. They were delighted and arranged to give him money. So Judas agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus when no crowd was present. Luke 22:2-6We learn from Peter's question that Ananias' heart was “filled” by Satan.But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land? Acts 5:3There are at least two important observations that should be noted. First, whether our modern sensibilities like it or not, scripture does seem to speak of supernatural evil entities. Satan is at work opposing God. In fact, Peter's question makes Satan and the Holy Spirit the main players in the conflict, not Ananias and Peter. Paul expresses a similar idea in his letter to the Ephesians.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. Ephesians 6:12Among the more progressive Christians (not to mention nonbelievers), the idea of personal forces of evil (I mean evil creatures with agency, as opposed to simply the concept of evil) is often denied. To do so, one would have to interpret references to Satan as figures of speech meaning something like, “Why have you chosen evil?” This is both an implausible reading of the text and certainly not what the original writers meant to convey or original audience understood.The other observation we should make is that Ananias, working for the enemy, commits no small sin. In the story, he is an agent of Satan infiltrating the community of God. He seeks to embed the spirit of Satan with the Spirit of God. God does not allow it. Put another way, whereas some onlookers may have viewed Ananias' action as at worst merely selfish from a personal perspective, it was in fact Satan's activity to infiltrate the community with hypocrisy.Sapphira—A Quick DetourI want to discuss the rest of Peter's response to Ananias. Before we do that, let's briefly discuss Sapphira.The name “Sapphira,” in its various spellings, means “beautiful” and appears almost exclusively among wealthy Jerusalem families in this century. This lends credibility to Luke's account. Given the usual authority structure in ancient households, one should not be surprised that Ananias took the lead. Notice, however, that verse 5:1 attributes the sale of the property to both spouses. Although in the ancient Jewish world land sales would have generally involved exclusively men, we have record of contracts that included women as co-sellers.Legalities aside, the main point made by God's punishment of Sapphira is that even if she was of subordinate rank in a patriarchal society, she was not excused in disobeying God. God is the ultimate authority. If Sapphira did not have an opportunity to stop her husband from withholding funds or lying about it, she had an opportunity to be honest. She did not take that opportunity.Was It Not Yours?Now, let's return to Peter's response. At the risk of being misunderstood, I must admit that the story of Ananias and Sapphira is one of my favorites in the New Testament. No, not because I wish all sinners in the church to be struck dead. (I would surely be dead too.) It is because it conveys a couple of ideas that are central to Christian morality: Christian freedom and sins of conscience.Listen to Peter's words once more.Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? Acts 5:4aDid Ananias sin because he did not give enough to the church? Did he sin because he kept some money for himself? No! The story of Ananias and Sapphira is not about money. It is not about tithing.Ananias' field was his to do as he pleased. He could have kept it. He could have sold it and kept all the money. He could have donated 10% of the proceeds, 20%, 50%, or 100%. Ananias had what we often call the “Christian freedom” to do as he believed was right.Christian FreedomOne of the “go to” passages for Christian freedom is in Galatians 5. I will read it, although in my opinion, it is not the best passage to explain the concept.For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! 3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight—the only thing that matters is faith working through love. Galatians 5:1-6That quotation from Galatians clearly teaches that we are no longer bound by or saved by obeying the law of the Old Testament. The reason I think it is not the best text to explain Christian freedom is because it does not explain the alternative. (This is not a critique of the passage, only of how it is used.) If we don't have to follow the Old Testament law, then what? What do we follow now?I would rather explain Christian freedom by focusing on any particular moral issue. Given that we are reading Acts 5, let's pick the topic of giving to the church. How does the New Testament address this topic? What are the “commands”?Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. Romans 12:11-13Contribute to the needs of the saints. Got it. But how much? Practice hospitality. Got it. But when? To whom? Is there something like a safe-harbor rule to know when I have done enough?Surely when Paul addresses this topic at length in his letter to Timothy he answers all those questions and provides details.For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.But you, as a person dedicated to God, keep away from all that. Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession for in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession before Pontius Pilate, to obey this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ—whose appearing the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.Command those who are rich in this world's goods not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others. In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:7-19Wait, I still didn't catch it. How much—exactly—do I have to give to the church? The uncomfortable answer is: Scripture does not say. Then what is a Christian to do?! Allow me to repeat Peter's words:Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? Acts 5:4aAs uncomfortable as this might be, Christians have freedom regarding how they “pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.” This is not say that nothing is truly right or truly wrong, but it does mean that the application of moral principles may be different in different situations, and that people have a range of acceptable decisions from which to choose.Sins of ConscienceWhere was the sin of Ananias? Was it in his actions? He gave a bunch of money to the church. Surely that in itself does not deserve punishment but praise. He did lie. (This is implied in the text, but quite clearly so.) So that must be it. But what if he had lied for a different reason. Imagine Ananias had kept some of the money to help someone who was poor but who was embarrassed to receive help publicly from the church. That lie may or may not be justified, but one would hardly argue that God would have struck Ananias dead for that. So, where is the sin of Ananias? In his heart. Ananias' great sin is not the “what,” it is the “why” behind his actions.Why we do something is often more important than what we do. We find this idea discussed at length in chapter 14 of the letter to the Romans. I quote a redacted version below. Keep in mind that the context of this text is a question: Should Christians abstain from eating food sacrificed to pagan Gods? (In ancient markets, much of the meat being sold would have been sacrificed to the gods. So this was a very real, very practical problem for believers to navigate.) Some believers said yes, some said no. Paul wrote: Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. One person believes in eating everything, but the weak person eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has accepted him. Who are you to pass judgment on another's servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.One person regards one day holier than other days, and another regards them all alike. Each must be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day does it for the Lord. The one who eats, eats for the Lord because he gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains from eating abstains for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. . . .But you who eat vegetables only—why do you judge your brother or sister? And you who eat everything—why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” Therefore, each of us will give an account of himself to God.Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean. For if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy by your food someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you consider good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people.So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. For although all things are clean, it is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you eat. . . . Blessed is the one who does not judge himself by what he approves. But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin. Romans 14:1-23, emphasis addedPaul's statements are incredible. Take his statement about unclean foods, for example. On one hand, no food is unclean. (This means that there is no food we cannot eat or that would be sinful to eat.) On the other hand, food is unclean if one believes it to be unclean. Why? Because if one believes God commands not to eat something but he eats it anyways, in his heart he have disobeyed God. That is a great sin.Does this mean that morality is subjective? Not at all! Love, generosity, and kindness are objectively good. Cruelty, avarice, and covetousness are objectively wrong. What it means is that whether someone is being generous or greedy can generally not be determined without looking at their heart. And we (people) cannot see the heart of man, but God can.All a person's ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates his thoughts. Proverbs 21:2But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way people do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7I, the Lord, probe into people's minds. I examine people's hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done. Jeremiah 17:10For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. Hebrews 4:12-13Allow me to conclude by reminding us of the day of judgment. In that day, all will be revealed. This is the fear of some and the hope of others.Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 3 So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. Luke 12:1-2 [I left out many discussion points regarding some of the text we read today, particularly the section about miracles. If we have time we will discuss those, but the blog seems long enough for one week.]
“The spirit of might…”Isaiah 11:2We will continue to focus on the 7 Spirits of God by looking at Might.Partner Financially with Unedited Life
Have you experienced God's grace and peace? How did you know?1 Peter 1:2We are (LIVE) on our website's [Morning Devo] podcast now!:::: https://live.soulwinnerz.org and we want to see who you are by simply clicking here https://chat.restream.io/fb :::::Visit our Sponsors: https://soulwinnerz.orgSubscribe to the podcast: https://soulwinnerz.org/subscribe
“The spirit of understanding…”Isaiah 11:2We're continuing to focus on the 7 Spirits of God by looking at Understanding.Partner Financially with Unedited Life
“The spirit of wisdom…”Isaiah 11:2We will continue to focus on the 7 Spirits of God by looking at Wisdom.Partner Financially with Unedited Life
Join us for a child-friendly episode this week as we compare Jurassic Park (1993) and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993) - two films about scientists bringing dinosaurs into the 20th Century!-----The Movies:Jurassic Park (1993)Directed by Stephen SpielbergWritten by David Koepp & Michael CrichtonBased on the novel by Michael CrichtoniMDb Rating: 8.2We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993)Directed by Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells, Dick Zondag & Ralph ZondagWritten by John Patrick ShanleyBased on the children's book by Hudson TalbottiMDB Rating: 6.0-----Find us on:Discord - https://discord.gg/dxgmcfj552Tumblr - @ItTakesTwoPodInstagram - @ItTakesTwo_podFacebook - @ItTakesTwoPodYoutube - @ittakestwonzOur website - ItTakesTwo.co.nz-----Content Warning: Brief mentions of violence, frightening imagery, and child neglect
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him…”Isaiah 11:2We are continuing to look at our foundation, now focusing on the 7 Spirits of God.Partner Financially with Unedited Life
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SERMON HANDOUT Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost Old Testament: Isaiah 45:1-7 1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him— and the gates shall not be closed: 2I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. 5I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, 6so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things. Psalm: Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13) 1 Sing to the Lord a new song; * sing to the Lord, all the whole earth. 2 Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; * proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations * and his wonders among all peoples. 4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; * he is more to be feared than all gods. 5 As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; * but it is the Lord who made the heavens. 6 Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! * Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary! 7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; * ascribe to the Lord honor and power. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; * bring offerings and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; * let the whole earth tremble before him. 10 [Tell it out among the nations: “The Lord is King! * he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it; * let the field be joyful and all that is therein. 12 Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes, * when he comes to judge the earth. 13 He will judge the world with righteousness * and the peoples with his truth.] Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. Gospel: Matthew 22:15-22 15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said.16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor's.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's.”22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Our FLOWER OF EVIL REWATCH has reached the FINALE!THIS WEEK dive into Episodes 13-16We definitely have plenty to say about eps 13-15 but the real debate is whether the Finale worked for us or not...spoiler alert: This Coffee Crew was split 2 & 2We also praise LEE JOON GI's tremendous turn as Baek Hee Sung / Do Hyun Soo - once again defending our stance he should have taken home the Baeksang for this one! As well as the powerful performance from NAM KI AE who we called Fake Mom for the last 4 weeks
Today's message discusses faith, the course in faith we take when we radically love and trust God. No matter what circumstances we are surrounded by, no matter what obstacles come our way, no matter what happens, we can CHOOSE to love, trust, and serve the founder and perfecter of our FAITH. We must believe in Him and know great faith is shown as we wait for the ultimate fulfillment of His promises. ***** Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, a Women World Leader's Podcast. I am your host, Rusanne Carole, born in Louisiana, USA ,now living in Australia. This is a podcast that comes to you through a women's global ministry, Women World Leaders. The WWL ministry began 4 years ago with people gathering in a home studying and discussing the Word of God. As followers of Jesus Christ we are commissioned with the call to go out into all the world, and share the gospel to the entire human race! We may be called to GO and influence our friends, families, our children. We may be called to GO into our communities. And we may be called to GO into other nations. God's power and desire to reach the ends of the earth is evident in what He has done through the beautiful women of God who serve in WWL and the supporters who give, whether in donations, love gifts and prayer. We are privileged here at WWL that He has called us to be His army in sharing the love and grace message of our Lord Jesus Christ and we celebrate and are constantly amazed that He is allowing us to reach the globe. Thanks to all of you that listen and support us! I hope you are well & blessed and enjoy this time we have together and if you believe this message will speak to someone you know and help support and encourage them we ask that you share it. We are called in the body of Christ to uplift and support our brothers and sisters. Each week we bring you podcasts where we share women's testimonies, have teaching in the Word and today in our segment of “Celebrating God's Grace” I'd like to speak to you about FAITH. A big subject and so much could delve into but for today I want to look at: How we are never alone and we have supernatural support. We must believe, even when we are walking through the most horrific trials. I didn't say it's easy, but it is possible… WITH GOD! Hebrews 11:6 (TPT) tells us that “without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek Him.” Verse 7 says “faith opened Noah's heart to receive revelation and warnings from God about what was coming”. Even things that hadn't been seen, for rain had not yet even come upon the earth. WOW! He worked diligently for several decades building what God had told him without really knowing what exactly for. How many people would have possibly ridiculed him or even made fun of him? “What in the world is this guy doing building this HUGE construction? What a waste of time and effort?”I'm sure he might have had moments he may of questioned, what am I doing? But he focused on God and was obedient to what God had asked of him. Will we be? He was FAITHFUL. Genesis 6:22 says Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Sometimes it may be difficult to hear what God is telling us to do. This is where it is important to be in God's Word every day. He is always speaking to us. We must often take time to be still to hear and trust His timing to bring us what He wants to tell us. The greatness of faith is not to be judged on how many of God's promises you receive or great wealth or health you experience. The greatness of faith is shown in proportion to how long you can wait for the fulfillment of a promise. Greatness of faith is not proven in what is received, but in how long a person can wait without wavering to receive. Many things in our lives have not come to pass that our heart so desperately desires! It may be healing for a loved one or for ourselves, it may be a healing for a broken relationship or marriage, or seeing those we love and care about being saved and living a life for Christ. Waiting…. Wanting… Wishing.. things would happen! How do we still passionately seek Him? How do we ride the COURSE OF FAITH, especially when “things” aren't going as we would desire and life's battles continue to come. How do we remain faithful servants? Faith seems to come easy when “things” are going well. It's when life gets tough and challenging and our faith is tested that can be really trying. This year, 2022, it seems to me that for a lot of people I know things are “heavy”. Many I talk to are dealing with quite difficult things in their life and the lives of their loved ones, including myself. As you get older and experience life as a follower of Christ I believe you start to see it's about faith, yes, but it's really about remaining FAITHFUL NO MATTER WHAT THE WORLD THROWS AT YOU! Nothing in life remains the same and there are seasons of many highs and lows. It's about: Keeping our eyes on the FOUNDER AND PERFECTOR of our faith. It's a COURSE IN FAITH we take every day. Hebrews 12:1-3 (TPT) tells us: As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life's marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. 2We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith's perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God! 3So consider carefully how Jesus faced such intense opposition from sinners who opposed their own souls, so that you won't become worn down and cave in under life's pressures. God will NEVER abandon YOU! We are to be hopeful while waiting We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses I recently attended some biblical training, and the pastor/teacher (over 40 years in ministry) shared lots of stories. One story he shared has stuck with me and I continue to reflect on it. He was in his office one early morning making last minute preparations to his notes for a wedding that he would perform later that day. A wedding, a glorious and happy celebration of two people very much in love. Not many things are more beautiful then celebrating the union of two people in love and embarking on life together! The phone rang with the devasting news of the death of a young man, a member of the church he pastored. It was the young son of a dear friend. He was devasted but he knew he had to be the one to tell the family. He got in the car and drove to his friends' home. His friends' wife opened the door welcomed him in, “What are you doing here? You should be preparing your message? He smiled and received the invitation to take a seat and wait on her husband who would return any minute. When his friend walked in the door, he greeted the pastor, his friend, and said something similar that his wife said to him, “What are you doing here? You've got a wedding at the church tonight, right?” He looked at him and said, “I have some very sad news, your son was in a car accident a few hours ago and died.” What happened next the pastor said would stay with him forever. His friend, the father of the son who had unexpectantly died that day, dropped to his knees and said, ‘You are a faithful God and I will choose to trust you and praise You through it all.” Prayer Thank you for listening to WWL's podcast. Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we explore together God's extravagant love & your courageous purpose. Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry. From His heart to yours, we are WWL. All content is copyrighted by WWL and cannot be used without written consent.
Series: First ImportanceScripture: 1 Peter 1:1-2We hope you enjoyed listening to this message! If you'd like to stay updated on what God is doing at Citylight Council Bluffs, be sure to follow us:Citylight Council BluffsFacebookInstagramCitylight Council BluffsSunday Gatherings at 9:00 & 11:00 AMLivestream at 9:00 AM2109 Railroad Hwy, Council Bluffs, IA 51503Support the showSupport the show
Our guest this week is Jeff Zaugg of Minneapolis, MN, a former pastor of family ministries, a fatherhood advocate and host of the DadAwesome Podcast. Jeff and his wife, Michelle, have been married for 17 years and are the proud parents of four daughters: Kiva (9), Ruthie (6), Raya (4) and Zara (2).Jeff has been an outspoken advocate for fathers and is founder of Fathers for the Fatherless, a non-profit dedicated to: activate dads to lead with wonder—building intentional connection with their kids while experiencing God's awesomeness together.Jeff is also the host of the DadAwesome Podcast now with nearly 300 episodes. In fact he interviewed David Hirsch, 21CD founder and host of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast. Here is a link to that interview episdoe #274: https://www.dadawesome.org/blog/274-2We also learn about the Zaugg family RV travels (yes all six of them) all over the U.S. the past two years. It's a touching and uplifting story all on this episode of the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast.Show Links:Email – jeff@dadawesome.orgWebsite – https://dadawesome.org/Website – http://www.venture.org/Website - https://www.thereelhopeproject.org/about-us/LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffzaugg/Instagram: @dadawesome @fatherforthefatherless Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dadawesomepodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/dadAWESOMEpodDadAwesome Podcast Episode #101 - Just Another Day In Paradise - Jeff Zaugg Remembers his Dad Chuck https://dadawesome.org/101-2/ Special Fathers Network - SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 500+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated. There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channe... Please support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/do...Find out about Horizon Therapeutics – Science and Compassion Working Together To Transform Lives. https://www.horizontherapeutics.com/Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/Discover more about the Dads Honor Ride 2023 - https://21stcenturydads.org/2023-dads-honor-ride/
2 CORINTHIANS 4 1 Now, it's because of God's mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness. 2We reject every shameful cover-up and refuse to resort to cunning trickery or distorting the Word of God. Instead, we open up our souls to you by presenting the truth to everyone's conscience in the sight and presence of God. 3 Even if our gospel message is veiled, it is only veiled to those who are perishing, 4 for their minds have been blinded by the god of this age, leaving them in unbelief. Their blindness keeps them from seeing the day spring light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the divine image of God. 5 We don't preach ourselves, but rather the lordship of Jesus Christ, for we are your servants for Jesus' sake. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mildred-kingsley-okonkwo0/message
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