Podcasts about nlt the lord

Lamentations 3:25 NLT “The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.”   *Transcription Below*   Mike Blackaby serves as a church planter in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, and their four children. He holds a PhD in Worldview and Apologetics from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books and Bible studies including God, Heroes, and Everyday Dragons, Experiencing God in Everyday Life and Straight to the Heart: Communicating the Gospel in an Emotionally Driven Culture. Listen to his sermons.   Daniel Blackaby is the author and co-author of nine books, including Experiencing God in Everyday Life, 7 Steps for Knowing, Doing, and Experiencing the Will of God and God, Heroes, and Everyday Dragons, as well as the imaginative fiction trilogy The Lost City Chronicles. Daniel holds a PhD in Christianity and the Arts and a ThM in Philosophy, Apologetics & Worldview from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He speaks on cultural engagement, Christianity and the arts, apologetics and reaching the next generation for Christ. He is the founder of The Collision (thecollision.org), a multimedia ministry designed to help Christians thoughtfully and biblically engage with culture and the arts. Daniel is married to Sarah, and they are the parents of twin boys.    Blackaby Website   Thank you to our sponsor: Sam Leman Eureka   Questions and Topics We Cover: How has faith been strategically passed along in your family to the next generation (and how can we do the same?!) How do your families personally preserve these stories of the generations of faith? Can you tell us more about Spiritual Markers and share how we can use this practice in our family to disciple our children?    Related Savvy Sauce Episodes: Brain Science and Spiritual Abundance with Ken Baugh Theology and Discipleship with Ken Baugh Gospel Truth for Salvation and Sanctification with Hunter Beless   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 1:45) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka. Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com.   Mike and Daniel Blackaby are my guests for today. They come from a long line of incredible generational faith, and so they're going to share some stories about how they've inherited this rich legacy, and then also inspire us to do the same in our families. They also are authors of this recent resource, Experiencing God in Everyday Life.   Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Mike and Daniel. Glad to have both of you joining and would you first mind both introducing yourself and share your connection to Dr. Henry Blackaby, and maybe tell a few stories about his life to illustrate how his legacy has helped shape the heart behind this recent study.   Mike Blackaby: (1:46 - 5:00) Sure. My name is Mike Blackaby. I'm the oldest grandson of Henry, so I'm not gonna say that he loved me the most, but he loved me the longest of all of his grandkids, and I remember we lived close to him for a while, and then far, and then close again, so it was interesting being around him when we were teenagers, and then being around him later on as our own children were being born, sort of two significant times in our lives where we lived close, and I just remember when I was a teenager chatting with him about, what am I gonna do with my life?   What am I gonna do after high school? You know, like what everybody tries to figure out, and his advice was really just, if you follow God one day at a time, then you'll be exactly where you need to be in 10 years. You don't necessarily have to plan out your whole life. God has a plan, and you trust him today, and you'll end up where you need to be tomorrow, and so I've really taken that advice ever since then, and so I was grateful for that, especially at the time when I was trying to figure out, what am I gonna do with my life after high school graduation?   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I'm Daniel Blackaby, his second oldest grandchild. He would have probably said his favorite. Yes, second oldest, first favorite, and I live down here in Atlanta, Georgia, actually in the same neighborhood that he lived in. I came on to work for the family ministry, so kind of got to overlap with him the last couple years of his life, which was just a blessing to see him up close. Obviously, we grew up around him at various stages, but just kind of see him finish well, and to have both Mike and I have kids.   Our oldest kids are around the same age, and I think one of the memories, I was gonna share the one that Mike just shared, but I think one of the memories that, I don't know, was meaningful for me came near the end, and I actually wasn't even there personally, but the last picture, actually, that was taken of my grandfather before he passed away was actually him with my two, I have twin boys, and my father was gonna be on the road traveling, and he had stopped by, and I was busy doing something, but he took my kids, and they got to spend a bit of time with him, and there's a picture with them kind of by his chair, smiling, and I just sort of had that last moment. I think that's, and then he passed away, I think just a couple days after that, but the last time any of the family got to see him, and for me, it's just such a testimony of his faithfulness. He has his great-grandchildren around him, and being able to be blessed by him, even at the end of his life.   He had the opportunity to travel the world, do amazing things, but I think his, for me, his lasting legacy is just the way that he inspired his family, that he lived in such a way that even his great-grandchildren are inspired by his faith, and want to hear more about his story. So even though I wasn't there, that picture of my two kids sort of representing my family has just been a really meaningful one for me.   Laura Dugger: (5:01 - 5:12) Such a life well-lived, and I'm so curious, how has faith strategically been passed along in your family from one generation to the next?   Mike Blackaby: (5:14 - 10:41) Well, the funny thing is, I don't know that it's always been super strategic. In some ways, I think it's been organic. We didn't always maybe do all the things that you would expect a family to do. We didn't sit down at dinner time and have family devotions and stuff. I think we tried it for a while, and it never really took, but for us, when we watched our parents, both our mom and our dad, and aunts and uncles and grandfather, so many people live out their faith, it was just very real for them. There was never this sense of, I'm just doing this, or that they were different behind the scenes than they were when they were in ministry.   We got to see them on stage preaching, but then in the car on a road trip when they're frustrated with us annoying kids in the back, and there was no hypocrisy. It was the same thing, and I think something that's always stood out for me is, so much of our family was in ministry, so not just even in the faith, but in active Christian ministry, and we just never really heard our parents bad talk the church. There was lots of issues. There's always issues, and there's always things that happen, and it didn't mean that they wouldn't call out sin when there was sin, and not that, but this sense of, they always talked positively about God's church and about ministry, and I don't know, I think the more people I talk to, I think maybe that's not super common.   I think sometimes people, maybe especially pastor's kids, get turned off of it all because they see behind the scenes how, oh man, this is not good, and my dad, he served these people, but he kind of hated these people or whatever, and we just never really got that sense. It was very personal. It was very consistent. It was very authentic, and it was very positive, even though our dad and mom dealt with issues in ministry, and people are messy, right? You're gonna deal with that anywhere, but they're like, the church is God's plan A, and there is no plan B, and so my whole life, I've tried to be very, very slow to criticize the church in general.   A lot of people love to do that. I'm very slow to criticize something that God loves and Christ died for. It's not perfect, and there's issues that need to be pointed out for sure, but we just had a very positive example, I think, growing up, and so for myself at least, I was fearful of stepping into ministry because I was like, I can't preach. I can't get up in front of people, that sort of thing, but I also saw it as a great privilege. I didn't want to do it, but it wasn't because it was a bad thing to do. It was almost because it was such a good thing to do, and I didn't feel like I could or I was worthy of it or whatever, but just a very positive example, and the more people I talked to, the more rare that seems to be the case of people growing up in ministry families.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I think too, like Mike said, it wasn't necessarily always strategic as far as super scheduled, or we do this at this day, but I do think strategic is to build on what Mike said as far as just the mindset. Like our family was always very intentional, not just about not bad talking and being negative, but to celebrate where God has done things, like very much a value on just telling the stories of what God has done, either currently of just, hey, this happened today, or else just sharing stories of, hey, have I ever told you the story about your grandpa when he did this, or what God has done in the past, to the point that even like my kids who were, wouldn't have been born until decades and decades after those stories, and never even probably heard them firsthand from my grandfather, or even the generations before their great-great grandfather, know a lot of these stories because they were just, we would tell them, we would share them, we'd celebrate the things that God has done in the past, the things God has done in the present, so I think maybe not strategic as far as, okay, this is our Bible time now, from whatever, 10 to 10:30, but I think very strategic as far as just, we are going to celebrate what God has done, and sort of cultivate a posture of always looking for God's activity, and then not taking it for granted that everyone just sort of knows that, like making sure our whole family knows, this is a God thing, let's talk about it, and so in some ways, I think we probably had more spiritual conversations than we would have, had we sort of been more structured in our Bible study time, because it was very natural to say, when God does something, let's talk about it, and I think for both Mike and I, that's something we've tried to do with our own kids now as they're getting older, is just make sure you, to seize those opportunities to just celebrate when God does, you know, is faithful in our life, and not take it for granted that, you know, ourselves or our kids or families are just going to naturally sort of recognize that as God's faithfulness.   Laura Dugger: (10:43 - 11:34) Okay, that's huge, what you both are saying, because that is very biblical to pass along to the next generation through our words, through sharing the stories of God's goodness, I don't know how many verses there are that encourage us to do that, and it helps us remember, I think, reading and writing and even conversation that can all go together, so I was struck with all the stories that were included, that you recounted so well in this Bible study, so two parts, do you write these down like in a journal as they happen, and also it's so interesting to see the two of you being related, and even your background right now, full of books, and so I'm wondering if that was a value in your family, and just how that ties in the love of story and reading.   Mike Blackaby: (11:34 - 19:55) Yeah, at least I preached a lot of those, because anytime there's a good story, it usually ends up in a sermon, and that's something we both sort of drew from our dad, he's a great storyteller, but just coming out of even what we were just talking about, you know, there's always stories to tell, I don't keep all the details, which is why usually I don't have a ton of the details in the story, it's sort of more the gist, my wife's the detail person, and we joke that she'll tell a story, and it'll take like 10 minutes, because she'll know every, and she loves all the details, and I'll tell the same story in like two minutes, because it's just like, you know, just hit the main points here, but I keep a little, I call it an illustration file, because I use them for preaching, but I think it's good to keep some sort of record, even if it's not all the details, but just the gist.   When we moved to Victoria, I live on Vancouver Island, we planted a church here in Victoria, the west coast of Canada, and it's a hard place to plant a church, and I have a file on my computer that's God's stories from Oak Bay, and it's just whenever we see God do something, I mean God's always at work, but whenever we see something, you know, that really stands out, I'll write that down, and I'm like, I don't want to forget these things, like I want to be able to pass on these stories, and I know I will forget them if I don't write them down, so there's the record of the stories, and then, you know, when we put them in a book, we try to make it interesting, and you know, we try to write it in a compelling way, but we do, at least I do, keep a record of those things, because I don't want to forget those stories. Those are worth passing down, and then when we get an opportunity to write something like this book, it's great because you can draw on these things, and you can say, whenever God does a work in my life, it's never just for me, like it's always part of something bigger, a bigger story of what God's doing, and so I want to pass those along, and if those stories can be encouraging for others, then great.   And one of the differences, I would just add, and then let Daniel go, but one of the differences between this book and the original Experiencing God is that the original Experiencing God has a lot of big God moment stories where you read, you're like, whoa, that's amazing, you're like, these miracle stories, but sometimes we can expect that that's the only way that God ever works, is the burning bush, or the fire from heaven, or these sort of big miracles we see in the Bible, or we read about in grandpa's life, and in this other book, we were very intentional to try and not just put the wow stories in there, there are those, those do happen, but we wanted to put some stories of just, hey, here's how this plays out, and it's not a huge earth-shattering miracle, it's just sometimes just regular life stuff, and most of life is in those moments, and God is in those moments, as well as the big moments, and so a lot of the stories we put in this book were, we actually edited out some of the ones that were a bit more like, whoa, that's cool, because we want people to see that God is in the ordinary stuff as well, and so sometimes those are a bit harder to think of, because the big moments stick in your mind pretty good, but when you're thinking about, what does this look like though in just the day-to-day, you're like, that's not as interesting, but we think hopefully it's even more powerful for people, because they can come to realize, wow, God is at work all around me, even in the ways where I didn't expect to see him, he's in those places too.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, well, and I'd quickly just say too that, you know, Mike's better at keeping track of stories, my wife and I were just talking the other day, how we regret that we weren't better like when our kids were growing up, and some of those funny things that they did, but I think in some ways that is also the value of just being very intentional about constantly sharing stories, is sort of the old oral tradition of just, you know, you may not remember, but you've told the story, and other people remember, because the funny thing with these books is you'd probably assume that, you know, if it's a personal story from me or Mike, that we were the one that put that story in, that we added, that was our idea, but a lot of times it would actually be, you know, like Mike might, he might not, I might still write the story, but he might add, hey, remember when this happened, and this would be a great illustration of this, and I'll be, oh, I forgot that happened, you know, like, oh yeah, now that I think of it, like, you know, or we'd tell our dad, like, hey, we heard you tell this story, like, why don't you add that here, and so it's sort of that collective memory of, you know, we may, it may jolt our memories, you know, and we learn some new ones.   Like, we wrote a youth version of this book, too, that comes out in the fall that parallels it, but we swapped out a lot of the stories for a bit more youth, youthy, kind of humorous ones, and I learned some stories about Daniel that I actually didn't know, that, like, one story that might be one of the funniest things that I've, like, ever heard is in that book, and so, yeah, it is fun to sort of go back into the archives and even learn some new ones. So, yeah, it is fun to sort of collectively and reminisce, even as we were writing them, but I'll say to you, because you asked us about the storytelling, like, the books, and that that very much is, I think, an application of what we were trying to get at in this book, of just, that was something we saw, like, our dad has a big library, we constantly would come into his office, see him reading a book. I think back, even our mom, when we were quite young, kind of had two rules that, I don't know if you even remember these, Maggie, one was we can always have an apple. At any time of the day, we can, we're always allowed to have an apple, and the second one was that she'll always buy us a book, if we read a book that she bought us, she'll always buy us a new book, so that we can keep reading, which she made that promise before we got quite as, as hooked. She had to sort of back down, when she couldn't keep up with, you know, the credit card couldn't handle. I had a huge stack of Goosebumps books. I think she was, like, hoping to steer us a little bit, like, well, I guess not just any book.   But that was just always a value to them. I mean, I mean, apple, and be healthy, make healthy choices, but the reading of just constantly be stretching yourself, you know, whether that's fiction, and as we got older, more non-fiction as well, mixed in there, different types of literature, but, you know, just any way that, as a family, we can encourage thinking, and storytelling, and, you know, whether, even if they weren't necessarily, you know, faith, Christian books, just stories, learning the power of stories, and a well-told story, and I don't know if you've done that, Mike, that's one of the, we've adopted those rules for my kids, of just, you know, if you're going to read a book, I'll buy you a new book. I want you guys to, and just, I want you guys to see me reading in my library, and just the power of books, and literature, and thinking, hopefully, some of that rubs off.   Mike Blackaby: Our kids love apples so much, though, that we can't really do the apple rule, because then we would just never have any apples. We just wouldn't have them for lunches. Well, and even today, we're all in a book club together, so with our dad, and with our sister, and our brother-in-law, and our cousin, and so we'll all choose a book that sort of stretches our thinking, and then we'll, they all, most of them all live right by each other, so they'll all meet together, eat Chinese food, and then a couple of us outsiders will zoom in, but that's even still a practice that we have in adulthood, is we'll do a book club together, and we'll read a book, and we'll discuss it, and big, big fans of reading old school books. Daniel's maybe more of a Kindle guy nowadays, too, but, and anything, same with our kids, just, hey, you guys just read anything. It's just good for you.   Laura Dugger: (19:57 - 20:13) It is so helpful in, I think, cultivating faith. That's fascinating to hear how different families do it in different ways, and I know that we can't share all of the stories, but now, Mike, you kind of left us hanging. Do you want to share that one story about Daniel that they may find in the youth resource?   Mike Blackaby: (20:15 - 21:52) Yeah, it might be a little, a little bit PG, Daniel, you may have to correct me, but you were, like, brand new to a school, too, like, your high school. He was a new student at his school, and they all went, they all went out on a lake, going, like, being pulled on a tube behind, behind, like, a speedboat, and so, of course, you're trying to make a good impression. You're, you're brand new. You don't have any friends yet, and so you're trying to, you're trying to break into this crowd, so Daniel goes on that tube, and, of course, you're trying to get you to fall off, and so they're taking these huge corners, and, and they, they wipe Daniel off of the back of that tube so hard that he loses his swim trunks, and he's floating there, and the boat's got to, like, make the big wide turn, and come back, and pick him up, and he looks, and his shorts are, like, you know, he's lost them way out in the lake, and so he's frantically swimming, trying to, trying to get to his shorts before, before the boat comes back, and so, for those of you who are, who are audio listeners only, you'll be thankful for that, I guess. Sorry, I apologize to the listeners, but I forget what point we're making. So, not, not the age you want to be to, to humiliate yourself.   Daniel Blackaby: I did find, I did swim fast enough, just to tie a bow on that. I was able to be covered. Somehow, I had never known that story, and I've laughed for, I mean, months now, I guess, whenever, whenever you wrote that. I'm still laughing about that.   Laura Dugger: (21:53 - 23:29) And now, a brief message from our sponsor.   Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership, like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible.   They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different. I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life, and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you, and they appreciate your business.   Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com, or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them at 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Kind of getting back to some of the thoughts of your study, why is it that you think so many Christians struggle to meet God just in the ordinary moments of life?   Mike Blackaby: (23:31 - 29:40) I think one reason might just be that our ordinary time is so full of distractions now, just so much more than it ever used to be, and everybody knows this, like with phones and just ads coming at you all the time, and constant noise, constant stimulus, and just being as busy. Technology has also allowed us to be very productive, which doesn't mean that we rest more. It means that we attempt to do more because we can do more, and so our lives are just full and busy, and I would say that probably one of the biggest reasons why we don't see God in the everyday is because our every day is so full of distractions, and if we're not intentional, just there's a million things that will come and take our attention and fill our time, and so that would be, I think that would be a big reason is life's just too crazy, and unless you push back against that intentionally, there's just so much that you'll miss out on.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I think too, just expectations. I think it's easier, maybe it's more flashy to see God in like a burning bush type moment of, oh that must be God, because that's a miracle that never happens, as opposed to just in the daily grind of life, and I think we're just we're sort of stuck in a worldly perspective. I know like our grandfather in the first Experiencing God book talked about God's activity is always God-sized, which is true, there always is that God eternal dimension, but I think even as we've, you know, the decades since that book and being able to go through that study with people, and we're so conditioned I think to think, well God's size must be big, you know, God's big, so whatever he does must be big and spectacular, which is not what our grandfather meant, you know, God's size just means God is in it, and the significance comes because God's in it, not because it's flashy, or it was in front of a lot of people, or you know, it was some miraculous story, and I think a lot of times we just miss the ordinary, because we're not looking for it, we're kind of looking, we may even get discouraged that God's not doing anything in my life right now, because there hasn't been a big moment, and if our spiritual eyes were open to just, well God was all around you in your family today, God is all around you at work today, or you know, that conversation you had at the grocery store, this, you know, that sense of peace you had when, you know, your schedule went crazy, and it was a chaotic day, but somehow you had this, those are all God moments, that's God's presence too, but we don't always recognize that, just because we're not looking for it, we don't, that's almost too small for God in our eyes, which I think says more about us than it does about God.   I know even just in the process of writing this book, it was sort of the act of trying to apply it into my own life, of you know, just being more intentional about, you know, if I'm just like in the living room with my kids, or doing, you know, whatever I'm doing at work or something, and just sort of sitting back a bit and being, this is a good moment, like this is a God moment, like this is, you know, my kids are laughing, this happened, there was a breakthrough at work, you know, some small comment that maybe I would brush off, that no, that actually is a sign of God's activity, and I think once you get in the habit of that, once that becomes sort of, you know, not that you're trying to like, where's Waldo, and force it if it's not there, and make everything a God moment, but if you just sort of get in the habit of keeping your eyes open and recognizing it, I don't know, it's sort of contagious, if you start noticing more and more, and you get in, you sort of, that becomes more of your default, and the more you do that, the more you realize, so God's been doing a lot of stuff that I've been missing, just because my own expectations are, I want God to do something that, in my eyes, seems more miraculous and spectacular, when maybe God wants to do something just as important, but way more intimate, or personal, or sort of, you know, behind the scenes.   Mike Blackaby: And something that's come up a couple times in our conversation is just the consistency and the practice of something, like Daniel said, if you put that into practice, it may not feel natural at first, but if you put that into practice, Daniel just said like, that'll become more your default, and even the language we use in the book, and other people use as well, is just the rhythm of your life. What is your life rhythm? What is those defaults that you fall into, either unintentionally or intentionally?   And if you, you have to create the rhythm of looking for God's activity, and I think that's one thing the original Experiencing God did, is it opened people's eyes to, God is at work all around me, and if I'm gonna see that, if I'm gonna recognize that, then I need to be looking for that. It's not that it starts happening because I start looking, but I start seeing it because I start looking. It's always been there. And so just building that consistency, and those rhythms, and one of the things we really hit on in the book is, you are shaped by what you do consistently over time. And it's interesting, because the big moments maybe inspire you, but they don't necessarily shape you into who you are. It's the erosion of rock. It's the consistent small things that build up over time that really shape your character and shape your faith. And so, the big moments play a part in that, but just like anything else, if you want seeing God's activity to become the default rhythm of your life, it's one of those things that you have to put into practice, because it's not going to be naturally what you do, just right off the bat. It's one of those things that has to be learned and practiced. But as you do, it slowly does become second-rate, and it does become more of the default. And you are just aware of looking around for where God is at work and recognizing it, but it's not going to just happen by accident, because very rarely do good, healthy things happen just unintentionally and by accident. Absolutely.   Laura Dugger: (29:42 - 30:22) And there's this verse that's been meaningful all year, but it's one that I was, again, reflecting on today from Lamentations 3:25, and it kind of ties into what you're talking about. It says, "The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him." And I think you're talking about cultivating those small incremental steps of spiritual growth by even just searching for Him and being on the lookout and expectantly awaiting for Him to do something. So, would you build on that and share a few more practical habits that we can cultivate to experience progressive sanctification?   Daniel Blackaby: (30:25 - 37:43) Yeah, well, I know, because in the book, each unit, we give different suggested habits that contribute to that rhythm of intentionality. And obviously, we start the book with sort of the standard, you know, read your Bible, pray, things that every Christian should, that should just be a part of your rhythm at any stage of life. But I think a lot of times when we think of habits and things, I think people get intimidated because we're busy, and obviously, it's a matter of priority. We make time for the things that we love and prioritize. So, most of the time, busyness is an excuse to prioritize, you know, watching Netflix or going to bed early or whatever it is instead of God things.   But I think one of the things we try to do in the book, too, is just redeeming the time of, you know, that they're not necessarily that you need to, okay, well, I have a busy life, and I got to add 10 new habits into my life, and slot them into whatever remaining, you know, openings I have in my busy schedule, but just kind of reclaiming some of these times or, you know, and a lot of the habits, too, they're not necessarily just, you know, go spend two hours fasting and prayer before work every day, things that are that are daunting. I think a lot of them can be small, just mindset things. I know one of our habits is just gratitude, where we encourage people, like if you're standing there by the coffee maker half asleep, you know, in the morning before you're going to go to work or school or whatever you're doing, like if you're just standing there waiting for your coffee, you got whatever, two minutes, you know, use that moment to voice a prayer to God and just thank Him. Find one thing that you can thank Him for that day, and that's not adding, you know, that's not adding a lot of commitment, but it's starting your day, you know, one of the first things you do is, before you even had coffee, is thanking God for something, and you do that every day, every day, you start every day thanking God for something, then that begins to shape your rhythm, to grow you into being a more thankful person.   Rather than, you know, spending that time to think about how much you don't want to go back to work this morning, or you're too tired, or you know, regretting that you stayed up too late, or, you know, you feel sore from how you slept on your pillow, like things that could sort of shape our day, and I mean, the book has a lot of those sort of things, even just commutes, you know, we encourage people, pick one day, just, you know, one day, if you're going to work or picking up your kids from school, or whatever your regular commute is, and just turn off the radio, turn off the audiobook, just, you know, you can pray in that time, or you can just look and, you know, appreciate the sky, or you can just have some silence to kind of clear your mind from all the stimuli that you get, you know, so much throughout the day, and so I think, for me, those are the ones that have been the most impactful for me. Obviously, if you're not reading your Bible, or praying, some of those things work to include those, but I think a lot of the habits, especially when it comes to noticing God, and joining God in the small things, can be small habits of just shaping, how can I become a more gratitude, or grateful person, or generous, or encouraging person, you know, encourage one person at work each day, there's different things like that, but I think over time, those do contribute to sort of these bigger rhythms of aligning yourself more with kind of God's presence.   Mike Blackaby: Yeah, one that I like, that has challenged me and stuck with me is the water basin. It says he went over to this water basin, and he used that to wash his disciples' feet, and of course, the practice would have been for a servant to have done that when they all got there, and maybe a servant already did that, it would seem odd if a certain servant had already done that, and then Jesus repeats it, maybe that's how it happened, but I get a sense that they went in, and nobody had done that, sort of the custom got missed, and they're all sitting there with dirty and disgusting feet, and Jesus is the one that takes the initiative, doesn't just wait for somebody else to do it, we don't hear of any of the other disciples saying, oh, well, somebody's got to do this, sort of like someone's got to do the dishes, I guess I'll go do it, like it's Jesus that does it, there's the sense that the water basin was there the whole time, but Jesus is the only one who took the initiative to use it, and so I would say everything that we want to develop in our character towards Christlikeness is going to come out of the foundation of humility, a posture of humility is where all of that is built on, and so the act of serving others, what it does is it slowly makes us humble, it's the action of putting someone else before myself, if I do that over and over again, eventually that starts to wear down my pride, that actively pushes back against my pride by putting somebody else in front of me, and that's good, if I can work my way down to a place of humility, then that's a great starting place for everything else that God wants to develop in my character, and so one of the practices would be everywhere you go look for the water basin, like every room you walk into, everywhere you go there's going to be an opportunity to serve others, most people are going to ignore it, most people are going to let that water basin sit there and wait for somebody else to do it, cultivate the habit of being that person, of saying everywhere I go I'm going to be the one who starts stacking chairs, I'm going to be the one who starts collecting everyone's dirty dishes, I'm going to be the one who asks if anybody could use a top-up on their water or their coffee, I'm going to be that person, and when I'm at home, it's like where are those moments, if I see that my wife needs something, am I going to wait for her to ask, or am I going to see that as a water basin moment, and I'm going to jump on it, and that's hard for me, that's not natural for me, and so that is something I'm actively for years now just trying to do that, but every time I see a water basin and use it to serve somebody else, I'm pushing back against my natural tendency towards pride, and I'm setting myself up to receive whatever else the Holy Spirit wants to, whatever fruit of the Spirit that needs to be developed in me, comes out of the foundation of humility, and so something like that, it's not a scheduled thing, but it's a mindset, it's a habit of saying, okay, everywhere I go, there's going to be a water basin, and so every room I walk into, I can ask where is that, and then take that opportunity to serve, and over time, that should start to develop humility in you, and that's a great place to be for everything else that God wants to do in your life.   Laura Dugger: (37:43 - 39:07) I love that picture of the water basin, and I was telling my husband last night, he does this so well to jump to serve others, and it's a quiet form of leadership, but that is one way that he spiritually leads our family, and I was hoping to encourage him last night, I saw it in one of our daughters then as well, and I know that it sadly didn't come from me, but from her witnessing him and just that eagerness to serve, so I think it's contagious as well, these even practices, and the spirit lights the flame, but to fan the flame, you guys talk about some other ideas, I'll just mention a couple more. I love how you said activate the other side, so maybe learn from podcasts or from reading, and that's more of our thinking brain, so to activate the emotional brain, you're talking about listening to worship songs, or vice versa, if you're always going to music, activate the other side, and another personal favorite was reflective journaling, and you just elaborate on all of these practical ideas, and I think it was really helpful, but you also sprinkle in insightful questions and tips throughout the whole study to inspire us to deeper levels of connection with God, so do you mind just sharing a handful of those?   Daniel Blackaby: (39:09 - 48:32) Yeah, I think just trying to think of it in that terms of all, where, you know, where has God brought me, where do I have to go, and then I'm curious, because we repeat that activity at the end to see if throughout the study, people maybe evaluate themselves differently than they did at the start, but even just questions like, which I believe Mike actually added these ones in the book, but just, you know, list the places that you go to, kind of your weekly schedule, and then how many, what percentage of the people there are believers or not believers, you know, as far as just joining God on mission in your everyday life, I don't think we're always aware of those things, that we assume we believe in missions, we want, we're joining God's activity, but if we actually stop to reflect, is what, you know, I may go, other than maybe like the dentist or something, I may go or the grocery store, and I'll talk to these people, like I could go days without even coming in contact with someone that doesn't share the faith that I do, I mean, Mike is in a more secular surrounding, like I'm down here in the Bible Belt, so it's, you even have to be more intentional to, even like the restaurants, and my dentist is already a Christian, you know, they're playing, I was there yesterday, they were playing worship music, so I get, you do sort of need to be, you know, more, maybe more intentional with that, but I think it starts with just being honest and sort of reflecting on where has God placed me, and how am I, you know, am I joining Him the way that He has called me to, am I around Christians all the time, am I around non-Christians, am I, you know, my community, am I actually being a blessing to my community, am I involved in my community throughout my everyday, you know, weekly schedule, so I think a lot of the activities are just kind of guidance to reflect on sort of where we are in that process, and maybe where God could have us if we were to step out a bit more with faithfulness.   Mike Blackaby: Yeah, I like that. Some of the questions we asked are, they're not necessarily super profound, but there may be questions that aren't intentionally asked all that often, even something like, how would you define spiritual maturity? You ask somebody, “Do you want to grow in your faith?” They're like, yes, I do. Okay, so what are you growing towards? Like, what's the end goal? And most people will probably say, well, I want to be like Jesus. Well, what do you mean by that? Like, you want to go around casting out demons and, you know, feeding 5,000 people through miracles? Well, I don't know, I mean, I want to reflect his character. Okay, so in what way? What character trait of Jesus do you think? Like, narrow it down. Don't just say, I just want to be like Jesus. Well, like, here's Jesus, and we're all way down here, so that's just like, it's like climbing Everest. It's like, well, yeah, I want to get up there. Okay, so what's your map to get there? I don't know. I don't have one.   And so, this idea of just making it, just zeroing in, okay, the fruit of the Spirit, start there. What's one fruit? Pick one thing. You spend the rest of your life working on that one thing, but it's like, okay, what stands out right away to you? Patience. Yeah, for me, it's patience with my kids and with, you know, everything, traffic. It's just like, okay, man, I need this fruit in my life. Okay, so start there. Don't try to just become like Jesus. Say, here's one thing about Jesus that I need to cultivate in me. And if I become a more patient person, then I'm actually becoming a more spiritually mature person, because there's a certain part of my life that is aligning more with the character and the person of who Christ is, who is our model. That is the blueprint of who we desire to be like.   And so sometimes the questions we ask, they're not necessarily super deep or profound, but maybe they're just hopefully helping people to focus it a little bit and to say, okay, we all want to be spiritually mature, but none of us really have a plan to get there. We just sort of hope it happens, like Daniel said, over time. If I'm a Christian long enough, or if I just also, if I fill my life with enough Christian activities, if I just read enough Christian books, if I go to enough Christian Bible studies, that will just make me into a mature Christian. And there is some truth to that. That stuff does shape you. But I heard a pastor one time say, experience doesn't make you wiser, it makes you older. Evaluated experience makes you wiser. And so just putting in time doing Christian activities without reflecting on them or being intentional about it doesn't necessarily make you a more mature person. It just makes you somebody who's been to a lot of Bible studies.   And in one sense, it can almost be immature to say, okay, I don't actually know how to disciple myself. And so, I show up every time the church offers me something to sign up for, but if they don't offer me something to sign up for, then I actually don't know how to take control of my own discipleship. I don't know what to do. And so, in one sense, ironically, the end goal of this book is to help wean people off of needing these types of books all the time. It's sort of counterproductive. Like, hey, the best thing is less and less people need to buy this book. But this idea of build rhythms into your life, take control of your discipleship. A mature Christian shouldn't be needing to be spoon fed or bottle fed 20 years into their Christian walk by saying, okay, what's the next thing that I need to read? After 20 years, Jesus had his disciples for three years, and then he made them the leaders of the church. It's like after three years, he thrusts them into leadership. And we go for 20 years. And if somebody's not telling us what Bible study to take, we don't know what to do.   There's a sense of, God, would you make me a mature believer, that I can then begin to pass this on to someone else, to a believer that's coming behind me. And slowly, as we progress down this road, we're passing it on to the others coming behind us. And we never stop growing. But there is a sense of, am I still doing the same things 20 years down my Christian road that I did when I started? Or have I grown at all? And what's the evidence? How do you measure spiritual growth to even know that? And so those types of questions, they're not necessarily super deep or profound, but they're questions that we may not ask in our normal everyday lives. And so, I think that's a good starting place just to get people thinking, if I want to grow, what am I growing towards? And then how do I get there? So that's some of the heart behind it.   Laura Dugger: (48:32 - 50:04) I want to make sure that you're up to date with our latest news. We have a new website. You can visit thesavvysauce.com and see all of the latest updates. You may remember Francie Heinrichson from episode 132, where we talked about pursuing our God-given dreams. She is the amazing businesswoman who has carefully designed a brand-new website for Savvy Sauce Charities. And we are thrilled with the final product.   So, I hope you check it out. There, you're going to find all of our podcasts now with show notes and transcriptions listed, a scrapbook of various previous guests, and an easy place to join our email list to receive monthly encouragement and questions to ask your loved ones so that you can have your own practical chats for intentional living. You will also be able to access our donation button or our mailing address for sending checks that are tax deductible so that you can support the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and help us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. So, make sure you visit thesavvysauce.com.   One other tip that we can hit on is another personal favorite, something that you call spiritual markers. So, can you tell us more about this idea of spiritual markers and how can we incorporate these into our own walk with the Lord and discipling our children?   Daniel Blackaby: (50:07 - 54:54) Yeah, well, I think in some ways this sort of brings us full circle to where we started with as far as just, you know, as you recognize the moments that that you have, you know, very clearly heard from God or experienced God or joined in God's activity and just allowing those, you know, like through the Bible there's, especially in the Old Testament, people are constantly making altars and, you know, God doesn't think we'll stack a bunch of rocks here so when we see the rocks we remember and we can tell our kids about it and this sense that let's do things that remind us of what God has done in the past, not just so that we can sort of, you know, be nostalgic and reminiscent about the good old days, but that as we face challenges today, we can, you know, hey, God was faithful there.   Every time I see, like I know I have a part of my testimony involved, kind of pretty miraculously receiving a letter, a handwritten letter from a friend that God used to answer prayer, and as we're recording this podcast, I can look and like I have that framed, you know, in my office, like every day I see, you know, at my lowest moment, God was there for me and I have physical evidence that God was there for me, that as, you know, as I face new challenges decades and decades later, that, you know, may look nothing like those challenges. I know it's the same God that guided me, that was provided for me, was faithful then. He's still the same God that I can trust today.   So in many ways, I mean, that can be stories, that can be, you know, I'm a big proponent of just getting physical objects or reminders or things that, whether that's like a picture or just, you know, like I have another, when I was working on my dissertation for my PhD and under a lot of stress, my kids were very young, you know, they were born my first semester, so I was very stressed, and I had one of my kids came up one day when I was just really under a lot of pressure and gave me a picture. It's just a bunch of scribbles and some random, like, animal stickers and stamps, and it's just very abstract, modern, impressionist art, but he gave me that and just sort of, you know, on his own initiative and, you know, just to let me know that he, you know, he loved me, and that's so meaningful. I have that also framed, you know, he's embarrassed now, he's 11, and you say, oh man, that's awful, but I keep that in a very prominent place in my, you know, that's not necessarily God's provision, but I think it is God working through my son to remind, just remind me that, you know, God is at work in my family and using my family and my children, and so I have sort of all around me even now, like, there's just things that I've put around me to remind myself that, you know, when I face a challenge today, trust to what God's done in the past, you know, trust those moments that, you know, that I can move forward with that confidence, that I can still trust him today.   Mike Blackaby: I think that all of that is dead on. I'm a fan of the physical reminders too, like, have, like, that's what they did in the Old Testament, they would, they'd pile rocks together and that would spur on conversations specifically with the next generation, and so, yeah, I think tell the stories to everybody, but be even more intentional to tell the stories to the generation coming behind you, and if you need reminders of those things, then, yeah, fill your home, don't just clutter up your home, but fill your life with reminders of God's goodness, because no matter how good he's been in the past, it's easy to forget that when you're right in the storm today, and so sometimes you just need that reminder, say, okay, like, I remember feeling this way before, and yet God got me through it that time, and I believe he'll get me through it this time too, and not even just the hard times, but recognize and be quick to give God credit for the good things, and just, you know, remember those, we're in a good, we're in a good season in our church right now after some difficult, just hard work, and we're seeing some harvest, and we're seeing some good things, and I know there's ups and downs in ministry, and so I've been telling people I'm just enjoying the up right now, you know, and probably should memorialize it in some way to also look back and say, hey, when things get rough, it doesn't usually stay there forever, and things are good, it doesn't always stay there forever either, you know, growth happens through struggle and tension and those types of things, not ease, and so, yeah, the physical reminders are good.   Laura Dugger: (54:56 - 55:12) And we didn't even get to touch on something, you're bringing out the seasons of life and how God brings the harvest and those winter seasons and how it's cyclical, so if all of this message is resonating with someone, where can we go after this chat to learn more from the two of you?   Mike Blackaby: (55:14 - 57:32) Most of, I'm not super active on social media anymore, I probably should be, but I would say most of anything worth hearing that I have to say, I put in my sermons, and so if anybody ever wants to just tune in, we've got a live stream at our church where whatever God is currently teaching me usually ends up in my teaching just week to week on Sundays, and so I would say commit to your own church, let your pastor be your pastor, but if you're ever interested in maybe gaining some other perspective or, you know, looking for something to listen to on the way to work, our church has a live stream that you can go to, Canvas Oak Bay is what our church is called, so anything profound that I have to say will at some point end up in there.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I think you can, for me, you can, I mean, blackaby.org, I work for the ministry, and a lot of the stuff that, I mean, Mike or I, or our father, or other relatives, or things related to this book, I gather resources, and you can find a lot of information and resources on the website, and one of the things I personally do is I run a kind of a culture engagement ministry, The Collision, if anyone wants to check out TheCollision.org, do a lot of, in some ways, applying the message of this book, just in the field of kind of the arts and pop culture, you know, in movies, you know, finding where's God at work, or what's the conversations happening in culture through, you know, the trends, and the stories, and things that are happening, and just trying to guide people to join those conversations, so if that sounds like something, or if you have kids, and you want to help, you know, guide them through some of those conversations, love to have you guys check out our website there, too.   Mike Blackaby: Yeah, I also recommend TheCollision.org, it's good, I love reading Daniel's movie reviews, and it's unlike other things that are out there, what he sees in culture is really good, helping people navigate as a Christian exile, navigating through this world, it's really good, and so I encourage people to check that out, too.   Laura Dugger: (57:33 - 57:54) Thank you for those wonderful recommendations, we'll add links to all of that in the show notes for today's episode, and the two of you may already be familiar, we're called The Savvy Sauce, because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge, and so as my final question for both of you today, what is your savvy sauce?   Mike Blackaby: (57:57 - 1:00:59) Do or do not, there is no try. I would say, this is, I heard somebody say this years ago, and I've always loved it, they said, nothing good happens after 11 p.m., so put away your phone, turn off the TV, you're not going to do anything typically that grows your faith, or encourages your soul, after 11 o'clock, just go to bed, I mean, not much of good typically ever happens late at night, and so, I mean, I know someone will say, well, no, at midnight, this great thing happened to me, like, yeah, I know, it's not a, it's more of a proverb than anything, it's a, typically, this is what, typically, good things don't happen after 11 o'clock, and so, build the habit of putting your phone away, and getting off screen time, getting off your computer, any of that sort of stuff, don't go late into the night on any of that stuff, because typically, healthy things don't happen.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, but my two kids had their first sleepover last night at our house, and so I think they learned firsthand that staying up super late, I don't know, there's a lot of chaos, I don't know what was good that came out of that, but I think, maybe for me, kind of a motto, and I've sort of phrased it different ways over the years, but something that I've really tried to use when faced with decisions, is just to, like, choose what I want most, instead of what I want now, and I feel like most healthy decisions can be summed up in this, what I want now is to eat this, you know, donut that was left on the counter, or eat, you know, potato chips for breakfast, or whatever, like, what I want most, though, is to be a healthy example for my kids, or to feel good, or, you know, what I want now might be to just veg on the couch on my phone, and just do nothing, like, what I want most is to, you know, be well-read, or to be, you know, in good shape, so I should go for a run, or whatever it is, like, just, and I'm not, I don't always make the right choice in that, but that, for me, that's just been a helpful of, you know, most decisions come down to, like, this is what I want, but what I want most, and what would be the decision that gets me closer to that, rather than just sort of feeding my kind of carnal impulses, which usually are very rarely edifying, or healthy to the spirit, or body, or mind, or anything, so I've put that on, you know, like, if I make a running schedule, or different things, I've sort of put that, some version of that slogan, just to remind myself, like, even this, you know, I once printed off a sign, I put it on our pantry, of just remembering, what do you want most, what do you want now, like, because don't, you know, don't go for that snack shelf now, but so, for me, that's just been one of those things that I've tried to, I'm constantly telling myself, just, you know, choose what I want most, not just what I want now. That's good.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:00 - 1:01:30) I love it. You both have just shared profound wisdom and insight today. I'm so grateful for your generosity of time, and just inspiring all of us, even giving hope, and all of that through this uplifting conversation, where we're getting to see the thousand generations blessed through the faithfulness, even of those who have gone before you, and you two also carrying the torch on. So, thank you so much for everything you shared today, and thank you, Daniel and Mike, for being my guests today.   Mike Blackaby and Daniel Blackaby: (1:01:31 - 1:01:32) Thanks so much for having us.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:33 - 1:05:16) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

From “In the Beginning” to Amen // God's Grace Sin Can Take Us Farther Than We Ever Intended to Go Grace Can Reach Farther Than We Ever Imagined Restoration Produces a Transformed Life 2 Kings 21:1-9 (NLT)“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, ‘My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.' He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord's Temple. Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord's sight, arousing his anger. Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the Lord had told David and his son Solomon: ‘My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws my servant Moses gave them—I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors.' But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.” Sin Never Remains Satisfied… It Always Asks for More James 1:14-15 (ESV)"Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." Sin Always Promises Delights but Eventually Produces Destruction Manasseh Led Others Astray But God in His Love and Care for Us Will Warn Us and Discipline Us   2 Chronicles 33:10-11 (NLT)“The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.” Grace Meets Us in the Place of Humility 2 Chronicles 33:12-13 (AMP)"When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers." Grace Doesn't Only Forgive—It Restores True Grace Produces Real Change Manasseh Points Us to Jesus What Does This Mean for Us? We Are Required to Pay It Forward…

How are baby scorpions born, and do they glow in the dark? Discover God's designs in these mysterious arachnids and how they remind us that Jesus defeated the sting of death.Here's our trail map:What Is a Scorpion?Do Scorpions Glow in the Dark?Why Do Scorpions Sting?How Did Jesus Defeat the Sting of Death?Download this lesson's free coloring sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/do-scorpions-glow-in-the-dark/Related Lessons to listen to next:Why Do Jumping Spiders Jump? Lesson 127: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6a1b9f05-b8b0-467b-857b-75fa43e1a7f8/Eryn's Books:Where Wonder Leads: An Adventure in God's Wild and Wonderful World: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/wonderMade to Marvel: 52 Family Devotions Exploring the Wild Wonders of God's Creation: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/marvelThe Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach Us About Sabbath Living: https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Rest-Creation-Sabbath-Living/dp/0825448891Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/936-Pennies-Discovering-Intentional-Parenting/dp/0764219782Episode Links:Get half off CTCMath!: https://payments.ctcmath.com/purchase/homeschool-discount?tr_id=NPTExplore all of Apologia's award-winning curriculum and courses: https://www.apologia.com/Nat Theo Club Bonus Video: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/memberGet full lesson guides in the Nat Theo Club: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/clubFree Scorpion Coloring Sheet: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/do-scorpions-glow-in-the-dark/Ask your nature question: https://thenaturaltheologyproject.com/askScriptures Referenced in This Episode:“Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!” Deuteronomy 8:15 (NLT)“The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” Psalm 121:7-8 (NLT)“‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?'The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NIV)“...He destroyed death, and through the Good News he showed us the way to have life that cannot be destroyed.” 2 Timothy 1:10b (NCV)“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,' and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths that we believe, and so we are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 (NCV) Terms Learned in This Episode:Arachnid: A type of animal with eight legs, a body with two main parts, and no antennae or wings. Spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites are all arachnids.Molt: To shed an old outer covering, such as fur or an exoskeleton.Biofluorescence: When a creature soaks up light we cannot see well and gives it back out as a glowing color we can see.Metasoma: The long, bendy part of a scorpion's abdomen that looks like a tail.Telson: The end part of a scorpion's tail-like metasoma that contains the venom bulb and sharp stinger.Neurotoxins: Toxins (naturally occurring poison) that attack and disrupt the nervous system. Pedipalps: The scorpion's large front claws used for grabbing prey, sensing its surroundings, and defending itself.This podcast episode contains paid advertisements.

WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT |  JUNE 7, 2026Pastor Wes Morris Psalm 13:1-6 (NIV) How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise, for he has been good to me.√  WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT, WE START ASSUMING INSTEAD OF TRUSTING. Psalm 13:1 (NIV) How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? John 11:5-6 (NIV) Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.John 11:21 (NIV) “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” √  WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT, OUR EMOTIONS GET LOUD. Psalm 13:2 (NIV) How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?√  WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT, THE STRUGGLE CAN BECOME ALL WE SEE.Psalm 13:2 (NIV) How long will my enemy triumph over me?Psalm 13:5-6 (TLB) But I will always trust in you and in your mercy and will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has blessed me so richly.Before God changes what's around you, He often changes what's happening inside you.WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENTI. ASK GOD TO HELP YOU SEE WITH A FRESH PERSPECTIVE. Psalm 13:3 (NIV) Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes...Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.II. KEEP TRUSTING GOD‘S CHARACTER.Hebrews 10:23 (NLT) Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we profess, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.III. KEEP TAKING THE NEXT STEP.Psalm 37:23 (NLT) The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

THE MIRACULOUS OF HEAVEN: Mother's Day 3x10 Valerie Wiese, Bethany Schermerhorn, Alana McClintock Alana McClintock: RahabScripture: John 15:4-7 (CSB) - “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.”Bethany Schermerhorn: MaryScripture: Luke 1:31-33 (TPT) - “You will become pregnant with a baby boy, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be supreme and will be known as the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will enthrone him as King on the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign as King of Israel forever, and his reign will have no limit.”Luke 1:38 (TPT) - “Then Mary responded, saying, ‘Yes! I will be a mother for the Lord! As his servant, I accept whatever he has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass.' And the angel left her.”Luke 2:6 (TPT) - “When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son.”Valerie Wiese: Don't Be AfraidScripture:1 Kings 17:15-16 (NLT) - “So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.”1 Kings 17:22-23 (NLT) - “The Lord heard Elijah's prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”

Word for Today:‭‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬The Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west.”Reflection:What limiting picture or mindset have you been carrying about yourself that does not align with God's promises for your life? Renew your mind today God's Word.

Encounters with Jesus, Part 2 | March 22, 2026One encounter with Jesus can change the direction of your entire life.John 4:3-13 (NLT) So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way.  Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar. Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”“But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”√ JESUS MOVES TOWARD THE BROKEN.John 4:4 (NLT) He had to go through Samaria...√ JESUS MEETS US IN THE PLACE OF OUR DEEPEST PAIN.John 4:15-18 (NIV) The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”√ JESUS REDEEMS OUR PAIN AND GIVES IT PURPOSE.John 4:28-30 (NIV) Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.FACE TO FACE WITH GRACEI. GIVE JESUS THE PLACE IN YOUR LIFE THAT STILL HURTS.Psalm 34:18 (NLT) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.II. RECEIVE HIS TRUTH AS AN ACT OF GRACE.Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.III. LET GOD TURN YOUR PAIN INTO PURPOSE. II Corinthians 1:4 (TLB) What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.

A viral clip claims something shocking: any pastor who gets paid by a church will eventually be corrupted by money.   It's a bold accusation — and honestly, harder to dismiss than you might think.   In this episode, Bob and Linda watch the clip, slow it down, and wrestle with the real tension underneath the claim. Is the modern church system broken? Does money inevitably compromise spiritual leadership? Or is this another example of painting faithful people with too broad a brush?   This conversation isn't defensive or dismissive. It's thoughtful, biblical, and honest — especially for anyone who's experienced church hurt, wrestled with money in ministry, or wondered how pastors are actually supposed to live.     In this episode, we discuss: The viral argument that "no pastor escapes being corrupted by church money" Why temptation does not equal sin — for pastors or anyone else How this logic breaks down when applied to everyday work and income Why most pastors are not in ministry for the money (and the real stats behind pastor burnout) The unseen pressures pastors carry — isolation, expectations, and spiritual attack What the Bible actually says about paying those who preach the Gospel Paul's tent-making example — and what it does (and doesn't) prove Why rest, Sabbath, and sabbaticals may be more of the solution than changing pay structures How church hurt can quietly turn into distrust of God if we're not careful What it looks like to give pastors grace without excusing real abuse   Key Scriptures referenced (NLT): "The Lord has commanded that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it." — 1 Corinthians 9:14 "Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money." — 1 Timothy 6:17 "You cannot serve both God and money." — Matthew 6:24   A key takeaway: Money creates tension — but tension doesn't automatically lead to corruption. The real danger comes from isolation, burnout, lack of accountability, and forgetting how deeply human our pastors actually are.   If you've ever wondered whether the church can handle money faithfully — or whether pastors can be trusted at all — this episode offers a more hopeful, biblically grounded way forward.     If this episode encouraged or challenged you, share it with someone who loves the Church but struggles with trust.   And if you're a pastor listening: you are not alone, you are not invisible, and you are not wrong for receiving support as you serve God's people.     Watch this episode on our SeedTime Money Podcast YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/lXTSQrNK9wE)! If you haven't checked out our best-selling book Simple Money, Rich Life (https://seedtime.com/smrl/), we think you'll love it. It was named the 2022 Book of the Year by ICFH and has over 1,000 5-star reviews on Amazon, and is best described as "a money book for people who don't read money books."  You can take it for a test drive for FREE at https://SeedTime.com/sample where you can download chapter 1 of the audiobook, grab the 1st 2 chapters of the ebook version, and even get the 5-week book study companion guide.

Psalm 25:8–13 (NLT) “The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. For the honor of your name, O LORD, forgive my many, many sins. Who are those who fear the LORD? He will show them the path they should choose. They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land.” This passage shows how closely God's guidance and provision are connected. The Lord does not abandon people when they go the wrong way. Instead, He shows the proper path. This is grace at work. When a person is willing to admit they are drifting, God steps in with direction. The psalm also teaches that humility matters. God leads the humble in doing right and teaches them His way. Guidance is not just about knowing where to go, but about learning how to live rightly. Those who respect the Lord are promised clarity in decision-making. “He will show them the path they should choose.” The result of this guidance is stated plainly. “They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land.” Prosperity does not look the same in every season or every life. It can look different at different stages, but it always reflects God's care, provision, and purpose. When people accept God's guidance, walk humbly, and live with reverence toward Him, their lives and their families experience the fruit of His direction. ---- Discover fundamental truths and the power of Scripture with Pastor David E. Sumrall on Daily Devotions. Pastor Sumrall serves as the Undershepherd of the Cathedral of Praise, a Christian church dedicated to Jesus and His Word, with campuses across Metro Manila and branches around the world.   Don't forget to like, subscribe to Cathedral of Praise TV https://www.youtube.com/c/cathedralofpraiseTV/?sub_confirmation=1,and hit the bell icon 

Scripture Reading: Psalm 105:17–19 (NLT) | Genesis 39:2 (NLT) The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Even as a slave, God's presence was evident in Joseph's life. Everything he managed prospered, not because of position, but because of God's presence and Joseph's integrity. Even as a slave, God's presence was evident in Joseph's life. Everything he managed prospered, not because of position, but because of God's presence and Joseph's integrity.   When temptation came, Joseph chose righteousness over comfort, integrity over promotion, and obedience over compromise. God delayed the fulfillment of the dream, but He never removed His presence. As we move toward the future God has prepared for us, our character will be tested. Destiny is never rushed, but character is always examined. God is faithful. If we remain faithful, the dream will come in His time. ---- Discover fundamental truths and the power of Scripture with Pastor David E. Sumrall on Daily Devotions. Pastor Sumrall serves as the Undershepherd of the Cathedral of Praise, a Christian church dedicated to Jesus and His Word, with campuses across Metro Manila and branches around the world.   Don't forget to like, subscribe to Cathedral of Praise TV https://www.youtube.com/c/cathedralofpraiseTV/?sub_confirmation=1,and hit the bell icon 

Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NLT) The Lord gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I SET YOU APART and APPOINTED YOU as My prophet to the nations.” As we unpack our new talk today, “Mind Your Mind” get this reality settled in your thinking, just like God set apart a specific purpose for Jeremiah, He's going to set His purpose apart for each of you.

STAND Stand in Strength I. The Strength to Stand Begins with God, Not You. “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10 NLT “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” Isaiah 40:29 NLT … he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” … 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT II. Our Battle Is Not Against Flesh and Blood. “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  Ephesians 6:11 NLT “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NLT “In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” Colossians 2:15 NLT III. Standing Requires Surrender. “Not my will, but yours be done” Luke 22:42 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee _ _from you” James 4:7 “When I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12:10 IV. God Doesn't Call You to Fight Alone—He Calls You to Stand Covered. : “Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:13 NLT “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” Exodus 14:14 “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” Isaiah 54:17 “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” 1 John 4:4 Are You Standing in God's Strength—or Striving in Your Own? In what areas of your life have you been relying on your own strength instead of surrendering to God's power? How does understanding that our battle is spiritual, not against flesh and blood, change the way you approach challenges and conflicts? Reflect on a time when surrendering to God's will brought you unexpected strength or peace. What did you learn from that experience? What practical steps can you take this week to "put on the full armor of God" and stand firm in His strength? Links Website Facebook Twitter Instagram https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=6865ec19-6865-11ee-90fc-1260ab546d11 This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Word for Today:Exodus‬ ‭13‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬“The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire..”Reflection The same way He guided the Israelites, God's presence is with you to lead and guide your every step.

Hi Folks,What does one do when he finds himself at a church that seems just a bit peculiar? It's almost as if there is a paradox. It is a very uplifting place. The people are loving and friendly. The Lead Pastor frequently says to the congregation: I love you. I believe he means it. The preaching is unusually solid and Bible based and the application of the Bible based truths that are taught each week are appropriate and strong. And there are a multitude of spiritual activities that an attender can choose to be involved in. It is a great church!But something is missing. Unfulfilled prophecy, eschatology (the end times), and the modern Nation of Israel are never mentioned or talked about even though much of the Bible is about these things. And looking back over past messages on podcasts, even on the day after the massacre in Israel (October 7, 2023), the worst day of slaughter for the Jewish people since Hitler's Holocaust, not one word of any kind was said about it from the pulpit by the Lead Pastor that Sunday morning. A few weeks ago I asked one of the two associate pastors if the church leadership believed in replacement theology. I received a prompt, courteous, and truthful answer: “We believe in Covenant Theology”. That raised a red flag for me since I understand Covenant Theology to be intimately connected with replacement theology. So, what does a believer do in a situation like this?What is Replacement Theology? It is a teaching which deprives the Nation of Israel and the Jewish people of the specific elect status which God gave to them in the Bible. People who believe in Replacement Theology are sometimes confused about certain things. Let me list some of them, with my answers in upper case, in an attempt to clear things up:Are the Jews still God's Chosen People? YES.Are the Chosen people all saved and are they all going to spend eternity in heaven? NO. Only the elect, those with circumcised hearts, will spend eternity in heaven with God.Do Jewish people have a way of salvation that is different than the way of salvation for Gentiles? NO. There is only one way of salvation for all people: through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, on the cross.Is the gospel still to the Jew first, (Romans 1:16). YES. Is “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22) still true? YES. The Jews are no better than anyone else but God chose them for a specific purpose. The husband is no better than the wife but God chose him and not the wife as head of the family (Ephesians 5:23). It was and is like that with the Jews, the elect Jews. God has a certain order of things and He hasn't changed that. Thousands of years ago God said this to the Jewish people through Moses: Deuteronomy 28:13 “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”Did God make specific promises to the Jewish people as a Nation? YES. He did this in part through specific covenants, unconditional covenants, that He made with them. We'll look at the Abrahamic Covenant as the first example of this. Covenant Theology attempts to nullify or change the promises made to the Jewish Nation through these covenants.Do saved Gentile people, including those in the Church, participate in the promises that come through these covenants? YES! But they do not participate in promises made specifically to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One of those promises is the Land of Israel. The Abrahamic CovenantDo you remember when God made certain promises to Abraham in the Torah? In fact He made these promises to Abram even before his name was changed to Abraham. Let's look at some of these.Genesis 15:17-21 NLTAfter the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. [18] So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River - [19] the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, [20] Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, [21] Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”The smoking firepot and flaming torch, representing God, passed between the divided animal pieces alone indicating that God cut this covenant with Abraham unilaterally. It was an unconditional covenant. It was a covenant made with Abraham and his physical descendants, the Jewish people. The Land promised to Abraham was much larger than the Land of Israel is today.Then God promised certain other things to Abraham after he offered up his one and only child of promise, his son Isaac, on the altar after God had commanded Abraham to do so. It was a test of Abraham's faith. God interrupted the sacrifice and said this to Abraham:Genesis 22:16-18 NLT“This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that [17] I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. [18] And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed-all because you have obeyed me.”Well folks, all the nations of the earth have been blessed through Abraham's descendants. Most important of all, the Messiah is a descendant of Abraham. The Jewish people were and are descendants of Abraham and they have been a great blessing to the world.But along the way, the Jewish people were seriously disobedient, breaking the Law in many ways, worshipping idols, and offering up their own children as sacrifices. And when their Messiah came, they rejected Him. There would be severe punishment for doing these things. The Jewish people were cast out of their Land twice and after two thousand years they still have not fully returned.And yet because of the unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham earlier, God renewed His covenant with the Jewish people and added to it shortly before they entered the Promised Land. This additional covenant, another unconditional covenant, is probably best called the Promised Land Covenant (a name given to it by Matthew Ervin). Let's read it:Deuteronomy 29:1,12-15 NLTThese are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai. [12] You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the LORD your God. The LORD is making this covenant, including the curses. [13] By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [14] “But you are not the only ones with whom I am making this covenant with its curses. [15] I am making this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the LORD our God, and also with the future generations who are not standing here today.And He also said this to them:Deuteronomy 30:2–3 NIV2 and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.But many people say the Jewish people are still disobedient today. Most of them do not follow God's Laws, many are atheists, and as a Nation they continue to reject their Messiah. And they are still being punished. Look at what happened on October 7, 2023!Yes, all true. So how is God going to regather His people if they continue in disobedience? Here's how. The Promised Land Covenant continues:Deuteronomy 30:6-8 NLT“The LORD your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! [7] The LORD your God will inflict all these curses (the curses of Deuteronomy 28) on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. [8] Then you will again obey the LORD and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.Yes, folks, God will supernaturally effect a change in the heart of every Jewish person and they, the whole nation, will obey God's Laws. After that, all God's promises to the Jews will be fulfilled, in the Millennial Kingdom, after the Messiah returns. That is yet future. At that time, these things will occur:Isaiah 2:2–3 KJV 19002 And it shall come to pass in the last days, That the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; And he will teach us of his ways, And we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.Folks, the God of Jacob is the God of Israel.And here is one more passage:Zechariah 8:23 NIV23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' ”Folks, these are just two of many examples in the Bible!In the meantime the following verse regarding the Jewish people has not expired:Genesis 12:3 NLT3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”And God's special love for the Jewish people will never pass away:Isaiah 49:15–16 NIV15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.Now, what is the point of this message?* There is a future for Israel and the Jewish people as a nation and a people. God has ordained this. The Bible attests to this.* Covenant Theology is not Biblical and it evacuates the promises and prophecies regarding Israel that are in the Bible.* Covenant Theology therefore delegitimizes Israel and its right to the Land and its right to exist. Covenant Theology therefore promotes replacement theology and antisemitism even though individual covenant theologians may not be antisemitic.So, what should church leaders do? Those church leaders who subscribe to Covenant Theology should understand its negative aspects and reverse their position on Israel and the Jewish people. This is not a political issue. Leaders must take a stand.Next time we'll talk about what Covenant Theology is and how it delegitimizes Israel.Thanks for listening!This is Art Wolinsky. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awolinsky.substack.com

Have you stumbled in your faith? Jonah did, too. But today, uncover the power of God’s grace and mercy in your life with an encouraging message from Pastor Greg Laurie. Notes: Focus verses: Jonah 3–4 The real story is about how God used a flawed man to bring a revival. Jonah was called to preach to Ninevah, which God described as a great city (Jonah1:2).Jonah refused, and the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. (Jonah 1:4).Jonah was thrown overboard and was swallowed by a great fish (Jonah 1:17). The ultimate story of Jonah is of the great God who showed great love. #1 Jonah had a great message. Jonah’s preaching brought revival. Jonah 3:1–2 (NKJV)Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." Nothing happens through you until it has happened to you. Read Jonah 3:2–4 Jonah’s message was very simple, yet these eight words were important to God. Romans 1:16 (NKJV)For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvationfor everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. The bible says, “Christ died for our sin” (1 Corinthians 15:3).He did this to bridge the gap between us and a holy God. Jonah delivered his simple message as we must deliver ours. Our message must be delivered with urgency.(Jonah 3:4) Jonah 2:1–2 NKJVThen Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly.And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction,and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.”God had delivered Jonah from a hopeless situation. There was an urgency and a passion to what Jonah was doing, Romans 9:3 (NLT)For my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. Remember how Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem and wept.Luke 19:41–42 “Winners of Souls must first be weepers of souls.”—D. L. Moody Our message must be clear and definite. Mark 12:37 (NKJV)And the common people heard Him gladly. Our message is not simplistic, but it must be simple. Our message should be authoritative. Jonah’s message was an unapologetic biblical directive from God Almighty. #2 There was a great response. Jonah 3:5 (NKJV)So the people of Nineveh believed God. The greatest revival in the history of the world came to Nineveh becauseJonah preached God’s message and not what the people wanted to hear. There was hope in Jonah’s message. John 3:16 If God could bring a mighty revival in Nineveh,He surely can do the same thing for America. Read Jonah 3:4–10 (NLT) This is a stunning spiritual awakening! An entire city turning to God. It was a great message.It was a great response.Now, we come to a great contrast. Read Jonah 4:1–4 (NLT) Jonah 4:4 (NLT)The LORD replied, "Is it right for you to be angry about this?" Sometimes people worry about new believers not changing quickly enough. Some believers have just stalled and stagnated. Sometimes people will wonder why a good God would allow bad things.Jonah wonders why a good God would allow good things—especially for bad people. Read Jonah 4:5–7 (NLT) Jonah missed the miracle because he was too worried about his own comfort. #4 The great commission today is“Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15 NKJV). There is nothing like seeing thousands of people coming to Christ.It truly is a taste of Heaven. Luke 15:7 (NKJV)"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. If God would open the window to Heaven for a brief glimpse, how we would change.If he opened the window for a glimpse of Hell, we would change even more! Jonah 4:10–11Then the LORD said, "You feel sorry about the plant,though you did nothing to put it there. And a plant is only, at best, short lived.But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a Great City?"--- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you stumbled in your faith? Jonah did, too. But today, uncover the power of God’s grace and mercy in your life with an encouraging message from Pastor Greg Laurie. Notes: Focus verses: Jonah 3–4 The real story is about how God used a flawed man to bring a revival. Jonah was called to preach to Ninevah, which God described as a great city (Jonah1:2).Jonah refused, and the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. (Jonah 1:4).Jonah was thrown overboard and was swallowed by a great fish (Jonah 1:17). The ultimate story of Jonah is of the great God who showed great love. #1 Jonah had a great message. Jonah’s preaching brought revival. Jonah 3:1–2 (NKJV)Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." Nothing happens through you until it has happened to you. Read Jonah 3:2–4 Jonah’s message was very simple, yet these eight words were important to God. Romans 1:16 (NKJV)For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvationfor everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. The bible says, “Christ died for our sin” (1 Corinthians 15:3).He did this to bridge the gap between us and a holy God. Jonah delivered his simple message as we must deliver ours. Our message must be delivered with urgency.(Jonah 3:4) Jonah 2:1–2 NKJVThen Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly.And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction,and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.”God had delivered Jonah from a hopeless situation. There was an urgency and a passion to what Jonah was doing, Romans 9:3 (NLT)For my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. Remember how Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem and wept.Luke 19:41–42 “Winners of Souls must first be weepers of souls.”—D. L. Moody Our message must be clear and definite. Mark 12:37 (NKJV)And the common people heard Him gladly. Our message is not simplistic, but it must be simple. Our message should be authoritative. Jonah’s message was an unapologetic biblical directive from God Almighty. #2 There was a great response. Jonah 3:5 (NKJV)So the people of Nineveh believed God. The greatest revival in the history of the world came to Nineveh becauseJonah preached God’s message and not what the people wanted to hear. There was hope in Jonah’s message. John 3:16 If God could bring a mighty revival in Nineveh,He surely can do the same thing for America. Read Jonah 3:4–10 (NLT) This is a stunning spiritual awakening! An entire city turning to God. It was a great message.It was a great response.Now, we come to a great contrast. Read Jonah 4:1–4 (NLT) Jonah 4:4 (NLT)The LORD replied, "Is it right for you to be angry about this?" Sometimes people worry about new believers not changing quickly enough. Some believers have just stalled and stagnated. Sometimes people will wonder why a good God would allow bad things.Jonah wonders why a good God would allow good things—especially for bad people. Read Jonah 4:5–7 (NLT) Jonah missed the miracle because he was too worried about his own comfort. #4 The great commission today is“Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15 NKJV). There is nothing like seeing thousands of people coming to Christ.It truly is a taste of Heaven. Luke 15:7 (NKJV)"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. If God would open the window to Heaven for a brief glimpse, how we would change.If he opened the window for a glimpse of Hell, we would change even more! Jonah 4:10–11Then the LORD said, "You feel sorry about the plant,though you did nothing to put it there. And a plant is only, at best, short lived.But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a Great City?"--- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Built to Last Pastor Zach Fontaine 1: Lead Yourself 1 Kings 3:9 (NLT) “Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong.” 1 Kings 11:4 (NLT) “In Solomon's old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God.”   2. Protect Your Circle 1 Kings 11:2 (NLT) “The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.' Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.” Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” 1 Kings 11:2 “The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.' Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.” Psalm 1:1 (NLT) “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.” Proverbs 13:20 (NLT) “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”   3: Train Before the Fire Daniel 6:10 (NLT) “He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” James 1:22 (NLT) “But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

Want to Learn How to Lead Like Jesus? Join the Confidence Kickstart Challenge! This is a free 1-hour live workshop where you'll learn how you can gain confidence in leading like Jesus. We'll cover: What's holding you back from leading like Jesus? How Jesus modelled confident leadership How you can start leading like Jesus. Date: June 25th (US Participants); 26 June (Australian Participants) Even if you can't make it, register so that you can receive the recording! I can't wait to share what I've learnt with you! Go to https://events.womenoffaithinleadership.com to register! ........................................................................... In today's episode, I share 3 of the biggest challenges female Christian leaders face.  Integrity Let's talk about integrity. Definition of Integrity - Cambridge Dictionary “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change." What does the bible say about integrity? Proverbs 2:7 NLT: “He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.” Proverbs 11:20 NLT: “The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity.” Proverbs 10:9 NLT: “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.” I heard once, Integrity is doing the right thing all the time, whether someone is looking or not.  Listen in as I share 3 integrity challenges, what they look like, why we do them and how we can overcome them.  Have a listener question? Submit it at https://www.womenoffaithinleadership.com Next steps:  1. Join the Confidence Kickstart Challenge: https://events.womenoffaithinleadership.com   2. Navigate to https://www.womenoffaithinleadership.com where you can: Join the community of like-minded female Christian leaders. This is where I will be hanging out if I'm not on the podcast chatting to you all. Come share and support each other here.  Subscribe to my newsletter so you can stay up to date with all upcoming episodes and any other exclusive or special offers. 3. Book your Confidence Coaching session: https://tidycal.com/rikawhelan/coachingcall 4. Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rikawhelan

At today's Testimony & Thanksgiving Service, Pastor Femi Paul stirred the church with prophetic prayers through a powerful exhortation titled “God is Able and Enables!” Drawing from 2 Corinthians 1:21A (NLT) – “It is God Who Enables us” – and Ruth 4:13 (NLT) – “The Lord enabled her…”, he reminded us that divine enablement is God's supernatural way of making what seems impossible, possible. He taught that to enable is to make a way, to turn something extremely difficult into something attainable. When it comes from God, it's no longer natural effort—it's divine empowerment. God's enablement: Helps us become all we're meant to be Helps us achieve things beyond our ability Helps us produce special and lasting results He declared boldly, “God who is able has enabled you!” — let the church say “AMEN & AMEN & AMEN!”

Monarch butterflies make an incredible migration journey. But do all monarchs take this long voyage? Monarch expert Kayla White joins us as we explore God's design in these long-distance insects.Here's our trail map:Why Do Monarch Butterflies Migrate?How Do Monarch Butterflies Know When to Migrate?How Do Monarch Butterflies Find Their Way?Does Every Generation of Monarch Migrate?What Are 3 Ways We Can Follow God's Plan On Life's Journey?Episode Links:Nat Theo Shop: https://erynlynum.myshopify.com/Get full lesson guides in the Nat Theo Club: https://erynlynum.com/clubWatch a monarch emerging from its chrysalis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Qh8PGdy64Kayla White's Books: https://lucytheladybug.com/ladybug-books-and-more/Melody: A Monarch Miracle: https://lucytheladybug.com/product/melody-a-monarch-miracle/Kayla White's Blog (Monarch post) https://lucytheladybug.com/video-have-you-ever-seen-a-monarch-emerge/Monarch Migration Coloring Sheet: https://erynlynum.com/monarch-butterflies-migrate/Find great Christian books and resources at Christianbook.com: https://www.christianbook.com/Explore Apologia's curriculum and classes: https://www.apologia.com/Order Eryn's book, Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family's Faith Through God's Creation: https://www.amazon.com/Rooted-Wonder-Nurturing-Familys-Creation/dp/0825447615Scriptures Referenced in This Episode:“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.” Psalm 145:4 (NLT)“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.” Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NLT)“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5 (NLT)“The Lord says, ‘I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.'” Psalm 32:8 (NCV)Terms Learned in This Episode:Generation: All the people born at about the same time. Like layers of people born throughout history.Diapause: When an insect goes dormant (stops growing or developing) to survive the cold. Similar to hibernation.Circadian Clock: The system God designed in a body similar to an internal clock. It helps our bodies wake, rest, and function throughout day and night.Imaginal Discs: A group of cells in a caterpillar that become the new parts of the butterfly.Mentioned in this episode:Nat Theo Shop: https://erynlynum.myshopify.com/

Today's episode is the first of a three-part series on Radical Discipleship, in which Stasi shares practices of grace that root us in the love of God. In Part One, Stasi invites us to align with God through prayer and marinating our hearts in the Scriptures. She explores Wild at Heart's Daily Prayer as an example of a guided prayer to start each day. Aligning with God through prayer is both a sacred privilege and a necessary honor. The beauty of it lies in the fact that it's a two-way conversation—God deeply desires to hear from us, and He also longs for us to hear from Him. As we quiet ourselves in His presence, we are able to receive more of Him and take hold of everything He has accomplished for us. Friends, these daily practices aren't about obligation; they're about rooting ourselves deeply in the Truth so that we are able to follow hard, stand strong, and partner with Him in bringing His Kingdom.…..SHOW NOTES:…..VERSES: Proverbs 3:5 (NLT) — Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.Psalm 91 — In its entiretyPsalm 23:1 (NLT) — The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.James 1:5 (NIV) —  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) — No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.John 17:21 (NIV) — I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) — Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.Song of Song 8:5 (NLT) — Who is this sweeping in from the desert, leaning on her lover?Romans 8:34 (NIV) — Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.1 John 2:1 (NLT) — My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.Hebrews 7:25 (NLT) — Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.Psalm 19:7–11 (NIV) — The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (8) The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. (9) Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. (10) They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. (11) They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.John 3:16 (NLT) — For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.1 John 1:9 (NLT) — But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.Psalm 62:5–6 (NLT) — Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) — But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.Romans 15:13 (NLT) — I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.Romans 15:4 (NIV) — For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) — 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.2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NIV) — Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (17) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (18) So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.Ephesians 1:18–19 (NIV) —  pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. …Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) — Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.1 Peter 1:3–4 (NIV) — Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.Revelation 21:4–5 (NLT) — He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Philipians 1:6 (NIV) — …that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.…..RESOURCES:Wild at Heart App: https://wildatheart.org/appWild at Heart Prayers: https://wildatheart.org/prayDaily Prayer: https://wahe.art/4e1NSIgSt Patrick's Breastplate: https://wahe.art/3Xo4DrvMoving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority by John Eldredge  https://amzn.to/4dDPesS…..Don't Miss Out on the Next Episode – Subscribe for FreeSubscribe using your favorite podcast app:Spotify Podcasts – https://spoti.fi/42SsOipApple Podcasts – https://apple.co/42E0oZ1 Google Podcasts – http://wahe.art/3M81kxLAmazon Music & Audible – https://amzn.to/3M9u6hJ

Prayer is a key element of the Christian life. I don't think any of us would argue that. But it is also not the easiest aspect of the Christian life.   Praying Colossians 1 free download   Welcome to this BONUS episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show! In this episode you'll hear an excerpt from The Prayer Podcast as we take a look at Romans 12 verse 1 and learn some things about prayer.   I pray this bonus episode will be encouraging for you. Remember, when you know God's promises and you pray boldly based on those promises, you'll see mountains move in your life and in your heart.   Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any bonus or regular episodes! Prayer can feel risky, can't it? It can feel safer to go to church each week, to follow through with the read the Bible in a year checklist, to go to small group now and then…and to let others do the praying, especially the out-loud praying.   I get it. I'm pretty introverted. Like, I'm guessing about half of the people in the world. It's probably about a 50/50 split of introverts and extroverts. Not all of us enjoy the spotlight, being the focus of all the attention in the room. And some people, the other half of the world's population, do seem to like the limelight. Both of these can be problematic when it comes to prayer.   Does God want showy prayers? Or genuine ones? Look at me kind of praying, or head bowed, seeking the heart of the Lord kind of praying?    Psalm 51, verse 6 says that God desires truth, or honesty, in the inmost being. Honesty from the heart. I have found it very helpful for me to pray that way - honestly, from my heart. And that also makes it so much easier for me to pray in public, even as an introvert. So if you struggle with praying aloud in a group setting, this verse may be encouraging or helpful for you. And it takes the pressure off - what we want when we pray out loud in front of others, and what we think they want when we pray. Focusing on what God wants takes a lot of the zing out of it.   Today we are going to look at a verse from the book of Proverbs, and it is often referred to as a book of wisdom. That's accurate.    And I think this verse I'm going to share with you is going to bless you in regard to your prayer time. And of course, I get the privilege of praying for you today based on this verse.   Proverbs 15:29 - NLT - The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous.    Far from.   We want our prayers to be heard, or why would we spend time praying? And if we spend time praying and want our prayers to be heard, we also want them to be answered.    It's weird to pray and not expect an answer, and that can happen to all of us; sometimes we just pray through our prayer list and don't give a lot of thought to the expectation of God's answer. So, we don't want that to be our default. But if we prayed and never really ever at all expected any sort of answer to any of our prayers, that would be strange.    We expect to be heard and to get an answer. Obtaining an answer is really a huge part of why we pray. There is a need -  we need help, an illness, finances, work troubles, all the things we pray about. We are looking for answers and when we take those things to the Lord in prayer, we are going to the One who has answers, who can help us when we need it.    This verse shows us that a key part of achieving that end goal of answered prayer is not to be far from God. It says He is far from the wicked, but hears the prayers of the righteous. As followers of Jesus, we know that our righteousness is through Him and not of our own good works (“good works” is in air quotes, because none of us is righteous and that's why we need a Savior).    How can we ensure we are not far from God?  Well, let's maintain our spiritual integrity.  Integrity isn't what we do out in public, in front of everyone, on the social media platforms, not even on Sunday morning at church. I mean, we want to be people of integrity in public, since that's where we go to work, where we interact with others, and so yeah, we need to have integrity in public but if our private life is the opposite of our public life, then it's not true integrity. Am I the same in both places? Or do I wear some kind of mask? How's my integrity? How am I doing at this whole person of integrity thing?    So spiritual integrity could be our private life with the Lord, not solely the more public aspect of our Christian life. We want to have integrity all the time, not just some of the time. And if somebody runs into us in a non-church setting, well they shouldn't be totally shocked by who we are and who we aren't.    It goes beyond Sunday morning.    Does my love for Jesus plumb the depths of my heart and soul and life?  Spoiler alert: it should.   I think moral courage comes into play, too.  Think about what it looks like to have moral courage in 2023, which is when I am recording this episode. Moral courage can be viewed wrongly by society as a whole. And that is one reason it can be hard to live out. I mean, we don't want to be unloving, because we know Jesus wants us to love well. But we don't want to be cowards, afraid to let anybody know we follow Jesus.  Moral courage and spiritual integrity. Living for the Lord all the time, that sums it up well.   And why are we focused on those things, again? Because Proverbs 15:29 promises that the righteous will have their prayers heard by God.    This is critical. Too critical to just leave to chance.    I want to pray well. And I want those prayers to obtain answers. I want God's very best, and I will not truly know what that is if I don't know what the Bible says. And so, I read my Bible and I pray to the best of my ability in accordance with the Word of God.   Proverbs 15:29 - The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.   If you don't mind, I'd like to pray for you now.   Lord, thank You for this verse from the wisdom of the Bible. Thank You for showing us clearly that we can be assured You will hear us when we pray. Thank You for the righteousness we have through Your Son, Jesus. You have been so very gracious to us, and we are so very thankful for that grace.    Lord, would you bless each listener with braveness to pray to You about the things that are weighing heavy on their hearts today? Would You give them the exact wisdom that they need in that exact situation. Heal them if they are in need of any sort of healing. Provide for them if they are facing financial lack, or any other kind of lack in their life. You have promised to meet all of our needs, and so I am asking You to do that today. Open doors to bless them, lead them to people who can help them move forward in life. Bless their families and their workplaces and their friendships and the churches they attend.    Take care of them daily, Lord. Emotionally and physically and spiritually, take good and careful care of each one listening today.   May they experience Your love in powerful ways, and may they find all that they have longed for in a close relationship with You. Show up for them. Show off for them. Let them know that they are the apple of Your eye, and You never take Your eyes off of them or stop thinking about them. Thank You for the hope that You offer us for the future, and for eternity.    Bless them in mighty ways today, and may they pray in boldness and receive what they need from You. Answer quickly, Lord. Do not delay - we have needs that are urgent, so I am beseeching You to move quickly.   In Jesus Name - Amen   Thank you for the blessing of praying for and with you, and thank you for listening today.   If this episode has been encouraging, feel free to share it with someone. And I'd also like to ask for reviews or comments, as those will help more people to find the podcast, especially in the new days of a new podcast. It makes a tremendous difference, to say the least. I also have a free resource for you, it is a prayer guide that follows Colossians chapter 1, and you can get that for free at the link here in the show notes. And you can email me at any time with prayer requests at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will be praying for every request I receive. 

Proverbs 24:3  //  It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong. Four Unchanging Rules for Families Mark 10:13-16  //  People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Our families should be high touch Mark 6:56  //  And wherever he went--into villages, towns or countryside--they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. Our families need time Mark 10:13  //  People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. Proximity 37 seconds How do kids spell love? T-I-M-E Our words should give blessing and encouragement. Mark 10:16  //  And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 1:9-11  //  At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: High Performing Teams: 5.6 to 1 Medium Performing Teams: 1.9 to 1 Low Performing Teams: .36 to 1 Families: 10 to 1 Godly families leave an inheritance Proverbs 13:22  //  A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children… Financial Inheritance Honorable Name Inheritance Spiritual Inheritance You'll never be a PREFECT parent, but you can be a PRAYING parent. Psalm 138:8 (NLT)  // The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. THE GOAL: My family will fulfill God's will and purpose for their lives.

Proverbs 24:3  //  It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong. Four Unchanging Rules for Families Mark 10:13-16  //  People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Our families should be high touch Mark 6:56  //  And wherever he went--into villages, towns or countryside--they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. Our families need time Mark 10:13  //  People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. Proximity 37 seconds How do kids spell love? T-I-M-E Our words should give blessing and encouragement. Mark 10:16  //  And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 1:9-11  //  At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: High Performing Teams: 5.6 to 1 Medium Performing Teams: 1.9 to 1 Low Performing Teams: .36 to 1 Families: 10 to 1 Godly families leave an inheritance Proverbs 13:22  //  A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children… Financial Inheritance Honorable Name Inheritance Spiritual Inheritance You'll never be a PREFECT parent, but you can be a PRAYING parent. Psalm 138:8 (NLT)  // The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. THE GOAL: My family will fulfill God's will and purpose for their lives.

Why is seeking refuge in God's love essential during these turbulent times? Today, Stasi invites her beloved husband, John, to explore just that. They delve into his upcoming book, which will be released in February 2025, to talk about living in the safety of the shelter of God's love. They also highlight the vital practice of offering radical forgiveness and avoiding bitterness. Friends, our God's divine love serves as a sanctuary and is the only safe place for our hearts. We flourish under the canopy of his love. In today's podcast, we'll explore how to cultivate this in our daily lives and relationships by practicing tangible ways to stay tucked in.…..SHOW NOTES:…..VERSES: 1 John 4:7–8; 15–17 (NLT) — Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  …  All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.Psalm 91:1–2 (NLT) — Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.Philippians 1:9 (NLT) — I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. Deuteronomy 4:24 (NLT) — The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.Hebrews 12:25–29 (NLT) — Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.…..RESOURCES:Wild at Heart Podcast – Spotify: https://wahe.art/3xsHmuvWild at Heart Podcast – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WildatHeartOfficialJohn's New Book – Title TBD – Releases February 2025; visit WildAtHeart.org for updatesThe Awakened Heart by Gerald May – https://amzn.to/4b5ApNP…..Don't Miss Out on the Next Episode – Subscribe for FreeSubscribe using your favorite podcast app:Spotify Podcasts – https://spoti.fi/42SsOipApple Podcasts – https://apple.co/42E0oZ1 Google Podcasts – http://wahe.art/3M81kxLAmazon Music & Audible – https://amzn.to/3M9u6hJ

Stasi welcomes friend, teacher, singer-songwriter, and lover of God Michelle Patterson to share her powerful story of unwavering and resilient faith amid chronic pain and illness. Michelle has found deep strength in her relationship with Jesus, and she desires to flip the script: Choosing life in the midst of chronic suffering is a stunning strength, not a weakness. She reveals how anguish and adoration can coexist; true worship arises from our deepest, most honest places. We'll hear Michelle's heart and empathy through a song she wrote to honor those living with chronic pain—a testament to God's sustaining love even in our darkest moments.…..SHOW NOTES:…..VERSES: Matthew 22:37 (NIV) — Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)  —  and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.Psalm 34:18 (NLT)  —  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.…..MICHELLE PATTERSONWebsite: barryandmichelle.com  https://barryandmichelle.com/Instagram: @michellethornberrypatterson   https://www.instagram.com/michellethornberrypatterson/Instagram: @barryandmichellepatterson   https://www.instagram.com/barryandmichellepatterson/Spotify Channel: https://wahe.art/4b9Il0uSong: The Flower That Blooms in the Night – Time code 32:40follow @barryandmichellepatterson for news on it's public release…..Don't Miss Out on the Next Episode – Subscribe for FreeSubscribe using your favorite podcast app:Spotify Podcasts – https://spoti.fi/42SsOipApple Podcasts – https://apple.co/42E0oZ1 Google Podcasts – http://wahe.art/3M81kxLAmazon Music & Audible – https://amzn.to/3M9u6hJ

Friends, today's podcast is a treat you won't want to miss. In this episode, Stasi shares some exciting news about a new project she is working on and offers us a glimpse of what's to come. She closes by guiding a powerful encounter with Jesus through Psalm 23. So settle in and take this time for yourself as Stasi helps us reflect on Jesus' profound love and connect deeply with His boundless, transforming affection.…..SHOW NOTES:…..VERSES: John 17:23 (NIV) — I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.Ephesians 1:17 (NIV) — I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.Hosea 2:19 (NIV) — I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.John 17:3 (NIV) —  Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.Ephesians 3:19 (NLT) — May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.Psalm 23 (NLT) — The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.John 10:11–12 (NLT) — I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. Ecclesiastes 10:19 (NLT) — A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, ……..RESOURCES:Guided Prayer Background Music: Santo from the album Soaking in His Presence, Vol. 3 by William Augustohttps://amzn.to/49PvdxF…..Don't Miss Out on the Next Episode – Subscribe for FreeSubscribe using your favorite podcast app:Spotify Podcasts – https://spoti.fi/42SsOipApple Podcasts – https://apple.co/42E0oZ1 Google Podcasts – http://wahe.art/3M81kxLAmazon Music & Audible – https://amzn.to/3M9u6hJ

*DISCLAIMER: This episode contains thematic material and is not intended for young ears.   Stories Series: Surprises from God with Tiffany Noel   Psalm 37:23 (NLT) "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."   Topics We Cover: Chaotic Childhood Meeting Josh and Surrendering to God God's Personal Way to Reveal Loving Reminders to Her   Tiffany Noel had a chaotic childhood experience filled with loss and abuse. Tiffany's life speaks of the goodness of God and how He continually reveals Himself in intimate ways despite being the Creator of the Universe. Tiffany studied at Bradley University getting her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Masters in Human Development Counseling. She combines her experience in the "hard knocks of life" with her education to relate to and encourage other people who have survived trauma. Most importantly, Tiffany uses her faith in God to point people to the ultimate hope found in Jesus Christ. Tiffany and her family are active members at Summit Point Church in East Peoria, IL.   Tiffany currently works as a Psychotherapist at a group practice in Morton, IL called Genesis Counseling. Tiffany has served in this calling for the past few years. Prior to working at Genesis Counseling, Tiffany worked at OSF Adult Behavioral Health for ten years. She also has direct work experience with the homeless and geriatric populations. Tiffany has a heart for people who feel unseen, unheard and unloved. Tiffany mixes humor, tough love and Biblical truth to provide a safe space for her clients to rest, grow and heal. Tiffany resides in Morton, IL with her husband Josh, their two children, Lily and Oliver, and their two rambunctious dogs, Scooby and Daphne.   Book an appointment with Tiffany by emailing tiffanyn.genesis@gmail.com   Thank You to Our Sponsor: Grace Catering Company   Connect with The Savvy Sauce through Our Website   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Skeptics and scoffers love to stump Christians with this question: if God is good, why does evil exist? --The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Philosophers have framed the problem like this: If God is able to prevent evil, but not willing to do so, he is evil himself.If God is willing to prevent evil, but not able, he is impotent.At first blush this paradox seems impossible to answer. But take a second look at the Bible and you'll not just make sense of this difficult question… you'll find an answer that can change your eternity. We're going to find today's answer in 2 Peter chapter 3, and we'll get to that by the end of the lesson (I promise). But let's frame this whole question with this verse:2 Peter 3:3 (NLT) Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.A “scoffer” asks the question without really wanting to know the answer. They've already made up their mind, and they simply want to disprove.A genuine seeker is different. They ask the question in good faith, and have a heart that's willing to submit to God. I hope this is the attitude you have as you approach the question. So let's start with the first part of the question: God is good - this much we know for sure! From The Pursuit, Lesson 1:Jesus shows us the truth: God is for you, not against you. Through his life and teachings, Jesus shocked the religious world with his attitude toward the lost and irreligious. He invited lowly fishermen and despised tax-collectors – not religious experts – to be in his inner circle. And then he went around rubbing shoulders with drunkards, healing the demon-possessed, and touching the untouchables. Jesus didn't avoid the broken and the lost, he sought them out. Here's a perfect example:Matthew 8:2-3 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.The leper knew that Jesus had the ability to heal – he just didn't know if he had the willingness to do it. For most people, it's easier to believe that God is powerful than to believe that he is good. But here's the truth: he is both!And consider how Jesus healed the leper: he touched him. That was unthinkable in Jesus' day.Now to the second part of the question: why does evil exist? This will take some explaining. But consider this: God does eradicate some evil.Genesis 6:5-8 (NLT) The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke

Thank you for listening to the Sports Spectrum Weekly Devotional on Sports Spectrum's Podcast. Scriptures: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NLT) “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” -  Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) “The Lord gives His people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.” - Psalm 29:11 (NLT) Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Daily Devotional email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://SportsSpectrum.com/magazine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Check out Bryce Johnson's 'UNPACKIN' it 'show ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Do you know Christ personally? Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn how you can commit your life to Him.

Some churches claim to have prophets who speak authoritatively for God. But is that really a thing anymore? If not, how do we hear from God? --The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Does God Still Speak Through Prophets?Let's start with a passage that seems to answer the question:Ephesians 4:11 (NLT) Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.Seems clear, right? Prophets are still a thing.So the churches that claim to have prophets and apostles are the most biblical churches? Not so fast. Let's look into this…Prophets in the OTProphets in the OT were not mere fortune-tellers but messengers chosen by God to guide, comfort, and ultimately call people back to God. Exodus 3:9-10 (NLT) “Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”Ezekiel 2:3-5 (NLT) “Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!' And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them.Hosea 1:2 (NLT) When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods.”Jonah 1:1-2 (NLT) The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”Prophets in the NTIn the NT the Holy Spirit was given to every believer, and this caused prophecy to take on a whole new meaning and purpose. Acts 2:17-18 (NLT) ‘In the last days,' God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy.(Pillar New Testament Commentary) Whereas the Spirit especially designated and empowered the prophets and other leaders of Israel under the Old Covenant, God promises that all his people will be possessed by the Spirit in the last days.(Pillar New Testament Commentary) The expectation from 2:17-18 is that all believers under the New Covenant would 'prophesy' (prophēteusousin), and so share to some extent in the prophetic role (cf. 19:6). However, it is clear that some

Some churches claim to have prophets who speak authoritatively for God. But is that really a thing anymore? If not, how do we hear from God? --The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Does God Still Speak Through Prophets?Let's start with a passage that seems to answer the question:Ephesians 4:11 (NLT) Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.Seems clear, right? Prophets are still a thing.So the churches that claim to have prophets and apostles are the most biblical churches? Not so fast. Let's look into this…Prophets in the OTProphets in the OT were not mere fortune-tellers but messengers chosen by God to guide, comfort, and ultimately call people back to God. Exodus 3:9-10 (NLT) “Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”Ezekiel 2:3-5 (NLT) “Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!' And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them.Hosea 1:2 (NLT) When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods.”Jonah 1:1-2 (NLT) The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”Prophets in the NTIn the NT the Holy Spirit was given to every believer, and this caused prophecy to take on a whole new meaning and purpose. Acts 2:17-18 (NLT) ‘In the last days,' God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy.(Pillar New Testament Commentary) Whereas the Spirit especially designated and empowered the prophets and other leaders of Israel under the Old Covenant, God promises that all his people will be possessed by the Spirit in the last days.(Pillar New Testament Commentary) The expectation from 2:17-18 is that all believers under the New Covenant would 'prophesy' (prophēteusousin), and so share to some extent in the prophetic role (cf. 19:6). However, it is clear that some

Today, Robbie speaks with Leo & Micah about some of the latest updates on Rescues, Training and Resources. Also learn how our listeners can participate with spiritual warfare, and play a major part with helping out. Proverbs 15:29 NLT‬  -  The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. Learn more about Lantern Rescue's mission at https://lanternrescue.org/ and sign up as a Liberator to make an impact today! Text PRAY to 336-234-3302 to join Lantern's Prayer community.  A warning: this program contains sensitive content. Listener discretion is advised. Join us as a Liberator at https://lanternrescue.org/liberator/  If you or someone you know has experienced exploitation call the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) at 1-888-373-7888.

It's Time to Dream Again Romans 8:11 (NLT)“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” Revelation 1:18 (NKJV) “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” John 10:10 (ESV)“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint” What does God's dream look like for you? Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” How to live out God's dream for my life.  1.     Surrender your whole life to God.  Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” 2.     Get alone with God. Isaiah 55:3 (ESV)“Incline your ear, and come to me;        hear, that your soul may live;” 3.     Get around Godly Dreamers. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)“As iron sharpens iron,                    so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 22:24-25 (NLT)“Don't befriend angry people       or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them       and endanger your soul.” 4.     Take steps towards God's dream for your life.  Psalms 37:23 (NLT)“The LORD directs the steps of the godly.” 

Seven Days Pt. 3 | March 10th, 2024Pastor TJ Hankey Matthew 24:10 (NKJV) “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.”Luke 17:1 (NLT) Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come…”Luke 17:1 (NKJV) Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come…” The life of the Offended Matthew 24:10 (NKJV) “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.”Ephesians 4:26-27 (NLT) And “don't sin by letting anger control you.” Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.Matthew 24:11-12 (NKJV) “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”Matthew 7:15 (NLT) Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. The life of the Unoffended 1 Samuel 26:8-11 (NLT) “God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won't need to strike twice!” “No!” David said. “Don't kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord's anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let's get out of here!” 1 Samuel 26:23-24 (NLT) “The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power, for you are the Lord's anointed one. Now may the Lord value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.” Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV) This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV) I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Learn more about Easter at Bay Chapel: baychapel.com/easterGet started with Growth Track: baychapel.com/growthtrack

Stasi welcomes back writer, speaker, wife, and mother Sara Hagerty to discuss her new book, The Gift of Limitations. Sara writes, “What if your greatest weaknesses, the areas of your life you resent the most…are your doorway to rich intimacy with God? What if your limitations were, in fact, your greatest gift?” With vulnerability and wisdom, Sara encourages us to name the limitations we face, so we can both grieve them and surrender them to God. From there, we can lean into the love of God knowing he is already moving in our lives, rest in the goodness of his plan, and uncover a deeper capacity for joy.…..SHOW NOTES:…..VERSES: Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) — Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.Psalm 34:18 (NLT) — The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.Psalm 22:1 (NIV) — My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ……..SARA HAGERTYWebsite: https://sarahagerty.net/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SaraHagertyWrites/Facebook: @sarahagertywritesAdoration: https://sarahagerty.net/adoration-2/SARA HAGERTY BIOSara Hagerty is a bestselling author and Jesus follower. She has written four books,including her most recent release, The Gift of Limitations: Finding Beauty in Your Boundaries (March 2024). Despite laundry baskets overflowing and unending “to do” lists, Sara still squeezes in her early morning runs, walks through the woods next to her house with the children of hers still little enough to collect acorns, and reading pages and paragraphs of books in the middle minutes. She lives in Missouri with her husband Nate and seven children.Sara's New Book: The Gift of Limitations: Finding Beauty in Your Boundaries https://amzn.to/3vPSdgQ…..OTHER RESOURCES:His Perfect Strength with Sara Hagerty (Captivated Podcast 6/15/2022)  https://wahe.art/3UeNL5r…..Don't Miss Out on the Next Episode – Subscribe for FreeSubscribe using your favorite podcast app:Spotify Podcasts – https://spoti.fi/42SsOipApple Podcasts – https://apple.co/42E0oZ1 Google Podcasts – http://wahe.art/3M81kxLAmazon Music & Audible – https://amzn.to/3M9u6hJ

Love 1. Put everything in its proper season Song of Solomon 8:4  //  Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. 2. Become the person you're looking for is looking for 1 Corinthians 13:4-7  //  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Marriage 1. Don't confuse your spouse with your Savior Colossians 2:9-10  //  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 2. Fight to kill unrealistic expectation Expectation says “You Owe Me” Love says “You Before Me” Baby Carriage 1. We raise to release Psalm 127:4-5 (NKJV)  //  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them 2. You'll never be a perfect parent but you can be a praying parent Psalm 138:8 (NLT)  //  The LORD will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me. Proverbs 13:22 (ESV)  //  A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Financial Inheritance Honorable Name Inheritance Spiritual Inheritance

What am I doing?! – Purpose   “Why am I here”   Purpose   Do you feel like you are living in the purpose God designed you to live in?   1.     You're blatantly living in sin   “don't let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to god, for your were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of god.” Romans 6:12-13 NLT   2.     You lack joy and excitement   3.     You don't feel much fulfillment in life   4.     You feel stuck 5.     You have no direction   A life of purpose brings focus   “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV   We will find our purpose less in what we do and more in what we are willing to surrender Surrender leads to obedience and obedience fuels our purpose   “Its in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for…part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11 MSG   “Your will be done” Matthew 6:10   Who we are doesn't flow from what we do…what we do flows from who we are   “Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph – a beautiful robe.” Genesis 37:3 NLT   “When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” Genesis 37:4 NIV   “…listen to this dream, he said, “we were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” and they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.” Genesis 37:6-8 NLT   “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.” Genesis 39:2-4 NLT   “…now Joseph was well-built and handsome…” Genesis 39:6 NIV   “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.” Genesis 39:7   “Look, he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” Genesis 39:8-9 NLT   “she grabbed him by his cloak demanding, “come on sleep with me!” joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house. When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said “ my husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.” Genesis 39:12-18 NLT   If you ever feel like “Nothing gold can stay” that's an indicator that you're living in YOUR will not HIS   “but the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.” Genesis 39:21 NLT   “Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” Genesis 39:22-23 NLT   God wants to use you in every situation you are in   “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”     “it is beyond my power to do this,” joseph replied. “but God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” Genesis 41:15-16 NLT   “Therefore, pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one fifth of the crops during the seven good years. Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh's storehouses. Store it away , and guard it so there will be food in the cities. That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.” Genesis 41:33-36 NLT Our purpose is not found in a thing that we do, but rather in the type of life that we live “He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time..” 2 Timothy 1:9 NIV   1.     What will be the most important thing in my life?   Whatever is at the center of your life…is your God   Is Christ TRULY at the center of your life? 2.     What will be the character of my life?   We take who we are into eternity…not what we did   The Fruits of the Spirit -        Love -        Joy -        Peace -        Patience -        Kindness -        Goodness -        Faithfulness -        Gentleness -        Self Control   3.     What will be the contributions of my life?   “…I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last…” John 15:16 NIV 4.     What will be the communication of my life?

Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matthew 7:20 NLT   Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. Matthew 7:21 NLT   'Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!' “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don't know you!' “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. Matthew 25:11-13 NLT   “Money creates problems. climbing one mountain exposes another, higher peak. however, there is something better out there: real virtue. it is its own reward. virtue is the one good thing that reveals itself to be more than we expect and something that one cannot have in degrees. we simply have it or we don't. And that is why virtue is The Only Thing Worth striving for.”  Ryan Holiday   “If the path you're on isn't making you a more generous, compassionate, hopeful, and merciful person (or, in other words, more like Jesus), then the destination isn't worth the journey.” Carey Nieuwhof   'You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 1 Peter 1:22 NLT   So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:34-35 NLT   1. People of Love have an Authentic Affection Be devoted to one another in love. Romans 121:10 NIV   How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. Psalms 133:1-3 NLT   “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:19-20 NLT   And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 NLT   'So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time, we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up or quit. Therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. Galatians 6:9-10 MSG   2. People of Love Honor one another. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 NIV   My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” James 2:1-4,8 NLT   EVERY PERSON IS SPECIAL TO GOD, EVERY PERSON MATTERS TO GOD, & EVERY PERSON IS LOVED BY GOD.   Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:3-4 NLT   The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT   SEEING VALUE IN PEOPLE IS NOT ABOUT THEIR VALUE TO YOU, BUT THEIR VALUE TO GOD.   3. People of Love have a Spiritual Enthusiasm Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11 NLT   So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT   Ministry is the pathway to maturity in our faith.   HOW DO WE INTENTIONALLY PURSUE HEALTH IN OUR CHURCH FAMILY?   1. WE RESPECT ONE ANOTHER   2. WE SHOW LOVE AND AFFIRMATION   3. WE GIVE SUPPORT   4. WE SPEND TIME TOGETHER   5. WE HAVE CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS   6. WE HAVE A SHARED MISSION WITH A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

God offers us the promise of direction. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)  //  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Trust in the Lord with all your heart Trust God Why don't we trust Him? Fear Past Experiences Never let the mistakes of people stain the majesty of God's character Who or what do we go to first? Hard Unknown Hurting Psalm 34:18  //  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Lonely Lean not on your own understanding Why shouldn't I lean to my own understanding? My perspective is off We get things wrong There's a difference between my understanding and God's understanding

In Mark 9:2-13 tells the story of the transfiguration of Jesus. The lesson is clear: Jesus is more than a prophet of God; he is God.We've been studying Jesus for months now through this book. Now we come to a climax, a vision. C.S. Lewis gave a series of talks over the BBC at the height of WW2. Those talks were then compiled into a book called “Mere Christianity”. Here's probably the most famous quote from the book: “I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic– on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg– or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”(Pillar New Testament Commentary) "To transfigure," from the Gk., metamorphoun, carries the root meaning "to change." The verb occurs only four times in the Gk. Bible (9:2; Matt 17:2; Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18) and in each instance denotes a radical transformation. Referring to the transfiguration in 2 Cor 3:18, Paul says that as a consequence of beholding the glory of the Lord we were transformed (Gk., metamorphoun) from glory into glory.Three ProphetsJesus gives his inner circle a glimpse of his divinity, mirroring Moses' Mount Sinai experience in Exodus. Moses and Elijah then appear, proving the continuity of Jesus' mission with the Law and Prophets. Mark 9:2-4 (NLT) Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus.(Pillar New Testament Commentary) Mark's "six days" is most probably a chronological parallel with Moses' six-day sojourn on Mount Sinai (Exod 24:16), thus establishing the first of many points of contact with that seminal event in Israel's history.(Pillar New Testament Commentary) The vision is not of their doing, but is a divine revelation to them, modeled after the greatest revelation of God in the OT on Mount Sinai. True insight into the mysterious Son of Man is afforded not by human wisdom but by divine revelation.Exodus 33:21-23 (NLT) The LORD continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”Why Moses and Elijah? First, Representative of the Law and Prophets. Consider last words of the OT:Malachi 4:4-6 (NLT) “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel. Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”(Pillar New Testament Commentary) The appearance of Moses and Elijah in the transfiguration narrative likely recalls this passage and their prophetic roles as joint preparers of the final Prophet to come (so Deut 18:15, 18 [see also 4Q175, lines 5-8], Mal...

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) For we live by faith, not by sight. If you want to make a difference with your life, you've got to get COMFORTABLE with being UNCOMFORTABLE. Genesis 12:1-2, 4 NLT The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. There are some things worse than FAILURE. Expect DIFFICULTIES. Genesis 12:10 At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. REMEMBER what God can do. Romans 4:17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Face the facts with FAITH. Romans 4:19-20 And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah's womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. RELY on what God has said. Genesis 15:1-3 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”  A life of faith is not the ABSENCE of DOUBT. A life of faith is MOVING FORWARD in spite of my DOUBT. Genesis 15:4-5 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That's how many descendants you will have!” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coastalchurch/message

“If we put God first, allowing Him to impact our lives, His Word to be our Guide, and His Spirit to abide in us, then we're going to sow that into our children's lives and reap what we sow.” We continue our podcast series, Standing in the Gap, focusing on amazing intercessors in the Bible. Stacy welcomes Joy Moreau, former Moms in Prayer Appalachian Division Coordinator, who shares the importance of living a godly life as an example to our children. God knows we get discouraged and anxious at times, so we need to come to Him in prayer, listen, and be aware that He wants to speak to us. Joy gives us examples of how to do this through the minor prophets in the Bible. ABOUT OUR GUEST Joy Moreau has the gift of encouragement wrapped in the package of a gentle and quiet spirit. She has been involved in Moms in Prayer for more than 20 years and is the former Moms in Prayer Appalachian Division Coordinator. She leads a Bible study at her home church, University Hills Baptist, in Charlotte. The desire of her heart is for the lives of children to be so impacted for Christ that they follow Him all their days. She and her husband, Joe, reside in North Carolina and have three grown sons, two daughter in loves, and three grandchildren. SCRIPTURES And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:1-3 NIV Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 NIV Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises.” Hosea 14:1-2 NLT “As my life was slipping away, I remembered the LORD. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God's mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone.” Jonah 2:7-9 NLT The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must act with justice. You must love to show mercy. And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God. Micah 6:8 NIRV “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:31-33 NKJV MOMS IN PRAYER ·       New to Moms in Prayer? How to get started ·       Find an Event Near You ·       Support Our Mission

Episode Summary:  Life has a way of altering our course through unexpected detours. But how do you find hope when life takes an unexpected detour that leads to a hard place? How do you continue putting one foot in front of another? Join me with Grace Fox on the podcast. Quotables from the episode: My circumstances made for a perfect storm, and fear could have overwhelmed me were it not for God helping me focus on the truth of His faithfulness. God is faithful no matter what. He doesn't promise that life will be easy, but He promises to be with us at all times. There are no coincidences when God is in our lives. Crisis or detour places can be some of the places of the richest growth. Detours into unexpected places keep us looking to God to see us through. We may not be able to prevent fearful thoughts, but it's what we do with the fearful thoughts that matter most. We must choose to embrace joy over fear. We have no promises for what our future holds, but we are promised who holds our future! Having a God-perspective keeps our eyes focused on the One who goes with us into the hard places. It's helpful to reframe our lives' detours into hard places in terms of learning what God wants us to learn in those hard places. Put into practice Philippians 4:6-7 –- commit all their anxieties and fears to the Lord with thanksgiving for all He has already done. (Giving thanks is vital to experiencing the peace of God that's promised in this passage). Spiritual treasures hidden in dark places are too precious to miss. Stay alert. *Praise is our best defense when the unexpected catches us off guard. Darkness descends and wind screams around us but remembering and declaring that God rules over every detail fills us with calm. The darker our circumstances, the more important it is to practice gratitude! Scripture References: Philippians 4:6-7 NLT “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:26-27 NLT “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[a] in harmony with God's own will.” Psalm 23:1 NLT “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” Recommended Resources:  Fresh Hope for Today by Grace Fox  Today is Going to be a Good Day: 90 Promises to Start Your Day Off Right by Dr. Michelle Bengtson YouVersion 7-Day Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day YouVersion 7-Day Devotional, Today is Going to be Another Good Day Breaking Anxiety's Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson Breaking Anxiety's Grip Free Study Guide Free 7-Day YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for Breaking Anxiety's Grip Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor's Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader's Choice Award Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader's Choice Award Trusting God Through Cancer 1 Trusting God Through Cancer 2 Revive & Thrive Women's Conference Subdue Stress and Anxiety: Fifteen Experts Offer Comprehensive Tools in Ten Minutes a Day. Use my link plus discount code BENG99 to save $90 on course (course will be $99.) Free Download: How To Fight Fearful/Anxious Thoughts and Win Social Media Links for Host and Guest: Connect with Grace Fox: Website / Facebook / Instagram For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at: Order Book Breaking Anxiety's Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails  /  Website  /  Blog  /  Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson)  /  LinkedIn  /  Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube Guest: Grace Fox is a career missionary and, together with my husband, co-direct International Messengers Canada, a sending agency with about 300 staff in 31 countries.  Her passion is to connect the dots between faith and real life by helping others learn to love, understand, and apply God's Word. She and her husband, Gene, live on a sailboat in British Columbia. Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson

We are multipliers! We are a Great Commission Church and we are an equipping center for disciples. We are multipliers! Individually, we are all responsible to disciple those younger in their faith and invite those far from Jesus into a life-giving community. We are multipliers! Corporately, we are called to plant churches, pastor cities, and father and mother leaders to multiply the Kingdom impact. We are multipliers!   Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NLT   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT WE BELIEVE AS A CHURCH IN THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, OR IN OTHER WORDS THE FACT THAT JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” Acts 1:9-11 OVER 300 REFERENCES IN N.T. OF JESUS' RETURN 216/260 CHAPTERS IN THE N.T. REFERENCE JESUS' RETURN 23 OF THE 27 N.T. BOOKS REFERENCE JESUS' RETURN But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? 1 Corinthians 15:10 MSG   Here's what I know great vision takes three things: It takes a Praying Church, a Selfless Church, and a strategic Church.   But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don't you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn't it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” Luke 13:14-16 NLT   GOD IS LESS INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND MORE INTERESTED IN WHY YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING.   Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27 NLT   The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. Proverbs 21:3 NLT   But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's.”   Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? Matthew 16:22-26 NLT   “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. Acts of the Apostles 17:6 NLT   Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. 1 Corinthians 14:1-2 MSG   Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. 1 Corinthians 14:1-2 MSG   Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. 1 Corinthians 14:1-2 MSG     But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? 1 Corinthians 15:10 MSG

The Influencers of your Steps Galatians 5:25 (NIV) “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The influencers of your steps The culture of the god of this worldEphesians 2:2-3 (ESV)“you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ”1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”Romans 12:2 (ESV)“do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”Ephesians 5:25-26 (ESV)"…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word”2 Timothy 3 (ESV)“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings… Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)“we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”Psalm 37:23-24 (NLT)“The Lord directs the steps of the godly.                   He delights in every detail of their lives.Though they stumble, they will never fall,                  for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Listen in as I share how rest looks different for each person and some ways that have helped me to rest (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) Scriptures: “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Proverbs 3:24 ESV) “I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me” (Psalm 3:5 NLT) “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe” (Psalm 4:8 NLT) “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken” (Psalm 62:1-2 NLT) “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:14 NLT) Other Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shetalksmovement/ https://www.instagram.com/itsmaiastaude/ Women's Bible Study: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6371556ecfd22dc2be6a9b40 Have you been tossing and turning in your sleep? Or have you been waking up from panicked/unexplainable dreams? This resource is for you: https://www.createapeacefulhome.com/7-bible-verses-help-sleep/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shetalksmovement/support

God called Jonah to preach to the enemy nation of Israel, which he finally did in the previous chapter. But instead of destroying Ninevah like Jonah warned, God ended up sparing the city because of their repentance. That's when Jonah lost it. Jonah 4:1-3 (NLT) This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, LORD! I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.” Consider Jonah's attitude change from chapter 2 to chapter 4. When he was desperate and in the dark, Jonah humbly vowed to go God's way. Now that Ninevah's in the hot seat instead of him, he's furious that God isn't meeting his expectations. It's embarrassing when your attitude toward God gets exposed. The truth is, we love it when God lets us off the hook… and we hate it when he does it for our enemies. This proves how little we really understand God's mercy and grace. That's embarrassing. Jonah 4:4 (NLT) The LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” God is patiently trying to help Jonah understand the extent of his mercy. Jesus did the same thing in his parable of the vineyard workers. The landowner invited additional laborers at different times during the work day, but at the end of the story he paid them all the same wage. When the early workers got angry, the landowner defended his actions: Matthew 20:13 (NLT) He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven't been unfair! Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?' There's something in most of us that really hates this parable. It pushes against our idea of justice. It doesn't seem right. That's exactly how Jonah felt about the situation in Ninevah. Jonah was a slow learner, so God used an object lesson to try to get his point across. Jonah 4:5 (NLT) Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. Jonah is overlooking the city, waiting for the fireworks show. He hoped against hope that God would follow through on his threat after all. He knew about Sodom and Gomorrah, and he wanted an encore of the fire-and-brimstone God. Jonah 4:6 (NLT) And the LORD God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. Jonah waited, comfortable enough to camp out for the night under God's protection (Psalm ‭121:5-6‬). The next day brought a rude awakening: Jonah 4:7-8 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. Finish the story by going to the topic at pursuegod.org/jonah. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pursuegod/support

Psalm 32:8 NLT - The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mildred-kingsley-okonkwo0/message

You're here now, listening for a reason. Maybe you're hoping to find a new way, break a habit. Understanding the motivation behind your goal is key to healthy change. In this episode, we'll explain how shame works. Learning to recognize the sneak and bully Shame is in your work towards wholeness is important. From the outside, your eagerness to volunteer and motivation to serve can look godly and impressive. But, if shame is driving you; that eagerness and motivation can push you towards internal chaos.  For now, try to take a breath and relax your shoulders. As you're becoming whole, learn to look for shame and listen for Jesus.Highlights:Shame masquerading as godly zeal is going to do internal damage inside a person.The outside might look like motivation but inside shame drives you to damaging ways.Shame communicates the message that you are a bad, unworthy person; that there's something uniquely deficient, detective, dirty about you.Shame projects successful images in order to cover up its presence.Jesus, the true shepherd, draws his people towards becoming fully and wholly who they are designed to be.He draws them to confession and repentance and humility. He draws them towards godliness.He goes first.He doesn't drive us with shame, Jesus draws us with His love.We need to recognize and get with people who can help us uncover the shame that we carry and be healed by the love of God in those areas.Psalm 23 (NLT)The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.Romans 2:4 Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?If you have been impacted by Regen or Becoming Whole, would you consider giving? You can do that here.