Podcasts about second corinthians

When we have a need – a real need – something we can't do or fix or resolve for ourselves – what we need, is a helping hand. And if we get that helping hand – the person who's attached to that hand, well, they go up in our estimation. They earn the right to say things that others can't to us.  Funny thing happens through a helping hand.   Healing with our Hands Well, welcome to the programme this week – the last message in a series that I've called, “Living Life as an Ambassador for Christ”. And today... today I would like to share with you how you and I can be real ambassadors ... ambassadors with a difference; ambassadors that really stand out from the crowd. Whenever there's a disaster somewhere in the world – a tsunami or an earthquake or a cyclone or a tornado – it seems to me that the wealthy countries like my own; the countries with the logistics and the equipment and the resources to help – it seems we take forever to mobilise. When people are buried under rubble, they only have days, perhaps only hours to live and what they need right then, is specialist search and rescue teams, with sniffer dogs and listening equipment and all that stuff. And the survivors, what they need, is medical help, food, water, shelter. And the last thing I want to do is be critical but it seems to take so long for the wealthy countries to mobilise their resources. We know that these disasters are going to happen every year – they just happen and I am always left kind of scratching my head as to why it is that it takes us so long to respond. What those poor people need, within the first twenty four hours, is a huge influx of capability to save lives. And these days, I mean, you can pretty much fly from anywhere to anywhere in not much more than twenty fours and yet, time and time and time again these disasters happen and it takes us weeks to mobilise. Does that kind of strike you as strange? You know, as a tax payer in a relatively wealthy country – all be it a smallish population, but never the less, a wealthy country – when I see the way public monies are spent, the last thing that I'd have a problem with is my government setting aside some money to establish and maintain some rapid response capabilities to help other nations when disasters strike. But as easy as it is to sit there and criticise a government, I wonder whether this lethargy in responding to need isn‘t something that you and I experience in our personal lives. I read about an extreme example of this in a newspaper recently. Have a listen to this short article. A South Korean couple addicted to online gaming, let their baby starve to death while raising a virtual daughter. Parents, Kim You-Chul and Choi Mi-sun, spent up to 12 hours a day at an internet café tending to their avatar child in the online game Prius. But they left their real baby home alone and fed her just one bottle of milk a day. Police have charged the couple with child abuse and neglect. Pretty bizarre, pretty extreme, one might think, "Got nothing to do with me; I'm not like that. I don't neglect my children like that." I would hope not but what about our friends; what about our family members; what about our neighbours; what about the couple next door whose marriage is falling apart? We hear them screaming and arguing but do we ever invite them over for a barbecue, to share in their lives and for them to share in ours? What about that person at church – you know the one – single; overweight; they're life's a mess, they talk a bit too much and no one ever invites them to their place on Sunday for lunch? What about that man at work – you see he's a workaholic; he's ruining his marriage, neglecting his children – ruining everything, all for want of a friend who can show him a better way of living? Where are we then, you and I? I'll tell you where: we are like ‘online' that Korean couple, watching TV! We're doing all the things we want to do in the comfort of our own lives and our own homes. And the more affluent we become the less we care for one another. But we justify that; we rationalise it away; we sit in our homes with more than enough – many of us – more than enough, telling ourselves, "We worked hard for it and now we need a rest." We are living virtual lives, watching TV shows about cooking, instead of cooking ourselves; watching TV shows about travelling, instead of travelling ourselves. Raising our virtual lives, our virtual gods and ignoring the real world. It sounds harsh doesn't it? Well, sometimes we need to be direct. Sometimes we need to call a spade a spade. God does that too. Have a listen to this – First John chapter 3, verse 17. If you have a Bible, open it up – towards the end – the First Letter of John chapter 3, verse 17: How does God's love abide in anyone who has all the world's goods and yet sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help? Now, I know that's hard because there seems to be so much need out there in the world. Sometimes we look at the news and we see the misery and we just turn it off, you and I – we can't make a difference; it's too big. Okay, I kind of understand that, although we can always make some small difference, but there are so many people closer to home; sometimes even within our homes, that we have the opportunity to serve – to heal with our hands; to heal with what we do as well as with what we say. Speaking first hand here, there is nothing ... absolutely nothing that speaks more about God's love into someone's life than when we step in to help them with that one thing they need help with. Sometimes it's the smallest thing – just a word of encouragement; a meal to someone just out of hospital; a visit or a phone call. Sometimes it's loving them over the long run; being there with them and for them. Whatever it is, when we have a need and someone just meets that need, there is nothing that speaks more of the love of Jesus than that. Believe you me, I know. It was people doing just that in my life who played such a powerful role in me coming to faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, their investment in meeting my needs bears fruit every day, as I sit down behind this microphone. Listen again to what Paul writes about how he sees his role and ours in this world. Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20: So we are ambassadors for Christ; since God is making his appeal through us we entreat you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. Imagine now, an ambassador of a wealthy country who has taken up his or her post in a poor country. And one day that poor country suffers a devastating earthquake and that ambassador from the wealthy country moves heaven and earth to quickly mobilise rescue and medical capabilities. They come quickly; they meet the desperate needs and then, when finally the crisis is over, what do you think the ambassador's actions have just said to the people of that poor country, about the wealthy country that the ambassador represents? That ambassador's actions will have spoken volumes into the poorer nation about how much the richer nation cares for them. It's simply not rocket science! Do you believe in Jesus? I do! And anyone who does is called to be an ambassador of Christ and as the Apostle Paul writes, it is through His ambassadors, dotted all over the planet, that God makes His appeal for people to be reconciled to Him. We don't have to look very far to find the need, do we? Often it's right under our noses. And we can spend time in prayer and at church and worshipping God and all those wonderful, good things while the babies starve; while the needs go unmet; while marriages next door fall apart and people right across the street are living in fear. Or we can go ... go and be ambassadors of Christ. For how does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or a sister in need and yet refuses to help?   Loving with our Hearts As I said at the beginning of today's programme, this is our last message in this four part series, “Living Life as an Ambassador for Christ”. And as we draw to the end I always find myself thinking of so many other things we could have talked about. Over the last three weeks I guess, what we have been doing is taking a look at the different aspects of the Apostle Paul's assertion that he and by implication, you and me - if we believe in this amazing, loving, compassionate, powerful Jesus – are ambassadors for Christ. Have a listen again to how he put it – Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20: So we are ambassadors for Christ; since God is making his appeal through us, we entreat you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. We have talked a lot about what it means to be an ambassador through whom God would make His appeal to a lost and hurting world. We've looked a bit at the way Jesus was an emissary of God into this world when He became a man. How He communicated God's message of grace to the blind and the poor and the diseased and the needy and the outcast. And I wish we could spend weeks and months more, taking a closer look at that. Maybe we will come back to it in a little while because at the centre of everything ... EVERYTHING is Jesus, the Son of God; the Maker of the heavens and the earth. So, as we draw this series together today, with so much more left to talk about, I had to decide on just one thing – the most important thing – and that most important thing; the one thing that Paul, at the end of First Corinthians 12 calls, "the yet more excellent way", is this: love! That's what we are going to finish up with today. I had a friend who, several years ago now, was called into Christian ministry, out of Australia into the United Kingdom. Now the particular place where he went to live and to work was, well, it was a part of the U.K. that was particularly depressed at the time. His job wasn't to work directly with the people but when I went to visit him and I wandered around the local town, I could feel that ... that oppression. There were derelict factories, rusting, decaying remnants of the industrial age. There was high youth unemployment and I spoke with the people; there seemed to be a hopeless; a lost-ness; an emptiness in this part of the country. It really stood out. Now we Australians, by and large, are a pretty optimistic lot. We have in our National character this ‘can do' attitude that to other cultures sometimes, comes across as being a bit brash. And so when I was confronted with this sad community's spirit, it really struck me between the eyes. And as I chatted with my friend over coffee late one night, he too confessed that he was finding that really difficult – moving from one culture to another – it's never easy. But the sadness and the listlessness and the hopelessness all around, particularly, coupled with the long, grey, cold winters, was really getting to him. Now, please understand me, I am not knocking the Brits. I love travelling to England but there are parts of the country – any Brit will tell you this – there are parts of the country where there is high unemployment, particularly amongst the youth – and it's tough going. Anyhow, a year or so later I was chatting with this man over Skype and he's a great guy – I love keeping in touch with him – and so I assumed he was still doing it tough in this unfamiliar culture. I started empathising with him and his response ... his response shocked me. He said in effect, "Oh no; no, no, we love it here; absolutely love it here. This is where God means us to be and it's really great." That was quite a turn around, so I asked him, "What's changed? You've moved your position a long way from where you were and what you were feeling a few years ago." And as I listened to him talk, it clicked! I could hear it in his voice – he had fallen in love with the people. God had touched his heart and he had this real compassion for the people out there – the unemployed; the people with that sense of hopelessness. He'd become part of a local church and he was part of the community and he realised that the joy and the enthusiasm and the optimism that he had in his heart could be a light in that place. He had fallen in love with the people. Sometimes we Christians feel like misfits in this world. There's a reason for that. As Jesus said in His prayer, just before He was crucified – John chapter 17 – He said that, “... we are in the world but not of the world.” The Apostle Paul makes the point that “ ... we are citizens of heaven, not of this world.” We are misfits; just like my friend the Aussie felt – he was a misfit in his new surroundings. And when we are misfits, the easiest thing in the world is to kind of criticise and poke fun and belittle those around us and complain – "I know Jesus; I have my life sorted out; I know what's right and all those other people out there, whose lives are in a mess, well, they're somehow less that I am." We criticise, we argue, we demean – it's called, "religious superiority". You see it often between races and cultures – one race looks down on another because of their skin colour or their traditions or just who they are. And I've seen people get this wrong over and over and over again. I love it when the Apostle Paul says in First Corinthians 13, it doesn't matter what gifts or abilities or what you do or how much you give, if you don't have love, friend you are nothing. And the love that Jesus showed was more than just love – it was compassion, it was empathy, it was kindness and gentleness. There are two Letters in the New Testament – First Timothy and Second Timothy – they are written by Paul to Tim, his young protégée. And in the second one, the Apostle Paul writes these words – Second Timothy chapter 2, verses 24 to 26: And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. The bit I love most in there is the bit about God perhaps granting that they will repent and come to know the truth; they may escape the snare of the devil and be set free. It's oh so easy, as someone who loves Jesus and is passionate about Him and who wants to see people's lives transformed, to start getting this idea that it's up to us. You know, we see many, many lives transformed through these radio programmes, all over the world but let me tell you this, with all that I am: nothing that I can do; nothing that I can say, can change lives! Just yesterday I received an email from a man in another country who wrote about a particular programme he'd listen to over the New Year period and he said, "One small thing you said, God took that and changed my life." He was an alcoholic and he'd stopped drinking. Now, I can't do that – only God can, by His Spirit when He takes His Word and brings it to life in our hearts. That bit is God's job. And when you or I become arrogant or pushy or superior in our attitudes we are working against God because, “God always opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble.” And I don't care what gift you or I have, how hard we work for Jesus, how much of our cash we contribute to His work, unless we have love, my friend, we are enemies of God; enemies of our fellow men, women and children. “These three things remain”, writes Paul in First Corinthians chapter 13, “faith, hope and love. All really good but the greatest amongst these is love.” Whatever we do, however we do it, if we do it in love, God can use it – kind, gentle, patient – that's what Paul writes to Timothy. The wisdom of a man towards the end of his life after many, many years of very difficult ministry – bound in chains; about to be executed, writing to his young protégée, just starting out on his career - kindness, gentleness, patience and love.   A Price to Pay Now, I had the honour the other evening of sitting and having dinner with a man who heads up a large international ministry that touches young people with the love of Jesus Christ. They have a passion for seeing the lives of young folk transformed and they have missions and people kind of all over the world doing that – it's a huge organisation. Now this man happens to be an Australian and him and his wife and a couple of kids had to move from Australia to the U.S. for him to be able to take up the role as global president of this missions and ministry organisation. So, several years ago they received the call and off they went. Now you would imagine Australia and America – both English speaking; both Western cultures; pretty similar countries in many ways – you would imagine. But as someone who has travelled to the U.S. a lot and as someone who's just received an American into our ministry; a man and his family who immigrated the other direction – from the U.S. to Australia – I can tell you, there are some huge cultural differences between these two, apparently similar countries. Anyhow, I asked this man and his wife, as we were having dinner together, how did they find things when they moved their family to a large city in the U.S. several years ago. ‘Aw,' they said, ‘it wasn't easy. Oh, there were some big adjustments. Oh, that first twelve months was really tough going and we still missed those familiar things and the people and the culture that we grew up in.' So, I guess this is my point, is that it would be easy for you and me to sit and look at and listen to this man and think to ourselves, "Well, he's blessed; he made it; he's at the top of the heap in this large ministry, without ever seeing the cost. It cost him something, it cost his wife, it cost his children to uproot themselves and follow the call of God." Now, this guy is such a gifted leader – he is so the right man to head up that organisation but it cost him. You get it – it cost him. And these days he spends a lot of time flying around the world at the back of the plane – he's a tall man – and that's tiring and uncomfortable and as someone said to me recently, this guy could be the head of any large global corporation. He just has what it takes – he could be flying first class; he could be earning stacks of money but he's doing neither because his heart burns with a fire ... a fire; a passion to see peoples' lives changed. Not as they embrace some new religion or learn a new set of rules but as they meet and encounter Jesus Christ. As they discover His love and His power and His compassion and His vision for their lives – Jesus. This man; this leader is an ambassador for Christ. For two reasons – first is his soft heart; his passion and the second are his hard feet. In other words, he was prepared to go. I think it was Corrie Ten Boom who once said something along the lines that, God calls us to have soft hearts and hard feet. But the problem is that many Christians have the exact opposite – they have hard hearts and soft feet. My friend, whenever we are called to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ, there is a price to pay. Jesus said, “If anyone would be my disciple then he must take up his cross and follow me.” Count the cost – there is a cost and, “Unless you take up your cross and follow me,” said Jesus, follow me where I lead, “then you cannot ... you cannot be my disciple.” Being an ambassador of Christ is going to cost us something. It is not for the faint hearted; it is not for the hard hearted. It is for those in who burns a fire for Jesus; a passion to see hurting, needy people encounter this risen Saviour, Jesus, whether it's across the world or across the street – a passion to see lives transformed by Jesus. Does that mean we all have to immigrate to a foreign land and head up a ministry? Of course, it doesn't! But it does mean that each one of us, in some way, shape or form, wherever Jesus leads, has to go. Just as Jesus came to us, so we are called to go to the lost – to the sinners, to the outcasts, to those amongst our family and our friends and our work colleagues and our local football club and our neighbours and our enemies – even our enemies – to go and make disciples of all the nations – to go and be ambassadors ... ambassadors of Christ. My friend, if you believe in Jesus; if you have given your life to Him, I encourage you to do something today – I want encourage you to go to Him, in prayer, and say: Lord Jesus, I want to be Your ambassador. I want to be part of Your great plan for this world, of transforming lives; I want to carry You into this world, Lord, I want to see people meet You. Lord God, show me how ... show me how.

Whether we realize it or not, we're easily influenced by the people we're in close relationship with. Whether that's our spouse, close friends, or even business partners.That's why today's warning from Second Corinthians six is so important for us to hear and receive. Pastor Ed Taylor is going to show us why it's never a good idea to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. Now does that mean, we're not to hang out with the unsaved? Let's find out. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/302/29

Anyone who believes in Jesus – is also meant to be an Ambassador of Christ. Now – that's not an easy role. Sometimes being Ambassador requires some tough talk. Other times it's about diplomacy – the question is, knowing when to call a spade a spade, and when to be more … circumspect.   It's Not a Shouting Match One of the most embarrassing things I've ever seen as a Christian – and I've seen it a few times – is some guy standing on a soapbox in a Mall or on a street corner, or as I shared a few weeks ago, at a Saturday morning market, screaming out the so called, "Good News" about Jesus Christ. Now, I'm a Christian and so I will sometimes stop and see if I can understand where they're coming from. And truly, most of the time, I just can't figure it out, but there they stand on their soapbox, with a Bible in their hands and surrounded by some pretty tacky placards normally, screaming the Gospel at people. Do I think God can use that? Sure – I mean, He seems to use the foolishness that I preach sometimes, in peoples' lives, so why not the guy on the soapbox on the street corner? Do I think, however, that it's the most effective way of dealing with the issue? Is it the best way to communicate the incredible love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, the riches available to those who put their faith in Him? Is it the best way to share that Good News? Not by a long shot; not by a very long shot! And yet, it's easy ... it's so easy for us to imagine that telling people about Jesus is kind of like getting on that soapbox. That it's about two equal and opposite ideologies – God's and the world's – butting heads and locking horns. Over the last couple of weeks and again this week on the programme, we are having a chat about living our lives out as ambassadors of Christ; His emissaries, if you will. If I believe in Jesus; if you believe in Jesus, then one of the things that we have to do with our lives – one of the main things - is to communicate His love; to carry His love out into a lost and a hurting world. That's what the Apostle Paul said in writing to his dear friends at the church in Corinth – way back in the First Century. Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20: So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. Each one in our own way, of course but otherwise, how can we possibly claim to be His ambassadors? How can God make His appeal to this world to be reconciled with Him through someone who looks nothing like Him; who sounds nothing like Him? Now, that presents us with something of a dilemma! Does me, anyhow, because what I see is that sometimes Jesus stood up and berated people – not too often, but sometimes He did. He called the religious leaders of the day "hypocrites", "a brood of vipers" and a whole bunch of other things as well. And yet other times, He dealt with people with such tender love and compassion, it kind of moves you to tears when you read about those times. Like the woman caught in adultery – you can read her story in John's Gospel chapter 8. I mean He pretty much puts Himself between her and the angry mob that wanted to stone her to death. Go figure that out!! So how do we reconcile that? How do you or I, if we want to be like Jesus, learn to speak into this world the way that He did? When do we speak with tender love and when do we stand up to be counted and call a spade and spade, no matter who it's going to offend? I guess that's kind of where we are going this week on the programme – looking at how we speak into this world like Jesus. How do we connect His message of love and forgiveness and a new and abundant life to the needs ... the often desperate needs in the lives of the people around us? Do we call a spade a spade and get right into peoples' faces or do we speak with compassion and love? And if it's both of those, how do I know when to use one and when to use the other? Now these questions, as you can imagine, are questions that I have mulled over a lot and as I look at how Jesus communicated, He only got upset ... really upset with people on a handful of occasions. In other words it was the exception rather than the norm. He didn't see His role as God in the flesh, as being one half of a shouting match most of the time. And so far as I can see, He reserved His anger for the people who should have known better; for the people who said they believed in God – the religious leaders. Have a listen – Matthew chapter 23, beginning at verse 12: All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and then when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross the sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Or when He went into the temple, John chapter 2, verse 15: Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. See, the only time Jesus really got stuck in was when He encountered hypocrisy amongst the religious leaders. When they held themselves out to be clean on the outside but actually, they were filthy on the inside – when they oppressed the people who were looking for God; when the powerful stood over the weak; when the rich exploited the widow and the poor; when the judges were dishonest to the detriment of the ordinary people. You know, when Christians, at least here in Australia where I live, sometimes stand up to politicians and publicly speak out against injustice and wrongs and decisions being made and laws being passed that just aren't in the interests of the common people, like you and me, the most common response of the politicians is that Christians and church leaders should keep their noses out of politics. I couldn't disagree more! When we see wrongs and injustices – and can I say, especially when we see those things in the church; especially when we see hypocrisy amongst God's own people – I believe it's time to stand up and to say so. This isn't a clash of ideologies; it's not a slanging match or a shouting match; it's not some irrelevant joker standing on a soapbox on a street corner - because you know something? The truth … the truth rings out, clear as a bell. Sure, people with vested interests aren't going to like it. Sure, there's going to be a cost, but God's heart ... God's heart is for justice for the poor and the oppressed. And sometimes we are called to speak out. Next, we are going to have a look at the flip side of that coin – the gentle speech of the diplomat; the ambassador.   The Diplomacy of an Ambassador Let's take a look at the flip side of the coin – the diplomacy of an ambassador because Jesus used that much more than that other really direct and angry approach. Most of us, you and I, we have blind spots. In fact, the reason they are called, "blind spots" is that we can't see them. And when it comes to our own blind spots in life, what's amazing is how defensive and touchy we are about them. It's almost that we hold them to be sacred. Let's say that our blind spot is anger – that's the one we are dealing with in our lives - and we are prone to flaring up quickly and someone comes along and points it out to us. Well, they'd better watch out! Or if it's low self-esteem and someone tries to help us with it, we can crawl even further inside our shells. So how do you help someone with their blind spots? Because my blind spots – if I don't deal with them, will end up hurting you and stunting me and you know, my friend, your blind spots, if you don't deal with yours, will end up hurting the rest of us and stunting you. That's what sin does! And before we get all judgemental: Sin! Sin! What century is this guy coming from? Let me read out to you a succinct list of the sorts of things that I'm talking about – just so there's no mistake. Now, I'm reading from the Message translation which is a really contemporary translation of the Bible, written by a guy called Eugene Peterson. It's coming from Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 to 21. Have a listen to what God calls sin: "It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on,” writes Paul. “This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit the kingdom of God." Now, you don't have to be a rocket scientist here to figure out that the sort of things that God calls "sin", which Paul is talking about here – they are exclusively the things that cause us and other people pain. And the thing that we want to do when someone's sin is causing us pain is we want to give them what for – we want to tell them exactly what we think about them and hold them to account and, if needs be, have a shouting match with them and get our own way – we do! Because what we are driven by is desire to stop our pain. What we are driven by is "wanting" to win. But here's the thing: if what we want to do is to live our lives as ambassadors of Christ then we need to handle these incredibly difficult issues, with His wisdom. And time and time again, when Jesus encountered people whose sin was ruining their lives, He dealt with them with such incredible compassion. Tax collectors back in Jesus day were a really grubby lot – they were dishonest, they rorted the system, they applied extortion and this behaviour was sanctioned by the Romans who occupied Israel – so long as the Emperor got his taxes! So, by the common Israelite, they were despised; they were considered to be the worst sinners of all; they were traitors and turncoats. Let me read you some of Jesus wisdom and how He handled them. Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 to 13 – if you have a Bible, grab it, open it up – Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 to 13: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And so, he got up and followed Jesus. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why is it that your teacher eats with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, Jesus said, “Those who are well don't need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but the sinners." See, you and I, when we see people whose sin offends us or hurts us; when we are on the receiving end of their sin, the thing we want to do, naturally – it's a natural human response – is to cut them off; to cut them out of our lives. That way we are protected; that way we don't have to deal with them; that way we don't have to deal with the pain that they cause in our lives. But what Jesus is saying here is that it was precisely for these people; these sinners; these rejects, that He came and so He went and ate a meal in that house. Here He was, this veritably rock star – huge crowds were following Him - He comes into town, He decides to go and eat with what – the Mayor, the Governor, the church leaders, the synagogue leaders, the bishops? No, no – the tax collectors! Do you see this huge ... huge symbolic act that was going on here? He knew that it would do two things. That He would draw vocal criticism from the religious leaders and He'd also confer honour upon the sinners. And by conferring honour on them, He was building a relationship with them. He was accepting them just as they were; without a word of condemnation or judgement. And my hunch is that that completely changed their attitude towards Him. You know something? They had their blind spots – they were rationalising away their extortion and dishonesty and if Jesus had come and berated them or condemned them or ignored them, nothing would have changed in their lives. Instead He came and ate with them and drank with them and listened to them and took the criticism that everyone else heaped upon Him for doing that – and He built a bridge by honouring them. And so powerful was this that one of them, Matthew, became one of His disciples. He wrote the first Book of the New Testament. You want to be an ambassador of Christ – then we need to learn the language of an ambassador? Being an ambassador, as we saw on last weeks programme, about building relationships and bridges, so that when there are difficult issues that have to be dealt with, there is already a connection of relationship and trust in place, through which to deal with the problem. Think about it – who are the people in your life to whom you give a licence to talk to you about your blind spots? I know who they are in my life – it's the people who have honoured me and stuck with me and who've proven themselves to be wise and trustworthy. They're the ones with that licence! And as I look back, it was through those people – people just like that; people who had eaten with this sinner; loved this sinner; coped with my sins – it was through those very people that I encountered the transforming love of Jesus Christ. They were His ambassadors in my life. They treated me the way He treated those tax collectors and friend, without them I wouldn't be with you here right now. It makes you think.   Preaching with our Ears Today and over these last few weeks on the programme we have been chatting about what it means to be an ambassador of Christ; to live our lives - if we believe in Jesus - as one of His ambassadors. Remember, the Apostle Paul – Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20 writes: So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. Now, one of the things that strikes me is how strong differences are across cultures. We've had a man recently join our team here at Christianityworks – his name is Gregory. Now you may or may not have known this but we Australians are fairly direct in the way we speak. Americans on the other hand, are less so – we often joke about that. Gregory will ask where the bathroom is, whereas I'll ask where the toilet is. So we Australians are much more direct. But even more than that, Gregory grew up; spent many of his childhood years in Japan, and so he has a lot of Japanese culture on the inside too – a culture that's very much about politeness and face. And even though we have known each other for a very long time, working together now every day has been a real learning experience for both of us. When I ask him what he thinks, I want him to actually tell me what he thinks. If he thinks I'm off with the pixies on some issue, I actually want him to tell me so. Forget hierarchies – I just want his direct, honest input because that's how we will get the right results. He, on the other hand, can find that just a bit confronting because that's not the cultural background that he's come from. It's just one simple example but it's a good one. Imagine if I, as direct as I am, were sent as Australia's ambassador to the U.S. or even more so, to Japan. I'd have to learn a lot about their cultures before I could communicate effectively on a diplomatic level with those countries. I'd have to find different ways of saying things I want to say. I'd have to listen carefully to what their diplomats were saying to make sure I actually hear what they mean to say. You know something? Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people around us is no different to that. After fifteen years of walking with Jesus, I have a whole different perspective on what success is, what joy is, what happiness is, what sin is, what pain is – and all sorts of things, from someone who has never met Jesus – from someone who doesn't have that relationship with Jesus. Why would I ever imagine I could talk to them as though they have the same perspective as me? You know, for a long, long time in my life, I just wasn't ready for anyone to tell me about this Jesus. I mean, get lost! I couldn't stand those God botherers. I had a totally different perspective to theirs. I just knew that life was about making lots of money and being recognised in my field and being successful. I knew I'd find my pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. I had, back then, a whole bunch of misconceptions about life and where I wanted to be headed and what would make me happy. And I didn't need anyone to preach at me - least of all those God botherers telling me about Jesus. What I needed was someone to listen to me – what I needed was someone to understand me and help me to understand myself. I needed someone to preach to me with their ears – if that makes sense. An ambassador from one country who is about to be sent to another country has to learn about the culture and the language and the issues and the aspirations and the concerns of the country to which he or she is being sent. Someone who lives in one country and is going to be a missionary in another country, well, they have to do exactly the same. I believe the most important asset an ambassador can have are his ears and his eyes – to observe, to perceive, to listen, to see, to understand. Jesus grew up in the Hebrew culture of First Century Israel. He attended school in that culture. He knew how to speak and He had a lot of time listening. He spent time eating and drinking with tax collectors; with sinners. He spent time living with His disciples. He spent time getting to know the issues in peoples' lives. I remember when I was working in a retail buying group – quite some years ago. The chairman of our board was a man called Stan Brown – he owned a menswear store in Sydney. I remember him saying that a shop attendant who walks up to a customer and opens up with, "Can I help you?" well, he'd say it's like asking someone to marry you on the first date. First he said, you need to find out who they are, why are they here, why did they come into your store, what's their taste, what are they looking for? First you have to find a point of connection, he said, then ... then they'll be open to receive any help. As I look at people who God brought to me; the ambassadors whom He sent in my direction when I needed to meet Him, what I realise, is that they, for the most part, preached with their ears – they listened, they understood, they laughed, they cried with me and once they understood – once I really knew they understood – then I relaxed. Then I let them into my thoughts and into my heart – then they were allowed to influence me because they got me. Then they had the opportunity to show me who this Jesus really, really is. The stock-in-trade of an ambassador is diplomacy. It's about trust and communication and understanding and if you and I ... if you and I are going to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ, then that's something I believe we are going to have to learn. When I take the time to get to know you and understand you – whether or not I agree, I have just built a bridge into your life that honours you. When you feel understood, you feel secure and you experience trust and it's exactly the same back in the other direction. Friend, Jesus was an amazing communicator – He was prepared to confront the difficult issues when they needed to be confronted and He was prepared to show compassion because that's what flowed out of His heart to people in need. And it was that bridge of compassion that we can build with people. That's the bridge that, one day, Jesus will walk across. Trust me, that's the bridge and it all comes from preaching with our ears. Go figure!

Everyone – everyone who believes in Jesus is called to be His ambassador. An Ambassador of Christ. That involves a change of heart, it involves a change in our actions and it involves – well, going. Ambassadors don't stay, they go. That's why being Christ's Ambassadors ain't easy sometimes.   Christ on the Inside Now, one of the things that you and I know is that we are what we eat. If what I do is I pig out on chocolates – man, I love chocolate, but we know that too much of it is bad for us; and fatty foods and sweet, sugary drinks and lots of cakes and sweets, all that stuff – if I pig out on that then who I am on the inside is going to change. I'm going to put on weight, my emotions will take a downswing, because that's what happens with too much sugar, I'll become lethargic and tired and I won't be able to cope. My heart will have to work so much harder to get blood around the larger body and my coronary arteries will get all clogged up, my blood sugar will go up ... and on and on the list goes. The impact is that I have less of a life to live now because I'm always tired, not feeling well and my life expectancy will be cut short. On the other hand, if I get a great mix of healthy cereals and grains and those brightly coloured vegetables and lean meat and all that stuff, which actually tastes pretty fantastic, the complete opposite will happen. What happens on the inside has a huge impact on what happens on the outside. Who we are on the inside – whether it be physically or emotionally or spiritually - has a huge impact on who we are on the outside. And the upshot of all that is that we simply can't be one thing on the inside and try to be something else on the outside – it just doesn't work. Last week, again this week on the programme and indeed, over the next couple of weeks we are having a bit of a chat about living our lives here on this earth as ambassadors for Christ, because that is what anyone who believes in Jesus is called to be. We are citizens of heaven, not of this earth and as Paul, the Apostle writes, in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20: We are ambassadors for Christ; since God is making his appeal through us, we entreat you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. As I said, you just can't be one thing on the inside and then pretend to be another thing on the outside. You can't be Swedish on the inside and pretend to be the Indian ambassador on the outside. We can't be the devil on the inside and pretend to be an angel of light on the outside. Well, I suppose we can for a while but I suspect it's incredibly hard work, carrying on a deception like that and it doesn't take long for who we are to make its way to the outside. Jesus Himself said – Matthew chapter 15, verse 19: For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander. So, if we are going to be ambassadors of Christ, then we first have to be citizens of heaven on the inside, just as the Indian ambassador has to be Indian and not Swedish on the inside. Interesting how God talked about this through His prophet Ezekiel, to His people. He talked to them about what was going on in their hearts. Have a listen – Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 31: “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me and get yourselves,” listen to this, “a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?" A new heart! I think we know what God means but that's not much of an expression that we would use today. But the expression that we would use is "a change of heart". You and I know what that means: unless something happens deep inside our hearts – on the inside - we can't change on the outside. But you know there have been issues, transgressions, sins in my life that, try as I might, I couldn't change my heart by myself. I'm guessing you have had that experience too – we all have! And that's why God made this promise too, through His prophet Ezekiel, to His people – Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26: A new heart I will give you, a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. In fact, perhaps what you want to be is an ambassador of Christ but there's something right now going on in your heart; something you would love to change but you can't for yourself that you need God to do for you. So why don't we pray about that right now: Father God,this Word of yours, You are putting Your finger right on one of the deepest problems in my life. You and I both know what it is and You know that I have struggled to change my heart - I've tried my hardest, but I just can't. And so I come to You in faith and pray for Your will – Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26 – for a new heart – a change of heart. Take out the heart of stone, O God, and replace it with a heart of flesh. Take out of me any spirit that is causing me to sin and fill me with Your Spirit. I come to You in faith. I believe that what I have asked You, You will give me because I am asking You in the name of Jesus. Amen. Now, I encourage you, if you have prayed that prayer will me, to believe, simply to believe, that God will give you the good thing that you have asked Him for and He will. That's what He says He will do and He never, ever, ever fails on His Word – ever! When the Apostle Paul was sharing the Good News about Jesus with the folk in Athens, he quoted a poem about a Greek god and applied it to Jesus. This is what he said – Acts chapter 17, verse 28: For in him we live and move and have our being. You know, for me that says it all! It's about being totally immersed in Christ; about being drenched in Jesus – that's actually the literal meaning of the word "baptised or baptism". The original Greek word was "baptidso". So when a boat was lost in a storm and it went under and it sank, it was said to have been "baptidso"d. When a fabric was dyed a new colour and it was plunged into the dye and completely drenched and it came out a new colour, it was said to have been "baptidso"d. That's exactly what the Apostle Paul writes to his friends in Rome. Romans chapter 6, verses 3 and 4: Don't you know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ were baptised into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised again from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. It means death to the old life and the living of a new life; literally, to be "born again" – a whole new heart and filled with a new spirit; the Spirit of God this time; the Holy Spirit. It means that goodness replaces evil – not so much because we work hard at it but because God's given us a change of heart and now what happens is we actually want to honour God; we want to live a life that brings glory to Him – and that's the new life. We are going to talk more about that next. It's the new life that wins people over to Christ. It's the new life that shines like a light and brings flavour to people's lives like salt. But just as a well that is dry can't bring forth water, so a life that is empty of Christ; His very Spirit; His presence within us, so a life like that can't be an ambassador of Christ. If there are things that you have been struggling with on the inside; things that are holding you back from taking up your commission as Christ's ambassador in your little petunia patch, then here's what I encourage you to do – get with God, get in prayer, open His Word, ask Him to fill you to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. Ask Him again and again and again to give you a new heart. And just as we prayed before; just as I said before, He surely will – because He wants to – because when we bear much fruit in our lives it brings Him great glory. A new heart; a change of heart; filled with a new spirit, His Spirit.   Christ on the Outside So let me ask you a question: if you are someone who believes in Jesus and you drive a car, do you have a Jesus bumper sticker or one of those fish stickers on your bumper bar? Maybe ... maybe not! I mean, even if you don't, that's okay, I don't either, but if you had to put one on your car, let me ask you, does your behaviour on the road as a driver match up to what the sticker advertises? I mean, are you a courteous driver who obeys all the road rules or do you break the speed limit and honk your horn at people and yell at them from the inside of your car? I guess if you're the former it would be okay to have a fish sticker or a Jesus sticker on your car because your behaviour is a good advertisement for God - in effect, because what you advertise on the sticker and how you behave match up, it works. On the other hand though, can you imagine a rude, impatient driver, who's constantly breaking the road rules, identifying themselves as a Christian, using some sticker they put on their car. It's not a very good ad for God, is it? It turns out that who we say we are; who we hold ourselves out to be and who we actually are in what we say and what we do – if those two don't match up – well, there's a name for that: we call those people "hypocrites". We have been talking about living our lives as ambassadors of Christ – “for we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making his appeal through us.” 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20. In other words, God, just as He used the Apostle Paul, wants to involve us in the business of making His appeal to the rest of the world. Now what we have seen over the course of the last couple of weeks is that we don't all have to be "Pauls" in order to do that. Diplomacy, which is the role of an ambassador, mostly happens in one on one relationships where trust is built so that governments have relationships in place to resolve difficult issues. That's the point of diplomacy and it's the role of an ambassador. See, I think sometimes we are misled into thinking: Aw, WOW, oh – an ambassador for Christ, well, that must be the pastors role not me!' because it sounds like a flashy, up front title. And earlier we saw that in order to be an ambassador of for, say India, we had to be Indian, if we're Swedish no one is going to believe we are the Indian ambassador, right? Who we are on the inside really counts. That's why God promises something new – Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 26: A new heart I will give you; a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. See, we can't change who we are on the outside until we have a change of heart on the inside. I've tried it, you've tried it – it doesn't work! If something first happens in our hearts though, to change us on the inside, then all of a sudden changing on the outside becomes mush easier. That's what we talked about earlier. Right now we are going to follow on with the natural continuation of that. We are going to take a look at how important it is that who we are on the outside is consistent with who we are on the inside. And that's why I kicked off with that story about the bumper sticker. It's kind of obvious isn't it? Now I'm not suggesting that you or I are ever going to live a perfect life. I pretty much make mistakes every day and probably you do too and no one ... no one expects us to be perfect. But either how we live declares that our heart and our life has been changed by God or it doesn't and if it doesn't, without putting too fine a point on it, we're being hypocrites. That's something that Jesus identified in the religious leaders of His day. They pretended to be ‘oh so holy' on the outside, but on the inside – well have a listen to what Jesus said to them – Matthew chapter 23, verses 25 and 26: Woe to you, you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may also be clean. Now, I'm kind of comforted by that; I like it that Jesus is concerned both about our hearts – who we are on the inside – and our hands – what we do on the outside. If someone came to me and said, ‘You know Berni, I've heard what you have been saying – I've decided I want to be an ambassador of Christ. What do you think is the most important thing in that role?' Well, this is how I'd answer. The first thing is your heart and your relationship with God' being completely sold out to Jesus and if you don't have that, well, you can't pretend it. And the second thing is: how you behave; how you live it out, because if you say that you are one thing and you do completely the opposite, people will pick you as a phoney in a split second and then, instead of shining God's light into the world, you just turn people off. Let me give you an example. My country, Australia, has a very strong relationship with the United States of America – has had for a good many years. Now, imagine that the U.S. Government, all of a sudden, appoints a brand new ambassador and sends him across the pond to Australia. And within a few months, we discover this ambassador, he's a lecherous drunk, who can't keep his hands off other women – whether or not he happens to be any good at his trade of diplomacy – and scandal after scandal, involving this new ambassador hits the news and the press. How do you imagine such a person would influence the view that Australians have, not only of the U.S. Government but of the American people? It would be devastating wouldn't it? Not only would this so called "ambassador" hurt the people around him but he'd bring his whole Nation; his whole people into ill repute. And that's why the lives we lead as Christians are so important. Come on – let's get real!! Does hypocrisy display the glory of God? No! It brings Him and His people as a whole, into disrepute. "Oh, those Christians – they're just a bunch of hypocrites!" And God ... God doesn't like hypocrites, my friend. Listen again to Jesus – Matthew chapter 23, verse 25: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. People talk about ‘missional living' – living out our lives as missionaries or ambassadors in this world. You know what I think the biggest thing that you and I can do to live "missionally" is to live a holy life. What's a holy life? It's a life where the cup and the plate are clean on the inside as well as the outside. Peter, the Apostle, sums it up like this in his Letter, First Peter, chapter 1, verse 14: Like obedient children, don't be conformed to the desires you formally had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct, for it is written “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” My friend, there is something wonderful; utterly sublime, when we roll up our sleeves with God and get to cleaning the inside as well as the outside. And here's the thing: people notice – people sit up and take notice and think to themselves, "There's something different about that person – something good; something I trust; something I want." And there ... right there, we have an ambassador of Christ!   Taking His Love to the Sinners When I used to run an I.T. consulting firm with my business partners, we used to joke that life would be so much easier if we didn't have clients. It's true, it's just not very profitable, I guess. And the same is true when it comes to sinners – you know, those people who drink too much, or they swear too much, or they are just rude or belligerent or a pain in the neck - the most natural thing in the world for someone who loves Jesus, is to kind of recoil from them – to retreat into the holy huddle of Christian friends. I would like to finish off today with a short story about Jesus approach to sinners. It comes from Luke chapter 5 – if you have a Bible, come on, open it up with me – let's go there – it's a confronting and edgy story – gets right in your face, just the way Jesus meant it to be. Come on, let's have a listen. Luke chapter 5, verses 27 to 32: After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus. Then Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and the scribes, well, were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” But Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but the sinners to repentance. Now, here's the thing: the Romans occupied Israel in the first century – this godless empire occupied God's people; God's Promised Land and ruled over them. And the way they collected taxes was effectively, to tender it out to individuals; people like Levi; people who were Jews! They would bid for the right to collect the taxes on behalf of the Romans and the highest bidder would win. And so in order to make a profit, the tax collector would then find all sorts of ways of extorting additional taxes from the people. Now, Levi was sitting in a tax booth, collecting taxes from people who used the road to ship their goods and so forth – a bit like a modern day toll road. And what made it worse, not only did he extort taxes; not only did he cheat and lie but he was working for the Romans – Levi, a Jew, ripping off his fellow Israelites! So, this was not the sort of guy you would want to talk to or have as a friend or approach for any reason whatsoever. But Jesus ... Jesus approached him; Jesus called him, the way a Rabbi calls disciples. Jesus went to this sinner, Levi, this abhorrent, disgusting traitor – as far as all the other Jews were concerned – and not only did He say to Levi, “Follow me,” He went to dinner; a banquet at Levi's house with a whole bunch of other tax collectors. Now the religious people, the Pharisees, instead of saying, "Man, what a great idea – taking the love of God right into the middle of the sinners – loving them, listening to them, healing them, maybe even bringing them to repentance," instead of that, the Pharisees, they found some theological, religious reasons for criticising Jesus. Now, let me ask you this – brutal; right to your face: when it comes to sinners, are you more like Jesus or more like the scribes and Pharisees? Come on! It's a question we need to ask. The thing about an ambassador is that he doesn't stay at home in his own country where he knows everyone; his friends are and he's comfortable – he gets on a plane, with his family, sets up his home right in the middle of this other foreign country that he has been posted to as an ambassador. Get it! You and I, if we truly are Christ's followers, you and I are called to "go". Not to sit at home in our holy huddles were we are comfortable. Don't get me wrong: having Christian friends is great, going to church is great but we're called to live on the mission field – we are called to go to the sinners the way Jesus did. And while sometimes that means going to another part of the world, true, most times it just means touching the colleague at work, inviting over the neighbours next door for a barbecue because you have heard them screaming at each other and their marriage is falling apart and what they need in their lives is Jesus. What they need to know is that He loves them. What they need to have is a personal encounter with the Saviour who came for them. Not just for us, for them – the Saviour who died for them - the Saviour who rose again to give them a new life and an eternal life. What they need – the "Levis" in our world – they need Jesus. So, I am going to ask you again, when it comes to the ‘Levis' in your world, are you Christ to them or are you a Pharisee? Do you go to them with the love of Jesus or do you sit at home with your friends and complain about them? My friend, these people who are hurting, who are dying, who are going to a Christ-less eternity, my friend, they need an ambassador – they need an ambassador of Christ who looks just like you and just like me.

You can read the whole text here: https://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I'm Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) I was training an intern in the art of digital audio editing. I said, “You're going to be doing a lot of zooming in and zooming out.” “Why?” she said. “Because you have to zoom in close to make tight cuts,” I said. “But then you have to zoom back out to listen to the edit and make sure it's right.” The same is true in graphic design, and video editing: a lot of zooming in and zooming out. I did the same as a photographer with my trusty old 35mm camera. I'd zoom all the way in on a subject to set the focus, then zoom back out to see the whole picture. Imagine Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. He had to get up close to paint, but he had to move away to see the whole thing…which is not easy when you're painting a ceiling that is over 60 feet high! Speaking of 60 feet high, that's how big the presidential heads are that are carved into Mt. Rushmore. For him to zoom out, the sculptor Gutzon Borglum had to climb down the mountain! A lot of zooming in and zooming out…that was my advice for the intern, and that's my advice for all of us. In life we need to do a lot of zooming in and zooming out. The old saying is, "Don't spend your life climbing the ladder of success, only to find that it was leaning against the wrong wall.” We can get so zoomed in on each rung of the ladder that we never zoom out and see if it's up against the right wall. Another old saying is, “They can't see the forest for the trees.” That's because they are so focused on individual trees that they never step back to see the forest, or everything that's outside the forest. We read about a man like this in the Bible. In Luke 12 Jesus told The Parable of the Rich Fool. The man was so successful he had to build more and more storage units to contain it all. The rich man said to himself in Luke 12:19, “You have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” He was very zoomed in on his current success and comfort. But then God lowered the boom on him in verse 20. God said, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be?” If only the man would have taken some time to zoom out and see the bigger picture, including eternity and God. In Luke 18 we read about the rich young ruler. Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and to follow Him. The man was so zoomed in on his riches, that's all he could see. He needed to zoom out and see the bigger picture, that he was talking to the King of Kings. And the King of Kings is talking to us today. Are we too zoomed in on our present life, our present rung on the ladder, our one little tree in the forest? Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Second Corinthians 4:18 tells us “…the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” In Luke 10, Martha was very zoomed in on what seemed so important that day, all the preparations. But her sister Mary had zoomed out to see the big picture, and that was Jesus Himself, the Lord of All, right there in their house. How can we avoid these mistakes? Yes, we zoom in to take care of details, but then we have to zoom out again to make sure we are on the right track. Because in life, as in digital editing, we need to do a lot zooming in and zooming out. May God bless you today. I'm Doug Apple.

In our spiritual journey, we are called to be formed in the image of Christ with purpose and intention. This does not happen by accident. It requires us to take part in the process.Second Corinthians 3:18 reminds us that we are being transformed into Christ's image, one degree at a time. This change comes as we behold God's glory through focused intention, steady attention, and a shift in direction. Like a sculptor revealing a figure hidden in stone, spiritual formation involves clearing away what does not reflect Christ.We are asked to examine what holds our attention, knowing that what we focus on shapes who we become. Are we letting constant distractions pull us away, or are we fixing our eyes on God?This message challenges us to take our growth seriously. While God's grace leads the way, our efforts to know and obey Him matter. We are invited to go deeper into Scripture, let it shape our hearts and minds, and face the refining work of repentance with courage.

Life just seems to happen doesn't it? We get up, do pretty much the same thing as yesterday, over and over. And as someone who believes in Jesus it can be easy for us to lose sight of what God wants us to do with our lives. And it turns out – that in His eyes, you and I – we're Ambassadors of Christ. That's quite a calling.   First a Citizen, Then an Ambassador Right about now, depending on how you count some of the smaller ones, there are over 200 countries in this world. One source I read lists 223, another 192. Let's say there are around 200 – some of them are huge and powerful, right down to the smallest country in the world. What a huge variation: China, population 1.34 billion, at one end of the scale, right down to the Pitcairn Islands, official population 50, at the other end and everything in between. Now, anyone whose had brothers and sisters knows that siblings don't always get on. And the history of humanity is a history of wars, invasions, conquests, dominance, exploitation – in fact right now, there are around thirty recognised wars going on around the world, not to mention the other, quote "lower level" conflicts. So how do all of these cuntries get on? Well, hopefully these days, most of the time, when there's disagreement on an issue, instead of fighting wars as the first step in the process, countries use a thing called, "diplomacy". They have diplomats and so they use diplomatic channels to discuss and resolve most of the issues between them. The head of a diplomatic mission is usually called, "the ambassador". So in my country we have an American ambassador, we have a Chinese ambassador; we have an Indian ambassador and so on. And here's the thing: none of those people are Australians. The American ambassador is, well, he's American, the Chinese ambassador is Chinese, the Indian ambassador is, well, as you would expect, Indian. So not only is the ambassador a citizen of the country which he or she represents, they also look like they come from that country and they speak like that they come from that country because they do come from that country. Now, all of that is, I would hope pretty much blindingly, glimpsingly, obvious to all of us and the job of the ambassador of each country is to be his or her country's representative with a foreign government – the channel through which their country raises issues with another government and vice versa. Sometimes; many times those are difficult issues. You can imagine, for instance, the exchanges that occur between Indian and Pakistani diplomats or at times between China and America on trade issues or between the various European countries within their Union. Ambassadors are there to represent their country; the country of their citizenship, in a foreign land. The Apostle Paul had this to say on the issue. Have a listen it comes – if you have a Bible, open it up – Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 16: From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though once we knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. See, almost sounds as if Paul is saying he's not so much a Roman citizen, which he was, but he's a citizen of God's Kingdom, sent as an ambassador to explain and to share God's message of reconciliation and forgiveness into a foreign world. “So we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making His appeal through us.” And in fact, elsewhere, Paul writes exactly that. Philippians chapter 3, verse 20: Our citizenship is in heaven and it is from there that we are expecting a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. So there it is. Paul sees his role as being an ambassador of Christ – declaring the forgiveness that God has for each and every person on this planet, if only they will put their faith in His Son and the eternal and glorious reconciliation we can have with Him when we take that step. And that ... that is simply carrying on what Jesus came to do. Mark chapter 1, verse 38 – Jesus answered: Let us go on to the neighbouring towns so that I may proclaim the message there also for that is what I came out to do. John chapter 18, verse 37 – Pontius Pilot asked Him: So are you a king? And Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king, for this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. Jesus came in order to tell us the Good News, and in fact, to "be" the Good News. The Apostle Paul saw himself as an ambassador of that Good News, even to the point of being an ambassador in chains, on death row. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 19: "Pray also for me so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness, the mystery of the Gospel for which I am,” writes Paul, “an ambassador in chains". My friend, what did you come to do? Where is your citizenship? Are you a citizen of this world or are you an ambassador in a foreign land, bringing the Good News of the Gospel of reconciliation with God, through Jesus Christ, into a lost and hurting world? My hunch is that anyone who calls themselves a Christian; anyone who takes on themself the name of Christ, is called, not to a life of comfort, so much, as a life of following hard after Jesus. Luke chapter 4, verse 27: Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Over these coming weeks on the programme we are going to be talking about living our lives as ambassadors ... ambassadors of Christ. What does that mean – what does that look like? Well, we will be looking at that. Today the point I think we are meant to get out of our time together, you and I, is that firstly a disciple is a citizen of the country that he or she represents. And if we are to be ambassadors of Christ, as Paul wrote, as much as we are immersed in our culture, as important as that is in reaching out to those around us with the Good News of Jesus, we are not, my friend, citizens of this world, but we are citizens of heaven, sent as ambassadors into a foreign land. And as ambassadors often find, the foreign places into which they're sent – they don't always want to hear what they have to say. It's not always easy being an ambassador. In fact, the reason that countries need ambassadors is to deal with difficult issues; the tensions that could escalate into conflicts. Ambassadors, yes, have to be diplomatic but they also have to tackle the difficult issues. And as Jesus came as an ambassador of heaven to proclaim the truth and was ultimately crucified for it and if Paul followed in His footsteps as an ambassador of Christ and was ultimately executed for it, if you and I are going to life out our lives in the small corner where God has put us as citizens of heaven, we are to be ambassadors of Christ. That's not always going to be easy! The world won't always want to hear – it could cost us everything but I'm afraid it comes with the territory ... the territory of being an ambassador of Christ.   Did God Really Mean That? I know of people who believe in Jesus, who go to church Sunday and Sunday; they sit there in the pews, sing the songs, listen to the preacher but they're not flashy; they're not up front performers or musicians or speakers or leaders. Every now or then perhaps, they make morning tea or contribute somehow to the life of the church, but because they're not high profile, up front people, because they're more people who blend into the background, they've decided, in their heart of hearts, that they have nothing to contribute. The world's been telling them and subtly the church has been telling them, too, "You have nothing to contribute". So lots and lots of people have come to the conclusion that they have nothing to contribute – lots and lots of people have stopped trying to live out their faith in Jesus; a faith that used to burn so brightly, and gradually, little by little, the flame within has grown dim – it's almost gone out. But for some reason ... some reason they can't quite put their finger on, they toddle along every Sunday, hoping ... no, surely, there's no more hope; secretly hoping perhaps – hoping in a way that they would never admit to themselves, let alone anyone else – that God is going to come along and do something powerful in their lives and through their lives. I wonder if you know anyone like that. Well, if you do, if perhaps there's just a little or even a lot of that going on in you; if perhaps you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for God to do something powerful in you and through you; to give you some part to play in His plan that's custom made, handmade for who He made you to be, and I believe with all my heart that today, that wait comes to an end. Today, that is over because He has a word for you today – His Word, not mine – that will set you free to be what He always planned for you to be an ambassador of Christ. Not in the same way as anyone else, you know, because you are not the same as anyone else you know, but in a unique way that fits with who you are. Now, I know beyond any shadow of any doubt that there are countless of people listening to this message today who simply cannot believe that this could possibly be true – the flame has almost gone out. That's why we are going to share with you a powerful, powerful word from God from Jesus own lips, in fact. Anyone who spent just five minutes reading one of the Gospel accounts of His life, in the first century, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, will be able to account a stream of powerful miracles that Jesus performed. He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He made water into wine, He fed thousands with almost nothing – He did so many amazing, powerful miracles ... miracles that were witnessed by many people. I mean, there's no doubt that He actually performed those miracles. It was this power that in the end got Him crucified. Not only did He preach with power, He acted in power and the people flocked to Him. It was because of the preaching and the deeds of power, the miracles that the Pharisees and the Sadducees – the religious leaders of the day – became so threatened by Jesus that they had Him crucified. And ultimately, just in case anyone was in any doubt, He Himself was raised from the dead. Now you and I, we look at Jesus – He is after all, the Son of God. He is someone that you or I can never, ever, ever be. We look at Him and we think to ourselves, "WOW, no one could ever minister that powerfully again here on earth." Have a listen to what Jesus said to His disciples, just before He was crucified – John chapter 14, verses 11 and 12: Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Jesus didn't say that we would just be able to do the things that He did. No, no, He said that “anyone who believes in him will not only do the things he was able to do but, in fact, will do greater works than these,” Even greater! Now, it seems to me we have a choice here. We can sit quietly in church, the third pew from the back, on the left hand side – you know, where we have sat every week for what seems like an eternity – we can just sit there and believe the world and the devil's perception, that we have nothing to contribute, no role to play in God's great plan of redeeming and saving and reconciling this world to Himself. We can believe that rubbish but if we do that ... if we continue doing that the flame in our hearts for Jesus, the one that's growing dimmer and dimmer these years; that flame will eventually go out. Or, we can believe God and what He has to say. We can believe Jesus and what He has to say. We can believe God's Word. See, so often, faith is believing God's apparently outrageous claims and promises, square in the face of the mundaneness of life – a world that squeezes us into its mould – mundaneness verses majesty. The power of the Spirit verses the power of this world. Let me tell you something, I've made my choice. I was a man whose life was broken; a terrible mess. When I accept Jesus, with simple faith of a child, just on face value and still today, I'm accepting what He has to say, really simply. Not in any complicated, theological sense, just on face value and Jesus said John chapter 14, verse 12 – He said: Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and in fact, will do greater works than these because I am going to the Father. I'm taking that, how about you? You see, I think He really meant it ... I think He really means it right now. Just as Jesus came as God in the flesh to bring the Kingdom of God near to us, I believe He's calling you, He's calling me to take up our cross and to follow Him and to be His ambassadors and to do just the things He'd always planned for us to do – not in our power, but in the power of His Spirit. Works greater than His because He has gone to the Father and His plan is to involve you and me in bringing His love ... the love of Jesus Christ, the love that saw Jesus crucified on that cross; that love to those who need it. That's what I think. But in a sense, it doesn't matter what I think. Question is, what do you think?   Does the World Really Want to Know? So, God's plan is that we should be His ambassadors. It's a great plan! This plan that God has, to take every man, every woman, every child who believes in Jesus His Son and is therefore a citizen of heaven and appoint them as ambassadors of heaven; ambassadors of Christ to their little part of the globe so that through them God can make His appeal ... an appeal of grace and love, to people so that they will be reconciled to Him. Question is: does anyone want to hear what we have to say? See, so many people shy away from being an ambassador of Christ because they somehow imagine that it's the guy with the smooth voice on the radio – it must be his job to be an ambassador of Christ. Or the one they see on TV or maybe it's the youth pastor down at church – must be his job to be an ambassador of Christ. We imagine somehow, that being an ambassador in this great upfront role, someone with great public speaking style; someone with a presence – "Uh, you know, that's not me. I can't possibly do that; that can't be my job." Whatever country you may live in you have diplomats from foreign countries living in your country; performing their roles as ambassadors, so let me ask you: how often do you see those guys on TV or hear them on the radio or read about them in the newspapers – how often? The answer is almost never! Yea, maybe every now and then an ambassador might get quoted but I know if I tripped over the Ambassador of China or the Ambassador of the U.S.A. in the street, I wouldn't know them from a bar of soap. Why? Because most of the time, being an ambassador isn't about being up front in the public eye; most of it is about quietly building influence, one on one, or with small groups so that when there's a difficult issue to be dealt with between the two governments, there's a bridge already in place over which the parties can travel and talk. When there's a sensitive issue or a border dispute or a difficulty with a foreign national in a country, the diplomats talk quietly, mostly in measured tones; mostly unseen and unheard by the rest of us, to resolve the issue. Diplomacy is much more about individual relationships and trust than it is about overt brinkmanship. I wonder if we applied that model of diplomacy to our role as ambassadors of Christ, whether that doesn't cast a whole new light on the job description. We all have friends and family and work colleagues; people with whom we already have relationships of trust and I wonder whether being an ambassador of Christ isn't a whole lot more about letting our goodness shine into their lives than it is about standing up on a soapbox on a street corner or in the mall or down at the weekend at a crowded market, as I saw recently – screaming out words, supposedly from God, to a whole bunch of people with whom we don't have a relationship and who don't want to listen anyway. I wonder whether it isn't a whole bunch more about quiet diplomacy than beating someone over the head with a Bible. The people whom I allow to influence me, I've got to tell you, are the ones that I trust and the ones that I trust are the ones that I've known for quite a while. I've watched them, I've observed them – they are good people; honest, decent, have their lives together. You know what – they are the ones to whom my heart is open. Why would we expect that it's any different in being an ambassador for Christ? Jesus put it this way – He said – you can read this in Matthew chapter 5. He said: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under the foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. In other words, anyone who steps out into the world who loves God, believes in His Son – anyone who is prepared to share that love and that faith with other people as an ambassador of Christ – you're going to be persecuted. Look back through history and that's what you'll find. Now, where I live "persecution" simply means, people might reject you or they might make fun of you, they might keep their distance. Most people I know, know who I am and what I do and what I believe and even in that role, I don't get much of that sort of stuff. And even if I did it's not much of a price to pay. Of course, in other parts of the world, persecution is very real – prison, torture, even death – very real. Look at Jesus – nailed to a cross. But what He's saying here is to be the salt of the earth anyway; add flavour! “Be My light, anyway,” Jesus is saying, “Shine light into dark places. Do those things; be those things! Shine My love into the hearts of the people around you. And if you're some upfront creature, okay, sure do that and if you're a quiet, unassuming, relationships oriented kind of person, my oh my, what a great ambassador you are going to make.” Go and build bridges and build relationships and build trust and let people see the goodness that's in your heart and in what you do. Shine light, add flavour – people like some light; people like flavour – go and do that. Sometimes we are so worried about whether other people want to hear about Jesus or not; sometimes we are so concerned with how they will react. I imagine that being an ambassador involves a lot of subtlety. I imagine the role is all about timing; knowing when to quietly build relationships; knowing when to speak about hard things. The Bible talks about speaking the truth in love – that's what diplomacy is. I read an interesting Proverb this morning in my own personal time with God. Have a listen: Well meant are the wounds of a friend but profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Sometimes that's a friend's job – to speak the truth in love – and sometimes it's hard and sometimes it hurts but the thing I know is this: being an ambassador of Christ is the job of every disciple of Jesus. Sometimes that involves just living a good life and shining a light; sometimes it involves dealing with difficult issues and doing it in love; sometimes it involves embracing your enemies; it involves all sorts of different things at different times but each one of us who believes in Jesus is called to be an ambassador of Christ in our own way, in our own neck of the woods.

Pastor Ed Taylor is in the middle of a series in Second Corinthians, and if you'll recall the apostle Paul has been defending himself, and explaining his ministry. Apparently there were those that came against him, with false accusations. But Paul was a true man of God, and you only need to look at his life and ministry to see that. We'll find a list of things that really serve to validate his ministry in Second Corinthians six. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/302/29

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 28-29; Ps 60; Romans 16 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible with your host, Hunter! On this June 4th, we're marking day 156 of our journey through the Bible together. In today's episode, Hunter invites us to open our hearts as we read from Proverbs 28 and 29, Psalm 60, and Romans 16. More than just words on a page, we're drawn to encounter the living Word—Jesus, the one who offers us rest, hope, and strength even in our weakness. Hunter shares encouragement from scripture, reminding us that God is able to make us strong, especially when we feel our weakest. He reflects on Paul's message that God's power is made perfect in our weakness—a truth that meets us in whatever we're facing today. After the scripture readings, we'll spend time in prayer, resting in God's presence, and Hunter will also share a heartfelt thanks to the community of listeners who make this podcast possible. Whether you're seeking peace, a fresh perspective, or just a reminder that you are not alone, today's episode is here to help you start your day centered in God's love and strength. So grab your Bible and join Hunter as we read, reflect, and pray together. TODAY'S DEVOTION: He is our strength—even in weakness. Do you need some good news today? Here it is: you can be strong. God's people are being offered strength through Christ today. As Paul writes at the end of Romans 16, “Now, all glory to God who is able to make you strong.” This is the message held out to the church, to Jew and Gentile alike: there is strength for us, right here, right now, for whatever we are called to walk through. This strength isn't mustered up, it isn't conjured by willpower or striving. In fact, it often arrives most clearly when we feel weakest, when we have come to the end of our own resources. Paul knew this well. In his own life, as he tells us in Second Corinthians, he pleaded with God to remove the hardship he called his “thorn in the flesh.” But God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.” So Paul learned to boast all the more in his weakness, for it was there that God's strength was most visible. When we feel inadequate or overwhelmed, this is not the moment to despair. It's the moment to draw near and rest in the strength of Christ with us and in us. The invitation is to abide, not strive; to trust, not panic; to walk moment by moment with the One who strengthens our hearts. His power is not constrained by our conditions. In our frailty, his sufficiency shines even brighter. Whatever you are facing today, whatever you feel you can't endure on your own, Christ stands ready to strengthen you. You are not abandoned. God is present in your struggle. He wants to meet you there, in the midst of your weakness, and reveal his power, his sufficiency, his sustaining love. All he asks is that we abide and trust him enough to take the next step. That is the prayer I have for my own soul. That is the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that is the prayer I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord of life, you have awakened me again to the gift of this day. You go before me, walk beside me, and dwell within me. Let me walk slowly in your presence. May I resist the hurried spirit of this world and instead breathe deep of your peace. Open my eyes to beauty, my ears to your voice, and my heart to the quiet work of grace. Help me not to strive, but to abide, not to achieve, but to receive. Today, let my words carry your kindness. My actions reflect your mercy. My thoughts be anchored in your truth, that I am yours, and you are with me. Amen. And now as our Lord has taught us, we are bold to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.   OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

We tend to think of joy and sorrow as being opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. But God – God has this thing where He wants to pour His joy, into our sorrow..   A Letter of Some Friends Last week on the programme we began a new series called, “It's Time to Start Enjoying My Life”. Look around, the joy in this world seems to be in such very short supply and yet "joy" is something that Jesus, so much, wants us to experience. Not the joy that the world has to offer; not some short term happiness fix – not that – real joy; abiding joy; lasting joy. You can read what Jesus said about "joy" in John chapter 15 and verse 11. This is a time when the disciples were afraid because Jesus was about to be crucified – they knew it. Everything was falling in a screaming heap. And look at what Jesus talks about. He says: I have said all these things to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Isn't that awesome? So that My joy (Jesus joy) may be in us and that our joy might be complete. The problem is that, well, that can be really, really hard to swallow. I receive so many emails from people who are struggling in life. One man in Africa, he belongs to one tribe and his wife to another and her family are trying to tear the marriage apart. I had an email from a woman the other day who has had so many people in her life disappoint her and fail her. There are so many people living life in circumstances that, well in the natural; in our flesh, they don't warrant joy. Joy and sorrow after all, are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. How dare some joker come on the radio and start talking about joy? "If he only knew my circumstances. How can he say that God wants me to experience joy? What a load of rubbish!" Well, that's a common reaction. If you are struggling with things in your life at the moment, it's not a surprising reaction. You are not on your own. Okay, then, let me as you a question. If God meant us to wallow in sorrow why is it that Jesus said: Until now you haven't ask for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete. You can read that – if you have a Bible, open it up – that came from John chapter 16, verse 22. See God never meant us to live life in despair. If He did, why would the Bible say this: Even though you haven't seen Him with your own eyes, you love Him and even though you don't see Him now, you believe in Him and you are filled with an unspeakable and glorious joy because you are receiving the goal of your faith which is the salvation of your soul. That comes from First Peter chapter 1, verse 8. Or Psalm 33: Sing to Him a new song, play skilfully and shout for joy. No, God means us to live in His joy and so often He calls us to joy when our lives and circumstances demand sorrow. It's a bitter sweet irony and today and the next couple of weeks we are going to spend some time with a man on death row. A man locked in a dungeon in chains under the sentence of death; a man who, if anyone did, deserved to wallow in sorrow. His name is Paul and he opens his letter to his friends with this mournful and sorrowful words. Have a listen – it comes from Philippians chapter 1, verses 1 to 11: Paul and Timothy, both servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and the deacons. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this: that He who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It's right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart. For whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the Gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Jesus Christ and this is my prayer: that your love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God.” Does that sound like a guy who is on death row; in a dungeon? Look how he starts: “I thank my God” – he begins with thanksgiving. And then he says “I always pray for you with joy.” What right has this man in a dungeon to feel joy? And then he says “It is right for me to feel this way about you because we all share in God's grace.” See, what he is doing is he is pouring out to his friends what is in his heart. He is saying “In my heart I feel these things. Sure, outside I am in chains but in my heart I experience joy.” And his prayer for them is that their love may abound more and more and more – this abundant over-flowing story of love and joy. See, this man is in chains on death row and in fact he gets a whole bunch worse, we'll have a look at that a little bit later on the programme. In the second chapter it gets a whole bunch worse and yet he opens his letter; his letter of chains with an overflow of abundance of joy that comes from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It's interesting you know, that the Greek words used in the New Testament for "joy" and for "grace" come from the same root word. Joy and God's grace are closely linked for Paul. And he's saying, "Look, what's going on in my heart is what really matters because the Spirit of God has taken up residence here." I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy. It's right for me to feel this way about you, even though I'm in chains we all have a share in God's grace. I want to share with you an email that I received last Christmas. I sent out a word by email to several thousand of our ministry supporters and just a gentle word about God being on our journey with us and one woman, Karen, replied and said this, "I seem to attract people who seem to want me around and yet when someone else comes along that they prefer, I get pushed aside. Especially at these times I feel God is the only one I can trust. I'm sorry if I sound a bit glum, I'm not really. Sometimes I feel a bit sad but then I think about God and how He's still loves me and He wants me to be with Him." You see, Karen knows the thing that Paul knows – that joy doesn't come from other people or what's happening on the outside of us, it comes from God Himself. I thank my God every time I pray for you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray in joy. We are going to look next at how the Apostle Paul handled rejection.   Outrageous Fortunes In his play, “Hamlet”, Shakespeare talks about "suffering the slings and the arrows of outrageous fortunes" and when we take a look at the next part of this letter of the Apostle Paul from his dungeon on death row; a letter to his friends at Philippi, well, this letter makes sense of this line from “Hamlet”. Have a listen – I'm reading from the Bible – Philippians chapter 1, verses 12 to 26. If you've got a Bible, grab it, open it and read it with me. Now I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly. It's true! Some people preach Christ out of envy and rivalry but others out of good will. The latter do so in love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. The former, well, they preach Christ out of selfish ambition not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I'm in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached and because of this I rejoice. Yes, I will continue to rejoice for I know that through your prayers and help, given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn our for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but I will have sufficient courage so that now as always, Christ will be exalted in me, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am going to go on living in this body this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I don't know! I am torn between the two – I desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ will overflow on account of me. This is an amazing passage because remember, the Apostle Paul is in chains in a Roman dungeon on death row. He is there because he went out and told people about Jesus so this is religious persecution – he has been locked up for his faith and for sharing his faith with other people. But instead of grumbling, I mean wouldn't it be so easy to be in prison and say, "God, why have You put me here? God, I only went out to tell them about You, God what are You doing?" Would be so easy for Paul to do that, and instead he sees the positive? You know, so often we only see the negative. I remember a time a dozen or so years ago when I was going through some really difficult times – my own dungeon; so incredibly dark. I experienced some really difficult things in my life and it was as black as black could be. It was incredible pain of loss and fear and loneliness and betrayal. I wasn't suffering for the Gospel like Paul, I was just suffering. That's the place where I first met Jesus Christ. Now, as much as it hurt, I always had the sense that God had a purpose in it – that God would somehow use it. Can I tell you something? Without that suffering I would be completely useless to you right now. I was Mister "I'm perfect" and full of myself and arrogant and conceited and only interested in "me" and the suffering broke open my heart, let Jesus in; the Great Healer. I look back on it now and I see the positive. Paul was mature in his relationship with Christ and he was able to sit there in the dungeon and see the positive thing there. Right when it was happening; right when he was chained up; right when he was under the fear of death, he wanted to say to his brothers and sisters in Philippi, "You know something? What's happened to me is good because it served to advance the Gospel." And then the second bit is the one that really gets me. He goes on to talk about what other people were doing and saying and they were preaching out of envy. They were preaching out of selfish ambition; they were preaching to stir up more trouble for Paul. Paul has poured at least ten years of his life out into preaching the Gospel and planting churches across Asia Minor and here he is, he's suffering the most incredible things. He had the right to some recognition; he had a right to some respect and honour and yet, the other Christians instead were taunting him. The worst possible thing – he's in jail and they're taunting him and his response? Let's read it again: But what does it matter? The important thing that is in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is being preached and because of this I rejoice. See, he's not interested in what other people are doing. He doesn't care about what other people think; he humbly just wants people to meet Jesus. And that humility sets him free to experience joy. And he finishes up that passage and he says: I am convinced that I will be with you and I know that I will remain and I'll continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. See, for Paul it's about joy and enjoying life no matter whether he's doing well and he's got lots to eat or whether he is locked up in a dungeon on death row. “Yes I'll continue to rejoice,” he says, “for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.” If we are going to rejoice, we have to enter into God's joy we have to "enjoy". Now, either Paul is totally mad or he is onto something here. What do you think? What's going on for Paul here in his dungeon? It looks to me like there is a light in his heart; a fire that's burning so bright all the darkness around him can't put it out. I remember being in the Army on an exercise, years ago and they gave us waterproof and windproof matches. It was a real problem when you are out in the bush and it is really windy and the flame always blows out – these matches were amazing. You lit one, even when it was soaking wet it would light and the strongest gale couldn't blow it out. You could blow as hard as you liked and this match kept burning. That's the picture of what's going on in the heart of Paul; a joy unspeakable; a joy that comes from out of this world; a joy that comes from God Himself. Well, that's Paul. What about you and me? Can we have joy like that? We'll take a look at that next.   The Joy of the Lord is My Strength Well, it's great to have a listen to the Apostle Paul's circumstances and realities but you and I, we're not Paul; we are different people; we've got different circumstances. So this is not a message that goes "Paul had his act together, let's live our lives like Paul" because, truthfully, I don't believe that it works that way. That would be a "works" thing. The Bible talks about "dead works" and trying to be like Paul, I think it would be exactly that – a dead work. So what then? We have troubles and trials in life – we do. Sometimes we go through circumstances that are so incredibly tough; times that appear to be filled with sorrow and despair. What role does joy have? I want to go back to what I said at the beginning of the programme and last week. Not talking about some worldly joy that we conjure up in our hearts; I'm not talking about pulling our socks up and having a good attitude; I'm not talking about "works". God's joy is a gift of grace so I'm talking about God's joy. Let's go back to what Jesus said to His disciples – John chapter 15, verse 11 – when they were afraid; when they were in despair; when they knew that Jesus was about to be crucified and everything was falling apart – He says: I have said all these things to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. … His joy in our hearts. He wants to impart His joy into our lives and that's a gift of grace; a free gift from God. Last week on the programme we looked at the story of Israel in Nehemiah chapter 8. They had heard the word of God and they wept because they knew that they had turned their backs on God. They were convicted in their hearts by the Holy Spirit of their sin and that's the time, isn't it, when we feel least deserving of God's joy? Actually what we feel deserving of is God's punishment and wrath. And the reason we feel that is that we are made in His image. We have His sense of justice and that is exactly what we deserve. But then, instead of what they deserved, listen to what God said to them through Nehemiah, their leader. You can read it in the Old Testament. Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 10: Nehemiah said “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to the Lord; don't grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Whose joy? God's joy – grace a free gift from Him when they deserved punishment, God said to them through Nehemiah, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” When we turn to Him; when we get up close with Him, a glorious joy that words can't describe is His free gift to us – a joy unspeakable. And the key is this, "The joy of the Lord is our strength”. This is not a "be like Paul" message – it's not that. When we draw close to Jesus; when we spend more and more time with Him; when we do that, He fills us with His joy. Have a listen again to the way the Apostle Peter puts it in First Peter chapter 1, verse 8: Even though you haven't seen Him with your own eyes, you love Him. And even thought you don't see Him now, you believe in Him and you are filled with an unspeakable and glorious joy because you are receiving the goal of your faith; the salvation of your souls. And that joy … that joy is a joy that God imparts to us. We are receiving the goal of our faith – we are receiving His joy. So many people are going through tough times in life and they will call a friend on the phone before they talk to God about it. Wake up! Jesus is in this place with us, with you and with me. Whatever our dungeon looks like; whatever those other people are doing to hurt us and taunt us, the joy of the Lord is our strength - in dark places, in dark times, in dark dungeons. Those are places of great opportunity, when there is no other light that shines, His light will shine in our hearts. Listen to what Paul says in Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 6: It's the same God, who at creation commanded the light to shine over the darkness, who has shone in our hearts with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I want to encourage you with something today: Jesus died and rose again so that we could be forgiven all the things we have done wrong and have a relationship with Him and experience His joy. This joy is not something that you and I conjure up – it's not something that we buy off the rack. This joy comes from God Himself. It's His free gift and when we humble ourselves; when we turn to Him; when we desire Him with all our hearts; we turn away from all that rubbish that we are into and day after day and week after week, month after month, He will fill us with a certain joy so wondrous that there are no words to describe it. Paul knew that. That's what was going on for him in the dungeon. Paul couldn't write about joy to the Philippians because he was some spiritual superman, Paul was just a weak man in chains in a Roman dungeon but those chains didn't bind his heart because he had a real experience of Jesus Christ. Not some distant experience, he had a real experience of Jesus Christ and it was Jesus Himself who gave him that joy. Jesus said: I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. It is time to start enjoying your life and joy – real joy comes from Jesus.

Still labeling yourself by past mistakes or family baggage? In Christ, “the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). You are not “just that way” anymore—God rewrote your story the moment you trusted Him. Key Reflections New Creation, New Identity – Gal 2:20 says your old self was crucified; Christ now lives in you. Let God Define You – Scripture, not your past, assigns your worth. (See Eph 1.) Capture Toxic Thoughts – Take every thought captive (2 Cor 10:5) and replace lies with truth. Progress Requires Renewal – Daily renew your mind (Rom 12:2) to walk in who you already are. Join the Conversation What negative label do you need to lock up today? How are you choosing to see yourself through God’s Word instead of past mistakes? Share your thoughts with us on Instagram using #LifeaudioNetwork—let’s encourage one another to live as new creations!

If you've received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, that's wonderful. Your salvation is secure and you're on your way to heaven. But did you realize, you'll still give an account for your life and stand before the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ? This is not regarding your salvation, but rather eternal rewards. And today on Abounding Grace, pastor Ed Taylor helps us get ready. He wants us to consider three things in light of the Bema Seat, found in Second Corinthians five. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/302/29

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 13; 1 Chronicles 2-3; 2 Cor 12 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to another episode of the Daily Radio Bible with your host, Hunter. Today, we continue our journey through the scriptures with Day 102. Hunter,  will be guiding us through readings from First Samuel 13, First Chronicles 2 and 3, and Second Corinthians 12. Together, we'll explore stories of leadership and challenges faced by Saul, discover the lineage detailed in First Chronicles, and delve into Paul's reflections in Corinthians about relying on God's grace amidst his own struggles. Join us as we dive into the word, seeking wisdom, encouragement, and a deeper understanding of God's presence and love in our lives. Whether you're at home, on a walk, or commuting, we're glad you're here with us on this spiritual journey. So grab your Bible and let's get into today's readings! TODAY'S DEVOTION: What do you really want? Is it comfort, security, pleasure, recognition? Maybe it's something related to your family. Maybe you want healing for a child or a spouse for yourself. Paul wanted something too. He wanted it badly. He pleaded for it. He wanted this thing that was bothering him to stop. He called it his thorn in the flesh. And the origins of this thing came from Satan himself, we're told. We're not exactly sure what it was, but the description seems to cover all the bases. We all have needs, physical and spiritual needs, and we all end up crying out to God, asking him to deliver us, to take that thing, to correct that thing, to heal that thing, whatever that thing is, and we see that Paul was no different. He pleaded and pleaded and continued to plead. Whatever it was, Paul felt that it was holding him back. This is what Paul really wanted. He saw God delivering and providing and doing miracles that were both spiritual and physical for others. Why didn't God do the same for Paul? Why doesn't he do the same thing for you, for me? Maybe it's because there's something Paul and you and I need that's more important than what we want. Paul needed to know the power of grace in his life. God tells Paul, not once, but three times, grace is what you need. My grace is perfected in your weakness. And so Paul began to treasure even his weaknesses because they became a doorway to the grace, the presence, the love of God. Maybe there's something that we need that's more important than what we want. And the prayer of my own soul to his is that I will have the wisdom, the courage, the grace to receive it. And that's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, and my daughters, and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 1; 2 Cor 11 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to this episode of the Daily Radio Bible, where we're diving into day 102 of our immersive journey through the Bible with your host, Hunter. Today, we take a look behind the pages of First Samuel chapters eleven and twelve, explore the genealogies in First Chronicles chapter one, and reflect on the profound insights from Second Corinthians chapter eleven. From Saul's stirring leadership in times of crisis, to the long lineage of faith, and Paul's candid testament of strength found in weakness, each reading brings its unique perspective on our walk in faith. We'll also spend time in prayer together, seeking guidance and strength for the day ahead. So, settle in as Hunter unravels the scriptures and invites you into a deeper experience of God's word. Let's continue to open our hearts and minds to the transformative power of these ancient texts. TODAY'S DEVOTION: It's an upside-down world. Paul's being lowered in a basket through a hole in the wall outside of the city. As he's being lowered, God is lifting him up. We've been invited into an upside-down world. It's a world where those who are lowered down are being lifted up, while those who lift themselves up are being lowered from within. Paul very briefly talks about his elevated days. He reminds his readers just how elevated he was, that he was like those super apostles. But Paul wants them to know that this elevated status did nothing for his soul. In fact, he was descending from within, even while on the outside, his status was soaring high. Paul tells us that it was while he was being lowered, descending on the outside, accused and scorned and whipped and stoned and shipwrecked, hungry alone on the outside, even as he was being lowered in a basket, it was in these moments that God showed himself most present in his life. It was there that Paul knew God's strength the most. He experienced God's love most intimately when he was being lowered in that basket outside the city. It was a defining moment for Paul. God does his deepest work in our lowering, and anyone, super apostle or not, who tells us otherwise, might want to be avoided. See God in the lowering. Experience the fellowship of his suffering there. He is faithful to bring about his good purposes in all of our circumstances. And the prayer of my own heart today is that I will participate with him in faith, even in the lowering. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Mandy returns to share her ongoing journey in ministry and fundraising. The conversation explores how ministry fundraising transcends mere numbers—it's about personal formation, genuine partnerships, and living out one's calling. Dr. Mandy recounts her early introduction to support-based ministry, her refreshing re-engagement with longtime partners (including a memorable 5000-mile road trip), and the lessons learned from her leadership challenges. Interwoven with rich Scripture readings (notably from Second Corinthians and other Biblical passages), the discussion offers spiritual encouragement and practical insights on overcoming doubt, resisting the temptation to “fix” everything, and staying true to God's word. Listeners are encouraged to lean into community, continuously study Scripture, and trust that every step—even the hard ones—is part of a greater divine plan.Recommended Resources Mentioned:Perspectives courses (visit perspectives.org)Books: Mountain Rain by Eileen Fraser Crossman and The Prayer of Faith by James O. FraserScripture study tools: Logos, NAVS, Precept.orgOther Scripture for Reference:Revelation 15:3 1 Chronicles 29:11-131 Chronicles 16:31 Psalm 9:7-10Psalm 103:19-22Psalm 96Psalm 93:1-51 Timothy 1:171 Timothy 6:15-16Isaiah 44:6-9Psalm 145:8-131 Corinthians 15:20-28Zechariah 9:9John 18:36-37Hebrews 1:3-4Hebrews 1:8-12If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your network. Follow It's Not About the Money for more insightful discussions on faith-based fundraising and support raising!Get help today! Visit www.provisiofundraising.comFollow along @ its.not.about.the.money.pod. . . . .THANKS FOR LISTENING!

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 3-5; Psalm 77; 2 Cor 8 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to another enriching episode of the Daily Radio Bible. I'm Hunter, your brother and Bible reading coach, here to accompany you on day 98 of our transformative journey through the Bible. Today, we're diving back into the historical and spiritual depths of scripture, focusing on pivotal stories and teachings that have shaped faith throughout time. We'll explore the call of young Samuel and the divine messages he received, the fierce battles involving the Philistines and the fate of the Ark of the Covenant, and we'll reflect on the profound words from Psalm 77. We'll also uncover lessons on generosity from the early churches in Second Corinthians chapter eight. Let's get ready to immerse ourselves in these timeless lessons and gain insights that can guide our lives today. Thank you for joining me on this journey of discovery and spiritual growth. Let's dive in. TODAY'S DEVOTION: You are rich. Did you know it? Paul says that those riches were achieved because someone else became poor, and that someone is Christ. Christ became poor so that by his poverty, he could make you rich. Jesus took our poverty upon himself in order to bestow on us his riches of sonship. That makes you wealthy. That makes you blessed. That makes you his. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because you are united with Christ. These are heavenly riches, but these spiritual riches work their way into our physical lives. They free us up to live generous lives here right now. And to the extent that we truly understand this will result in generous hearted living. Paul wants us to follow through with the generosity that was born in our hearts. He doesn't want us to stall out. He wants us to finish whatever it is that God inspired you to do. Maybe it's offering a meal to someone who's sick, spending time with someone who really needs it, giving financially to someone in need, helping to advance the cause of the gospel, as was the case of this particular passage. Whatever it is, don't stall out. Finish what God has inspired you to do. Live out your generous life because you are rich, and your spiritual wealth comes from him. May this inspire you to live out the riches that are yours in Christ. Don't stall out on those things that God inspires you to do, but rather live them out in the joy and the strength and in the presence of Christ who dwells in you. That's a prayer that I have for my own soul, and that's a prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ruth 3-4; Psalm 64-65; 2 Cor 6 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to today's episode of the Daily Radio Bible! I'm Heather, and it's Sunday, April 6th, 2025 – day 96 of our journey through the scriptures. Gather around as we delve into the word, seeking illumination from the Holy Spirit and drawing closer to Jesus, the source of our life. Today, we'll explore the beautiful and epic love story found within the book of Ruth, specifically chapters three and four. We'll also be diving into the heartfelt words of David in Psalms 64 and 65, and wrapping up with the teachings from Second Corinthians chapter six. Join us as we witness how stories that begin with tragedy can transform into tales of eternal love and redemption. Let's warm ourselves around the fire of God's love and remember, you are loved. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Our lives are a tapestry woven by God, even when we perceive tangled threads and chaos. Looking at the life of Naomi in the book of Ruth, it begins with hardship, famine, and loss. Naomi even changes her name to Mara, meaning bitter, reflecting her feelings about her life's story. Many of us can relate to Naomi's early story filled with pain and displacement, seeing our own lives as narratives lined by tragedy. Yet, when faith is our compass, we encounter transformations we never imagined, as Ruth did. Ruth's unwavering commitment to Naomi and her God amidst uncertainties opened doors to a grand narrative—a powerful love story from which the lineage of King David arose, eventually leading to Jesus, the ultimate Redeemer. When Ruth said, "Your people will be my people, and your God my God," she planted seeds of faith that bloomed into an inheritance far greater than she could have envisioned. Jesus, our ultimate kinsman redeemer, has arrived in our own stories, not leaving them desolate but filling them with hope and redemption. Our Redeemer, far greater than Boaz, turns what we see as dead ends into vibrant paths toward love and purpose. It's a call today to hold firm to faith amidst trials, knowing that our journey is being crafted into a magnificent story of divine love. Our lives are not just for us but testimony to God's work, weaving redemption and love into every fiber, ultimately pointing back to Him. May we trust that our Redeemer lives, is active in our story, and in faith, let's step into this narrative of love woven by God, the master storyteller. That's a prayer I carry for myself, for my family, and for each of you. May we embrace and share our God-written stories. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:22-32 Mom had purchased two butterfly kits, one for Millie and one for Logan. They were going to be studying the stages of a butterfly in their homeschool science group."Does everyone have a butterfly kit with a caterpillar?" Mrs. Wilson asked. She walked around the room and helped the students get their kits set up. "Now, it will take about three weeks for your caterpillars to turn into butterflies, and we will be observing and taking notes throughout the metamorphosis process.""What does metamorphosis mean?" Millie asked."That's a good question, Millie. It means to change. The caterpillars will be going through several changes or stages before they turn into butterflies. This is called the process of metamorphosis."After Mrs. Wilson dismissed the class, Millie and Logan talked to their friends while the moms got the lunches together. Everyone was excited--this was definitely going to be a fun science project!"I can't wait to see my butterfly," Millie said on the way home. "We learned what metamorphosis means today. It means to change.""That reminds me of what we read about in our devotions yesterday," said Mom. "You mean about having new life in Jesus?" Logan asked. Mom nodded. "When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we become new--much like how butterflies go through metamorphosis. Second Corinthians 5:17 says that anyone who belongs to Jesus has become a new person. Our old life is gone, and we are given a new life where we have the freedom to love others the way Jesus does.""That's really cool. I'll have to tell that to Mrs. Wilson next week," Logan replied.Over the next three weeks, Millie and Logan watched their caterpillars turn into butterflies. "This is so awesome!" Logan said on the day when all the students had their butterfly kits sitting on the picnic table, ready for release time."Okay, class, time to set the butterflies free," Mrs. Wilson announced.The students released their butterflies into the air. "Fly, butterfly! Enjoy your new life!" Millie called to hers. Everyone cheered as they watched their butterflies fluttering around.–Lisa FullerHow About You?Do you know what it means to become a new person? It doesn't mean physically changing like a caterpillar into a butterfly. It means to be freed from the guilt of our sin and given the Holy Spirit, who works in your heart to make you more like Jesus. As you let the Holy Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes, He will help you throw off your old way of thinking and live a new life of love that points to Jesus.Today's Key Verse:Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT) (2 Corinthians 5:17)Today's Key Thought:Christians have a new life

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Judges 17-18; Psalm 89; 2 Cor 3 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast! In today's episode, Hunter, your Bible reading coach, guides us through Day 93 of our journey through the Bible with insights and reflections that inspire and uplift. We'll delve into the book of Judges, starting with chapters 17 and 18, where we encounter the story of Micah and his self-made religious icons during a time when "everyone did what was right in their own eyes." Hunter ties this narrative to our lives today, highlighting how we often try to write our own life letters, forgetting the freedom and identity found in the new letter God has imprinted on our hearts. Next, we'll be lifting our spirits with the enduring message of Psalm 89, a psalm that praises the Lord's unfailing love and the covenant with David. Finally, we shift to Second Corinthians chapter 3, where Paul enlightens us on the transformative power of living by the Spirit and the new covenant, which gives life and freedom. Throughout this episode, Hunter emphasizes the power of gratitude, the importance of being grateful, and the profound truth that we are loved, free, and belong to God. Join us as we pray, reflect, and find encouragement together in today's reading. Don't forget to check in with yourself and foster an attitude of gratitude as we go forward in God's joy. Let's embark on this day with open hearts, ready to embrace the blessings that surround us. TODAY'S DEVOTION: God has written a new letter on our hearts. Imagine, for a moment, that your life could be summed up in the form of a letter. What would it say? In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul speaks to this idea, suggesting that our lives are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. And it's this new letter that transforms everything about us. The old letter, the law, though glorious in its time, was temporary. It was etched in stone and was meant to guide but not to last forever. Contrast that with the new letter written on our hearts—it is life-giving, everlasting, and penned by the very Spirit of God. This scripture gives us a profound sense of freedom. It declares to us that we are loved, we are free, and we are His. Too often, like Micah from the book of Judges, we try to craft our own letters—our own narratives—building idols out of our ambitions and desires, doing what seems right in our eyes. Yet, these pursuits only lead to blindness, exhaustion, and dissatisfaction. They never satisfy and certainly never set us free. But God's new letter does the opposite. Permanently inscribed on our hearts, it helps us stand before God with confidence. Because through this letter, we know our true identity. We are no longer defined by what we can accomplish or create ourselves, but by the love and freedom granted to us by God. This knowledge gives us the confidence and peace our hearts yearn for. Live today knowing that God has set you free through His Spirit. Embrace the truth of the letter He has written on your heart. You are loved, you are free, and you are His. Let this truth be the anthem of your life—an anthem that leads you to live boldly in the confidence and identity God has lovingly penned for you. That's a prayer that I have for my own soul. That's a prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Judges 11-12; Psalm 50; 2 Cor 1 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast! In today's episode, Hunter takes us on a thought-provoking journey through the Bible. As we delve into Judges chapters 11 and 12, we encounter the story of Jephthah, a great warrior facing the challenges of rejection, leadership, and a heart-wrenching vow. We also traverse into Psalm 50, where God calls His people to genuine worship and thankfulness, and Second Corinthians chapter 1, where Paul shares about finding comfort amid suffering and the power of relying on God's presence. Hunter wraps up with heartfelt prayers and encourages us to lean on God's love and joy throughout our day. Join us as we explore God's word and reflect on how it speaks to our lives today. Let's dive in! TODAY'S DEVOTION: Given the option, I'll rely on myself every time. Given the choice, I'll hold on to control with the death grip until I reach the point of death. My guess is you know that grip well. Well, God wants us to go beyond the death grip and utter self reliance and move us into something entirely new. A life of dependence and trust in his presence. It appears in two Corinthians that God allows us to go through these near death experiences in order to break our grip and open our hands to his. Paul says that he thought he would never live through the difficulties he was experiencing. He said it was so bad he expected to die. The purpose of these experiences was that he would learn to stop relying on himself, and rather to trust in God who raises the dead. In other words, we learn to rely on the power of the resurrection, the power of Christ's presence with us, in us, to release our grip and hold on to him. There's no escaping suffering in this world and I wish that I could fully explain the meaning of suffering in our life, but I can't. But what I can do in the face of suffering and its reality is to look to the one who came and suffered with us and for us that he might give us hope beyond our suffering. That we might even have joy in life in the wake of our suffering. And God is still doing that even today. He's still suffering with us. That's the nature of love, to suffer with. The word compassion literally means to suffer with. God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering one. That's the nature of his love. And when this love meets you at the deepest level, at your deepest loss, in your deepest shame, in your deepest wounds, he begins to mend you and to heal you and not only you, but those around you who are suffering. That's what Paul described here in verse six. He said, for when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. If you're suffering today and you have a death grip on those circumstances, open up your hand to His. Experience His love today and let Him begin to heal and mend and to make you new. That's the prayer that I have for you today. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Mass Readings for Fourth Sunday of Lent - March 30, 2025 Reading 1, Joshua 5:9, 10-12 Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 Reading 2, Second Corinthians 5:17-21 Gospel, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

You've probably taken more tests than you can count over the course of your education, and even at work. But today on a Daily Walk we'll give you one of the most important tests you'll ever take. It's a spiritual one. Take the test with us, and see how you do. We're on the final leg of our journey through Second Corinthians with pastor John Randall. And today he'll concentrate on chapter thirteen. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Today we continue our verse by verse study of Second Corinthians. I suppose one of the greatest frustrations in life is to express genuine love to someone, and have them turn around and give nothing back in return... except a cold shoulder or hatred. In chapter twelve of Second Corinthians, the apostle Paul draws our attention to his love for the church at Corinth. While he loved more and more, they gave less and less in return. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Today on a Daily Walk we take you to Second Corinthians twelve, where Paul the apostle describes a thorn in the flesh that he prayed three times for the Lord to take away. God didn't deliver Paul out of the trial, but sustained him in the midst of it. And He can do the same for you. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

(Isaiah 46:11) Scripture is full of prophecy and sincere Bible students must not neglect it. Today, we uncover five definite blessings connected to the study of prophecy. Our goal is to learn more than end time events; it is to know more deeply the eternal God. (0968250318)  ----more----  The World's Fascination with End Times Hollywood has made a small fortune imagining what the end of the world is going to look like. In fact, it seems every week. Something new in printed form or media comes out about the end of time, and yet I think it may be smarter if we ask the one who started time, how time is going to end. That is the eternal God, the creator of all things. What does God say? What does the Bible say? About the end of time, about last things.  Biblical Prophecy: An Overview As you read and study the word of God, you're gonna be shocked, I think, to see how much of the Bible is prophetic - I mean by that telling us about things to come. Sixteen Old Testament books are considered to be prophetic books. You have what is commonly referred to as the major prophets and the minor prophets. But prophecy's not restricted just to those books. In fact, prophetic elements are found all through the word of God. In the Psalms there are prophetic psalms. Moses was referred to as a prophet, so that's hearkening all the way back to the beginning of the Old Testament. When you come to the New Testament, about 1/20th of the New Testament is prophetic. Now, obviously the revelation of Jesus Christ the apocalypse the final revelation. That's prophetic, but there are prophetic elements in the teachings of Christ and the writings of Paul. You can't neglect scripture. When it comes to prophecy. I heard someone recently say, what gives us the right I. To pick and choose which verses we wanna believe. What gives us the right to pick and cho choose which verses we want to study and apply and live. No, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. So what is the profit of us studying what the Bible says about the end of time? Lemme give you several profitable things that it'll do in your life.  The Sovereignty of God in Prophecy First of all, if you study what the Bible says about prophecy. It's going to reveal something to you about the sovereignty of our God, that He truly is on the throne. He has a plan. He's all wise and all powerful. He knows exactly what he's doing. Listen to the words of Isaiah 46, verse 11. The Bible says, "Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executed with my counsel from a far country. Yay, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also do it." Now, the context of this text is in a prophecy to the nation of Israel. But listen to the revelation of God himself, the one who's giving the prophecy, he said, I've spoken it. I'm gonna bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I'm going to do it. When you begin to study prophecy, one of the things immediately that is revealed is that our God is not arbitrary. He has an eternal purpose in the ages. This is not some emergency plan with our God. From the very beginning, before time started, God knew exactly how it was going to end. So his purpose is being fulfilled. That ought to help you not just to know events, but to know the God of the Bible in a greater way. Closely akin to that, let me give you a second profitable thing.  Faith in Bible Prophecy In the book of Acts chapter number 20, we're told this beginning in verse number 26, the Apostle Paul says, "Wherefore, I take you to record this day that I'm pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." One of the things that happens when you start seeing what the Bible says about prophecy is it increases your faith in the word of God itself. And the Apostle Paul said, Acts 20:27, "I've not shunned to declare all the counsel of God." May I say to you, we should not shun all the counsel of God. Study all of the Bible. Seek to understand all of scripture. Teach and preach all of the Bible. Why? Because God has a message for us in every part of scripture that includes prophecy, faith cometh by hearing by the word of God. Your faith is gonna grow as you see God fulfilling what he foretold and everything. God foretells, he fulfills. When you see all the prophecies that have been fulfilled to this point, do you know what it says? It says that the same God who never lies, who always tells the truth and always keeps his word, is going to fulfill the rest of the prophecies. So it reveals the sovereignty of God. It increases our faith in the word of God. How about this? This is a very practical thing.  Hope in Bible Prophecy When you begin studying what the Bible says about prophecy, it's gonna give you some hope and comfort. I'm talking about living through difficult days. It's gonna help you. Second Corinthians 4:17 says, "For our light affliction, which is, but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." What does prophecy do? Prophecy makes you get your eyes off of time and on eternity. It makes you go to the end and work your way backward to find out what truly matters in light of eternity. It brings both a challenge and a comfort at the same time. He repeats that emphasis when he writes to the church at Thessalonika. First Thessalonians chapter four, listen to the words beginning in verse thirteen. He says, "But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this, we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ, shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." Did you notice the first verse we read in 1st Thessalonians 4:13 has the word "hope" in it, and the last verse we read, verse 18 has the word "comfort" in it? Studying prophecy is going to give you hope and comfort. It's not just about knowing the sequence of events. Or what to look for next. In fact, we're not looking for an ending. We're looking for a new beginning. I'm not looking for the world to end. I'm looking for Jesus to come. I'm looking for everything God has prepared for us. That gives me hope and comfort living in difficult days.  The Purifying Affect of Prophecy And then I would say this studying prophecy, what the Bible says about the end of time will purify the believer. Yeah, one John chapter three, beginning in verse number two says this, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him, purify himself even as he is pure." The hope is not just for us to feel better. The hope is for us to live today. In light of eternity, it's gonna help you make today count. If you realize today could be your last day on earth, today could be the greatest day you ever live, which is the day Jesus Christ face to face. Let me give you one more study.  Loving Jesus More Through Prophecy What the Bible says about last things is gonna help you love Jesus more. Listen to Revelation 19, verse 10, "And I fell at his feet to worship him and he said unto me, See thou to it. Not I'm thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." People who want to talk about prophecy in the end time, but they don't wanna talk more about loving Christ or winning souls or living holy, have missed the spirit of prophecy. The spirit of prophecy is not about having a head full of knowledge. It's about having a heart alive and on fire with passionate love for Christ and souls around you. It will make a difference in the way you live this day. So I'm excited about our studies. We begin to talk about what the Bible says about last things, but I wanna challenge you. Don't just study it, live it. Don't just consider considerate, apply the truth to your life today. Let what the Bible says affect what you give your energy and attention to this very day. Outro and Resources Repeating what other people have said about the Bible is not enough. We must know the biblical reason behind what we believe. We hope you will visit us at etj.bible to access our Library of Bible teaching resources, including book-by-book studies of Scripture. You'll also find studies to watch, listen to, or read. We are so grateful for those who pray for us, who share the biblical content, and for those who invest to help us advance this ministry worldwide. Again, thank you for listening and we hope you'll join us next time on Enjoying the Journey.

There are costs involved with whatever vocation you choose in life. If you want to be a pro athlete, there are countless hours of practice and strength training. If you want to be a policeman, the training and preparations are long and arduous. What about being in ministry? Oh, there's a cost involved there as well, as pastor John will point out today. Are you up for the challenge? Let's take a look at what the apostle Paul went through for the sake of the ministry, as we open Second Corinthians eleven. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Today we'll continue our series though Second Corinthians with an important message about the simplicity there is in the gospel. There can be that tendency within us to think if it's too simple it must not be true! But the gospel is true, even though it's so simple a child can understand it! God designed it that way, so that everyone can be saved. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

A police officer wouldn't dream of leaving the office without his or her service weapon. Those in the armed forces wouldn't step into enemy territory without their weaponry. And as believers in Christ, it would be foolish to try to fight our daily battles without the spiritual weaponry that God has provided. Today on a Daily Walk pastor John Randall shows us how to use our spiritual weapons in this spiritual war we find ourselves in. It's part of our study in Second Corinthians. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Could you imagine trying to go to war against a tank with a mere bow and arrow? Or how about trying to take down a fighter jet with a bb gun? Pastor John Randall will point out today on a Daily Walk that when it comes to spiritual warfare we need the right weaponry. Spiritual battles are a part of the life of the Christian. Much depends on what we do before the wars begin. We'll give you some guidance from scripture on how best to prepare today, as part of our study of Second Corinthians. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

God gave us His Son an indescribable gift. And today on a Daily Walk we're going to talk about the great privilege we have to give back to Him. We should be joyful about it in fact. Pastor John Randall is going to draw out a few valuable principles for giving from Second Corinthians nine. Among the things we'll discuss is how much should we give, and what our attitude should be, when we do. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Today on a Daily Walk, we'll consider one who was trusted and was careful to do things properly and in a God-honoring way. He had a genuine love for God and others and it showed! We're in Second Corinthians chapter eight with pastor John Randall! To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Mass Readings for Ash Wednesday March 5, 2025 Reading 1, Joel 2:12-18 Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 Reading 2, Second Corinthians 5:20-6:2 Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

We're talking about giving in our Daily Walk, and the right and wrong way to go about it. When you give, is it out of reluctance, or some sort of obligation? We'll be introduced to a group of Christians who had a much better motivation than that they gave because they loved the Lord and cared about those around them. Let's take notice of the heart behind their giving as we join pastor John Randall in Second Corinthians eight on a Daily Walk. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Pastor John Randall will be along shortly to continue his study of Second Corinthians. You can probably look back on your life and think of quite a number of things that you did in the past that you now regret. Maybe it was using drugs, hanging out with the wrong people, or lying to someone. But God wants us to take it one step further and move from regret to repentance which is turning from the sin to Christ. Today John will show us what genuine repentance looks like. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

We've all heard the saying When opportunity knocks answer the door. In other words, take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself. Today on a Daily Walk with pastor John Randall we'll be reminded that opportunity is knocking and we'll be encouraged to not only answer but invite it in for dinner. Our teacher, pastor John will pick up where we left off last time in Second Corinthians. Now is the day of salvation. It's an opportunity with eternal significance we won't want to pass up. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

We open Second Corinthians chapter six today with pastor John Randall, and discover we have a great message to share with others. It's a message of grace and reconciliation. Just think for a moment; God wants to work together with us, and allows us to be a part of something of eternal significance. Isn't that awesome? Join pastor John for the reality of ministry. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Maybe you look back on your life with a great deal of shame and regret! You're not alone. We've all done things we're not proud of, but aren't you glad for the forgiveness of God? When we come to Christ we're made into a New Creation. The old has passed away. We'll take some time to unpack that wonderful truth as we get back into Second Corinthians five with pastor John Randall. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

We'll see what a difference that Jesus makes in our lives today on a Daily Walk. We're in Second Corinthians five. Pastor John Randall will point out what leads to those changes that we desperately want to see and experience. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

We all go through difficult times, but what will help you make it through? If you're a Christian and have eyes to see, you can look back and notice that God accomplished something great through it all. Maybe like so many you can say you grew in your love for Jesus during that time, like no other season in your life! Keeping that eternal perspective will serve to help you avoid losing heart. Today on a Daily Walk we take you to Second Corinthians four. Our focus is on verses 8-18. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

You may have noticed here at a Daily Walk we're all about preaching and exalting Christ. You know that really should be the focus of any life and ministry. If it isn't, we've gotten off track! As we turn back to Second Corinthians today, we notice some in the church had lost focus. They received this letter from the apostle Paul reminding them that the ministry is to be about Jesus. It's a good reminder for us today as we so often struggle in that department. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Pastors are leaving the ministry in great numbers, often due to discouragement. But they're not the only ones. Some are giving up on their marriage, others are leaving a friendship or job for similar reasons. It's easy to lose heart and want to give up the ministry God has for us. Today on A Daily Walk pastor John Randall will share what Second Corinthians four has to say to us, that can serve as a powerful motivator. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Does it feel as though you're in sort of a prison, bound up, and you'd like nothing more than to be set free? That's the spiritual state of many Americans, that's for sure. And we can experience freedom, by the grace of God and through the Spirit. Let's turn to Second Corinthians three now, and see how the Gospel sets us free to be all that God wants us to be. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Ministers should not tamper with the word of God and twist it into cultural acceptance. The commandment that is expected of a minister of the gospel is to tell the people what God is saying through his word. we work for God and integrity of the gospel is in our hands and we will be held accountable if we don't say what is true! pastor J https://youtu.be/8j_Yc3FtHOM?si=sVtzZAyBNiqx2YOJ

Throughout the Christian life, God opens various doors for ministry. It could be as you're seated next to a total stranger waiting in the doctor's office. Or maybe it's a wide open door for a short-term missions trip to a foreign land! Will you step through the door or miss out on the opportunity? You can be sure a certain measure of faith is required. Today on a Daily Walk pastor John Randall points to the door God opened for Paul the apostle and what happened as a result of Paul walking by faith. We're in Second Corinthians chapter two, discussing the greatness of the Gospel. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

When we hear of a Christian that's living in sin, it's tempting to just look the other way and think it's none of our business! But as we'll see today on a Daily Walk the much better response is to reach out to help restore the individual! Now that's not to say we're to humiliate, or harm the person. So a great amount of love needs to be behind the approach. Pastor John Randall will help us with that as we pay another visit to Second Corinthians two. We'll also be encouraged to forgive as God has forgiven us. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Have you been unfairly criticized lately, or even misunderstood? I think it's safe to say, we've all been there. So the question we bring before you today on a Daily Walk is how do we handle it in a Christ-like manner? Pastor John Randall will be covering the latter half of Second Corinthians one. Just like Jesus and the apostle Paul, we'll be attacked and criticized, but rather than allow it to discourage or deter us, we're to stay focused on Christ and our calling. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

Today we continue a series in Second Corinthians with pastor John Randall. We're to expect suffering as we go through life, and as we'll discover today God wants to be our comforter through it all. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

The life of a Christian is sure exciting! But that doesn't mean there won't be suffering. Even in the suffering God is faithful to provide comfort and to use the Christian's experience to be a blessing to others. And today on a Daily Walk we'll see this shining through as we begin a series of studies in Second Corinthians. Pastor John Randall will be sharing some important truths about the Christian life over the next several weeks as we study this challenging letter from the Apostle Paul. Paul is in the process of dealing with the unfair accusations he's been receiving. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1368/29

There are different schools of thought about just how Christians should share their worldview in a world often at odds with God's best.Some feel it's best to jump into the deep end of the pool and look just like the world. Others view it very much the other way. Second Corinthians 6:17 says, “‘Come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord.” Whole denominations have used this verse to encourage believers to stay as much out of the world as possible. And this might include physically removing yourself to a remote location, giving up television, or providing an education in the home.Now, we should note that there's nothing wrong or unhealthy with resisting the world's temptations. That should probably be tempered, though, with a common sense approach. If it's impossible to physically remove yourself from the culture, what do you do? Balanced biblical approach should be the ideal.In 1 Peter 2:1, we are told to “Put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy, and all slander.” In other words, don't do the things that unbelievers do. They don't know God, and so they don't have rules to live by. That kind of life is ultimately destructive.Rather, we should be Christ-like in our approach to people. And at the same time, we have to make sure that we look after our own spiritual condition and constantly do an assessment. Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” It's true that some people are won to Christ by believers who look like the world. There's nothing wrong with that. And again, a Christian as passionate as Paul said, “Sometimes he was all things to all people.” But it's also true that some are won to Christ because the Christian they're watching is so different from the world. Philippians 2:14–15 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world.”By remembering that we're citizens of God's kingdom at the same time we live in this fallen world, we strike the proper balance and can then be that example Christ commanded us to be. Let's pray. Lord, help us to remember who we are in Christ. Give us a desire and a passion to witness to those who need to hear it, and at the same time, to guard our own hearts, that we don't stray from the things that you've taught us. In Jesus' name, amen.Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Can humility help transform your relationships and spiritual journey? Join me Megan Ashley In this episode of In Totality, I reflect on the transformative power of humility in my spiritual journey, focusing on the struggles of hidden pride.Our exploration continues with a heartfelt discussion on the power of humility, inspired by personal experiences and reflections. Listen as I share my journey of confronting hidden pride and the importance of regular introspection and prayer. From a recent panel in Houston to touching family dynamics, you'll hear how humility has played a crucial role in mending and nurturing relationships, especially with my sisters.Humility is our focus today, an attribute that has shaped my life in profound ways. We close with reflections on God's forgiveness and how embracing our weaknesses allows Christ's strength to shine through. Drawing from Second Corinthians and Philippians, I share personal stories of forgiveness and encourage listeners to trust in God's process of cultivating a humble spirit.Other Topics You will Hear: -Faith-Humility-Pride-Arrogance-Introspection-Prayer-Family Dynamics-Relationships -Forgiveness-Transformative Power-God's Grace-Vulnerabilities-Dependence-Spiritual Growth-Humble Journey-God's Nature -Heart PostureThanks to our Sponsors Upside Download the FREE Upside App and use promo code totality to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas!Acts 242: Discipleship Conference, Oct 25-26, Atlanta, GA. Registration is open now: (http://www.acts242conference.com)“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42Connect with us: @immeganashleyWebsite: https://www.themeganashley.comCall me at 265-792-8819My Amazon Storefront:https://www.amazon.com/shop/immeganashley Youtube: In Totality In Totality with Megan Ashley Is edited and produced by Idea to Launch PodcastsSign up for our PATREON for EXCLUSIVE access and additional:https://www.patreon.com/meganashleySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.