Podcasts about glorify

Isaiah 45:5-7 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;     apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you,     though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun     to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me.     I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form the light and create darkness,     I bring prosperity and create disaster;     I, the Lord, do all these things.   John 17:1-3, Jesus Prays to Be Glorified 17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Hiiii GGB! This weeks guest is one of our all time favorites… George Janko, host of the George Janko show and bold lover of Jesus! We go really deep about George's journey with Jesus, reading the Bible, making mistakes and then owning them, and all things masculinity and sex—God's way. we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari ORDER OUR NEW BOOK! You can order our new book “Out of the Wilderness— 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons” at https://girlsgonebible.com/book JOIN US ON GGB+

Called to Be Holy, Called to Glorify is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. What does it really mean to be ‘called to be holy' when we still struggle with sin and weakness? Last week, we began our journey through the book of 1 Corinthians with an […]

Hiiii GGB! Guys, today is our favorite GGB QUESTION SESSION yet! Some questions we answered are: How do you find time to pray as a mom?  How do you pray for your future spouse?  Is it okay to care about physical features in the person you're gonna marry?  How do you deal with unequally yoked friendships? Should you argue about theology with family? Hormones, periods? How to overcome lustful thoughts and impulses? How to deal with insecurities, feeling like other girls are prettier or better? How to have a relationship with Jesus through bad mental health? What part of Christian culture do you think breaks God's heart the most? The episode begins at about 17 minutes. we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari ORDER OUR NEW BOOK! You can order our new book “Out of the Wilderness— 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons” at girlsgonebible.com/book JOIN US ON GGB+

8/28/25. Five Minutes in the Word scriptures for today: 2 Corinthians 4:11-12. Called to Serve and Glorify the Redeemer. Resources: biblehub.com; logos.com; ChatGPT; and Life Application Study Bible. Listen daily at 10:00 am CST on https://kingdompraiseradio.com. November 2021 Podchaser list of "60 Best Podcasts to Discover!" LISTEN, LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE! #MinutesWord; @MinutesWord; #dailybiblestudy #dailydevotional #christianpodcaster #diversity https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK9zaXqv64YaCjh88XIJckA/videos https://m.youtube.com/@hhwscott

SCRIPTURE: John 17:1-5 SHOW NOTES: For encouragement on your spiritual journey, we invite you to visit our ministry website, Discover God's Truth, where you can access additional resources to enrich your Walk with God. Today, we start a study of Jesus' prayer in John 17. This prayer is often called “Jesus' High Priestly Prayer.” It illustrates the high priestly ministry that Jesus officially began when He ascended into heaven."My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2:1Many believe this was spoken before Jesus and His small group of disciples left the Upper Room or while they walked across the Southern Steps on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane."After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you." John 17:1 Jesus looks toward His Father in heaven and prays. He acknowledges that the time of crisis has come – “The hour has come.” This is not a hopeless prayer; instead, Jesus looks ahead to the cross and recognizes that this is the work the Father has given Him. Jesus alone can complete this task."I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave me to do. Now, Father, bring Me into the glory We shared before the world began." John 17:4-5 SONG: "Day After Day, Jesus Reigns" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGo_lNJ6yj4&list=RDGJS31tXJJMY&index=5

267. Apologetics with Ray Comfort   Acts 4:20 NKJV "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”   **Transcription Below**   Ray Comfort is a best selling author - having written over 100 books, including his most recent one, entitled Fifty Years of Open-Air Preaching: Everything I've Learned. He is a cohost of an award-winning television show that airs in 190 countries.   Living Waters Website Living Waters YouTube Channel   Questions and Topics We Cover: What are some memorable encounters you've had over the years as an open-air preacher? What fears do you notice holding believers back from evangelizing? What's an easy win or next step we can take today so that the inspiration from this conversation turns into action?   Related Episodes on The Savvy Sauce: School Series (Legal) Gospel Sharing During School Hours with Joel Penton Stories Series: Faith Building Miracles with Dave Pridemore Stories Series: Testify to Glorify with Richard Gamble   Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Sam Leman Eureka   Connect with The Savvy Sauce Facebook, Instagram or Our Website    Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:10 - 1:18) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.    Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook.    I'm delighted with this opportunity to interview my special guest for today, Mr. Ray Comfort. Ray is a best-selling author of over 100 books, one of which we'll be discussing today, about 50 years of open-air preaching.   He's also a co-host of an award-winning television show that airs in over 190 countries around the world. So, I'm pleased to welcome Ray Comfort and get to hear all of his stories and inspiration. Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Ray.   Ray Comfort: (1:19 - 1:27) Well, thank you for having me. Can you explain Savvy Sauce to me? Absolutely.   That means knowledge, knowledge poured out.   Laura Dugger: (1:27 - 1:46) Well, savvy is synonymous with practical or insight. And my husband having a background in Chick-fil-A, people always talk about the Chick-fil-A sauce or the secret sauce. And so, when we were creating this podcast, that just became the favorite question that I wanted to ask every guest.   Ray Comfort: (1:47 - 1:50) Oh, that's great. Yeah, it's great to be with you. Thanks for having me on.   Laura Dugger: (1:51 - 2:00) It's truly my pleasure. And I just love how everybody has a unique testimony. So, would you be willing to share your salvation story with us?   Ray Comfort: (2:01 - 4:47) Yeah, sure. I came from a non-Christian background. My mother was Jewish.   My dad was Gentile. And when my mom met my dad, it caused problems in the family. So, they brought me up with no Christian instruction or any instruction whatsoever.   Until at the age of 10, an aunt taught me the Lord's Prayer, which I prayed every night for 10 years. I believed in God. And at the age of about 20, 21, I had an epiphany, just a revelation that I was part of the ultimate statistic.   10 out of 10 die. And I thought, this is ridiculous. We're all waiting around to die.   And you can have fun while you're dying. You can play sports or save money. And I'd achieved everything I wanted to achieve by the age of 21.   I had my own business and my own house, my own wife. I'd made one child by then. Everything material I could want.   And I remember one night just going to sleep, or my wife had gone to sleep just before I went to sleep. I looked at my wife, we're newly married, and I just wept at the thought of her dying. And I just cried out, why?   Why is this thing called death? It's like there's an elephant in the room stomping on all humanity and nobody talks about it. And so, I cried out, why?   I didn't know I was praying. I didn't know God heard. And six months later, I was on a surfing trip, and there was a young Christian guy there, and he had a Bible, and I remember reading parts of it.   And my eyes fell upon, you've heard it said, by them of old you shall not commit adultery. And I thought, well, if there is a heaven, I'll make it there because I've never committed adultery. But then I read the words of Jesus, but I say to you, whoever looks upon a woman to lust for her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.   And it was like an arrow went into my chest. And I thought, whoa, boy, am I undone. Because like every red-blooded male, I was filled with unlawful sexual desire and eyes full of adultery, as scripture says.   And that's when I understood the cross. I realized I had sinned. Jesus bore my sin.   And we broke the law, the commandments. Jesus paid the fine. And that meant God could forgive my sins, grant me everlasting life.   And I cannot express to you the joy, it was unspeakable, that's why I can't express it, that I had and the knowledge my sins were forgiven. It was like an explosion of gratitude filled my heart. And for the last 50 years, it's been the high-octane fuel that's driven me to live for God's will and honor.   So everywhere I go and everything I do is centered around sharing the gospel with unsaved people. And every Christian should be like that. I call myself a normal, biblical Christian.   Laura Dugger: (4:48 - 4:59) I love that. Well, and something that you speak about and that you live out is open-air preaching. And I just want to read a piece from the dedication page, if that's okay.   Ray Comfort: (5:01 - 5:03) So, make sure you speak in a New Zealand accent.   Laura Dugger: (5:03 - 5:28) Oh, goodness. I won't even attempt. But you define open-air preaching saying, going somewhere I don't want to go, to preach a message I don't want to preach, to people who don't want to hear it, but the love of Christ compels me.   And so, Ray, what was your journey to becoming an open-air preacher?   Ray Comfort: (5:30 - 9:18) Well, I'll go back to when I was 16. I was in high school, and the teacher had the bright idea to have class speeches. And I was horrified at the thought of class speeches.   Have to get up and make a speech? Because I was kind of introverted, and the day came when I got caught. I used to stay away when they had class speeches, but my name was left on the roster, and it was last.   And the teacher got me up, and I thought I'll speak on the subject of surfing because I just loved surfing. And I dried up in the middle of that speech. My heart just went thump, thump, thump, thump till I could hardly hear.   It was like a drum beating, and I couldn't think straight. And I sat down humiliated in front of my peers at the age of 16, which is huge. And I vowed never, ever to speak in public again.   But I got born again. I became a new person in Christ. And I had a message that I could not be quiet about.   And I remember one day I was on a bus going to the city, and I remember looking at the people that were sitting on the bus, and I thought most of them probably not Christians. They die. They're going to Hell.   I've found everlasting life. I should stand up and speak to them. And I thought the bus would stop, and a whole lot of them would throw me off.   And I thought, what do I do? And I remember praying, oh, God, if there's just some way where I could speak in public to people knowing there wasn't. And two weeks later, they legalized public speaking in our city through just strange circumstances.   And I thought, whoa, what an answer to prayer. Horrors. And I remember avoiding any thought of going into that speaker's corner for the next two weeks until I opened a newspaper.   Remember what newspapers were? I opened a newspaper and had a picture of an elderly lady with a Bible in her hand, and underneath it had the Bible lady sharing her Christian testimony in speaker's corner. And I felt so ashamed that here was an elderly lady, and here I was hiding like Jonah.   So, I went in, took a deep breath, and preached the gospel to a crowd that was standing or sitting there. And I went back about 3,000 times and commuted to it for about 12 years, almost daily for 12 years. So, I broke the sound barrier, and I've been doing it ever since.   And I'll tell you why I do it, because the average church wouldn't reach as many people in a year as a good open-air preacher can reach in 30 minutes. And you just have to learn how to draw a crowd and what to say, and you've got to have the will to say it. And if you're a Christian and you've found everlasting life, you should be saying with the disciples, I cannot but speak that which I've seen and heard.   And I'm so glad the disciples didn't stay in the upper room. They found everlasting life. God granted eternal life.   They didn't carpet out the room, put in pipe music, with a little notice outside their door, tonight, 7 o'clock, all welcome. They didn't do that, because they knew fish don't jump into the boat. That's not normal.   If you're a fisher of men, you've got to go where the fish are. So, they went open-air and preached. And as you read the book of Acts, that's all they did.   They preached open air at peril of their lives. And so if we want to walk in the steps of Jesus, in the steps of the disciples, in the steps of Spurgeon, Wesley, Moody, Whitfield, others down through the ages, then we've got to open our mouths and lift up our voice like a trumpet and show these people their transgression. And so, I am thrilled that you want to do an interview on this book, because I've often said the church has as much excitement about evangelism as you and I have about having a root canal.   It's not exciting. But we all have fears, and we can learn to overcome them.   Laura Dugger: (9:18 - 9:38) Ray, you make already such a compelling argument for why we as Christians are called to evangelize and deliver the good news and specifically calling it as open-air preachers. So, will you still share a few more arguments or reasons to try and help people understand why this is of utmost importance?   Ray Comfort: (9:39 - 10:47) Yes, we have a moral obligation. We're like doctors with a cure to cancer. We must speak, as the disciples said.   And if you've got fear, let me ask you a question. Could you jump into a pond that had big chunks of ice in it? It was so cold that you would die if you stayed in it for three minutes.   And most people say, no, no, you wouldn't get me jumping into that pond for anything. Let's say a four-year-old boy fell into that pond and his feet couldn't reach the bottom, and he began to drown. You wouldn't hesitate.   You'd just jump in. You wouldn't worry about how cold it was. Grab that kid and pull him out.   And the waters of personal evangelism are freezing. Ice cold. We're not excited about it.   Last thing we ever want to do is get involved in something like this. But love cannot but do something. Love couldn't stand there and watch a child drown.   And love cannot sit on a pew while sinners sink into Hell. So, if you've got problems with fear, don't pray for less fear. Pray for more love because that's the problem.   Laura Dugger: (10:48 - 11:02) Ray, I'm curious. You seem so confident and comfortable with this, but clearly you've been doing it, like you said, for many years. So, was there fear at the beginning for you?   And is there still fear when you do this today?   Ray Comfort: (11:03 - 18:09) No, there wasn't fear at the beginning. Fear is here. Terror is here.   Mortification is here. I was up there somewhere. So, the first time I did it was terrifying.   Second time wasn't quite so terrifying. But after all these years, I still battle fear, always. Every person I got a witness to on a one-to-one basis looks like Goliath.   It goes from a Zacchaeus to a Goliath in a split second. I think a witness to that guy, he's anti-Christian. I can see it by the look on his jawline.   He hates Christians. Can't wait to get his fingers around the neck of any Christian because I've got overripe imagination. I remember once I was driving my car and I saw a dead dog on the road about 100 yards ahead of me and it was such a sad sight.   I could see its head was all twisted back and I could see its ears. It was a German shepherd. And as I got up to it, it was someone's jacket that had fallen off his bike.   That's all. And I just had an overripe imagination. And that's exactly what it's like when it comes to fear.   I have an imagination that some guy's going to kill me if I share the gospel with him. So, I've learned to not listen when fear speaks. I've learned to think about the fate of the person rather than myself.   I mean, think of a firefighter. He arrives at a fire, and he looks up and he has to climb a 60-foot ladder. At the top of the ladder is a woman and two children leaning out of a window and the place is on fire.   It's the fifth story. And they're screaming because they're going to be burned alive in about three minutes. So, he's got to climb that ladder amidst the screaming, amidst the smoke and the sirens.   He could drop one of those kids. He could drop that woman. And so, would he rather be at home with his wife and kids watching an old black-and-white movie?   Of course. Is he terrified? Absolutely.   But he doesn't listen to his fears because of this one fact. He's not thinking of himself. He's thinking of that woman and her terrible fate and those kids.   And that's the key to overcoming fear. When I get my fears, I don't listen because I'm not thinking of myself and my silly little fears, my imagination. I'm thinking of this person and their terrible fate, that they die in their sins.   Lake of fire. Damned. If you think death is fearful on this side, wait till the other side.   It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And the apostle Paul said, Wherefore, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. So, if you've got a wrong image of God, it's kind of like a Santa Claus sitting in a cloud.   You won't have a terror in your heart. You won't fear God enough to obey him. You know, Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord and do not the things that I tell you?”   And so, if we are submitted to Christ, if we yield to him, if he's our Lord, when he says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We go. He didn't say to stay. Think of what he said.   Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. I've actually studied the original Greek words of the word all, every, and go. Go actually means in the original, I think it's passe.   The original Greek, it actually means go. Into all the world and all the world. That word all means all in the original Greek.   And to every creature means every creature. So, when Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”, in the original Greek, he actually was saying, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” So, we're so fortunate to have Greek lexicons and things that we can go back and see what Jesus was actually saying.   And so, it's very simple. We shouldn't stay. We shouldn't want to fill our churches with people when they come in, where to go out and get them.   And one of the most effective ways is with open air preaching. And so, we teach people how to get a crowd. Now, when I first started speaking, I would begin open air preaching with an anecdote, something very gripping.   And it was always difficult because if I didn't live up to that, I didn't get a crowd. And so, for about four or five or six years, it was very difficult. And then I started asking trivia and giving away money.   And I've been doing that for 30, 40 years, where you say to a crowd, I've got some trivia questions, giving away money. And a preacher giving away money is like water running uphill. It's kind of unnatural, so it gets people's attention.   So, I'm going to ask trivia questions. I've got money here to give away. When you get it right. What's the capital of France? Anyone know?    And someone says, “Paris?” That's right.   Here you are. What's the capital of China? Beijing or whatever it is.   Give out a dollar. Say, “What's your name?” Fred.   That's right. And you give Fred a dollar and people laugh, and they gather around and it's just a great way to get rapport with a crowd. And while you're doing that, you look around to see who's got confidence.   This guy over here, or Fred, laughs when I say, “Here's a dollar, and he yells out answers.” I say, “Fred, you want to go for $5?” He says, “Sure.”   So, jump up on the box. So, we've got a box for the hecklers. So, you think you're a good person?   He says, “Yeah, I'm a really good person.” So, if you are, you get $5. If you're not, give me $5 anyway.   Just being a good sport. So, we're going to go through the Ten Commandments to see how you're going to do on Judgment Day and if you are a good person. Let me take him through the commandments as Jesus did with the rich young ruler.   How many lies have you told? Ever stole something? Ever used God's name in vain?   Ever looked at women with lust? And Fred says, “Yeah, I've done all those.” So, Fred, you've just told me you're a lying thief, a blasphemer, and an adulterer at heart.   And you have to face God on Judgment Day. You're going to be innocent or guilty? He says, “Guilty.”   Heaven or Hell? Hell. Does that concern you?   Yeah, sure it does. And the crowd's listening. It's not some sweaty preacher pointing a finger at them.   They're just listening to the gospel. And so, it's a great way. And then you go into that Christ died for our sins, took our punishment.   And Fred, “Thanks for listening. I really appreciate this. Here's your dollar.”   I've got a book for you that I wrote. I hope you enjoy it. Nice to meet you.   He shook his hand. He's off. Anyone else, like any atheists here, never be intimidated by an atheist.   Atheism is the epitome of stupidity. It's just so dumb. Every time I meet an atheist, I ask him one question, and I've seen so many atheists backslide when they've heard this.   I say, “Do you really believe the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything? Puppies and kittens and flowers and seeds and the marvels of the human eye and the miracle of childbirth. All this happened because nothing created it. Do you really believe that?”    They say, “Oh, no, I don't believe that. Oh, there was something in the beginning.”   I say, “Oh, it just wasn't God. Is that it?” Yeah, that's it.   It was something, but it wasn't God. Well, let's see if we can find out why you don't want it to be God. When did you last look at pornography?   I say, “Oh, it was last night. What do you think God thinks of that?” And you realize the issue isn't intellectual.   It's moral. They're running from God like Adam, hiding behind bushes. And so, you've just got to flush them out and then use the Ten Commandments to bring the knowledge of sin and address the conscience rather than the intellect.   Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor. With over 1,700 apartment units available throughout Pekin, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Morton, Washington, and Canton, and with every price range covered, you will have plenty of options when you rent through Leman Property Management Company. Leman Property Management Company They have townhomes, duplexes, studios, and garden-style options located in many areas throughout Pekin.   In Peoria, a historic downtown location and apartments adjacent to the OSF Medical Center provide excellent choices. Check out their brand-new luxury property in Peoria Heights overlooking the boutique shops and fine dining on Prospect. And in Morton, they offer a variety of apartment homes with garages, a hot downtown location, and now, a brand-new high-end complex near Idlewood Park.   Their beautiful, spacious apartments with private garages in a quiet but convenient location await you in Washington. And if you're looking in Canton, don't miss Village Square Apartments. Renters may be excited to learn about their flexible leases, pet-friendly locations, and even mini-storage units available in some locations.   Leman Property Management Company has a knowledgeable and helpful staff including several employees with over 30 years working with this reputable company. If you want to become a part of their team, contact them about open office positions. They're also hiring in their maintenance department, so we invite you to find out why so many people have chosen to make a career with them.   Check them out on Facebook today or email their friendly staff at leasing@lemanprops.com. You can also stop by their website at lemanproperties.com. That's L-E-M-A-N-P-R-O-P-E-R-T-Y. Check them out and find your place to call home today.    As you've done this, what has been your experience along the way? And would you even share a few stories of times that this has gone miraculously well and times that have been such a struggle?   Ray Comfort: (20:19 - 30:16) It's always a struggle. But let me share the two great keys that I use when it comes to evangelism. I don't even like using the word evangelism because it scares Christians.   Apologetics. And that is this. I address the conscience, as Jesus did.   When you're in apologetics, and I believe in apologetics, we've got what's called the Evidence Study Bible, which is pregnant with apologetics. So, I believe in apologetics, but they have their place. Apologetics are like bait when you're fishing for men.   If you stay with bait, you're going to end up with fat, happy fish that get away. You've got to have a hook, and that hook is God's law. So, you bait the hook.   And so, it's important if you bait the hook with apologetics and address the intellect to realize this one fact. Romans 8:7 says, “The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” What does that mean?   It means the carnal, natural mind of man is in a state of hostility towards God, particularly His law. It's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. And you can see this enmity by the fact that human beings lavished with life by God use His name as a cuss word, and the name of Jesus as a cuss word.   Nobody in history has had their name used as a cuss word except Jesus, Jesus Christ, and God. And that shows the enmity they have towards their Creator because they're criminals. And as criminals hate the police, so sinners hate God without cause.   So, you want to move away from the carnal mind because you're going to get enmity. If you say, “Look, I'm going to show you that Noah did build an ark. I'm going to prove it to you there was a big flood.” And so you go through the whole thing that the ark was really big and the animals were small and it could have happened. Then we've got oceans and that's evidence that the earth was flooded. You get this guy who was a skeptic who'd say, “Okay, I believe there was a big flood and Noah could have built an ark.”   Well, great. Now you've got a mountain to climb of Jonah being swallowed by a big fish. Children of Israel shouting and walls coming down when they shout.   Balaam's donkey speaking with a man's voice. Samson with strength in his hair. And you've got all these stories, and they're all an intellectual thing, and they're like a mountain you've got to climb to convince them to believe there's an easier way.   And the early Christians didn't try and convince anyone the Bible is the word of God because they didn't have a New Testament. There was no printing press. No one could read or hardly anyone could read.   Now they just preached the gospel, and you do it not by going for the intellect and trying to intellectually convince someone that God exists or the Bible's the word of God. You do what Jesus did with a rich young ruler. You address the conscience with the commandments.   You shall not lie, shall not steal, shall not commit adultery. It's all written on the heart of man. Conscience means knowledge.   So that knowledge is there. So, the commandments echo the truth, or the conscience echoes the truth of the commandments. When Paul used the commandments in Romans chapter 2, you who say you shall not steal, do you steal?   You say, “You shall not commit adultery; do you commit adultery?” He was addressing the conscience. Romans 2:15, same chapter, would show the work of the law written on their hearts, the conscience bearing witness.   So, I have an ally right in the heart of the enemy. I have a judge on the court and in the mind of every sinner that's going to affirm the truth of what I'm saying and point guilt to the sinner or show him that he's guilty. That's the conscience.   The second great tool I have or weapon I have is the will to live. Human beings are not dogs, horses, cats, or cows. We're completely different.   We're not primates. We're made in the image of God and God has written eternity upon our hearts. He doesn't seem to have done this with my dog.   My dog's only concerned with chasing cats and eating. I don't think there's anything else that really interests her, although I love her, but she's not worrying about eternity, but human beings do. So, I know, according to scripture, that everybody has this will to live.   So, when I go to the local college, and I go there twice a day, to interview people for our YouTube channel. I often say this, “Would you like to go on YouTube?” They say, “Yeah.”   I'm going to ask you, “If you think there's life after death.” I say, “That's okay, and this is my first question. Are you afraid of dying?”   And they go, “A little bit.” A little bit? It's huge.   It's a tormenting fear of death. It haunts you, and that's what the Bible says, this fear of death that we have. And I can tell by the look in the eyes of this person, they're saying, “How did this guy know?”   I haven't told mom or dad. I haven't told my boyfriend or my girlfriend, my brother, my sister, but there's something in me that's terrified of dying. Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us.   Amplified Bible, so I'll quote it a little louder. It says, “That God has caused the fear of death or the will to live to be haunting,” it uses the word haunting, “within every human being all their lifetime.” Remember when I was a kid, maybe nine or ten, I used to play wars, cowboys and Indians, and someone would shoot me. I'd roll down a hill and lie there for two minutes and then get up.   And then one day as I got older, I thought, I'm not going to get up one day. And that's that haunting fear of death. That revelation that comes to us, as light comes to us, as we get older. And so, I address that, and this is what I say, “Ever read the Bible?”    “No, never opened it.”    “Why not? It's the world's biggest selling book of all time. Did you know in the Old Testament, God promised he would destroy death? And in the New Testament, we're told how he did it. Did you know that?”    They say, “No.”    “Is he interested?”   And even if it's an atheist, he's going to say, “Yeah, I'm interested.” Because he's got that haunting fear of death. And so, then I go through the gospel. This is the verse that I share with so many people, and it's the most illuminating verse, and I can see light coming to them as I say this.   I say, “Have you ever heard the Bible verse, the wages of sin is death?” And they say, “Maybe.” It's saying that God is paying you in death for your sins.   Like a judge who looks at a criminal who's committed murder, but he thinks he's a good person. The judge says, “I'm going to show you how serious your crime is. I'm giving you the death sentence.”   This is your wages. This is what you've earned. And I say, “Fred, sin is so serious to a holy God, he's given you the death sentence.”   You're on death row. You're in a holding cell. It's got a nice blue roof, good air conditioning, good lighting, but this life is a holding cell, and your death will be evidence to you that God is deadly serious about sin.   That has a sobering effect on people because now they've got a reason why they die. Now they know what's going to happen after they die. It's appointed a man.   It's appointment. It's appointed a man who wants to die, and after this, the judgment. And as you go through the commandments, it shows them how they need a Savior.   And so many people say, I'm going to really think about this. Thank you for talking to me. I say, “When are you going to repent and put your trust in Jesus?”   And so many people lately have been saying, “Today.” So, the pandemic, that plague that no one calls a plague, the pandemic did us a huge favor because it made a whole generation think about their mortality, made them realize they're going to die one day. And so, the harvest fields are white.   One other thought regarding the fear of death and the will to live, the same thing. Think of a waitress who has to approach three men, businessmen wearing dark suits and little briefcases sitting at a table. They're obviously wheeling and dealing millions of dollars.   Is she intimidated? No. She just walks up and says, “Can I take your order?”   Why is she so bold? It's because she knows she has what they want. They're there for food.   And so that makes her bold. And you and I have what this world wants. Right at this moment, there are people in torture chambers called gyms, lifting weights that are far too heavy for them, pulling things they shouldn't be pulling.   And I believe in physical fitness is great. And at the same time, there are people drinking green slime. They would love a chocolate shake, but they drink because they want to increase their life just that little bit more.   We have found everlasting life. So, if the world knew what we had, they would ask us. This is what Jesus said to the woman at the well.   If you knew who it was that was speaking to you, you would ask me. And if the world knew what we had, everlasting life, they'd plead with us. So, because we know we have what the world wants, like that waitress, we must be bold.   And when they realize that we have the answer to death that Jesus Christ has abolished death. When that revelation comes to them, what causes death. That Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, he destroyed death, bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel. That's when the light goes on and they say, “Thank you so much. Thank you for talking to me.” I've just about worn myself out.   Laura Dugger: (30:16 - 30:30) Well, that's incredible to hear, especially the breakdown practically of how you do that. And I would say, “Do you even give people permission to use some of those examples if they want to give this a try?”   Ray Comfort: (30:31 - 31:18) I would plead with them to do so. We've got the evidence Bible. It's filled with how to do these things.   And that book, Fifty Years of Open-Air Preaching: Everything I've Learned is filled with stuff like this. How to get a crowd standing up nice and orderly. There's a picture, I don't know if you can see it, at Berkeley University.   They're all standing around nice in a big circle. That's where you get stoned to death, Berkeley. But because we understand these principles, we just drew a circle out of chalk and said, stand behind the circle.   If anyone got in front of the circle, approached us, we wouldn't talk to them unless they got to the edge of the circle. And people are like sheep. If you say, “Move back behind the chalk line. Do it now.” Okay. They'll do it, if you've got a little bit of authority.   And so, you just learn to do things like that. And it means the gospel can go out. So yeah, please, please use these principles.   Laura Dugger: (31:19 - 31:34) And then can you also just paint a picture. If somebody's never seen this before, they've never tried this before, are there any memorable encounters that you've had as you reflect back on these years of open air preaching?   Ray Comfort: (31:35 - 33:54) Yes. Oh, I've got beaten up by a woman once. Oh dear.   I'll have to tell you. I was in Santa Monica many years ago, and I had a crowd of maybe 40, 50 people. And there's a woman there that was very vocal and kept calling me, using the F word a couple of times.   So, I said, “Ma'am, can you watch your language? There are ladies present.” And she said, “I'm a lady.”   I said, “Ma'am, you may be a woman, but you are not a lady.” And with that, she ran at me like a bat out of heaven and began beating me up. Now, most women go scratch, and hair pulling, but she was like Mike Tyson's sister. She got in six punches, knocked me to the ground before my team pulled her off.   They held her back. And she said, let me go and get my purse. They let her go.   And she gave me a kidney punch and took two weeks for the bruising to go, but she doubled my crowd. She can come back anytime she wants. But that was my fault.   And that was very memorable. So, I talk nicely to ladies now. One to one, one of the most memorable ones is a guy named Mario.   Our YouTube channel's got 1.57 million subscribers, just past 314 million views. And one of the best, most gripping encounters was with a guy named Mario. I went out on my bike.   My dog's on my bike. She's on a platform. She wears sunglasses.   I wear sunglasses. It gets people's attention. She's the best bait I've ever had when fishing for men.   Saw this guy standing by a tree on a pathway, and I said, “You want to come on camera?” He said, “Yeah.” I was surprised because I didn't have to talk him into it.   And he was quite arrogant, very handsome young man. And as we went through the commandments, I saw a tear well in his eye and roll down his cheek. And I thought, oh, no, God's doing a work in the heart of this guy, and I don't want to mess it up.   And so, I did my best to end up praying with him, and he was just beside himself in sorrow for his sin. And I think that's something like 4 million views on a YouTube channel. If you go to the most popular to see it, you'll see him there.   But that was a very memorable encounter. One that I often think when I'm going out on my bike each day. Lord, give me a Mario today, please.   Laura Dugger: (33:55 - 34:58) When was the first time you listened to an episode of The Savvy Sauce? How did you hear about our podcast? Did a friend share it with you?   Will you be willing to be that friend now and text five other friends or post on your socials anything about The Savvy Sauce that you love? If you share your favorite episodes, that is how we continue to expand our reach and get the good news of Jesus Christ in more ears across the world. So, we need your help.   Another way to help us grow is to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Each of these suggestions will cost you less than a minute, but it will be a great benefit to us. Thank you so much for being willing to be generous with your time and share.   We appreciate you. It's compelling to hear this and inspiring, but then also if we're going back to talking about the fears. What fears do you see holding people back from giving this a try or from evangelizing in general?   Ray Comfort: (34:59 - 37:37) That is a great question, and you provoke something very important. I've traveled on about 2,000 flights, itinerating over the years, and so many times I've prayed, and when there's an empty seat on a plane beside me, I always pray for the person who's going to sit there. This is the prayer I subliminally pray.   Lord, please don't let this guy show up. That's what I pray. And then he shows up, and I share the gospel with him.   My hardest, my biggest mountain to climb was how do you bring the subject up? Okay, I'm on a plane. This guy's a businessman.   He's wearing a three-piece suit. He's very intimidating, and I've got to talk to him about the things of God and sin and righteousness and judgment. How do I bring the subject up with this guy?   Oh, see those clouds? Guess who made the clouds? God.   No, it's just terrifying. But I learned something many years ago that just dissipated that fear of man and the fear of women, and that's this. I just say to any stranger, “Do you think there's an afterlife?”   That's a simple question. Do you think there's life after death? I haven't mentioned God, Jesus, Heaven, Hell, sin, righteousness, judgment, any of those things that make him feel uncomfortable.   I just said, do you think there's an afterlife? And this is how I do it, and I've done it many times. I'm at the ministry now in our studio.   Many a time I've had workmen come. Let's say there's a plumber working on something. I go up to him and say, “Hey, how are you doing?”   He says, “Good.” I'm Ray. What's your name?   He says, “Eric.” Nice to meet you, Eric. Eric, what?   I've got a question for you, “Do you think there's an afterlife?” Eric stands up and says, “I don't know.”   I say, “Do you think about it much?” Yeah, all the time. His all the time just dissipated my fears.   He's not antichrist. He hasn't stabbed me to death. He's a normal human being.   He thinks about the issues of life and death all the time. And so, I've got confidence. And the thing that got me in there was that question, do you think there's an afterlife?   You can ask anyone. Even Uncle Arthur at the Christmas lunch, sitting there and usually he's working. Uncle Arthur, do you think there's an afterlife? Haven't mentioned God, Jesus, Heaven, Hell. Just let him talk.   He says, “Oh, I don't know about heaven.” So Rich, “You ever read the Bible?” Oh, let me get you my Bible.   Let me lend it to you. It just opens the door and lets them do the talking. So never forget that.   You can talk to any stranger about the things of God by just asking that question. Do you think there's an afterlife? And I do it every day.   Laura Dugger: (37:38 - 37:57) Wow. And I love it, even before we began recording when we were just getting to know each other for a moment. And then you said, well, before we begin, shall we do this in the flesh, or should we pray?   And I love that. I think that's such an approachable first step to this.   Ray Comfort: (37:57 - 38:07) Well, you just have to do something in the flesh to know how terrible it is. You need a pulpit, and you think, oh God, I need your help. So, I always pray.   Laura Dugger: (38:08 - 38:24) Absolutely. That's very relatable. And so, if we're considering this invitation to evangelize publicly, what do you think this looks like for men and for women?   And do you see any difference between the two?   Ray Comfort: (38:25 - 39:21) Yes, I do. When I look at my wife, I see different from the local workman that comes to work around our home. But physically, no, I don't.   Yeah. When Jesus had gone to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he didn't say, “Oh, that's just for men.” No.   Look at the woman at the well. She went off and shared the gospel with the whole village. And so, if a woman's got the courage to stand up and do what men won't do, God bless her.   I think that's wonderful. And so, I'm all for women and women stay silent at the church. Well, that's for the church.   That's church discipline. But when it comes to sharing the gospel, telling people how they can find everlasting life, women can do just as well with men and a woman can do good with five people or 10 people. Now she can gather a crowd of 200 at a university and share how to find everlasting life.   God bless her. And thank you for her, Aud.   Laura Dugger: (39:22 - 39:35) Thank you for sharing that. And can you think of just an easy or approachable next step, something that we could do today that takes inspiration from this conversation and turns it into action?   Ray Comfort: (39:35 - 39:38) Yes. Get the book.   Laura Dugger: (39:40 - 39:41) Absolutely.   Ray Comfort: (39:41 - 39:48) And I'll watch our YouTube channel too. I love it. It'll really help you build confidence.   Thank you for that.   Laura Dugger: (39:49 - 40:01) My pleasure. So, if we do determine that we're going to apply what we've learned today, then there's another side to this as well. What kind of attack can we expect from our enemy?   Ray Comfort: (40:02 - 42:34) Oh, full on. You're going to get negative thoughts. You can't do this.   You shouldn't do this. What are you going to do if you dry up? The dry up thing is a real big fear.   I'm going to get up there and I'll say, “My mind's gone blank.” Well, just have a Gospel of John in your pocket, a little New Testament, maybe a little Gideon in your pocket there. And if you dry up, just say, “Oh, excuse me, I want to read this to you.”   You've got John 3:16, corner turned down. Just say, “For God so loved the world and gave his only begotten son who believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Please think about that.   Close it and get down. Or you can keep speaking. And so, if you've got an out, that will dissipate your fears if you know you can get out if that happens.   I've used it many a time. I mean the fear of every preacher is drying up in a pulpit. I remember I was in a church of 3,000 once and I lost my place.   So, you know what I did? I just said, look at that over there. And everyone looked at the wall.   I said, I just lost my place. Or I'll say something like this. “Turn to Leviticus 15:3.”   And everyone goes, shh, shh, shh. I look for my place. I've got my thoughts back.   And they say that was a fake scripture. I don't know what it is. I wanted to do something while I was trying to find my place.   And there I've never had problems drying up in the pulpit because I know that's my way out. And it's the same with open air preaching. If you dry up, you're just going to quote John 3:16 or begin reading Genesis chapter 1 to the crowd.   “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And just knowing you've got that out will help dissipate your fears. And when you're finished, you'll have such a joy.   I say to our team, whenever you go to preach the gospel, you're dragging your feet. When you come back, you'll be clicking your heels.   And that's exactly what happens. You'll have such satisfaction that you did what you know you should. You overcame that Goliath.   You ran at Goliath and overcame your fears. And so just do it. If you want to learn to swim, you don't study water.   You jump in. That's the best way to learn to swim. And, you know, if you're going to drown, it's a pity more people don't know this, but if you just relax, you'll float.   If you panic, you'll probably sink. And it's the same with this. Don't panic.   Just trust in the Lord. Say, “Lord, you'll fill my mouth. You'll help me out with this.”   And he'll float. He'll float you. He'll take you by the hand, and you'll be fine.   I've done it thousands of times, and God's never let me down.   Laura Dugger: (42:36 - 43:00) Amen. I hope we all are willing to give it a try. I think that you really articulated it well when you narrow it down to that fear of man, fear of woman.   And I love also that just do it, and we can do it scared. But you're so full of these practical tips. There's one about hecklers that we haven't covered yet.   Can you share your perspective on hecklers?   Ray Comfort: (43:01 - 44:02) Hecklers are wonderful. If you fear hecklers, you're fearing the thing that could make what you're doing a great success. A good heckler, if he's handled well, can take a crowd of 15 people to 150 people in about 30, 40 seconds.   And all you do is let him vent. There's one, I think we've got, it's called The Angry Atheist. I think it's one of our videos.   And this guy was furious, a Christian. So, I just let him vent, and the crowd thickened up, and then we started one by one dealing with his problems. And just always remember a soft answer turns away wrath.   If someone's angry, you just speak, what's your name? And they'll say, “Oh, John.” Nice to meet you, John.   That's a nice sweater. I remember once a lady came up, this young lady. She was really angry, and I did say the sweater thing to her when she was yelling at me.   I said, “That's a nice sweater.” She said, “Really?” I said, “Where'd you get it?”   And so, a soft answer turns away wrath. So, you just learn these little things that can really help.   Laura Dugger: (44:03 - 44:14) I love that. And just as a model for us, if we want to share the good news of Jesus, you've done this time and time again. Will you share it with all of us now?   Ray Comfort: (44:16 - 46:05) What are you trying to do to me? You mean you'd like the gospel? Absolutely.   One-minute gospel presentation. Okay, let's do a nutshell. Let me say, I'm meeting a stranger.   I'll talk directly to them. You know, God's placed a will to live within you. Something in you says, I don't want to die.   Did you know the Bible says, “Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel?” And the reason you're going to die is because you've sinned against God. And all you have to do for a few minutes with an honest heart is go through the commandments.   The seventh commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery, but Jesus said if you look at a woman with lust, you commit adultery in your heart, lying lips and abomination to the Lord. No thief will inherit God's kingdom.”    Ever stolen something? Ever used God's name in vain? And if you've been honest, you'll know you've sinned against God. And if all your sin comes out on Judgment Day as evidence of your guilt, you're going to end up justly in Hell, and that breaks my heart.   And God is not willing that any perish. The Bible says, “He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and he's provided a way for you to be forgiven by Christ dying on the cross.” We broke God's law.   Jesus paid the fine. It's as simple as that. That means you can leave the courtroom.   God can dismiss your case. He can take death off you because of what Jesus did through his death and resurrection. And all you have to do is so simple a child can understand it.   You must repent, turn from your sins. You'll never do that while you think you're a good person. And trust in Jesus like you trust a parachute.   The minute you do that, you've got God's promise, and he cannot lie. He'll grant you everlasting life as a free gift, not because you're good, but because He's good and kind and rich in mercy. And don't put it off until tomorrow because you may not have tomorrow.   Fifty-four million people die every year. Today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart.   Laura Dugger: (46:07 - 46:10) It just never gets old hearing that.   Ray Comfort: (46:10 - 46:10) No.   Laura Dugger: (46:10 - 46:28) Thank you. And you also bring up even so clearly from scripture but sharing repent and believe. And is there anything else that you would want to make sure that we wouldn't leave out of a conversation if we were evangelizing to someone?   Ray Comfort: (46:29 - 48:02) Well, another good question. Yeah, a lot of people are saying all you have to do is believe. Just believe.   They say if you repent, that's works. Well, by saying you have to believe, that's works. If you have to do anything, believe.   No, the Bible says, “By grace you're saved through faith, through faith, and not of yourselves.” It's God's grace that saves us. But if you read scripture, it comes through repentance and faith.   And the reason they want to drop repentance is because they don't see the true nature of sin. And what the commandments do, the Ten Commandments, they open up the law and show sin to be exceedingly sinful, and that necessitates repentance. Like with David, when he realized he'd committed adultery and lied and stolen his neighbor's wife, covered his neighbor's wife, murdered his neighbor, that's when he cried out, “Oh, have mercy upon me, oh God, according to your lovingkindness.”   If Nathan hadn't said, “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, and David hadn't said, I've sinned against heaven, he would have just said, oh, just believe. No, he had to get before God and agonize. Scripture says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners.”   Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Let your laugh to be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness.” That's contrition.   And the law that shows us the nature of sin produces contrition, sorrow for sin, which works repentance, godly sorrow, works repentance unto life. So, it's most necessary to preach, as Jesus did, repent and believe in that order.   Laura Dugger: (48:04 - 48:13) That is so good. Ray, where can we go to continue learning from you and continue to be inspired by the faithful work that you're doing?   Ray Comfort: (48:14 - 48:46) Very kind of you to say that. LivingWaters.com, sign up for our newsletter. We've always got interesting stuff.   We give away a lot of stuff. Watch the YouTube channel. We have different videos each day.   We put one up four days ago that's had 4.6 million views. And so, it's a wonderful way to reach the lost. So, follow us.   Just become part of a YouTube channel, subscribe, and that really helps us and helps further our reach. So LivingWaters.com and LivingWaters YouTube.   Laura Dugger: (48:47 - 49:05) Wonderful. We'll make sure to add those links in the show notes for today's episode. And as you already know, our podcast is entitled The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge.   And so, as my final question for you today, Ray, what is your Savvy Sauce?   Ray Comfort: (49:06 - 49:12) My wife. Is that okay to say that?   Laura Dugger: (49:12 - 49:17) I love that. Do you want to say anything more specific about her?   Ray Comfort: (49:17 - 49:44) Sue and I have been married for 108 years, 54. We love each other. She's my best friend.   She works at the ministry and also I love my dog. And one thing I might say just as we close is don't call this anything to do with evangelism. That'll kill.   Use the word apologetics or say Ray Comfort says this about his wife. Anything other than evangelism that scares Christians off.   Laura Dugger: (49:45 - 49:50) Wow. Interesting. So that's been your experience.   That makes sense.   Ray Comfort: (49:51 - 50:25) Yeah. That's a principle we use at the ministry. If we have a conference, don't mention evangelism.   No one will come. It's like someone saying to me, “Hey, want to go door knocking, tell people about Jesus?” I go; I just wouldn't want to do that.   And there's a reason for it. As a new Christian, I knocked on someone's door, fully aware that Jehovah's Witnesses had stolen our thunder, and I said to this lady, “Hello, I'm not a Jehovah's Witness.” She said, “Well, I am.”   And so, I've got this aversion to door knocking, and that's what most Christians are like when it comes to evangelism. So, call it something else.   Laura Dugger: (50:25 - 50:50) Wow. So practical, again. And Ray, you've just stewarded your many gifts that God has given you.   You've stewarded them so well and so wisely. I can just imagine God greeting you someday and having just, well done, good and faithful servant. So, thank you for generously taking the time to share with us today.   I'm grateful for you, and I just want to say thank you for being my guest.   Ray Comfort: (50:51 - 50:52) Well, thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger: (50:53 - 54:35) One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?   It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.   We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now?   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?   We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.   If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.   We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you ready to get started? First, tell someone.   Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.   I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.   I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

John 7:14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. John 7:15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” John 7:16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. John 7:17 If anyone’s will is to […]

HE WILL GLORIFY ME   John 16:1-15   I. A Warning of Coming Danger; vs.1-4 II. The Promise of The Spirit; vs.5-7 III. The Spirit Convicts the World; vs.8-11 IV. The Spirit Guides the Believer; vs.12-15 Jesus teaches on the Holy Spirit who is promised to all believers.

The Spirit teaches us how to glorify Christ both now and to the day of eternity. We give glory to Christ by our, 1. Diligence to be found without spot or blemish 2. Steadfast commitment to the truth 3. Growth in the grace and knowledge of ChristTime:MorningMinister:Rev. J. VanSpronsenTexts:2 Peter 3:14–182 Peter 1:1–11

Psalm 148 (LSB)Andrew and Edwin discuss the need God's people have, whether geo-political Israel under the Mosaic covenant or the heavenly Israel in Christ's covenant, to praise and worship the Lord.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=22657The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

(This podcast was previously recorded and published on May 31, 2020)   Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...    Jesus made Himself of no reputation and even came to earth in the form of a human.  And because Jesus obeyed God, HE was given a name that is above all names.  (Philippians 2)   Before we are born again we want to have a big reputation and we even work to achieve such.   After we are born again, we begin learning to control ourselves and we learn not to allow our flesh to rule over us.   Every time we do the word of God we are recreated in the image of Christ.   It is a continual process as long as we live on this present earth. *****   Philippians 2   5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:   6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:   (Jesus who was God, took on the form of a human, and didn't think he had to be equal with God.)   7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:   8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.   9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: *** The work of the flesh to glorify itself is called "emulations" in the Bible.   Galatians 5    19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,   20 Idolatry, witchcraft (living in superstitions), hatred, variance (arguing), emulations (exalting yourself above others), wrath (wanting to see people punished), strife, seditions, heresies,   21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ***   Matthew 7    Jesus says   24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:   25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.   26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:   27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. *** Controlling your own flesh by the Word of God and by prayer.   Colossians 3   1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.   2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.   3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.   4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.   5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:   6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:   7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.   8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.   9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;   10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of HIM that created him:   11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.   12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;   ***   When we feel our flesh about to rise up to exalt itself, we can pray, "God, please don't let me say that!"   God will help us to control our flesh.  

Psalm 148 (The Message)Andrew and Edwin discuss the rulers, authorities, and very important people who need to praise God (including all of us no matter how important we are).Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=22645The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

You make God look good when you trust him fully—especially in hard, uncertain moments. Give him all the glory! -------- Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible.     Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org   Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Psalm 148 (NKJV)Andrew and Edwin discuss the creations and creatures of God on earth which should and do praise Him.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=22636The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

Have you ever felt a quiet sense of pride after giving, like you were just a little more faithful than others?It's a subtle temptation, but one we must take seriously. When our giving becomes a way to elevate ourselves rather than glorify God, we've missed the heart of generosity—and possibly much more.When Giving Becomes About UsSelf-righteous giving hides behind good behavior. It's giving to feel morally superior. Giving to prove we're spiritually ahead. Giving to show God—or others—that we've “got it right.”Jesus addressed this in Luke 18:“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector… The Pharisee… prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people… I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector… said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.”The tithing, fasting Pharisee was not justified—not because his actions were wrong, but because he trusted in himself.The Heart CheckReligious acts, even impressive ones, can't save us. When we give to make ourselves look good, we risk trusting in our performance rather than Christ's finished work.There's nothing wrong with joy in giving—God loves a cheerful giver. But when joy turns to superiority, we've crossed the line. As Deuteronomy 8 reminds us:“Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…”Everything we have—even the ability to give—comes from Him.Giving That Glorifies GodJesus warns in Matthew 6 not to give for the sake of being noticed. True generosity is humble, often quiet, and motivated by gratitude. It's giving that reflects Christ, not ourselves.John the Baptist put it best: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”So, if you notice pride in your giving:Confess it to the Lord. His grace cleanses and corrects.Refocus on gratitude. Remember how much you've been forgiven.Practice hidden generosity. Give anonymously or where no one will notice.Before each gift, pray: “Lord, may this reflect You, not me.” Because generosity is never about proving ourselves—it's about responding to the One who gave everything for us.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I'm 52 and currently have about 71% of my 401(k) invested in company stock, which has been generating returns of 30–36%. When and how should I begin diversifying to protect my retirement savings while still benefiting from my company's potential growth?My husband (62) and I (58) are debating whether to start collecting Social Security now. We still run our own business and earn an income, but I'm concerned about how starting Social Security could affect our Medicare coverage. What's the best strategy for our situation?I own and rent out a three-unit apartment building and want to know if there are any advantages to placing the property in an LLC.Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's New Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Hiiii GGB!   This week we open our Bibles to Hebrews 11, the “faith chapter,” and talk about why faith is so powerful when we sincerely seek God. We share pieces from our book and real life moments where trusting Him changed everything. Faith is not about having all the answers, it is about believing the One who does.   Episode starts at around 9 mins.   we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari   ORDER OUR NEW BOOK! You can order our new book “Out of the Wilderness— 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons” at girlsgonebible.com/book   JOIN US ON GGB+

A Regnum Christi Daily Meditation. Sign up to receive the text in your email daily at RegnumChristi.com

“Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.”‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭30‬:‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬Today is the day the Lord has made and we shall rejoice and be glad in it!!

John 17:24-26, Glorify Your Saints, Pastor John Divito by MVBC

Danny and Rebecca present part two of the significance of 'grace bombing' as a practice for family transformation, focusing on intentional acts of kindness, with Patrick Linnell, the founder of Grace Bomb. We'll discuss integrating grace bombing into family life to counter entitlement and instill gratitude. Patrick shares impactful stories and practical steps for engaging children of different ages in acts of kindness. The discussion emphasizes obedience, overcoming fear, and fostering joy through giving. And, we have some advice for a listener on handling potential autism spectrum behaviors in a child, providing resources and encouragement for navigating emotional outbursts. We're so happy you've joined us for this special episode! Grace Bomb Parenting Assessment Tool Get your free Grace Bomb cards here! We'd love to hear from you! Visit our Homepage to leave us a voicemail. If you enjoyed listening to Practice Makes Parent with Dr. Danny Huerta and Rebecca St. James, please give us your feedback.

Wednesday – Psalm 34 Selected VersesI will extol the Lord at all times;    his praise will always be on my lips.2 I will glory in the Lord;    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.3 Glorify the Lord with me;    let us exalt his name together.4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;    he delivered me from all my fears.6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;   he saved him out of all his troubles.17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;    he delivers them from all their troubles.18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.19 The righteous person may have many troubles,    but the Lord delivers him from them all;

Psalm 145 (CSB)Andrew and Edwin discuss parents raising up children to praise God.Read the written devo that goes along with this episode by clicking here.    Let us know what you are learning or any questions you have. Email us at TextTalk@ChristiansMeetHere.org.    Join the Facebook community and join the conversation by clicking here. We'd love to meet you. Be a guest among the Christians who meet on Livingston Avenue. Click here to find out more. Michael Eldridge sang all four parts of our theme song. Find more from him by clicking here.   Thanks for talking about the text with us today.________________________________________________If the hyperlinks do not work, copy the following addresses and paste them into the URL bar of your web browser: Daily Written Devo: https://readthebiblemakedisciples.wordpress.com/?p=22277The Christians Who Meet on Livingston Avenue: http://www.christiansmeethere.org/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TalkAboutTheTextFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/texttalkMichael Eldridge: https://acapeldridge.com/ 

On this special episode of Practice Makes Parent, Danny and Rebecca are live from the Homeschool Conference in Richmond, Virginia with Patrick Linnell, founder of Grace Bomb, a movement to carry out acts of kindness motivated by Jesus. Grace Bombing replaces random acts of kindness with intentional ones that point to Jesus. He recounts personal stories, including an impactful experience with his daughter that resulted in community transformation. We also answer a listener question regarding the Manosphere, a harmful influence of misogynistic content targeting young boys online. If you want to intentionally infuse the ideas of grace and kindness into your kids, this two-part episode is for you! Grace Bomb Parenting Assessment Tool Get your free Grace Bomb cards here! We'd love to hear from you! Visit our Homepage to leave us a voicemail.

  Hiiii GGB! Today we talk about idolatry in relationships. —Idolatry is the act of giving your heart, worship, dependence, or devotion to anything or anyone other than God. —It's not just about golden statues — it's about what rules your heart, occupies your mind, and shapes your identity. —Every idol must be dethroned — not always by removal, but by reordering your love. When God is first, everything else can be healthy and whole. You're not going to want to miss this one. Idolatry of any kind is destructive and breaks God's heart— and idolatry in your relationships causes major chaos and misalignment. we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari ORDER OUR NEW BOOK! You can order our new book “Out of the Wilderness— 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons” at girlsgonebible.com/book JOIN US ON GGB+

Pastor David Hwang shared from 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 concerning the Kingdom results that come from enduring suffering well. 

Scripture: 1 Samuel 21-22 and Psalm 34. Today's class is entitled ,“Crippling Fear.” Crippling Fear describes the kind of fear that can easily cripple us. But Crippling Fear also describes how God can cripple our fear.      1.    Fear can easily cripple us     2.    God can cripple our fear As our story opens we see Saul trying in every way possible to get rid of David, to kill him through any method he can find. Then Saul shares with Jonathan (his son and David's best friend) that he is determined to kill David and that he won't relent. And so David has to flee from Saul and he heads to Gath - Philistine territory. David left behind his position as one of the leaders of the Israelite army, his wife, his best friend, his home, his friends, and more.  David gets to Gath and is recognized. He had thought he could live there in anonymity, but being recognized, he became fearful.  Not just a little fearful but a lot fearful and so he decides to pretend to be insane in order to protect himself. This man who had been so courageous, is now paralyzed by overwhelming fear. So then David leaves Gath and goes back into Israelite territory to the caves of Abdullah.  David's father's family and his brorhers' families and others come to the cave with David.  It's at this time that David writes Psalm 34. There are four timeless truths in Psalm 34 that tell us how God can conquer our fear, something David knew but needed to be reminded of. And like David, that God conquers our fears is something we need to be reminded of too. Psalm 34 Truths     1.     PRAISE GOD (even in the darkest of times)  David didn't start out this poem with, “Woe, is me.” He started out with, “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” Praising God is to be our natural response of faith and transforms us from within because when we praise God we are looking to him not to our condition.  It's looking heavenward versus looking inward.     2.    GOD DELIVERS - strength is found in God's inner presence and not in our own strength. It is God alone who delivers us.  As David turns to God in praise he finds God ministering to his very soul, delivering him from fear. David is no longer crippled by fear but sees that God cripples fear!  As we praise God and He delivers us, the Lord Jesus encamps around us. Hi is the One who says, “I'll never leave you, don't be afraid, I am with you.”     3.    FEAR GOD - not in the sense of being afraid of Him - but in holy awe through repentance and in faith and in obedience.  Fear God alone and no one else.     4.    GOD SAVES - “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18  David reminds us that the Lord is close to us. He saves and restores us. He rescues us. How de we deal with the fear that cripples? The answer is we turn to God who cripples fear.  We turn to God, praising Him even in the fearful, hard, difficult, dark times. We praise Him because we know He is where we find deliverance from our fear. He conquers our fear. We come to Him in holy awe, in faith, in repentance and in obedience because we know He saves us. He rescues us   IT'S ALL ABOUT GOD! What will it be in our lives? Are we going to allow fear to cripple us or will we turn to the One who cripples fear for us?  It's a simple but profound and important choice. Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Because Christ is our Lord and the giver of all good things, we must not only reject the self-centered life of the thief, but must also embrace the self-giving generosity of Christ. I. God Commanded His Old Covenant People Israel Not to Steal from One Another! Ex 20:15 II. God is the One Who Gives What We Need to Glorify and Enjoy Him! Jas 1:17; 1 Tim 6:17; III. God Calls us as Christians to a Stewardship of Christ-like Generosity with our things Eph 4:28

Jesus' Final Prayer G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 20 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Last time we met with two people who encountered Jesus! The rich young ruler went away disconsolate and in sadness! The female outcast went away celebrating her new found freedom and told many others of this Jesus! Now today we come to Jesus' final prayer with God the Father. Jesus has shown throughout his life on earth that God yearns to be in relationship with humanity. That is part of the New Covenant we looked at earlier in this series! So what can we learn from this prayer? 1. Jesus prays for Himself John 17v1-5 - Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life-to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. Central to this part of his prayer is glorification. That is the glorification of himself in order that God the Father who sent him will be glorified. Glorify means, in a biblical context, to have the person's true nature disclosed. So in effect, Jesus starts the prayer by saying May people see me for who I truly am, your Son. And may they also, through me, see your true nature, Father! Praying as Jesus does, just before he knowingly goes to his death, shows the importance of his death. Why is Jesus' death important? We will come to that later on in this series, but for now it is through Jesus' death that both God the Father and Jesus will be glorified. Jesus' death will reveal a God of love, faithfulness and forgiveness. Jesus' entire earthly life has been one to show divine love. All Jesus' works and words were completed without even a hint of hypocrisy. His entire life was driven by the desire to see people, born separated from God, to be reunited with God: like the Samaritan woman we talked about last time - the woman who turned to God for reconciliation and forgiveness. It was through Jesus' death alone, that this was accomplished. Jesus confidently prays that having laid aside his glory by taking on human form, he will return to God's right hand, having achieved this work he was given. 2. Jesus prays for His Disciples John 17v6-8 - I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me, and they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything you gave me is firsthand from you, for the message you gave me, I gave them; and they took it, and were convinced that I came from you. They believed that you sent me. In this part of the prayer, Jesus prays for his disciples. Note how he describes them: they were chosen by God himself, seen God in Jesus and have received God's words and obeyed them (John 17v6). John 17v6, 9-10 tells us that the disciples were in the safe possession of both the Father and the Son. John 17v7-8 shows what the disciples know. Despite misunderstanding frequently what Jesus was talking about, the disciples still grasped that Jesus had come from God. He has told them that they will have to endure persecution and suffering because they are His followers, so Jesus prays for their safety. They will be safe, not because of their own cunning, character or conduct. They will be safe because of God's care and protection (John 17v11-12). As they are God's possession, he will ensure that they are watched over and protected. This security is also born from glorifying God and being witnesses for him (John 17v10). Who are the disciples' enemies and why do they need protecting (John 17v11-12, 15)? The first enemy is the world who does not know God and is therefore in rebellion against God. The disciples were told of this prior to this prayer. Then there is Satan and his demons, who are also enemies of the disciples and will do all he can to stop God being glorified in the life of the disciples. God will keep them safe through His mighty name and nature. By remaining loyal to Jesus, obedient to his teachings and telling others about him, God's name & nature will therefore protect them. Jesus also prays that they may be filled with joy (John 17v13), be dedicated wholly to him and trusting him alone - unlike the rich young ruler who left Jesus disconsolate. The disciples now have a mission and purpose to fulfil - to tell others of Jesus. This mission, though whilst their responsibility, is not theirs alone but is the continuation of Jesus' mission to bring people to reconciliation with God - extending the New Covenant to others 3. Jesus prays for all future Disciples John 17v24-26 - Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendour you gave me, Having loved me Long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them - Who you are and what you do - And continue to make it known, So that your love for me Might be in them Exactly as I am in them. Then finally, Jesus prays for all those who, through the work of the disciples, will become his followers. As such, it brings all Christians into intimacy with God through Jesus and be a part of a dynamic relationship with him - resulting from the New Covenant. What does Jesus pray for? Jesus prays for unity. That is unity on various levels. Firstly it is unity on the invisible, supernatural level (John 17v21-22). The lives of all Christians will be inextricably linked to each other, through the love and obedience of God the Son and God the Father. Christians will be united because Jesus imparts upon them, the glory given to Him by God the Father (John 17v22). This unity is also physical, in so much as through a visible unity, people will come to know Jesus personally and take up the offer of reconciliation with God (John 17v21, 23) because Jesus seals and fulfils the New Covenant. This unity is also physically seen, through the telling of the message of reconciliation (John 17v20). Jesus' prayer, reveals the intimacy to be had between God and humanity. Jesus embodied a God who was living and wanted to reconcile the world back to himself, ever since the days when Adam & Eve sinned against God. We will come to see more of how this is to be through the events of the coming days, of what we call "Easter". Tomorrow we look at the events on Jesus Last Night. Thank you. Right mouse click or tap here to download as a MP3 audio file

Today we're studying D&C 76:43 in just one minute! Grab your scriptures and let's dive into them together!! And grab study guides for the whole family here:  - To get Cali's scripture study guide for adults click here:  https://comefollowmestudy.com/shop/ Discount code: OMSS Or purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/4WDM8H0 - Kristen's daily scripture study help is available for kids/teens/adults in digital and physical form here :https://kristenwalkersmith.com/starthere/ And for weekly help understanding the storyline of Come Follow Me check out her YouTube videos here: https://kristenwalkersmith.com/youtube/ Get our 365-day Doctrine and Covenants daily devotional book: https://a.co/d/aE3Wp4D  

Sermon Notes:· Where do you find joy when the ups and downs of life are far more than you can handle?· How is your joy level?· God is calling us to embrace the life he has for us. To do that we have to embrace the darkest moments and follow him through.· The Psalms are uniquely suited to foster communion with God. They give voice to our hearts. - Dane Ortland· We often believe that if we are struggling we can't walk with God.· When we isolate we often walk further into darkness and further into shame and guilt.· David models for us how to turn his fear and shame from the darkness into the Joy of worship.· “Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.” Heading of Psalm 34· "I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." (v.1) What happened this week that made praise difficult for you?· Vs. 2 "I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice."· What are you reflecting to the afflicted around you?· Vs, 3 "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together."· Who can you show God's glory to this week?· Affliction doesn't disqualify us from praising—it often makes our praise more real.· "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." (v.4)· What is your greatest fear?· Vs. 5- "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."· One of the greatest gifts God can give to me is to change me to look more like HIM!· Radiance is God's perfect antidote for Shame.· Shame falls away when we behold the glory and grace of God.· LOOK TO HIM!· "This poor man called, and the Lord heard him. He saved Him out of all his troubles" (v.6)· What do you need God to rescue you from today?· vs. 7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."· "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." (v.8)· When we are with God, we experience real joy· What might be your next step in the darkness? (next 4 lines on one slide)· Call out to Him in the darkness.· Bring the real you before God.· Seek refuge in the Lord· Find your people· Are you living your darkest moment right now?· Have you said, “I can handle this,” instead of surrendering it to God?· Healing comes when we face darkness and behold the Lord.· He is offering you His joy in the darkness. LIFE Group Discussion QuestionsShare about a time when darkness ruled in your life. What helped you the most during that difficult time?Read Psalm 34:1-81) David is described as a man after God's own heart. However, leading into Psalm 34 David struggles to the point of insanity. How does David's story resonate with you?2) What happened this week that made praise difficult for you?3) What is the most prominent fear in your life? How has that fear impacted your walk with God and others?4) How do you typically handle fear and shame?5) When have you experienced God's presence in overcoming fear?6) What do you need God to rescue you from today?7) Who can you God's glory to this week?

Happy Anniversary to Joni and Ken Tada – 43 years of marriage! Listen in as Joni talks about why she and Ken lean so hard on the Lord as a married couple. -------- Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible.   Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.   Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Psalm 34   Selected verses1 I will extol the Lord at all times;    his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the Lord;    let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the Lord with me;    let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;    he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant;    their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;    he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,    and his ears are attentive to their cry;17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;    he delivers them from all their troubles.18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

We've had in the past devotee appreciation days. We call them D.A.D. — Devotee Appreciation Day. We did it for maybe four years, and by the fourth year, I remember driving home and saying to Nirākulā, "How do you feel?" She said, "Alright." And I said, "Well, I don't feel quite right." We felt some anxiety. As we discussed it more, we realized that we were both feeling some anxiety, and we were able, finally, by Krishna's giving us intelligence, to understand what it was. We couldn't say enough about the devotees, although we tried. For those of you who were there during those times, the D.A.D.s, everyone would try. Some, the overachievers in our group, which is 99% of the population, would get up and try to exalt as many devotees as they could. In fact, in those days, it might have even been possible for the valedictorian, the 1600-SAT-type person, to think of everybody and say something about each one. But it was rare and hard, and for those of us who are not so capable, it seemed like "a dwarf," as Prabhupāda sometimes said, "reaching for the moon." Somehow, we felt unfulfilled that we weren't able to say enough. Or maybe that feeling when we fell asleep at night, we woke up at one in the morning and thought, "Oh, I missed somebody!" And it made us realize that it's not possible to fully express our gratitude to the devotees for their association. I'm saying for everyone involved, because I know other devotees felt like that, too. But we can express our gratitude to one another by holding space the way we've been asked to by Krishna and our spiritual masters: to show up for our services and set an example for others. And whenever we have the opportunity, when it comes naturally, to fully express, or as far as possible, express our gratitude to the devotees. (excerpt from HG Vaisesika Dasa's talk) We were in the U.K., and I was asked to speak with Jāhnavī Jīvana's mom, and who many of you have met, Guru Charaṇa Padmā. She's a lovely devotee. And we were talking about the six loving exchanges, and one realization I had was that a loving exchange can be something like, which was really valuable to me, was giving gifts and giving the gift of service to someone. I remember the devotees who have given me service, and it's a gift that, you know, as they say, keeps on giving. So, as you know, we have so many devotees that have been here for decades, and we're welcoming soon, so many new faces. Let's open our hearts to them as well and make them feel as loved and supported and appreciated and valued as we all feel for the devotees we know really well. And if we have some service that we can give to them, do it. It's the biggest gift that you can give to someone, because, you know, what's the saying? “Your sevā will save you." I'm sure all of you have experienced that somewhere in your lives already. I know we have, I continue to experience that. So, if you have the opportunity to encourage someone, especially someone new to the community, please, please do it. Let them feel the completeness, the acceptance, the care that we all give to each other who we've known for so long. That's one of the most valuable things that we have as a family and a community. (excerpt from HG Nirakula Dasi's talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/

If today you're going through a tough time and you're tempted to unload it on someone - don't do it. Instead, be a testimony and boast in Jesus. -------- Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible.   Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.   Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Pastor Jesus Arriaga uses the Mandalorian phrase “this is the way” to emphasize that David's declaration in Psalm 63:3—“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you”—points us to making God's love the guiding principle of our lives.

Missionary Amy Carmichael once expressed a powerful truth: “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”That quote reminds us that generosity isn't just something we do—it reflects who we are in Christ. So, how do we grow into more joyful, intentional givers? Today, we'll talk with Ron Blue about what he calls “living giving”— and how that mindset can bring real financial freedom.Ron Blue is the Co-Founder of Kingdom Advisors and the author of many books on biblical finance, most notably Master Your Money: A Step-by-Step Plan for Experiencing Financial Contentment.Giving Is a Spiritual DecisionGiving reflects our trust in God. When we give—and give first—we're saying, “Lord, You gave this to me, and I'm returning to You what's already Yours. I trust You to meet my needs.”It's a profound shift in perspective. Instead of centering our financial lives on ourselves, giving reorients our hearts toward God's purposes. It stretches our faith and loosens money's grip on our hearts. It doesn't shrink your life—it expands it.Ron Blue classically says, “Do your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going.” That's more than a catchy phrase. It's a philosophy rooted in joy. Too many people wait until death to make significant gifts, missing the delight of seeing God work through their generosity in real time.There's something deeply joyful about watching God use what you've given. It's not just about writing a will—it's about living with open hands.True Financial Freedom Starts With Open HandsThink of your money like a closed fist or an open hand. When your fist is closed, you're trying to control or keep what you think is yours. But when you open your hand, you're saying to God, “This is Yours. Use it as You will.”That's what true financial freedom looks like—not merely having enough, but being free from money's control altogether. God doesn't need our money, He wants our hearts. And He knows that money is one of the greatest competitors for our love.As you reflect on your own financial life, maybe it's time to stop asking, “How much do I have to give?” And start asking, “How can I use what I've been given to glorify God—right now?”You can find Ron's book Master Your Money: A Step-by-Step Plan for Experiencing Financial Contentment wherever books are sold.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I use a donor-advised fund for charitable contributions and would like to contribute to a mission trip that my church is organizing. I'm wondering if it's legal from an IRS standpoint to contribute directly to an individual going on a mission trip, or do I give it to the mission fund?I'm paying off a credit card after my mom's death, which costs me $320 a month. I have two options: continue with my current plan or have my wife assist me in paying it off. I wanted to get advice on which approach would be the best to help pay it off.I sell items on eBay, and I'm confused about my tax reporting. When preparing my 2024 taxes, eBay flagged me about my 1099-K, stating that I didn't make enough to require the form. Do I need to add this to my Social Security? As I look online, I've just gotten more confused about different reporting requirements.I'm taking an early retirement, and I understand that I can only earn $24,300 before it impacts my Social Security. It looks like I'm going to go over that amount by just a bit. Do they tax anything over the $24,300, or do they tax the whole amount?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's New Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Master Your Money: A Step-by-Step Plan for Experiencing Financial Contentment by Ron BlueChristian Credit CounselorsWisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money (Pre-Order)Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Whether you are stressed in the morning about the day ahead or desperate to calm your mind in the evening before bed, peace often feels elusive—and sometimes God does too. But even in the midst of life's uncertainties, God is ever present and ready to offer His comfort, if only you seek Him. Join me and my friend, Kara Stout, as we talk about our own struggle with anxiety, coming to God with our grief, and finding peace that truly lasts. Get a copy of Kara's devotional, An Untroubled Heart. -- OUR SPONSOR: Thank you to Glorify for sponsoring this show. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠glorify-app.com/truthtalk⁠⁠⁠⁠s right now to download the Glorify app for free. -- CONNECT WITH TARA: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Her book⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Her website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Her discount code page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The free, email family⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sponsor a child through Compassion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cloverdale Bibleway 25-0507

Welcome back to Let's Try This Again—I'm your host, B Simone, and in this episode, I'm sitting down with one of my favorite people, a relationship coach and magnetic matchmaker, Spicy Mari, who's been a constant source of support and inspiration in my life. We get real about what it means to juggle motherhood, marriage, and entrepreneurship, especially when your world gets turned upside down by a new baby. Spicy Mari, who is a mom to a three-year-old, opens up about the beautiful chaos of toddlerhood and how becoming a mother stretched her in ways she never expected—like learning to put her own needs second and giving herself permission to slow down and focus on her child, even when her business was always her “first baby.”We talk about the challenges of keeping your relationship strong after having a child, and how easy it is to fall into the trap of comparing who's doing more at home. Mari shares how therapy and honest conversations helped her navigate those tough moments, and why it's so important to be intentional about filling your own cup, even when your schedule is packed and your energy is low. We also get into the difference between how women and men handle responsibilities—how women often take on more, not just because they have to, but because it matters to us in a way it just doesn't for men. Whether you're a mom, dreaming of motherhood, or just trying to keep your relationships healthy and balanced, this episode is packed with relatable stories, practical advice, and a whole lot of heart.Sponsors//Simply Pop: See what the fizz is all about! Simply Pop is the juicy new soda that happens when you combine delicious, real fruit flavors of Simply with 6 grams of prebiotic fiber to support gut health. Visit https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/legal/simply-pop-podcast-tour. Glorify App: Visit Glorify-app.com/trythisagain right now to download the Glorify app for free.Liquid IV: No matter what your summer brings: Tear. Pour. Live More. Go to LIQUIDIV.com and get 20% off your first order with code BSIMONE at checkout.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Growing your family is one of the most exciting endeavors, but it's also full of unknowns and worries. What will our current children think and react to the change? How can we as parents handle juggling more kids to care for and prioritize a godly marriage? Aubrey Coleman, mama of three and devoted to ministry (online and off) is here to talk us through it all. If I had one word for this conversation, it would be "sweet." Aubrey is sharing biblically helpful truth for how to help our littles not just adjust, but rejoice with the change that comes with a new sibling, as well as how to stay connected to your spouse and not fall into the "roommate phase." Get a copy of Aubrey's board book for yourself or a baby shower gift. -- OUR SPONSOR: Thank you to Glorify for sponsoring this show. Visit ⁠⁠⁠glorify-app.com/truthtalk⁠⁠⁠s right now to download the Glorify app for free. -- CONNECT WITH TARA: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Her book⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Her website⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Her discount code page⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠The free, email family⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sponsor a child through Compassion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psalm 86,Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. This Sunday begins another summer in the psalms for us at Cities Church, and after several years, we're now more than halfway through the book. The psalms are something of the Bible's prayer guide and songbook. They teach us, in more than a hundred shapes and sizes, how to sing and how to pray. They model the inner life of genuine faith — the emotional life of a follower of Christ. They give us the mountains and valleys that come with trusting and following him. And there are great mountains, and great valleys, that come for anyone who follows Christ.Psalm 86 is a valley psalm. It's a desperate psalm — not a hopeless psalm, but a desperate one. It teaches us how to pray when trouble comes.Do you know how to pray when trouble comes? Not just: “Lord, help me” or “fix this,” but do you pray about trouble the way the Bible prays about trouble? I know I don't always pray the way this psalm prays. Preparing for this sermon, I was reminded of a prayer we prayed before meals in our home growing up:“God is great, God is good, and we thank you for this food.”I have no idea where the prayer came (maybe my parents made it up), and I don't entirely understand it. “God is great, and God is good. . . .” Isn't great better than good? Maybe “great” means big, mighty, awesome, and good means he's for us? Whatever it means, I'm so thankful for those thirteen simple words. How many children grow up in homes where they never acknowledge God has anything to do with the food on the table? How many children never hear their parents acknowledge God at all (except maybe to use his name in vain)? But I heard — PB&J after PB&J, spaghetti after spaghetti — “God is great, God is good, and he's the one who gave us this food.”It was a good prayer for 3-year-old, 4-year-old, 5-year old heart and mind — and yet if you and I had lunch this week and I still prayed like that, there would be something off, right? Hopefully I've grown some in the ways I express my thankfulness for spaghetti. Hopefully I still grow in thanking him.I wonder if some of us are praying 4-year-old prayers about trials. We haven't learned how to pray grown-up prayers about the trouble in our lives — and we all have trouble in our lives of various kinds. We haven't said, like the disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And that's my prayer for this morning, “Lord, teach us to pray, in this case about the hard things in our lives.” Four Prayers for Any TroubleBefore we try and learn how to pray about our trouble, we need to ask about the actual trouble here in Psalm 86. Why is David crying out to God like this?We don't know a lot, and it takes a while before we really learn any details about his situation, but we do find out what's going on near the end of the psalm. Look at verse 14:O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.We have plenty of insolent men in our day, but we don't call them that. Insolent men are rude men who don't show respect for others (even the king). They're troublemakers who stir up division and hostility. These horrible men are trying to kill the king. We don't know who these particular insolent men were, and unfortunately there were so many insolent men who tried to kill David throughout his life that we can't even guess which ones these might be. Can you imagine? I don't think any of you have ever gone to bed knowing someone is driving around looking for you, trying to kill you. That was normal for David. He was in serious trouble here.And while our trouble is different from his, I believe God means for David's trouble to teach us how to pray in our trouble, whatever trouble we face. I want to summarize the lessons in four simple prayers:Meet my need.Glorify your name.Teach me your way.Gladden my heart.Grown-up prayers don't need to be long or complicated. There are precious lessons for us in these four simple prayers.Prayer 1: Meet My NeedFirst, “Lord, meet my need.” David doesn't mention the insolent men in the first verses, but he does start right off by praying for what he needs in the moment. Beginning in verse 1:Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you — you are my God.Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.In other words, meet my immediate need. These guys are really trying to kill me, and I'm asking you to stoop down and intervene on my behalf. Do something about this, God. I know there are millions of people on earth, but I'm asking you to focus your infinite wisdom and strength to protect one of those millions from a few men.When you think about what the psalms are — these divinely-inspired prayer-songs, meant to be studied, memorized, and rehearsed for thousands of years — it's kind of wild how specific some of them are. God clearly wanted us to hear godly saints pray for specifics. It's one of the great gifts of the psalms (and of all the prayers in the Bible). We get to hear real people pray about real stuff. God knew we would have our own specifics (and he knew that our specifics would be really different from theirs), and he wanted us to know how to pray for specifics.Do you still pray for the specifics in your life, even the little specifics?Philippians 4:6 says:Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.God wants us to pray for specific needs — large or small, anything and everything. If you're anxious about something this morning — about anything — he wants you to pray about it. One way God accomplishes his God-sized plans for the world is to address you-sized needs in the world.Lord, meet my need.Prayer 2: Glorify Your NameOkay, so the first prayer — “Meet my need” — is a real and good prayer. We pray for specifics — like when mad men are trying to kill us or when the youngest child's eye starts swelling suddenly. David really wants God to intervene in his actual human life and change something. Meet my need! That's not the highest prayer in Psalm 86, though. And this is where our prayers start to grow up into fuller maturity. Let's start in verse 6:Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. He's still asking for help. Give ear to my prayer — meet my specific need. What does he say next? This is the second prayer: “Glorify your name.” Here's how David prays it:There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.Why would he pray like that? Lord, I need you to protect me from these bad guys. They're trying to kill me, and I need you to stop them. “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” Why does he pray like that? Why would he suddenly go from his particular need that day to the promise that all nations are going to worship this God? David prays like this because our confidence in asking God to do anything in our lives is rooted in his commitment to do all things for his glory. God will glorify his name — we see this all throughout the Bible, from beginning to end — and, amazingly, he chooses to glorify himself through showing kindness to us. He pours grace on undeserving people like me — grace to forgive me and save me from hell, grace to change me and empower me to live more like him, and grace to meet my very practical needs — to provide the food I need, and the home I need, and the job I need. God spreads his glory by loving his needy people. And so we don't just pray, “God, deliver me from insolent men because you like to help people.” (He does.) No, we pray, like David, “Meet my need, because meeting my need will show the world what kind of God you are — that you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, that you never abandon your children, that you own everything in the universe and will spend your infinite riches to care for us, that you have the power and authority to heal any illness and mend any relationship, no matter how hopeless it seems right now. How glorious will you look, God, if you do this! Glorify your name through my need.This prayer — for God to glorify his name among all the nations — serves at least two great purposes in trouble, though. First, it grounds our hope that he might actually do something. He'll care for us because that's how he reveals his glory. But second, a prayer like this widens our eyes beyond our immediate need or heartache to remember what God is and will absolutely do in the world. “The nations you have made shall come and worship before you.” That's going to happen, no question — no matter what happens in my little circumstances here. And when that happens, all my little (or big) circumstances will be made right. Oh man, things are hard right now — really hard — but I know what you're doing in the universe. And I know no one can stop you. And when you do it, I won't have to pray these prayers anymore. Praying “glorify your name” gets us out of the ruts of only praying about our needs. You've probably been here. I know I have been. Our prayer lives can become almost all about the job, the job, the job. The spouse, the spouse, the spouse. The child, the child, the child. The injury or sickness or weakness or conflict. Praying like David lifts out of our need to see the bigger picture. God is glorifying his name all over the world, and one day soon all the nations will worship him. That doesn't mean we don't pray meet-my-need prayers; it just puts those prayers into perspective.God, meet my need, for your glory.Prayer 3: Teach Me Your WayThose aren't the only two prayers in this psalm, though. When trouble comes to David, he prays, meet my need, glorify your name, and then, third, teach me your way. Verse 11:Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.Let this trouble, this trial be an opportunity for you to make me more holy — to refine away more of the remaining sin in my life. More than peace or relief from this trouble, I want greater godliness. Notice he says, verse 2: “Preserve my life, for I am godly.” He doesn't think God's using this trouble mainly to confront him (we see that in other psalms). But even though he believes he's doing the right things in this case, he wants to be even more like God. God, use this trouble to sanctify me. Teach me your way, O Lord.This is James 1:Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4).And don't just teach me to do certain things (and avoid others). No, this prayer is much bolder than that.Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.I don't want you to just help me do the right things (and not the bad things). I want you to change me somewhere deeper than my doing. I want you to change me in here. I want you to unite my heart toward you. I feel how distracted and divided my heart can be, and I want my whole heart to be united, aligned toward you.And I know that you often change me for the better in here through something hard out there. Do you think that way when trouble comes? You get bad news of some kind. You feel hostility or opposition of some kind. Do you think, Oh, God's about to make me more like God. I know I don't always think that way. I think, I don't like this. God, why this? Why now? Why this long?I've talked before about a bad leak we had in our kitchen late last summer. Well, that trial isn't over yet, now more than nine months later. I won't get into all of it, but it's been a real trial. I call it a “small-t trial” because we're praying for some of you going through far worse. But it's been a trial. And in my low moments, I haven't had a Psalm 86 heart about it. I've had a can't-this-just-be-over attitude. We've wrestled with God. Reading these verses again these last couple weeks, as the back-and-forth with the contractor took another bad turn, was so good for my soul. Oh Lord, this is getting worse again, you must be about to make me more like you. . . . Lord, deliver me from bad actors, for we are godly. We're doing all we can to deal with this in a way that honors you. But we're not content to be delivered. We want to be sanctified. We want the fire of this trial to burn off more of our sin and to prove and fortify whatever in us pleases you. Teach us your way, O Lord.And, at least in this psalm, we want you to make us more like you in one way in particular. This brings us to the fourth and final prayer. This one's the most surprising to me.Prayer 4: Gladden My SoulI really want you to see this fourth prayer. We'll start again in verse 3:Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.Do you pray like this when trouble comes? Not just, “Get me through this,” but “God, make me happier in you, even now, even here.” Gladden my heart in this darkness, this valley. Give me reasons to rejoice in you, reasons bigger than all the pain and uncertainty I'm experiencing right now.I want to have faith like David's. It was so dark in his life at this moment that he can't see around the corner — he's not sure if he'll survive — and yet he can see enough to enjoy God. This reminds us of the Christians in 1 Peter 1, who were being grieved by various trials, and yet Peter writes, verses 8–9,“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” All David can see is hostility and deceit and loneliness, and yet his joy doesn't rest on what he can see. It rests on what he can't see, because he knows he can't see the most important things, the most precious things. His treasure is in heaven. His citizenship is in heaven. His hope is in heaven. And so his valleys, even his darkest valleys, hold a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. The world can't explain this kind of joy — in David or in you.And it's here that we remember that David is not only teaching us to pray here in Psalm 86, but he's also teaching us to sing. The psalms were not written merely to be read and recited. No, they were written and memorized to be sung. As we walk through some especially dark psalms this summer, it's good to be reminded that these are songs. This is worship. Is there anything more Christian than singing through suffering? God is teaching us to bear what we have to bear by lifting our voices in praise — because songs like these say more about reality than our eyes ever could. Our eyes betray us, but the psalms never betray us.We always have a reason to sing about who God is for us and what he's done for us, and that's where I want to close.You Have Delivered My SoulAs we prepare to baptize two people now, they're coming to declare that God has delivered them. He hasn't delivered them from pain and suffering yet. In fact, they may experience more trouble because they've chosen to follow Jesus. Many do experience more trouble. Maybe you have suffered more trouble in your family, your neighborhood, or your workplace because you're a Christian. Jesus says,“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). These two haven't been delivered from all trouble, but they have been saved from the worst trouble. And David prays that way right here in Psalm 86. Verse 12:I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.I might die, but I'm not going to die — because you have already delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol, from that awful prison called death. I'm still suffering for now, but you've already delivered me. . . . How much more boldly can we sing this now, in Christ? This is Hebrews 2:14–15:Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.And how did he destroy the one who has the power of death and deliver those who were enslaved to the fear of death? By dying at the hands of insolent men. And he didn't bear it with groaning, but with gladness.“For the joy that was set before him, [he] endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).In other words, when insolent men came to arrest him, abuse him, and crucify him, the Father gladdened the heart of his servant. He took the cross for you, with joy. And if he could bear that trial with joy in the Father, surely I can bear my small-t trials with greater joy in him.

Anyone else itching to create their summer bucket list? In today's episode, I'm sharing a spin on the traditional bucket list - introducing, a bored board. More than anything, I'm craving moments to exercise creativity, hospitality, and presence with God and His people, and I'm so excited for this board to help facilitate that. You'll learn how to create your own bored board, our family's ideas, and much more. Visit the Tiny Theologians shop for our favorite discipleship resources for kids. Use code TARASUN for 10% off your purchase. -- OUR SPONSOR: Thank you to Glorify for sponsoring this show. Visit ⁠⁠⁠glorify-app.com/truthtalk⁠⁠⁠s right now to download the Glorify app for free. -- CONNECT WITH TARA: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Books / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Website and booking to speak⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Everyday Cross Necklace / ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠The free, email family⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"It's already been done before. I can't start until it's perfect. What if it's too late? What will people say?" If you've ever asked those questions, you're not alone. Today's guest, Mary Marantz, understands what it's like to be paralyzed by fear and people's opinions. In this conversation, we are dismantling the lies that the enemy uses to keep us small and keep us away from making moves with God, and so much more. Check out "Underestimated" by Mary Marantz today. -- OUR SPONSOR: Thank you to Glorify for sponsoring this show. Visit ⁠⁠glorify-app.com/truthtalk⁠⁠s right now to download the Glorify app for free. -- CONNECT WITH TARA: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠Her book⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠Her website⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠Her discount code page⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠The free, email family⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠Sponsor a child through Compassion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I couldn't be more proud to have Jacob Valk, co-founder of Into the Light Ministries, return to the show. Today, we're diving into the sometimes tender, but always important conversation about raising children of integrity and how to prepare them to stand against the dangers online. If you've ever wondered how to go about these often uncomfortable conversations, we're shedding gospel-light on them today. Into the Light Ministries was formed to equip believers with the truth about of God-given sexuality, how to find freedom from p*rn, and so much more. We're talking all about how parents can be equipped to raise children among a dangerous online climate, how to honor the Lord, how to help our children understand God's design, and what practical ways we can safeguard our technology. Parents - you're not going to want to miss this. Watch Into the Light's latest resource for families for free and connect with them online. -- OUR SPONSOR: Thank you to Glorify for sponsoring this show. Visit ⁠glorify-app.com/truthtalk⁠s right now to download the Glorify app for free. -- CONNECT WITH TARA: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Her book⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Her website⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Her discount code page⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠The free, email family⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠Sponsor a child through Compassion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is in honor of mamas everywhere. The ones who hold so much and are desperate for real, true, soul rest, but are not sure how to get it when so much depends on them. Becky Thompson is here on the podcast to help us connect the dots between mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical rest, what the Bible says about sitting in God's presence, the science behind our racing thoughts and how to ease them, and so much more. Send this to a mom frien dand encourage her. We hope this episode provides you solace, encouragement, and Scripture to walk away with today! Grab a copy of "Healing Rest" here. -- OUR SPONSOR: Thank you to Glorify for sponsoring this show. Visit glorify-app.com/truthtalks right now to download the Glorify app for free. -- CONNECT WITH TARA: ⁠Instagram⁠ / ⁠Her book⁠ / ⁠Her website⁠ / ⁠Her discount code page⁠ / ⁠YouTube⁠ / ⁠The free, email family⁠ / ⁠Sponsor a child through Compassion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Click here to send us your email for our newsletter OR to send a message to the show! We have no way of responding unless you leave your email.This episode was first published on Feb. 1st, 2024.Have you ever wondered if your life would have more significance if you were in ministry? In this episode, Ellen and guest Jordan Raynor challenge our idea that only explicitly spiritual activities matter to God.They discuss:• The biblical definition of "work" and why your job matters to the kingdom • Why Christians are necessary to secular workplaces• How we misunderstand the Great Commission• Four ways your work matters eternally Get a copy of "The Sacredness of Secular Work: Four Ways Your Job Matters for Eternity (Even When You're Not Sharing the Gospel)" to discover how your daily work contributes to God's eternal purposes!Use code POD2025Q1-Q2 to get 3 months free when you download and register for the Glorify app! If you are a Christian woman seeking to know God deeper, study Scriptures, pray with and for others, strengthen your faith, and support other in doing the same, this is the place for you! Support the showSubscribe to our newsletter & stay up-to-date on everything Coffee & Bible Time! Check out our website for more ways to fully connect to God's Word. Find more great content on our YouTube channel: Coffee and Bible Time Our most popular video is “How I Study My Bible + In-Depth Bible Study!” with over 2M views! Follow us on InstagramVisit our Amazon ShopLearn more about the host Ellen KrauseEmail us at podcast@coffeeandbibletime.com Some of the links in this episode may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Click here to send us your email for our newsletter OR to send a message to the show! We have no way of responding unless you leave your email.In this episode we are joined by Philip Nation, Vice President and Publisher at Thomas Nelson Bibles, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The OPEN Bible! From exploring Philip's own story of faith, to advice on using topical indexes and Bible translations for encouragement and spiritual growth, this episode offers fresh inspiration to approach God's Word with intention and joy. Join us to discover how The OPEN Bible continues to make Scripture accessible and meaningful fifty years after its groundbreaking publication.View The OPEN BibleFollow Philip on XLearn more about Thomas Nelson BiblesPhilip's favorite BiblePhilip's favorite journaling tools: Pigma Micron Pens │Mini-ruler │Interleaved Journaling BiblePhilip's favorite Bible study websiteUse code POD2025Q1-Q2 to get 3 months free when you download and register for the Glorify app! If you are a Christian woman seeking to know God deeper, study Scriptures, pray with and for others, strengthen your faith, and support other in doing the same, this is the place for you! Support the showSubscribe to our newsletter & stay up-to-date on everything Coffee & Bible Time! Check out our website for more ways to fully connect to God's Word. Find more great content on our YouTube channel: Coffee and Bible Time Our most popular video is “How I Study My Bible + In-Depth Bible Study!” with over 2M views! Follow us on InstagramVisit our Amazon ShopLearn more about the host Ellen KrauseEmail us at podcast@coffeeandbibletime.com Some of the links in this episode may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.