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Fall asleep to special Psalm devotionals at https://www.sleeppsalms.com Tonight's prayer is from Psalm 52:8. Welcome to "Sleep Psalms with Bishop T.D. Jakes," a tranquil oasis of serenity for your weary soul. In each episode, you'll embark on a soothing journey guided by the wisdom of the most popular book of the Bible, the book of Psalms. Bishop T.D. Jakes' calming voice and gentle prayers will lull you into a peaceful state of mind, perfect for restful sleep or deep meditation. Allow each profound devotional soothe your soul every night. Let the verses of the Psalms cradle your thoughts and provide solace, allowing you to drift into a night of tranquil slumber. Let the Lord be your shepherd tonight, and fall asleep to God's word. Join us as we embark on a profound exploration of these timeless scriptures, nurturing both your spirit and your dreams. Download the Pray.com app for more Bible stories to last a lifetime. To learn more about Bishop T.D. Jakes visit https://tdjenterprises.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While praying, he was often seen to reach towards heaven like an arrow which has been shot from a taut bow straight upwards into the sky. He would stand with hands outstretched above his head and joined together, or at times slightly separated as if about to receive something from heaven. One would believe that he was receiving an increase of grace and in this rapture of spirit was asking God for the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the Order he had founded. He seemed to seek for himself and his brethren something of that transcendent joy which is found in living the beatitudes, praying that each would consider himself truly blessed in extreme poverty, in bitter mourning, in cruel persecutions, in a great hunger and thirst for justice, in anxious mercy towards all. His entreaty was that his children would find their delight in observing the commandments and in the perfect practice of the evangelical counsels. Enraptured, the holy father then appeared to have entered into the Holy of Holies and the Third Heaven. After prayer of this kind he truly seemed to be a prophet, whether in correcting the faulty, in directing others, or in his preaching. Our holy father did not remain at prayer of this type very long but gradually regained full possession of his faculties. He looked during that time like a person coming from a great distance or like a stranger in this world, as could easily be discerned from his countenance and manner. The brethren would then hear him praying aloud and saying as the prophet: "Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication which I pray to thee, when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple" (Ps. 27:2). Through his words and holy example he constantly taught the friars to pray in this way, often repeating those phrases from the psalms: "Behold, now bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord ... in the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless ye the Lord" (Ps. 133:1-3), "I have cried to thee, O Lord, hear me; hearken to my voice when I cry to thee. Let my prayer be directed as incense in they sight; the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Ps. 140:1-2). The drawing shows us this mode of prayer so that we may better understand it. The post The Ninth Way – The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Read Online“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Luke 12:51–53Jesus introduces this passage by saying, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” The “fire” of which He speaks is His purifying fire of mercy that He poured forth from the Cross as He offered His life for the salvation of the world. His mercy is given to free us from our sins and to cleanse our souls so that God Himself can come to dwell within us. This is why we exist. God wants to dwell within us, and He wants us to be in perfect union with Him.One of the glorious effects of uniting yourself to God is that this union also brings about a spiritual bond with others who are united to God. We are made for communion with God, but also for communion with each other. God especially invites family members to share in this unity. Though there are many levels of friendship and unity we can have with each other, the deepest bonds come from two souls each being united to God. For example, two people may both like the same sports team or have the same interests, resulting in a bond or form of friendship. This is good. But when each of those friends also is deeply united to God, the unity comes from God and not from something more superficial.The challenging Gospel passage above reveals to us what happens when one or more members of a household fail to open themselves to the cleansing fire of God's love and, therefore, fail to live in union with God. The result is disunity, at least on the deepest and truest level. God is not the cause of disunity; sin is. When one person is united to God and another is immersed in a life of sin, true spiritual unity is not possible. Of course the two might still share some common interests and might even superficially get along each day, but there will never be an experience of authentic spiritual friendship and communion if God is absent from one or both hearts.When Jesus says that He has come to establish division within a household, He is simply pointing out that there will indeed be a division within a household when all are not united to God. Additionally, Jesus is warning us that if someone within our household tries to draw us into a life of sin with them, that person's invitation must be rejected. And when that happens, that rejection is often experienced as a rejection of the person and results in even greater disunity. The bottom line is that it is not possible to be authentically united in sin or any form of lie. Reflect, today, upon the deepest spiritual desire you have. If you are honest with yourself, you will discover that this deepest desire in your heart is the desire for love. We are made to give and receive love. First, this desire is fulfilled by opening ourselves to the love of God. When that happens, we will be able to share God's love with others and receive God's love from them. Nothing in life could be more fulfilling than this. Most merciful Lord, You came to unite all people in Your love, but when Your love is rejected we live in disunity. Please come to me and dwell more fully within me so that Your presence in my life will not only bring about a spiritual communion with You, but also with those who share this same love. Jesus, I trust in You.Image via UnsplashSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.
On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast, we present an episode of the Hank Unplugged podcast. Hank's guest is Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, author of When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers. Hank and Dr. D'Ambrosio discuss the importance of unity within the body of Christ as an answer to the Lord's High Priestly Prayer, St. Clement of Rome and his letter to the Corinthians dealing with division in the Church, the martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch, and understanding the importance of holy tradition.
Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 14; Jeremiah 22; Pssalm 112; John 18 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible, where we journey through the Scriptures together, one day at a time. In today's episode, host Hunter guides us through the reading for August 16th, beginning with the turbulent days of Judah's exile in 2 Kings 24, followed by Jeremiah's passionate call for justice and covenant faithfulness in chapter 22. We find encouragement and wisdom in Psalm 112, celebrating the blessings of those who walk in God's ways. Our journey culminates in John 18, as we witness the dramatic arrest and trial of Jesus, and are confronted with the powerful choice between two very different Jesuses—Barabbas, the insurrectionist, or Jesus, the Messiah who offers a radically different, self-giving way. Hunter invites us to reflect on which “Jesus” we choose to follow—not just in theory, but in the real, daily choices of our lives. The episode closes with time for silent reflection, heartfelt prayers for peace and unity, and a reminder that we are all held in the steadfast love of God. So settle in as we read, meditate, and pray together—seeking to know, trust, and embody the way of Jesus, the One who is love. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Two Jesuses stand before the crowd. Pilate offers a choice: Jesus the Messiah, or Jesus Barabbas—the insurrectionist. One, an agent of violence and revolt, seeking to overthrow enemies by force. The other, the true King—one who tells his followers to put away their swords, who chooses the path of suffering love, who proclaims a kingdom not of this world. This is the radical contrast at the heart of today's reading. Jesus does not call us to rise up in violence, to grasp at power, or to secure our futures by worldly means. He calls us instead to the self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering way of the cross. His is a kingdom that is wholly “other”—marked not by domination or fear, but by resurrection life born out of sacrifice and love. The crowd was tempted—and we are too—to choose the easier way, the seemingly practical way. We hear the voices: “The Jesus way isn't realistic. That's not how the world works.” Even Scripture can be twisted to justify choosing a Barabbas instead of the true King. It's telling: the Bible people of Jesus' day stirred up the crowd for the wrong messiah. But Jesus stands before us today, as he did before Pilate, offering us another kind of kingdom. He invites us to a life not marked by winning at any cost, but by loving self-sacrificially. He invites us out of the cycles of the world's kingdoms—out of violence, revenge, and self-interest—into his new and living way. This is the only way out; it's the only way forward. And it is a daily choice. Will we embrace the self-giving, radically forgiving way of Jesus, or find reasons to excuse ourselves from it? Will we choose the suffering, self-emptying King, or just another Barabbas? Today, I choose what the crowd did not. I choose Jesus. I choose the path he has shown—the way of surrender, trust, and love. I choose his truth. I choose his life. I choose the God who is love. That's the prayer I have for my soul. And that's my prayer for my family—my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord of heaven and earth, you have awakened us in your mercy once more. Still our anxious minds, quiet our striving hearts and help us to rest in the knowledge that we are held by you. May we walk in step with your spirit today. Not ahead, not behind, but beside you in trust and love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O God of all peoples, you formed every soul in your image and breathed life into every heart. Open the eyes of the nations, soften hearts grown cold and teach us to live as neighbors and friends. Let your spirit move in power. Renew the face of the earth and usher in your reign of peace. Amen. And now, Lord, let me be a bearer of your peace. Where voices divide, let me speak grace where fear takes root, Let me plant trust where the world rushes on, let me walk with you. May I seek not to climb, but to kneel. Not to win, but to love. Not to grasp, but to give. For it is in emptying that we are filled in surrender, that we are strengthened and in union with you. That we find our truest joy. Amen. And now, as our Lord has taught us, we are bold to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation. Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1).
In this compelling episode of the Meditative Prayers podcast, hosted by Zach Clinton on Pray.com, we delve into the profound theme of harnessing inner power—a challenge and aspiration that resonates deeply within our Christian community. Throughout our spiritual journey, we inevitably encounter moments when tapping into our inner strength becomes paramount. These moments empower our faith, invigorate our relationships, and propel us towards our personal aspirations. The reassuring truth remains steadfast: with the Lord as our unwavering guide, we have the capability to awaken and channel this inner power, discovering renewed hope and purpose. Drawing deep inspiration from sacred scriptures, we explore the depths of this transformative human experience. For those seeking guidance in unlocking and harnessing their inner power along their spiritual journey, we extend a warm invitation to explore the Pray.com app. By downloading it today, you can embark on a transformative voyage of faith and resilience, firmly rooted in the unwavering presence of the Divine. Together, let us embrace the incredible potential of our inner power, finding boundless inspiration and strength in our shared spiritual pilgrimage. Join us in this enlightening episode as we journey toward a profound understanding of tapping into our inner power and rediscovering the profound strength that resides within us. Embracing the practice of praying before slumber is more than just a routine; it's an avenue to recenter your heart, aligning it with God's purpose. Let Pray.com's Meditative Prayer be a nightly companion, deepening your bond with the Almighty and settling your spirit for a serene night's rest.Zach Clinton is from the American Association of Christian Counselors, for more information please visit: https://aacc.net/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10 NLT) When I was a kid, I collected snakes. I thought they were great, and I had them in all sizes. Years later, I met a man who shared my interest. Only, he collected venomous snakes. He had learned to handle them while working in a zoo. I really admired him. He had been bitten by a tiger snake, which is the most venomous snake on earth. It’s even more deadly than a cobra. This man survived the snakebite because he had been taking serum and had developed an immunity to the tiger snake’s venom. As a result, this man came to believe that he was virtually indestructible, that no snake could ever take him down. He let cobras that had not been defanged slither around loose in his house. One day, while he was at home, he was bitten by a cobra but didn’t realize it until later when his leg began to swell. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died. This man believed that because he had survived the tiger snake’s bite, he didn’t need to worry about cobras. That became his downfall. Likewise, in our spiritual lives, it’s often the little things that bring us down. Some Christians will endure a serious challenge or resist a major temptation and then start to think, “I can handle anything that comes my way. I’m strong. I won’t fall.” But that’s when we need to be careful. Are you feeling secure in yourself? Do you think your spiritual life is at its peak strength? Do you believe your doctrine is sound and your morals are pure? If so, you need to be on guard. You need to make sure that you’re dependent on the Lord. The apostle Paul struggled with a chronic or permanent physical, emotional, or spiritual condition that affected him greatly. He called it “a thorn in my flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT). Three times he asked God to remove the thorn, to heal him from it. His reasoning was that he would be a stronger and more effective worker for Christ without the affliction. God disagreed. Three times He told Paul no. “Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’” (verse 9 NLT). When we start to believe that our strength is sufficient, we set ourselves up for a fall. Our strongest virtues become our greatest vulnerabilities. And that’s when the devil gets ready to pounce. But when we humbly acknowledge our weakness, we open ourselves to God’s strength. And we get a front-row seat to His amazing work. Reflection question: What would acknowledging your weakness look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Third "Feast of the Savior" in August While the Lord was preaching in Palestine, his fame reached a king Avgar of Edessa, who suffered from leprosy. Avgar sent a messenger named Ananias to ask whether the Lord could heal his illness. The king also charged Ananias, if he was unable to bring back Jesus Himself, to bring back a likeness of Him. When Ananias found Jesus, the Lord told him that he could not come to Edessa since the time of His passion was at hand. But he took a cloth and washed His face, miraculously leaving a perfect image of His face on the cloth. Ananias brought the holy image back to the king, who reverently kissed it. Immediately his leprosy was healed, save for a small lesion that remained on his forehead. Later the Apostle Thaddeus came to Edessa, preaching the gospel, and Avgar and his household were baptized, at which time his remaining leprosy vanished. The king had the holy likeness mounted on wood and displayed above the city gate for all to revere. But Avgar's grandson returned to idolatry, and the Bishop of Edessa had the image hidden in the city wall to prevent it from being defiled. Many years later, when the Persian king Chosroes besieged Edessa, the Bishop Eulabius was told in a vision to find the sealed chamber, whose location had been forgotten. The holy icon was found, completely incorrupt, and by its power the Persian army was driven off. In the year 944 the image was brought to Constantinople and enshrined in the Church of the Theotokos called the Pharos. This is the event commemorated today.
Megan J. Conner invites us to confront the fears and anxieties we often harbor around money and control. Drawing from her personal journey and key scriptures like Hebrews 13:5 and Philippians 4:19, she challenges us to shift our trust from financial security to God’s faithful provision. This devotional gently reminds us that money itself isn’t evil—our hearts and priorities matter most. Through surrender and faith, Megan shows how we can find peace and contentment even amid economic uncertainty. ✨ Highlights Why money is a tool, not the enemy, when used with the right heart How financial fear often signals a deeper trust issue with God Megan’s personal struggle with anxiety and the breakthrough found in surrender Scriptural promises to anchor your faith in God’s provision and care Practical step: physically “surrender” your financial worries through journaling and prayer
Discover the surprising truth behind God's “jealousy” and why it's rooted in love, not sin.Morning Offering, August 16, 2025Every morning, join Father Brad as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Brad guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Disclaimer: The ads shown before, during, or after this video have no affiliation with Morning Offering and are controlled by YouTubeLet us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)________________
(refrain) jaya mādhava madana murārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma jaya keśava kali-mala-hārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (1) sundara kuṇḍala naina viśālā, gale sohe vaijantī-mālā yā chavi kī balihārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (2) kabahūń lūṭa lūṭa dadhi khāyo, kabahūń madhu-vana rāsa racāyo nācata vipina-vihārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (3) gvāla-bāla sańga dhenu carāi, vana-vana bhramata phire yadu-rāi kāńdhe kāmara kārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (4) curā curā nava-nīta jo khāyo, vraja-vanitana pai nāma dharāyo mākhana-cora murārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (5) eka-dina māna indra ko māryo, nakha ūpara govardhana dhāryo nāma paḍāyo giridhārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (6) duryodhana ko bhoga na khāyo, rūkho sāga vidura ghara khāyo aise prema pujārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (7) karuṇā kara draupadī pukārī, paṭa lipaṭa gaye vana-vārī nirakha rahe nara nārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (8) bhakta-bhakta saba tumane tāre, binā bhakti hama ṭhāḍe dvāre lījo khabara hamārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma (9) arjuna ke ratha hāńkana hāre, gītā ke upadeśa tumhāre cakra-sudarśana-dhārī rādhe-śyāma śyāmā-śyāma WORD FOR WORD TRANSLATION: Jaya Madhava Madana Murari TRANSLATION (Refrain) Glories to the husband of the goddess of fortune, who is the transcendental Cupid and the enemy of the demon Mura. Glories to the divine couple Radhe Syama, also known as Syama Syama! Glories to Lord Kesava, who has fine hair, who removes the miseries of the age of Kali—Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 1) O Krsna, You wear beautiful earrings, and You have lovely widened eyes. Around Your neck hangs the splendorous vaijanti flower garland. Your complexion is most excellent—Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 2) Sometimes You secretly plunder yogurt and eat it, and sometimes You design a rasa-dance performance with the young gopis in the forest of Madhuvana. There dances Vipina-Vihari, You who love to sport in the forest— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 3) You herd the cows in the company of the cowherd boys. You, the monarch of the Yadu dynasty, thus wander from forest to forest, carrying a blanket draped over Your shoulder— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 4) Because You, O Murari, repeatedly steal fresh butter from the homes of the women of Vraja and secretly eat it, they have named You ‘Makhan-Chor' (the butter thief)— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 5) One day You curbed the pride of Indra by lifting the great mountain Govardhana upon the tip of Your fingernail, thus winning for Yourself the name Giridhari— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 6) You did not accept the sumptuous feast of the wicked Duryodhana, but took the coarse food offered by Your devotee Vidura. Therefore You are worshipped by love and not by mere rituals—Rädhe Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 7) To bestow mercy upon Draupadi, You, the Lord of the forest, supplied unlimited cloth to protect her from shame, while the assembly of men and women looked on— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 8) You deliver each of Your devotees in unique ways. Alas, we who are bereft of devotion are standing here outside Your door. Please favorably receive the news of our presence— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 9) You were the driver of Arjuna's chariot, and on the battlefield You gave Arjuna the instructions of the Bhagavad-Gita. During the fight You exhibited Your form as the wielder of the discus Sudarsana— Radhe Syama Syama Syama! 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/
The spiritual master is always engaged in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. He also engages his disciples in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful clothes and ornaments, clean Their temple, and perform other similar worship of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master. (Translation,verse 3) 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #janmashtami #festival #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
In this episode we discuss the importance of relying on God and how physical metrics don't ultimately matter.Other episodes referenced in this one:Episode 4: Brief overview of the Old TestamentScriptures referenced:2 Chronicles 14:1-152 Chronicles 16:1-9Psalm 86:11Genesis 18:142 Chronicles 25:5-131 Timothy 6:17James 4:6Proverbs 19:3Hebrews 13:5Romans 6:232 Corinthians 5:21John 14:6Romans 6:1-22 Chronicles 13:1-18Judges 7:2-7Psalm 20:7-8Psalm 33:16-19Psalm 18:29Psalm 44:5-6Matthew 4:5-7Proverbs 21:31Galatians 6:7Psalm 127:1CORRECTIONSAt one point I accidentally said Ben-hadad was the king of Assyria. He was actually the king of Syria.Feel free to email the podcast at ijustwanttotalkabout@gmail.com, and we will respond as soon as we are able!I WANT TO BE DISCIPLEDI am on staff with another ministry called Mentoring Men for the Master (M3). M3 is a discipleship ministry; so, if you are interested in being discipled and having someone come alongside you to invest in you and your walk with Jesus, or if you would like to do this in someone else's life, feel free to email us at info@mentoringmen.net. You can also check out M3's website by clicking "I want to be discipled". Also note that despite the ministry's name, M3 disciples both men and women; so, the offer is open to all!I WANT TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTERIf you would like to sign up to receive newsletter updates, simply click "I want to sign up for the newsletter" and fill out the form. Also, feel free to check out our most recent newsletter.I WANT TO SUPPORT THE PODCASTIf you feel so led, you can support the podcast by clicking "I want to support the podcast". I Just Want to Talk about the Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which means that any donations made are tax-deductible. Thank you so much for giving as the Lord leads!...
Fall asleep to special Psalm devotionals at https://www.sleeppsalms.com Tonight's prayer is from Psalm 51:10. Welcome to "Sleep Psalms with Bishop T.D. Jakes," a tranquil oasis of serenity for your weary soul. In each episode, you'll embark on a soothing journey guided by the wisdom of the most popular book of the Bible, the book of Psalms. Bishop T.D. Jakes' calming voice and gentle prayers will lull you into a peaceful state of mind, perfect for restful sleep or deep meditation. Allow each profound devotional soothe your soul every night. Let the verses of the Psalms cradle your thoughts and provide solace, allowing you to drift into a night of tranquil slumber. Let the Lord be your shepherd tonight, and fall asleep to God's word. Join us as we embark on a profound exploration of these timeless scriptures, nurturing both your spirit and your dreams. Download the Pray.com app for more Bible stories to last a lifetime. To learn more about Bishop T.D. Jakes visit https://tdjenterprises.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Read OnlineChildren were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them…” Matthew 19:13–14In the Catechism of the Council of Trent, which was promulgated by Pope Saint Pius V, this passage is linked with infant baptism. It states, “Besides, it is not to be supposed that Christ the Lord would have withheld the Sacrament and grace of Baptism from children, of whom He said: Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me…” (II, 2, 32). This teaching clearly indicates one of the best ways that this passage is fulfilled today. Inviting even infants before they reach the age of reason to receive the Sacrament of Baptism fulfills this loving command of Jesus to “Let the children come to me…”Young children do not have the ability to rationally understand love in its purest form. That comes with the age of reason, which has traditionally been understood to be around the age of seven. But children, and even infants, are capable of receiving our love and are capable of receiving the love of God, even if they do not yet fully comprehend this gift.As a child grows, they learn what love means as they witness it and experience it, especially through the mediation of their parents. This helps form their consciences in such a way that they become capable of making their own free choice to love as they mature in age. But if a child is to grow into a loving adult, they need more than just a good example, they need grace. The grace of Baptism is the primary source of that grace in their lives.It's easy for many to see Baptism only as a nice ceremony to welcome the newly born child into God's family. And though that is true, it is so much more. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Baptism bestows an indelible mark which “remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the Church” (CCC #1121). In other words, Baptism bestows upon one's soul a gift that can never be removed and becomes an ongoing source of grace. And when an infant is baptized, it's as if this Scripture passage above is perpetuated throughout that person's life. Because of this sacramental grace, Jesus continually says to this baptized soul, “Come to Me.”In addition to the grace of Baptism, we must all imitate Jesus' action of welcome and acceptance of not only children but of every child of God. Though the disciples initially tried to prevent the children from coming to our Lord, we must not. We must understand that there is a real temptation within our fallen human nature to both withhold the love of God from others and to even prevent others from coming to God. Anger, pride, envy, jealousy and the like can cause us to object to the conversion of others and to God welcoming them to Himself. When that temptation sets in, we must hear Jesus say to us, “Let the children come to me” and “do not prevent them.”Reflect, today, upon these gentle and inviting words of Jesus. As you do, try to call to mind anyone who you might try to prevent from coming to our Lord. Do you desire the holiness of all people? Is there anyone in your life whom you find it difficult to encourage to come to Jesus to be embraced and blessed? Take on the heart of Jesus and see it as your duty to embrace others as He embraced these children. The more you become an instrument of the love of Christ, the more you will daily rejoice in God's blessings as they are bestowed on others.My tender Lord, You welcome all people to share in Your grace. You welcome every child and every child of God to share in Your loving embrace. Please extend that welcome to me and help me to accept this gift of Your infinite love. And help me to become a better instrument of Your love toward others, never interfering or preventing them from turning to You. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Charles Lock Eastlake, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.
What started as a plea for prayer over worsening vision became a powerful encounter with the presence of God. In this moving testimony, Liliana shares how the Lord instantly healed her eye while also breaking years of emotional pain, ministry discouragement, and spiritual oppression.Through forgiveness, prophetic insight, and the ministry of prayer, she experienced both physical healing and spiritual deliverance in a single moment. Her story is a vivid reminder that Jesus still restores—body, soul, and spirit—when we come to Him in faith.If you've ever wondered how God can work through healing and deliverance together, or you're longing for breakthrough in your own life, this testimony will stir your faith and point you to the One who makes all things new. Support the showABOUT THE REMNANT RADIO:
In our last episode we read about King Ahaz, one of the most evil and unfaithful kings in Judah's history. He not only worshipped other gods, but sacrificed his children to them ass an act of pagan worship. When his son Hezekiah comes to power, he literally cleans house, restoring the temple of the Lord so that all Israel could be called back to worship the God of their ancestors. The priests and the Levites are called upon to consecrate themselves for worship, and they do everything by the book. When the temple has been made ready, they celebrate the Passover early because the people had not done so in a long time. Scripture records that nothing like this has happened since the days of King Solomon.2 Chronicles 29 - 1:11 . 2 Chronicles 30 - 9:59 . Isaiah 9 - 16:40 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org
Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 18-20; Psalm 93; John 17 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! On this August 15th episode, your host and Bible reading coach, Hunter, invites you to journey through the pages of Scripture together. Today's readings include Jeremiah chapters 18–20, Psalm 93, and John 17. As we reflect on God's word, Hunter reminds us that the Scriptures point our hearts to Jesus, the living Word, and reveal the deep love and blessings the Father lavishes upon us. We explore themes of God's transformative power, His call to repentance, and the unity, joy, and protection Jesus prays over His followers. The episode closes with a heartfelt blessing and a time of prayer—reminding us that we are deeply loved, and calling us to walk forward in God's joy and strength. Join us as we root ourselves in His love and truth, together. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Jesus prays a blessing over us. We see this kind of blessing prayer echoed throughout scripture—patriarchs blessing their children, conferring identity, inheritance, and place in the family of God. In John 17, Jesus is offering this kind of prayer, but it's a prayer that echoes into eternity, and it is not just for the twelve gathered there that night. It's for us. We are included in this blessing, this conferral of identity and destiny. We are told who we are in God's family, what our inheritance is as His children. What is spoken over us here is the message of life in the Son—the Gospel conferred as a gift, received freely. From this gift of Christ flow so many others: gifts of unity, gifts of protection, the gift of joy, the gift of God's Word, and supremely, the gift of Christ himself. Jesus prays, “Father, you have given me your name. Now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.” We are blessed with unity in Him. He says, “I have given them your word.” In His word, we find joy, our identity, the assurance that we are loved. He gives himself as a sacrifice for us, setting us apart, making us holy by his truth. And finally, he says, “I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” The presence of Christ in us is our hope, our glory, our very life. This abiding blessing is the Christian life: God pouring out his love, his joy, his strength, his word, his presence—his life—into ours. So let your roots go down deep into the love of God. May you discover, each day, how wide, how long, how high, how deep is Christ's love for you. May you experience the fullness of this life and power, made complete in Him. This is the prayer for my soul. This is the prayer for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And this is the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Jesus is my shepherd, you have called me by my name into the life of the beloved. Here in the stillness, I remember that I am not alone. I belong to you and to the great communion of saints and sinners held together in your love. Remind me, Lord, that every breath is grace, every encounter is a chance to give what I have received, mercy without measure. When I forget who I am, when I lose my way, lead me again to still waters. Restore my soul, renew my hope. Reroute me in the joy of simply being yours. Amen. And now, as our Lord has taught us, we are bold to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation. Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL
“And I will give you an heart of flesh.” — Ezekiel 36:26 A heart of flesh is known by its tenderness concerning sin. To have indulged a foul imagination, or to have allowed a wild desire to tarry even for a moment, is quite enough to make a heart of flesh grieve before the Lord. […]
Nahum 1:1-15: "God's Wrath on His Enemies." This chapter in Nahum has some very important statements from the Lord that apply to Rapture! Come see if you know which ones are in Nahum regarding the Rapture! If you are blessed by today's Bible study, please support my channel by liking, subscribing, commenting, and sharing with your friends and family! I am not a Pastor, and agree with God's word that women are not supposed to be Pastors. However, all people are called to share the gospel. It is perfectly acceptable and Biblical for women to lead Bibles studies outside the church as an ancillary addition to the church, and especially if it is a viable avenue for study of the Word on a daily basis, like I'm doing on this show, and paving the way for all of us to be closer to the Lord and become more knowledgeable of the Bible. If you care to contribute to my work with the Daily Bible study and sharing the Gospel, as part of your tithes and offerings, you can do so through PayPal by sending it to my PayPal address of: ReneHoladay@gmail.com Thank you for watching and God Bless you all! ;() --------------------- The primary study bible that Rene' uses is the 'Spirit-filled Life Bible, by Jack Hayford, and is available in hard cover or faux leather on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/434fBnQ You can watch this episode on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v9ekffu7ds Please be sure to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT, and SHARE!
Hey writers! Sarina here! I have never been quiet about how much I enjoy Karin Slaughter's work. So when the opportunity arose for me to read her brand new book, We Are All Guilty Here, and then interview her about it, I raised my hand faster than an extra in a deodorant ad. The new book is a series starter with a kickass female heroine, and I could not have loved it more! Join as as I quiz Karin on: * How to write a sweeping series starter* Small towns as a setting. How small is too small?* The difference between a procedural and psychological suspense* Character development and much more! Karin is incredibly smart and such an important voice in suspense. You won't want to miss this one!Other favorite's of Karin's that we discussed include:Pieces of Her The Grant County seriesHey, Jess here to talk to you about a series I have created just for supporters of the #AmWriting Podcast.I met an aspiring author and speaker who has an idea for a book that just knocked me over. I said, please, please write that book. This is someone who had an idea that has a place in the market. It's timely. She's the perfect person to write it, and I asked her, I begged her, if I could please mentor her through this process publicly on the podcast.So while we're not giving her full name and we're not giving the actual title of the book, because we don't want to hand those things away, I am coaching her through the entire process, from preparing her book proposal to querying an agent. I'm going through the whole thing with her. She knows nothing about the publishing industry, she knows very little about how one goes about writing a book—so essentially, this is as I mentioned before, from soup to nuts, From Authority to Author, and hopefully we'll get her there.But really, whether or not this book ends up selling, whether after this book she ends up having a speaking career, this is about the process of preparing to do that. I hope you'll join us.This series is for supporters only, so if you are a free subscriber right now, consider upgrading. Remember, if you upgrade, you'll also get the ability to submit for our First Pages Booklab, and lots of other fun stuff that we put out just for supporters—So come join us. It's a lot of fun.Transcript below!EPISODE 461 - TRANSCRIPTJess LaheyHey, Jess here to talk to you about a new series I have created just for supporters of the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. I met an aspiring author and speaker who has an idea for a book that just knocked me over. I said, please, please write that book. This is someone who had an idea that—it has a place in the market, it's timely, she's the perfect person to write it—and I asked her, I begged her, if I could please mentor her through this process publicly on the podcast. So while we're not giving her full name and we're not giving the actual title of the book, because we don't want to hand those things away, I am coaching her through the entire process, from preparing her book proposal to querying an agent. I'm going through the whole thing with her. She knows nothing about the publishing industry. She knows very little about how, you know, one goes about writing a book. And so she—essentially, this is, as I mentioned before, From Soup to Nuts, From Authority to Author, and hopefully we'll get her there. But really, whether or not this book ends up selling, whether this book—she ends up having a speaking career—this is about the process of preparing to do that. How do you write a book? How do you prepare to become a speaker on the back of that book? So I hope you join us. This is a series for supporters only, so if you are a free supporter—or if you're a free subscriber right now—consider upgrading. Remember, if you upgrade, you'll also get access to the ability to submit for our First Pages Booklab and lots of other fun stuff that we put out just for supporters. So come join us. It's a lot of fun.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording, yay. Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay, now one, two, three.Sarina BowenHello, my name is Sarina Bowen, and you're listening to the AmWriting Podcast. This is the podcast about writing all the things—short things, long things, fictional things, non-fictional things, pitches and proposals—in short, this is the podcast about sitting down and getting the work done. I am alone today with an interview that I could not be more excited about. I don't know how I drew the long straw here, but today I have the pleasure of interviewing Karin Slaughter. She is the author of more than 20 instant New York Times best-selling novels, including the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and standalone novels The Good Daughter, Pretty Girls, and Girl Forgotten. That's actually an amazing one, by the way—go read it. She's published in 120 countries, with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. She also has a number one Netflix series and another long-running series. She has hit all the bells and checked all the boxes in thriller land, and she is also just one of my favorite writers. So happy to be here. Welcome, Karin Slaughter.Karin SlaughterIt's my pleasure. Thank you.Sarina BowenWe're here to talk about your August release, which is called We Are All Guilty Here. I received this ARC a few months ago—actually read it immediately—because I love your suspense, and I also was really excited to see that it was clear as day on the release. So you owe me now that it's a series starter.Karin SlaughterIt is, yeah. It was a lot of fun planning it out.Sarina BowenOh, good, yeah. And I want to hear a little bit about that, but I'm just going to read the very short flap copy for We Are All Guilty Here so we all know what we're talking about.[Reads flap copy]The first thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter. Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks, when two teenage girls vanish and the town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home. But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did. Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?So, flap copy very much pitched as a thriller. Here is the problem here—you know, we're wanting the solution, but I would argue that your novels are always, always about bigger than the problem and its solution. So how did you conceive of this town, and what does North Falls mean to you as you were getting into it?Karin SlaughterWell, I mean, North Falls is a very small town inside of a larger county. So it's rural, but it's not tiny like my Grant County Series. And I think that I learned some lessons in Grant County—mainly, make it a larger town so there's more people you can kill, because at a certain point, why would anyone live in this tiny town? But also, I knew going into it that it was going to be a series. And so, you know, unlike Grant County and Will Trent—which I was hoping would be series, but I wasn't sure, and I was at a different point in my writing life—you know, I'm pretty sure, 25 books in, that they're going to publish at least two or three more of my books. So I thought, let me set this up as a series, and let me do this world building that can carry on into several books, and let's make this town. You know, North Falls is the seat of the county, but it's also in a county called Clifton County. And the main narrator you meet is called Emmy Clifton, and she's a sheriff's deputy. Her father, Gerald Clifton, is the sheriff of this county. There are Cliftons everywhere—there are rich Cliftons and poor Cliftons—and so you have this family saga potential. But also, it gave me the opportunity to plant a lot of different seeds that will later grow into novels. So I was really happy about that, but I definitely structured the county in a way where there's plenty of space to tell stories.Sarina BowenRight. So I noticed, and when I read a book like this, I am reading it as a reader, but also as a writer.Karin SlaughterYes.Sarina BowenAnd so I really noticed how long the character count in this book is—by which I mean how many characters there really are, how many named characters. There's so many of them, and that felt really fearless to me, you know, like you weren't sitting there at your keyboard wondering if you were going to ask your reader to remember this other family member, but you just went for it. And is that something that you ever try to balance? Like, you're not taking it easy on us here, and ultimately, I loved every word of it. But do you ever worry about that? Like, do you let that voice from other books past into your brain to say, like, well, that one time…Karin SlaughterNot really. You know, I think a writer's job is to trust the reader, and it's certainly my job to tell a story that is gripping and that makes sense and that pulls them into the world. And so what I was thinking about as I was writing this was, I need to write these characters in such a way that you care about them; otherwise, you won't care what happens. And, you know, Emmy is in a pretty universal position for a lot of millennial women. She's in a marriage that's not a great marriage. She's trying to raise her son. Her parents are starting to get older—you know, they're failing a little bit—so she's noticing that. And in the middle of this, she has this horrific crime happen where these two girls are abducted. And because they are in this small town, she knows one of these girls, who's actually a stepdaughter of her best friend—her best friend since kindergarten—and so just that one thing happening blows her world apart. To me, that's what the hook is. You know, there's this greater mystery of what happened to these girls, what's going to happen, who took them—all those things—but there's also something that I rely on a lot in my books, which is the mystery of character, and people wanting to know more about how does Emmy navigate this. What happens to her brother and her sister-in-law, and this handsome guy who is the school resource officer? You know, how does this all play out? And that, to me, is the job of the writer—to make these characters interesting and make the plot and the balance of the character stories fit together in a way that, you know, when there's not a car chase or a gunfight or whatever, you still want to keep reading because you're involved in the mystery of the character.Sarina BowenYeah, and we sure are. And Emmy is just the beating heart of this book, but she is not your only point of view character. And how—is that something you really have to fiddle with as you go, like, do you try on other point of view characters and then pick the winners as you go?Karin SlaughterYeah... I never have, you know, I think that I'm a very opinionated writer. I have a very firm sense of point of view. And so I knew that Emmy was going to get the bulk of the first part of the story. And then I knew that Jude was going to come in when she came in, and that I would have to build out, like, just drop the reader in this unfamiliar, new world, right in San Francisco, with like, a completely different character, and you don't know what's going on, and you make assumptions about her based on what she does for a living and all this other stuff. And you know, I knew that was coming all along and that the book would be told from these two women's points of view. I never felt—other than the early part with Madison, one of the girls who is abducted—I never really felt like anyone else could tell these stories.Sarina BowenOkay! And you mentioned that you learned some things from writing your Grant County Series that informed your choice of the size and milieu of what you chose for North Falls and for Clifton County. What do you think? How did it feel to start a series in 2025 versus starting one, you know, a decade ago? Like, is there anything about the world that made your choices different, or is it all, um, you know, coming from what you've learned as an author?Karin SlaughterYeah, I think it's cumulative. I mean, the point of being an author with a 25-year career is to learn from each book, and I never want to feel like when I finish a book, oh, that's perfect. I can't do better than that. I always, you know, want to learn something, and then the next book I want to try something new. I mean, I could have just kept writing Will Trent novels and occasionally standalones for the rest of my life. I mean, and I am going to write more Will Trent novels interspersed with North Falls. It's really important to me to—I love that character, I love Sara Linton, and I want to keep telling those stories. And I actually have another idea for a standalone I want to do. But, you know, the point of being a writer is to get better at it. I think anybody who loves writing and the challenge of writing, and feels a calling, wants to be better with each story—to hone certain skills, to do novel things (to use a pun there) in their writing that challenge them and make the work more interesting—and that's what I try to do with every book. So starting North Falls this far into my career was a leap, but I think, hopefully, it's one that has paid off for me as a writer, just to have the ability to tell new stories and kind of prove that I've got more stories in me.Sarina BowenYeah, I confess that I regularly have moments where I stop myself and ask, have I said this before this way? Have I done this little thing before? And what would you tell me about that—like, to just, like, get over myself? Or, you know, what happens when you come to a moment like that in your own story craft?Karin SlaughterWell, I mean, in polite terms, you could think of it as an homage to yourself. I mean, honestly, I'm writing about murder. I'm writing about violence against women. I mean, I do write about men dying, but no one seems to care—so sorry, guys. You know, I had one book where I killed, like, six men, and then the next one I killed one woman, and they were like, wow, this return to violence. I'm like, come on, guys. But yeah, you know? So I think how you do it is you have to think of it through the lens of the character, and that's a choice I made in Grant County and Will Trent—was that they were going to be affected by what happened in the previous book, right? So, you know, you don't have a situation—you know, I love series novels, but there are some where… and Jack Reacher is an exception because I love Jack Reacher, and every Reacher book is: he gets to a new town, people are doing bad s**t, and he shoots a lot of people, and he makes it right, you know. And I love Jack Reacher. But, you know, some writers do write the same thing over and over again—they have the same concept or the same gimmick—and that's never been a career that I'm interested in. For me, I want to tell new stories and do new things. And, you know, after a while you run out of crimes that are new crimes. You know, I've written about abduction before, I've written about abuse before, but it's the character—the way the character sees a story, and the connection, the emotional connection the character has—that makes a difference. And, you know, in many ways, it's harder to write a novel in North Falls, where Emmy has a personal connection to the crimes that are occurring, as opposed to writing a Will Trent novel set in Atlanta, where, you know, it's a stranger to them. And so I have to...Sarina BowenIf Will Trent knew—yeah, if Will Trent knew every dead person, that would just seem weird.Karin SlaughterYeah, exactly, yeah. And so I have to find a way into the story, and with Will and Sara, for instance, it's a little more difficult than something where, okay, there's this immediate emotional connection, because I'm writing in North Falls more psychological thrillers, as opposed to Will Trent, which is more procedural.Sarina BowenOkay, can I poke you about that a little bit? Because, um, these words are used a lot. Procedural, to me, I've always understood to be a professional character. So Emmy Clifton is a law enforcement officer—she's a pro—so in strictly, strict definition, this is a procedural novel. But how do you feel the difference between psychological versus procedural functions in those two series?Karin SlaughterWell, you know, I think absolutely, if you want to be strictly by definition, it would be procedural. But, you know, the thing about thrillers is they're all things now, right? I mean, you could call it domestic—a domestic thriller, or domestic mystery, or whatever—you could call it, you know, a family story. And I think of it more as a saga, because it is about a family spanning generations, and this town spanning generations. But, you know, yeah, there's a procedural element. There's also—like, it's very emotionally tied into the character. There's a darkness to it, so it's psychologically, you know, you're very close to the bone on it. And I think that's why I would call it more of a psychological thriller, as opposed to Will Trent where, you know, it's very led by the investigatory steps, right? Like, you know, if Will Trent is going to be there, they're going to talk to witnesses, they're going to talk to suspects, they're going to, you know, have to fill in with their boss. There are just different parts of that that, in one way, the structure makes it easier to write than something like We Are All Guilty Here. But, you know, with this in particular, where you have it talking about not just the crime, but how f*****g hard it is to grow yourself into a woman, as Emmy says, and friendships and relationships and family and dealing with aging parents and, you know, siblings and that sort of stuff—that, to me, is what makes it more in the realm of psychological.Sarina BowenOkay. I've actually really admired the way that you sometimes walk the line on this. For example, I really enjoyed Girl Forgotten, which is the character that is first introduced in Pieces of Her, where she is not a professional. And then in Girl Forgotten, she has joined a law enforcement agency, but it's still her first day on the job—which is just such a wonderfully fun way to throw things at that character—because then it becomes both a procedural and not. Like, she is technically a professional, but she doesn't know what the heck she's doing, and not everybody there is willing to help her. So to me, that was a fantastically fun way of making both things true at once. And when I was reading that book, and of course then this one, I wonder—how you get the legal—the law enforcement stuff? So, like, how did…I know that by now, at this point in your career, you must have many people you can talk to about this, but how did you start that? Like, how did you inform yourself of what you didn't know so that you could fix it and not get those things wrong?Karin SlaughterYeah, you know, when I wrote my second book, I had met a guy who's a doctor, and he is married to a pediatrician, and his brother works on a body farm in Texas. So this is, like, the perfect family for me for what I'm doing to make Sara the smartest doctor on the entire planet. Because, you know, it might take my friend David, who advises me, four days to come up with a solution, but Sara has to do it in half a paragraph. So she's definitely the doctor you want if anything very unusual happens. I mean, her career would be the subject of scholarly articles forever.Sarina BowenZebra is not horses for her.Karin SlaughterExactly, yeah. And so I am…I have them—I have a lot of police officers I speak to, a lot of retired GBI officers. One of them was very helpful in this novel because, you know, the GBI—it escalates, you know, crimes in the state of Georgia escalate completely when there's a child involved, just because, you know, somebody who's in Fulton County can't jump to Acworth, for instance, as far as policing, but the GBI is in charge of the entire state—Georgia Bureau of Investigation—so they handle a lot of kidnappings and abductions. And most of the time, you know, it's statistically…there's a 1% chance it's going to be a stranger. Usually it's a parent or “Uncle Bob,” or, you know, the youth pastor, or someone like that who has access to a child. And so she hooked me into the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is a remarkable resource. And, I mean, I think they're just amazing in what they do. But, you know, the thing is, as much as I know about this stuff, I always check my work because I'm not a professional. And, you know, it's very rare these days, I think, for people to say, hey, I'm not an expert in this, let me talk to someone who is and has spent 20 years becoming an expert. But it's really important to me to get those details as correct as I can. Now, they're not always going to be 100% accurate because I'm telling a story, you know? If putting in a chest tube takes 20 different steps…Sara's going to do it, you know, in like a sentence.Sarina BowenRight.Karin SlaughterSo I have to—but I feel like I need to know the rules and I need to know the facts before I fudge them so that I can still give them a sense of believability. I'm writing…not writing textbooks, I'm writing fiction, but I want to be as accurate as possible, and I think that's really important, you know? And I know that a lot of my readers are very immersed in true crime and podcasts and all these sorts of things. And sometimes you can get the accurate information from those. A lot of times you don't. And I want them to say, wait a minute, you know, on “Murder Death Podcast”, they said this would never happen, and if they look it up, or they talk to an expert, they'll be like, ha, “Murder Death Podcast” was wrong. You know, maybe I shouldn't trust this guy or gal who's doing a podcast out of the backseat of her car for my forensic knowledge. So that's my job as a writer—to get it as factually accurate as I can.Sarina BowenYeah, and there are areas, um, where readers care more. Like, when I ask readers, um, what do you—what drives you nuts in research? It's the nurses are really, like, um, triggered by bad medicine. But…Karin SlaughterYeah.Sarina BowenBut there are some areas, you know, like technology, and there are some places where, you know, less accuracy—or more creative accuracy—is more excusable than if you do the nurse thing wrong, because they will come for you.Karin SlaughterYeah, yeah, they will. Or guns…Sarina BowenRight.Karin SlaughterYou know? And it's really because the armorer for the GBI—I actually confirmed some details with him in a book—and, like, some guy in, I don't know, Idaho sent me this angry email saying I got it wrong. And I'm like, talk to the armorer, right? I mean, people…people just want to fight sometimes. But yeah, nurses can be brutal when they come for you. It's like, come on, man. It's funny that you mentioned doctors, actually; doctors are like, you know, people get it wrong, but nurses are like, no, you got this wrong, you need to apologize.Sarina BowenIt's funny that you mentioned the guns, because I heard last year Gregg Hurwitz speak, and he said, “Don't get the guns wrong. The gun people will come for you. And don't hurt the cat, because the cat people will come for you.”Karin SlaughterTrue. It's true. I would say the cat people are more brutal than the gun people.Sarina BowenYeah.Karin SlaughterAs it should be. You should never hurt an animal in a book.Sarina BowenRight. So back to the idea of a series again. I was so excited to see that this will be a series, and I—the expansiveness of the first book makes a lot of sense series-wise. What do you think is actually harder about writing a series versus a standalone, or the reverse?Karin SlaughterWell, you know, in a standalone, the stakes can be much higher because you're not going—you can damage these characters. I mean, you can kill the characters. You can kill them all by the end of the book, you know? So the sense of jeopardy is always heightened in a standalone, at least in my standalones, because I'm not precious with people, even if they're narrators. But, you know, I think it's really important to—no matter what you're writing—just keep in mind that there's someone out there who has experienced the crimes you're writing about. And, you know, a case of gender violence is happening right now, and right now, right now, and right now, right? So it's like every second of the day in the world, it's happening somewhere. And I keep that in mind when I'm writing, and I want to make it matter. I don't want to use it for effect—it's not titillating or sexualized, or any of those things. So, you know, when I'm writing—whether it's a standalone or a series—I want to set up that world where the lives of these people matter, and you understand that the loss of life is felt in the community, and by the family, and the characters, and the investigators, and everyone there. And so, you know, the challenge with the standalone is finding that world, building that world, and then leaving that world, right? It's a lot of work, as opposed to in a series where you know you're going to carry it on. So you have to be a little careful about how you structure things, and you don't want to leave your character in a place where the next book you don't know how they're going to go on, also. And so you have to have some sense of hope, or some sense of closing that one chapter and moving on to the other. I mean, I use a lot of humor in my books. I get a lot of questions about the violence, but I never get questions about the humor. I think it's really important to have that lightness among the darkness. I mean, my grandmother used to say, “You can't fall off the floor,” and I'm a big proponent of that. I think at some point, you know, you have to have some relief from it. And in a standalone, you know, you have a very short runway to do that, but in a series, you have a longer…you know, you can trust the reader, as they get to know these characters, that they have a little more empathy and sympathy with what they're going through.Sarina BowenYeah, so you mentioned darkness, and I've been thinking a lot about this. And your books have some very dark topics and themes, as they must, because you are carrying storylines that are, um, can be very dramatic and have very high stakes. One thing I've noticed about your books, and why I like them so much, is that even in the year of our Lord 2025, when I pick up a Karin Slaughter book, it could be dark as anything, but I know from at least chapter one and a half who I am rooting for and who I care about. So Emmy is a wonderful example of this. Ten minutes into my journey with her, I know that she's my girl. You know, I'm very invested in her, even though that does not mean she has to be perfect, that she isn't flawed, or that she even knows what's going on—but I know, because of the cues that you've given me, that I'm supposed to care about her, and I do instantly. So when I began reading lots and lots of suspense three or four years ago, as I was writing my own, I very quickly sorted all of the suspense in the world that's selling right now into two pots, without trying to—which is the books where I know who I'm supposed to root for immediately, and the books where you don't. And I noticed that that second category is awfully popular now, and maybe is sort of on an upswing, like where the mystery, the story, might be very beautifully rendered, but I don't necessarily care about any of the people, or I'm not sure who to pull for. And that's not because these books aren't well written, but because that's a mood, and I wonder if you've noticed that, and, um, and how you feel about it, just from a writerly perspective. Like, what is going on there? Like, why is there so much darkness in the reader's perspective, and, you know, not just in the themes right now?Karin SlaughterWell, I mean, I think it's where we are, just in the world, right? You had a lot of that before 9/11, and then there was a need after—I mean that, and I speak to 9/11 because that's…my first book was published a few days after 9/11, so…Sarina BowenOh, wow.Karin SlaughterAnd there was this idea, like, you saw it in the TV show 24, where there's good and bad, and there's, you know, black and white. It's very—and then we've moved definitively toward grays. But, you know, I like books where you know where you stand. And I have written books with unreliable narrators at times, and, you know, Gillian Flynn did it best and kicked that off. But, you know the thing about an unreliable narrator or an antagonist being your narrator is, I prefer a Tom Ripley, right? I mean, Tom Ripley, Patricia Highsmith's character, is decidedly a bad guy. He murders and steals and, you know, but you're rooting for him, even not to get caught, you know. And a lot of the tension comes from him making really stupid mistakes, and you're cringing as a reader and thinking, God, how's he going to get out of this? And I don't want him to get arrested, even though he's this bad guy. And I love books that play against that. I think sometimes we have books where people—I mean, what you're saying about not knowing who to root for—I mean, if they're a good antagonist or they're a good foil, like a Moriarty…I mean, a lot of times you're not rooting for Sherlock, you're rooting for Moriarty. It just depends on how it's drawn. But for me, I just felt like, you know, this is sort of a return to Grant County, which is…I started writing Grant County, and, you know, you believe that Jeffrey and Sara and Lena, for the most part, were always trying to do the right thing. And I think we've lost the benefit of the doubt for a lot of people—particularly police officers have lost the benefit of the doubt—which is very troubling, because they police with our consent. And we need to understand who we're giving consent to. And we need to understand—you know, “defund the police” has been, like, a buzz…buzzword, phrase, whatever, for a while now, but rural areas, particularly in smaller states, have been defunding the police for years. And it's not a movement or anything; it's just not paying people enough money to live off of, right? So we've got police officers who have two or three jobs, rather than professionals who have one job, and that pays their bills, and they can take care of their responsibilities with that. So we've been defunding them. We don't give them enough training, and we're just seeing an erosion of that. And so it's something that I'm going to talk about a little bit in this next novel—is that defunding of police and how it's been, like, a nationally…it's been a real issue. We're seeing a deterioration in police forces because of it, and particularly in retention. And so that's definitely something I want to talk about, but I think you have to put it in context and take the politics out of it, because it's not politics. It's just people not having money to pay, or choosing not to pay for services that they really need.Sarina BowenRight. Or it is politics. It's just not party politics. It's just…Karin SlaughterExactly, yeah, yeah.Sarina BowenIt's just bad politics.Karin SlaughterYeah, well, it's bad social engineering.Sarina BowenYes.Karin SlaughterBasically. So it's there…if you could look at it from a sociological standpoint, it's just a really bad idea. And, you know, you don't retain good officers. So what do you have when that's over? You know, and not to say, like, paint entire police forces as bad because they're just not making money—but, you know, it takes…all it takes is a few bad cops, and a police force is in jeopardy.Sarina BowenRight, like, would you rather live in a state where the cops and the teachers were paid well, or a state where they weren't and…?Karin SlaughterYeah, yeah.Sarina BowenWell, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today about all of these story craft problems that were mired in all week along. If listeners want to find you, where is the best place for them to look, besides the bookstore, where this this book is coming?Karin SlaughterWell, I I'm all over social media. All you have to do is search for me. You see a little black cat with gorgeous green eyes. That's my baby boy, Dexter. So that gives you an indication of it. You're in the right place, or Facebook, obviously, but yeah, I'm all over the place.Sarina BowenWonderful! Thank you so much for being with us today, and listeners, until next week—keep your butts in the chair and your heads in the game.Jess LaheyThe Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perilla. Our intro music, aptly titled Unemployed Monday, was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for their work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe
In this compelling episode of the Meditative Prayers podcast, hosted by Zach Clinton on Pray.com, we delve into the profound theme of overcoming discouragement—a challenge that touches the hearts of many, particularly within our Christian community. Throughout our spiritual journey, we inevitably encounter moments of discouragement that can weigh heavily on our faith, relationships, and personal endeavors. Yet, the reassuring truth remains that, with the Lord as our unwavering guide, we have the strength to rise above these moments and discover renewed hope and purpose. Drawing deep inspiration from sacred scriptures, we explore the depths of this common human experience. For those seeking guidance on navigating the complex terrain of discouragement and finding solace in their spiritual journey, we extend a warm invitation to explore the Pray.com app. By downloading it today, you can embark on a transformative journey of faith and resilience, firmly anchored in the unwavering presence of the Divine. Together, let us confront the challenges of discouragement in our lives, finding boundless inspiration and strength in our shared spiritual voyage. Join us in this enlightening episode as we journey toward a deeper understanding of overcoming discouragement and rediscovering the hope that sustains us. Embracing the practice of praying before slumber is more than just a routine; it's an avenue to recenter your heart, aligning it with God's purpose. Let Pray.com's Meditative Prayer be a nightly companion, deepening your bond with the Almighty and settling your spirit for a serene night's rest.Zach Clinton is from the American Association of Christian Counselors, for more information please visit: https://aacc.net/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
My prayer for you today is that you will let nothing move you. Remain steadfast. Stand firm in the truth. When others compromise their beliefs and when others crumble under the pressure to water down the truth, I pray you will remain strong for Christ.Main Points:1. “Will we stand and will we remain unmoved in our faith, our beliefs, and our biblical convictions? 2. Just continue. Continue to preach the gospel. Continue to stand for truth and righteousness. Continue to pray and seek the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Continue to believe in God to move in your generation. Just keep going in those things which you are convinced of.3. Continue in the truth you know and hold dear. Remember, times change, but God's Word remains the same.Today's Scripture Verses:2 Timothy 3:14 - “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it…”“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)Quick Links:Donate to support this podcastLeave a review on Apple PodcastsGet a copy of The 5 Minute Discipleship JournalConnect on SocialJoin The 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group
#10MinuteswithJesus ** Put yourself in the presence of God. Try talking to Him. ** 10 minutes are 10 minutes. Even if you can get distracted, reach the end. ** Be constant. The Holy Spirit acts "on low heat" and requires perseverance. 10-Minute audio to help you pray. Daily sparks to ignite prayer: a passage from the gospel, an idea, an anecdote and a priest who speaks with you and the Lord, inviting you to share your intimacy with God. Find your moment, consider you are in His presence and click play.
“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29) One of the most picturesque of the figures used to describe the Holy Scri... More...
“In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.” (Isaiah 59:19 NLT) I remember reading a story about a battle between General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. General Lee was, of course, the head of the Confederate forces. He was known for his brilliant military tactics and his ability to do a lot with a little. He did not have the organization or the manpower of the Union army, but he was able to move and position his troops effectively and foil his enemies on a number of occasions. His exploits had become so legendary that the Union soldiers were terrified of him. One night, some Union soldiers were standing around the campfire talking about General Lee. They said, “What if General Lee does this? What are we going to do?” General Grant was standing a few feet away. He walked over to the soldiers and said, “Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.” Sometimes I see the same thing happening in the church: “Oh, the devil is doing this. The devil is doing that. Did you hear about this wicked thing that happened?” The media is partially to blame. Often in books, movies, and TV shows, the devil is portrayed as an all-powerful being who inspires terror in everyone who crosses his path. Call it dramatic license. Or, better yet, call it fiction. The apostle Peter warns us to “Stay alert” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT) to the devil’s scheming, not because he’s all-powerful or terrifying, but because he’s wily. He prefers to work in secret so that we’re not even aware of what he’s doing. If it’s an all-powerful being who inspires fear in His enemies that you’re looking for, you need to glance behind you (spiritually speaking) to the One who has your back. Look at the majesty in the words of Isaiah 59:19: “In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord” (NLT). This is an image of God’s intervening on behalf of His people. A raging flood tide overwhelms everything in its path. Likewise, God’s power is unstoppable. That’s why I think we should stop worrying so much about what the devil will do and instead let him worry about what we Christians will do. In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses reassured the Israelites with these words: “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (NLT). That’s a promise all God’s people can claim. Let the devil tremble. Reflection question: When have you seen the power of God at work in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's Friday, August 15th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Muslims in Congo kill three, set cars ablaze, & abduct others There were two separate attacks attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces, a Muslim terrorist group operating in the eastern area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports International Christian Concern. The first ambush occurred on the evening of Saturday, August 9 in North Kivu Province. The Muslims targeted a specific vehicle and abducted its passengers. The second, more deadly attack occurred during the night of Sunday, August 10 in the Ituri Province. They killed three people, set ablaze several vehicles and houses, and abducted many residents who remain missing. Nearly 10,000 sign petition demanding Toronto mayor end taxpayer funding to homosexual ‘pride' events A petition signed by 10,000 people has been submitted to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow demanding an end to taxpayer funding of homosexual/ transgender “pride” events, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Earlier this month, Gregory Tomchyshyn, the Canadian campaign director for Citizen Go, dropped off a petition to Mayor Chow calling for her government to end its lavish spending of taxpayer dollars on the promotion of sexual perversion, including the “Toronto Pride” parade. For years now, LifeSiteNews has documented the event's crude floats, public nudity, and public displays of sexual exhibitionism. The petition said, “Mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto City Council just handed $350,000 in taxpayer money to Pride Toronto, despite the event's history of public nudity and indecent displays in full view of families and children.” According to Canadian Broadasting Corporation News, “Pride Toronto” will see its taxpayer funding hiked by 26 percent since fewer corporations want to promote sexual immorality. Toronto Mayor Chow condemned corporations that pulled funding from the group and suggested not shopping at Home Depot because the corporation is no longer funding the sexually perverted “Pride Toronto.” You can write Mayor Chow a polite 2-sentence email of objection: mayor_chow@toronto.ca. Or send a letter to: Mayor Olivia Chow, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 100 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON M5H 2N2 Canada. Previously, Adidas and Nissan Canada were considered “gold-level” sponsors, a designation given for those who donate at least $150,000 in cash or in-kind contributions. Venezuelan Evangelical Christians march for Jesus Thousands of Evangelical Christians mobilized across Venezuela during the March for Jesus, reports The Christian Post. The event featured preaching, public worship, biblical reflection, and prayers for Venezuela. According to the Latin Evangelical Alliance, this year's theme was: “Jesus, the nations belong to You.” Social media was filled with images of the march, which was held not only in cities but also in rural towns. Pastor José Piñero, executive director of the Evangelical Council of Venezuela, addressed the crowd in Cumaná with a message in Spanish focused on grace. I'll translate this 9-sentence clip in a moment. (Piñero speaks in Spanish) Pastor Piñero said, “We are here because this land cries out for hope. And that hope has a name. And His name is Jesus Christ! (cheers) “Today, we march with purpose, with conviction, with firm love. We don't march for ideologies. We don't march for human agendas. We don't march for political agendas. We don't march for sectarian agendas. We come with the eternal Word of God, the Bible.” Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every W ord of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Seventeen percent of Venezuela's population is comprised of Protestants and 71% is Catholic. Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage today about ending Russo-Ukrainian War Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, an Independent, has announced that the city is “prepared and ready” for President Donald Trump's high-stakes meeting today with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the Russo-Ukrainian War. The meeting is set to be held at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Trump seeks to extend federal D.C. takeover as ‘sanctuary city' policies put on ice In an effort to eradicate violent crime in our nation's capital, President Donald Trump is preparing to ask Congress to extend the 30-day limit on his federal takeover of Washington, D.C. When asked by a reporter Thursday if he intends to seek congressional approval to prolong his federalization of D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department, the president said this in reply. TRUMP: “Well, if it's a national emergency, we can do it without Congress, but we expect to be before Congress very quickly. We think the Democrats will not do anything to stop crime, but we think the Republicans will do it almost unanimously.” The president began moving federal law enforcement agents into D.C. late last week, following the vicious beating of a Department of Government Efficiency staffer, 19-year-old Edward Cristine, who intervened in a carjacking to protect the female victim. On August 11th, President Trump officially took federal control of the D.C. police department and quickly mobilized the D.C. National Guard. Between August 7 and the morning of August 13, the federal crackdown yielded 103 arrests on charges ranging from suspected homicide and narcotics to firearm offenses and even illegal immigration. Woman sues Marine who allegedly poisoned her drink with 10 abortion pills And finally, Liana Davis, a Texas woman, has become the latest victim of a disturbing case of the abortion kill pill being used against her, and she's taking her pain to court, reports The Washington Stand. Her lawsuit alleges that Christopher Cooprider, a 34-year-old U.S. Marine, impregnated her and repeatedly pressured her to “get rid” of the baby, despite her firm refusals. According to the federal lawsuit, Davis has accused Cooprider of dissolving at least 10 misoprostol pills into her drink, without her knowledge, at her Corpus Christi home while she was eight weeks pregnant with his child. It only took 30 minutes after drinking the spiked beverage for Davis to start “hemorrhaging and cramping.” She asked for his help, but Cooprider fled the scene and was unreachable. In a text at 12:30a.m., she wrote, “I am gushing blood. Please hurry.” But he never responded. Tragically, their baby died. The first half of Proverbs 28:13 describes Christopher Cooprider well. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” The wrongful death lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Cooprider and Aid Access, the company which sold the abortion kill pill to the randy Marine. According to NBC News, “The Corpus Christi Police Department said there are no active investigations involving Cooprider.” The Marine declined to comment as well. According to a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, Aid Access shipped 118,000 chemical abortion pill packs into the U.S. between July 2023 and September 2024. On X, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins wrote, “The Trump administration must take action now. 1 in 10 women suffer severe complications from the abortion pill. Traffickers and others use easy drug access to control women and kill unborn children. State laws are being trampled.” If you or a loved one has ingested the Abortion Kill Pill with regret, the baby can be saved during the first couple of days through a special progesterone protocol. Visit AbortionPillReversal.com. Or call 877-558-0333. That's 877-558-0333. Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, August 15th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
We live in a culture overloaded with distractions, especially for the average person spending 7–10 hours a day online. In this session, Zach Mabry explores how constant digital noise affects our ability to think deeply, love God with our minds, and stay rooted in truth.Using insights from Brave New World and Scripture, he looks at the dangers of entertainment-driven culture, the impact of social media on our brains, and practical steps to rebuild focus and spiritual discipline—starting with just a few minutes a day. Learn how to push back against distraction, engage your mind, and grow in your faith.SWO25Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help others grow in their faith. Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
Ask this question, "how effectively am I working for my Lord?" Broadcast #6873To help support this podcast, please visit walkwiththeking.org/donate and select "Podcast" from the dropdown menuA transcript of this broadcast is available on our website here. To hear more from Bob Cook, you can find Walk With The King on Facebook or Instagram.
The Christian life is not a sprint, it's a marathon. From the time you get saved, you're in the Lord's army, and you are placed into an invisible battle against the evil one. Join Pastor Jeff Schreve as he shares three ways you can go the distance and win in the fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil. It's called, A FIGHT TO THE FINISH and it's from the series, THIS IS WAR!.
On the Cross, the Lord charged the Apostle John to care for His holy Mother. The Apostle settled her in a house in Jerusalem, where she lived for the rest of her days on earth, praying and offering counsel and encouragement to the Apostles. In her old age, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that in three days' time she would enter into her rest. Giving thanks to God, she hastened to the Mount of Olives where she prayed continually, preparing herself to meet the Lord. Meanwhile, the Apostles, scattered in various parts of the earth, were caught up in clouds and miraculously brought by the holy Angels to Jerusalem, so that they might all be with the Theotokos at her repose. After she had blessed them, she gave up her soul to God. The Apostles buried her with all honor, solemnity and joy at Gethsemane. The Apostle Thomas, who was delayed (again!) by God's providence, arrived on the third day and went to her tomb, intending to honor her. But when the Apostles opened her grave, they found her holy body gone and only the winding-sheet remaining. That evening the Theotokos appeared to them surrounded by angels, and said to them, 'Rejoice: I will be with you always!'. Thus they learned that she had been bodily translated to heaven, anticipating the general resurrection of all. Her age at her repose is not known, but many say that she was about sixty years old.
How to Support the Rob Skinner Podcast. If you would like to help support my mission to multiply disciples, leaders and churches, click here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/robskinner There are three things that we can start doing that will take our faith from theory to practice every single day. All we need to do is: 1. Encourage right now 2. Connect right now 3. Pray right now Find out how in this episode of the Rob Skinner Podcast! How to Support the Rob Skinner Podcast. If you would like to help support my mission to multiply disciples, leaders and churches, click here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/robskinner The Power of Right Now Introduction · Have you ever listened to someone's story and then said, “I'll pray for you.” After saying that you quickly forgot about it and never prayed for the person. · Have you ever had a person pop up in your head and you thought, I wonder how they are doing? I bet that person could use a call. After that thought you quickly moved on and never followed up. · Have you ever felt the impulse to reach out and share with someone and then backed off because you were: Ø Too busy Ø Too tired Ø Afraid of their reaction Instead of acting on that impulse, you let the Spirit's prompting pass away. If you can remember at least one time that happened to you, you understand the importance of living out your faith, “Right Now.” That's why I want to talk to you tonight about the power of “right now.” There are three things that we can start doing that will take our faith from theory to practice every single day. All we need to do is: 1. Encourage right now 2. Connect right now 3. Pray right now 1. Encourage Right Now Paul talks about the power of right now in Ephesians 5:15-20. “15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells us to be very careful how we live. Why, because the days are evil. That's why we need to realize the power of right now and make the most of every opportunity. Ø Right now people are struggling with temptation Ø Right now disciples are targeted by Satan Ø Right now friends you know are dealing with health issues Ø Right now Christians are considering leaving God and his church Ø Right now people you thought were solid are feeling shaky How can you help? § Encourage people right now § Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit § Share scriptures that encourage you § Praise people § Thank people § Lift people up § Share positively about people who aren't here right now o I really appreciate Stuart. His work in Boston has inspired me and is one of the reasons Pam and I wanted to move here. He is an extremely encouraging person. Often times we know these things and we have positive thoughts about others, but we don't take advantage of the power of now to encourage others. Let's make the most of this opportunity by turning to the person next to you and encourage them with: § Positive words § Gratitude § A scripture § Praise 2. Connect Right Now Let's read Colossians 4:5, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Paul says we need to be wise in how we deal with those aren't following Jesus. We need to make the most of every opportunity. God gives us opportunities every day to help those around us. If we want to see God work in our life, we need to connect every day. On my first Sunday, I was sitting in front of a couple that I could tell were visiting. I introduced myself and they shared they were here for the first time. A few minutes later I saw someone else talking to them and being kind to them. That brother understood the power of right now. At the end of the service, I looked back and they were gone, but I know that brother had exchanged information with them. He had made the most of every opportunity. God gives us opportunities to love and serve those around us every day. We just need to be aware and ready to make the most of every opportunity. Ø When we are at work Ø When we are in an elevator Ø When we are checking out of the store When I arrived, the first thing I did was ask Stuart for some invitation cards to connect when God gave me an opportunity. It's been so much fun to connect and see the power of now: Ø My movers Ø Dunkin Donuts Ø Roche Brothers I think one of the easiest ways aside from reaching out at church on Sunday is simply texting your friends and letting them know what you are doing. It's soft, it's gentle, it's loving and if they're aren't interested they can ignore you. However, a simple text can change a person's life. Let's take advantage of the power of now. Pull out your phone and text a friend or coworker. Just text them something loving like: “Just thinking about you. Hope you are doing well.” If you want to go an extra step, you can add, “I'd love for you to join me this Sunday at church” 3. Pray Right Now How else can we make the most of right now? We can pray for each other in the moment. I can't tell you how many times I've said “I'll pray for you” and then forgot to do it. But then I found a way to avoid that. When someone shares something serious, heavy, or worthy of prayer, I use that as a trigger to pray right then and there. Prayer makes a difference, but if you never follow through, you missed the power of right now. Look at how James describes how powerful prayer really is: “13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” James writes that if we or someone we know is going through something, anything-our first response should be to pray. Why? Prayer is powerful and effective. Prayer moves God. God can do anything. He then launches into a story about Elijah, who he says was a normal person just like us. His prayers changed weather patterns. Would you like to save someone from death, bring wanderers back, return people to the truth and cover over a multitude of sins? It all starts with praying. Praying right now. Let's pray right now by asking the person next to us, “What can I pray for you about?” After listening, hold hands and pray for that person. After that let the other person ask, “What can I pray for you about.” After the person shares a need, put your hands on his or her shoulder or hold hands and say a prayer for them. Pray right now. Conclusion Can you imagine how your life would fill up with joy and power if you started making the most of every opportunity? What if on a daily basis you began to: 1. Encourage right now 2. Connect right now 3. Pray right now I believe you would begin to draw closer to God and people and you would be begin to see miracles happen. That's the power of “Right Now.” Ice Cream Social
This episode features a full length Bible study taught by Pastor Jack Abeelen of Morningstar Christian Chapel in Whittier, California.If today you prayed with Pastor Jack to receive the Lord, we'd love to hear about it and get you started on the right foot. Visit us online at: https://morningstarcc.org/born-again/To see more of Pastor Jack's Bible studies, visit our Morningstar Christian Chapel channel at https://www.youtube.com/@morningstarcc.To subscribe to our Podcast newsletter go to http://eepurl.com/iGzsP6.If you would like to support our electronic ministry, you may do so by going to our donations page at https://morningstarcc.churchcenter.com/giving/to/podcast.Visit our church website at https://morningstarcc.org.
Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer
Gospel Luke 1:39-56 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. Reflection I want to talk about the feast of the assumption. Mary did not die a physical death, but she was fully human. And her destiny was to one day be with God in heaven. A feminine figure standing next to Jesus and God. And between them is flowing the love of the Holy Spirit, and what she does over and over again is breaks into our imaginations, into our world, with message after message that flows from her heart. She cares. She worries about us. She encourages us. She's always there to help. What a gift. What a beautiful way for the one who brought God into the world. That she now stands with him. Closing Prayer Father, bless us with the awareness of the fullness of all that we are taught about who you are and how the world works. To have one of our own. One human being in heaven working for us. Loving us. Teaching us is such a gift. Help us never to lose sight of it. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's Morning Manna, we close Daniel 6 with a powerful display of God's justice and sovereignty. After Daniel's miraculous deliverance from the lions, his accusers face the judgment they intended for him, and King Darius issues a decree declaring the greatness of the living God. These verses remind us that the Lord's kingdom is everlasting, His dominion without end, and His power to save reaches into every circumstance. No matter the schemes of men, God's purposes will prevail, and His servants will be preserved. Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc BurkhartYou can partner with us by visiting FaithandValues.com, calling 1-800-576-2116, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961.Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves!AmericanReserves.comIt's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today!Amazon.com/Final-DayApple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books!books.apple.com/final-dayPurchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today.Sacrificingliberty.comThe Fauci Elf is a hilarious gift guaranteed to make your friends laugh! Order yours today!Trunews/faucielf
The Lord made great promises to Abram...
Full Text of ReadingsSolemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Lectionary: 621, 622The Saint of the day is Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryThe Story of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” The pope proclaimed this dogma only after a broad consultation of bishops, theologians and laity. There were few dissenting voices. What the pope solemnly declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church. We find homilies on the Assumption going back to the sixth century. In following centuries, the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but some authors in the West were hesitant. However by the 13th century there was universal agreement. The feast was celebrated under various names—Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption—from at least the fifth or sixth century. Today it is celebrated as a solemnity. Scripture does not give an account of Mary's assumption into heaven. Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as God's people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testaments, her assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman's victory. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul speaks of Christ's resurrection as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus' life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to believe in Mary's share in his glorification. So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be with him body and soul in heaven. Reflection In the light of the Assumption of Mary, it is easy to pray her Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) with new meaning. In her glory she proclaims the greatness of the Lord and finds joy in God her savior. God has done marvels to her and she leads others to recognize God's holiness. She is the lowly handmaid who deeply reverenced her God and has been raised to the heights. From her position of strength she will help the lowly and the poor find justice on earth, and she will challenge the rich and powerful to distrust wealth and power as a source of happiness. Learn more about the Assumption of Mary! Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media
Are you stormproof? In this powerful episode, Matt Cruz and Kathy DeGraw unlock how to stay anchored in faith, intimacy, and identity—even in the fiercest battles. Discover how to go deeper with Jesus and live unshakable. Purchase Kathy's book Healed at Last – Overcome Sickness to Receive your Physical Healing on Amazon https://a.co/d/6a6mt8w or at: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/healed-at-last/ Purchase Anointing Oil with a prayer cloth that Kathy has personally mixed and prayed over on Kathy's Website or Amazon. Order anointing oil by Kathy on Amazon look for her brand here https://amzn.to/3PC6l3R or Kathy DeGraw Ministries https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/product-category/oils/ Training, Mentorship and Deliverance! Personal coaching, deliverance, e-courses, training for ministry, and mentorships! https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/training/# In this explosive conversation, evangelist Matt Cruz joins Kathy DeGraw to share the burning message behind his new book StormProof. They dive deep into the power of intimacy with God, the importance of carrying spiritual oil, and how to remain anchored in Jesus through crushing seasons. If you've ever felt like your foundation was shaking or you're walking through rejection, depression, or fear, this episode will reignite your spiritual fire. Matt reveals how the storms of life aren't meant to destroy us—they're meant to refine us. Learn how to discern the difference between demonic attack and divine development, walk in the identity of sonship, and daily ascend the hill of the Lord. With raw stories, prophetic insights, and biblical wisdom, this episode offers a roadmap to spiritual resilience and radical trust in Jesus. Whether you're in the middle of a trial or preparing for one, StormProof faith is possible—and it starts with the oil of intimacy. Don't just go through the motions. Encounter the One who anchors your soul. #faith #intimacywithGod #stormproof #MattCruz #spiritualwarfare **Connect with Matt at https://mattcruzministries.com/ Purchase Matt's book at https://a.co/d/j5YsomF **Connect with Us** - Website: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathydegraw/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathydegraw/ Podcast - Subscribe to our YouTube channel and listen to Kathy's Podcast called Prophetic Spiritual Warfare, or on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/3mYPPkP28xqcTzdeoucJZu or Apple podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prophetic-spiritual-warfare/id1474710499 **Recommended Resources:** - Receive a free prayer pdf on Warfare Prayer Declarations at https://kathydegrawministries.org/declarations-download - Kathy's training, mentoring and e-courses on Spiritual Warfare, Deliverance and the Prophetic: https://training.kathydegrawministries.org/ - Healed At Last ~ Overcome Sickness and Receive your Physical Healing: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/healed-at-last/ - Mind Battles – Root Out Mental Triggers to Release Peace!: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/product/mind-battles-pre-order-available-january-2023/ -Kathy has several books available on Amazon or kathydegrawministries.org **Support Kathy DeGraw Ministries:** - Give a one-time love offering or consider partnering with us for $15, $35, $75 or any amount! Every dollar helps us help others! - Website: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/donate/ - CashApp $KDMGLORY - Venmo @KD-Ministries - Paypal.me/KDeGrawMinistries or donate to email admin@degrawministries.org - Mail a check to: Kathy DeGraw Ministries ~ PO Box 65 ~ Grandville MI 49468
As the Psalter draws to a close with a grand Hallelujah Chorus, Psalm 148 calls upon all creation to join together to praise the LORD. The praise starts with the heavens and the heavenly creatures. These are not to be worshiped, but rather, they join together in worship to the Creator who continues to sustain them by His Word. The praise of the LORD continues on the earth among all earthly creatures, as they live according to the way He has made them to live. As the high and exalted one true God, the LORD acts in strength for the sake of salvation for all His people and all His creation. He has accomplished this through Jesus Christ. Rev. Matt Ulmer, pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church--Friedheim, just outside Decatur, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 148. To learn more about Zion Lutheran, visit zionfriedheim.org. Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org
Five thousand miles in one month! That's not too bad if you're in an airplane, but that's how far I drove at least one summer and we've had many long trips like that. We just about ran the wheels off of our van driving from one conference, or speaking assignment, or college trip to another. Let's see, if I averaged 50 miles per hour, that means I drove for 100 hours. Oh, man! Well, it was a great time, it really was. You know why? My wife was with me. We finally got to be together for extended blocks of time with no phone, no errands to do, no people to take us away. We didn't talk all the time, although we had a lot to catch up on. We probably could have been catching up for about 100 hours. Right? Sometimes we just played music, or occasionally we would just spontaneously pray about something together. Or a lot of times we just enjoyed the silence or some of the beautiful scenery. And then every once in a while you'd hear the silence punctuated with an occasional comment or just an "I love you." I think my wife spoke for both of us when she described what was so nice about all those 5,000 miles. She said, "It was just so great being in your company; just the two of us." I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Just the Two of Us." You know, relationships need time together and especially times when there's like no agenda. It really enriched me to have that kind of time with my wife during all that driving. There's another relationship that might be a need, maybe a desperate need of some "just being" time. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 42, out of the heart of David, verses 1 and 2. "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God; for the living God." And then he asks this powerful question, "When can I go and meet with God?" That's the cry of a believer for the greatest emotional need he has - to be intimate with his Lord. When was the last time you just sat down with Jesus and enjoyed His company? Or do you only see Him when you have a list for Him? Jeremy was over at our house with his parents, and he'd been downstairs playing. Suddenly he came into the living room and kind of sat down in his dad's lap, and his dad liked that. His dad kind of wrapped his arms around him, started to cuddle him, and Jeremy didn't settle down; he just kept wiggling. He looked up at his dad and he said, "Daddy, you know I'm not sitting here just because I want to be with you." Great! Yeah, he needed something. Wow! How often is that me with my Heavenly Father, or you maybe? In fact we say, "Well, I'm not here just because I want to be with You; I've got my list. I need something." But you're growing up as a child of God when you want to be with God just to be with God. You say, "Ron, I don't really feel that way yet." Well, that's okay. Tell Him that. Ask Him for the desire for His company; this passion that David had just to be with Him. "When can I go and meet with God?" We have the indescribable privilege to cuddle in the lap of the King of the Universe, to call Him "Daddy," to let Him comfort our battered emotions, to speak new ideas and insights into our quiet heart. He can't do that while you're talking to Him. To be real, real close, you can't just run in and run through your "pleases" and "thank yous" and then run out. You can do all that, but then stay a little longer. I think you and Jesus will feel the same way about it. It's like my wife said, "It was so great just being in your company, Lord, just the two of us."
Discover the biblical roots of the Assumption and why Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven.Morning Offering, August 15, 2025Every morning, join Father Brad as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Brad guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Disclaimer: The ads shown before, during, or after this video have no affiliation with Morning Offering and are controlled by YouTubeLet us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)________________
You finally commit to that project you've been putting off for years. You dive in with enthusiasm, start making real progress, and then reality hits. It's smaller than you dreamed, less impressive than you imagined, especially when compared to what others have accomplished. That's exactly where we find God's people three weeks into rebuilding the temple. The older folks who remembered Solomon's magnificent temple were saying, 'This is nothing compared to what we had before.' The workers were getting discouraged. And that's when God shows up with His promise: 'The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former” not because of outward appearances, but because God dwells within and will bless his people. The Rev. David Boisclair, senior pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Haggai 2. To learn more about Our Redeemer, visit ourredeemerstl.org. The Persian king Cyrus issues an astonishing decree: the exiles may go home. Among them are the Jews—God's chosen people—whom this pagan ruler not only repatriates, but commands to rebuild the temple of the Lord. Ezra 1–4 tells of their return, the joy of restored worship, and the crushing opposition that brings construction to a standstill. Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah speak with God's authority, calling His people to courage, repentance, and hope. In Ezra 5–8 the temple is completed, worship flourishes, and hearts are renewed in God's Word. This series on Thy Strong Word follows the events in the order they happened, revealing how the Lord moves kings and prophets, overcomes opposition, and restores His people. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.
Psalm 147 (NKJV)Andrew, Isack, and Edwin find Jesus in Psalm 147.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=22532The 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/
St. Isaac's counsel confronts the modern temptation toward self-promotion, verbal dominance, and the illusion of expertise. In a time when our culture prizes quick answers, visible influence, and a polished public persona, his words cut against the grain. He reminds us that the deepest authority is not rooted in rhetoric or clever disputation, but in the quiet radiance of a virtuous life. Humility, expressed in meek speech, modest bearing, restraint in judgment, and continual learning, guards the soul from the injury of familiarity and the snares of pride. For those in the spiritual life today, this means resisting the lure of proving ourselves in debates, curating our image for approval, or speaking beyond what we have truly lived. It is an invitation to clothe our knowledge in tears and fasting, to let the wisdom of the Church shape our vision, and to guard our minds from curiosities that puff up rather than purify. Such a way seems “small” in the eyes of the world, yet it opens the heart to the grace of God, the only true teacher. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:10:58 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 145. Paragraph 20 00:12:39 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 145, mid-page # 20 2nd paragraph on page 00:13:11 Zack Morgan: no 00:24:51 Anthony: This goes so much against the grain of the Classical Greek world: being a public person and a public corrector after the manner of Socrates 00:40:14 Anthony: I found the spirit of blasphemy is contagious from people who proclaim they are righteous but take delight in showing the faults of others. I wish I could shake it off. 00:40:25 Una: Any practical suggestions for those of us whose knees are shot and can't do prostrations anymore? 00:45:55 Ben: I think St. Seraphim of Sarov said something about continual prayer supplying for the inability to fast. Could one hope that the same could be said about an inability to perform other ascetical works, like prostrations? 00:54:02 Ren Witter: How does one discern when one's conscience differs from widely held beliefs in the Church because it is malformed, and when it differs but is in fact formed well? I am thinking of immediate, small things obviously, but also St. John Chrysostom, who experienced exile from the institutional Church, and who had such confidence in his own conscience that he could say “they have the churches, but we have the truth” ? 00:55:18 Anthony: Replying to "Any practical sugges..." There's something about prayer being the highest ascetical work. Maybe in Evergetinos. 00:59:28 Mary
On this Freedom Friday, we wrapped up our “Ask the Expert” week with our very own Karl Clauson and special guest, Dr. Mark Hitchcock. Karl discussed the importance of knowing where you stand with the Lord and how to break out of the “Hallucination of Salvation.” Karl also turned to the phone lines and texts to answer listener questions about salvation. Karl Clauson is the weekday morning host of the nationally syndicated radio program, Karl and Crew. He is also the lead Pastor at 180 Chicago Church. He has also authored several books including, “The 7 Resolutions” and “Killing Sin: Conquer the One Thing That Is Defeating You.” You can hear the highlights of today's program on the Karl and Crew Showcast. Karl and Crew airs live weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. Central Time. Click this link for ways to listen in your area! https://www.moodyradio.org/ways-to-listen/ Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/morningshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
O loving God,you raised the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul,into the glory of heaven,a sign of hope and comfort for your pilgrim people.Through her Assumption,you show us the destiny that awaits all who faithfully follow Christ:a life of eternal joy in your loving presence.Mary, our Mother and Queen,intercede for us today.Help us to live with hearts turned toward heaven,seeking always to do God's will with humility and trust.Teach us to say “yes” to God, as you did,to bring Christ into the world through our words and actions,and to love with a generous and pure heart.May we one day share in your joy,gathered together in the fullness of God's kingdom.We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Friday Bible Study (8/8/25) // 2 Kings 23: 21-37 // Website: https://mbchicago.org FOLLOW US Facebook: https://facebook.com/mbc.chicago Instagram: https://instagram.com/mbc.chicago TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mbc.chicago Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others TO SUPPORT US Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch DAF Donations: https://every.org/mbc.chicago PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AA74AC7V5WYMJ 2 Kings 23: 21-37 (ESV)Josiah Restores the Passover21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”Josiah's Death in Battle28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents[a] of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.Footnotesa. 2 Kings 23: 33 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
Only a person who is willfully blind could deny that miracles happen today. They didn't end at the shore of the Red Sea. Malachi 3:6 says, “I the Lord do not change.” From this, we can logically see that the Bible's powerful and majestic miracles didn't stop in the first century. They're still happening. God didn't suspend the love He dispenses in the form of miracles. Taylor McCaffrey was an alcoholic as a teenager. He was also a preacher's kid, and these combined to weigh him down with guilt. From the age of 16, he drank heavily, but God didn't leave him there. He says, “On my 21st birthday, I'd been drinking about eight hours straight and simply heard the voice of the Holy Spirit inside me say, ‘Either do what I've called you to or I will not continue wrestling you.'”It sounded so stern. However, so loving, “I was instantly sober.” And that was several years ago. Today, Taylor is still sober. There are also countless examples of what we might call ‘corporate' miracles—those that bless whole communities. At Christmas time of 2004, a group of 400 believers wanted to hold a Christmas service. The local authorities, though, told them that they could not do that in the city of Meulaboh in North Sumatra. The 400 decided to hold their service in a remote mountain region, and they stayed overnight. Early next morning, an earthquake and resulting tsunami flattened their city, but they were safe in the higher elevations. Had they opted not to worship Jesus during their holiday, they would have perished.The fact is, our world is miracle-heavy. They happen all the time. Miracles happen to ordinary people and to whole nations every day. This is one of the clearest evidences of the power and the majesty of the living God. We can choose to be witnesses for Him by pointing out to everyone we come in contact with that though our world has problems, God is still working in a mighty way.Let's pray. Father God, thank you. The example of miracles. They give us strength in our faith and a boost to our days. We're forever grateful to you for routinely doing things that some say cannot happen. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.