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Hey there! Welcome to the podcast. In today's episode, we'll be taking a look at the hope and the promise of Christmas, from Luke chapter two. This is a time of year when hope is a watchword, and traditionally has been a season when people are much more open to receive kindness and blessings and when you say Merry Christmas and God bless you, maybe they don't do that little uncomfortable wince that happens at times. This year, let's take a few minutes and consider the hope we have because of Christmas, and because of all the promises God made and then fulfilled when Jesus came to earth as a newborn baby.    You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. That's Edifi, spelled E D I F I, and you can find it in your device's app store. The hope and the promise of Christmas is our focus today, and this is episode number 201.    As I did some research for this episode, I read that there were at least eight specific prophecies that were fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Now of course, Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies when He lived on this earth, and died and rose again. And the remainder will absolutely be fulfilled at His second coming. But regarding His birth in Bethlehem, we find the fulfillment of prophecies from Genesis 22:18, Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 7:14 (that one is a common Christmas card verse, for good reason), Isaiah 9:6-7, Daniel 9:25-26, Micah 5:2 (one of my favorite verses for this time of year), Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1 which does tie in with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.    The Bible truly is an amazing book, God's Word is profound. And at Christmastime, I hope it has a profound impact and blessing on your life. I say this a lot, but I think it needs to be said often -  not only are God's promises true…they are true for you. He loves you enough to make promises to you and then to keep those promises. And that's where hope comes in for us - we have such great hope because we've seen Him keep His promises, and in the midst of tough times, we hold on to our hope that He will continue to keep His promises. This is not hope misplaced; it's the opposite - perfectly placed hope. Hope in the Lord ends up being the kind of faith that yields results. It's unseen at first, those results, but ends up being seen when our faith becomes sight. If you need some hope right now, well, this is for you.   From the Amplified, Luke chapter two verse 1 says: Now in those days a decree went out from (the emperor) Caesar Augustus, that all the inhabited world (the Roman Empire) should be registered (in a census).  So this was more than just an emperor deciding he needed to take a census and get an accounting of all the citizens of his empire. This was done at the Lord's behest, because of His will. One of the things that is easy to overlook in the Christmas story, to take for granted, because we've heard this passage so many times, year after year, it's easy to overlook the significance of the way God's hand, albeit invisible, was at work to move the heart of Caesar to order this census that required everyone to return to their own city, hometown, the town for their family's official registration. And if we just read verse one, that single sentence, and move right on into the rest of the chapter, we can miss the reality that's here for us, for our lives, right now. God moves in the lives and in the hearts of men, women, and children. He moves little people, and that's like little in quotes because all mankind is so precious to Him, nobody is small or miniscule to Him. Our God is not in the business of marginalizing people. He created each one, knitting each in their mother's womb, has engraved us on the palms of His hands, and no one is without value to Him. So that's not what I mean when I say little persons. What I mean is, societally, the shepherds were not big wigs, power players, in that culture. And yet, they were given the message, the announcement, of the birth of the Messiah, the very Son of God. Amazing! The emperor, Caesar Augustus, was moved to issue the decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world, all his empire, and so mankind was on the move, headed to their hometowns to be registered as part of this mandatory census. Don't miss this. There is great importance and value to this moment in time - and it's valuable and important for your life. The God of hope is the God who wants you to believe that He can move mountains and the hearts of kings, rulers, those in authority, in order to bring about what He has in store for your life. He is not arrogant and narcissistic, that He would move those mountains and turn those hearts in ostentatious ways. He does not need to be loud about it, because He has no insecurities, needs no validation - so He can do it without there being a lot of fanfare about the WHY behind what He is doing.  And yet, He may still announce what He is doing, with great praise and rejoicing for His goodness toward us, He may still announce it to those who are not a big noise, household name, someone important in the world's eyes. This should amaze us, and simultaneously cause hope to spring up anew in us regarding our own lives and circumstances.    Got something you have been praying about, carrying a burden about, for a long time? Weeks? Months? Years, even? The message of Luke two verse one is for you, then. Now in those days… My friend, for you right now, it might just be one of “those days” when God begins to move on your behalf.    The hope we have when we live in a state of expectancy, of believing God for what we see no evidence of, well…that kind of hope is real hope. Romans 8:24-26 says that hope that only hopes for what is seen is no hope at all (that's not verbatim, of course). What kind of hope do you and I have? Is your hope doing any stretching in your life? Are you having to hope more, trust more, believe more, as the days wear on and the promise isn't yet fulfilled? Then that's actual, biblical hope.  Proverbs 13:12 tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick, and that is true. So from these two passages about hope, which seem to be in conflict with each other, what do we learn? How do we make them make sense to us when we need to hold on to our hope in Jesus, and yet we can relate to the feeling of hope deferred making us heart sick? When your faith is not sight, and you cannot even begin to fathom how it will ever become sight, how do you hold on to hope and keep holding on?  Hope really does have a name, and His name is Jesus. Some moments are simply crawling through the crowd on your hands and knees, pressing and pushing to get to Jesus, reaching out and just skimming the edge of His robe, knowing that's all you can do, there is no more gas in the tank, you're spent, without Him it's over…that's what it is like sometimes. It's really that rough sometimes. Sometimes the biggest part of our faith journey ends up being hanging on to Jesus, hanging on to our hope in Him, when we are getting awfully heartsick and nearing the point of more than we can bear. (Spoiler alert: if you have not yet had a moment in your life when you were maxed out beyond what you ever dreamed you could handle, well, keep walking with Jesus and that will be your experience. It isn't easy street, this discipleship life. It's daily taking up your cross and following after Him, it's knowing that the servant is not greater than the master and as they treated Him, so shall they also treat everyone who follows Him. It is a somewhat hard knock life, this life with Jesus, but these hard knocks are the hardest it will ever be and for the unbeliever, this life is the best it will ever be. Eternity is worth living for, my friend, because Jesus is there and He has gone ahead of you to make ready a place for you, that where He is, you may one day also be. It's hard, but it's such a good hard.) Hope deferred does make the heart sick. It's absolutely true. But the point at which we feel our hope has been deferred for too long is not usually the same point at which God, in His sovereignty and providence, knows our hope has been too long deferred.  Trust Him, even when, especially when, it's been a long, hard road.  The journey to Bethlehem was not easy for Mary, or for Joseph. The labor and delivery, also not easy. But they were exactly where God wanted them to be for that moment in time. And they HAD to be there, according to Caesar's decree. Everyone had to be counted and registered…and likely, taxed, too. So, all around not ideal, at least from a human point of view. But thank God we have the option, the choice, the ability thanks to the Holy Spirit who indwells us, to look at the less than ideal, difficult times of life via God's point of view. Thank God that we have the Bible, full of all it's raw honesty about people and sin and life, and also full of God's love and intervention and His righteousness and His fair judgements and standard that played out at Calvary - thank God we can choose to face our most not so easy moments knowing that the God who was at work in the lives of those we read about in the Bible is also at work in and through our lives and circumstances.    I want you to know that God sees you. He really does know how hard this is, how long it has been going on, and how ready you are for it to be over. We can want our deliverance to come so badly that we get hyper focused on it, and we miss the presence of God in these places. Perhaps that's just me, maybe I am the only one who does that. It takes a reset sometimes to find God in our midst when life is overwhelming.    And I'd like to mention something about overwhelm. It isn't always what you'd think. Sometimes that one thing that pushes you right over the edge into a state of overwhelm is so small, such an itty bitty little thing, you can hardly believe that THAT was what did you in. But the old saying about the straw that broke the camel's back? A single piece of straw does not seem like much, and by itself, it sure isn't much, but it can be the thing that adds just enough pressure to be the last straw. Just like the last place you look is where you find something you've been searching for, that's the last place I looked - well, the final straw is the one that breaks the camel's back. Of course it is! The last one is of course the last one. But just like you didn't think that place was where you'd find the item you'd looked for, the last straw is not the one you thought would be the deal breaker and game changer.    Overwhelm happens to all of us. We need to give others grace in their overwhelm, and not judge them so severely when we don't understand how that little old straw could be the one that is just too much because we have our own pieces of hay, basically, that do us in, too. And give yourself grace as you navigate these things. Of course, if you are in sin as a result of your straw breaking your back, repent and don't delay in that. Today is the day to repent, to make things right with God, being sure to keep short accounts with Him. But giving yourself grace does not need to be exclusive of repentance. They go hand in glove, because the Cross is the standard for all the grace we receive and all the grace we extend to others and to ourselves, and we only access that grace by coming to the Lord in repentance and receiving Jesus as our Savior, since He was the propitiation for our sin. Give grace, to yourself and to others. Because grace is what you need when you find yourself in that place of hope getting close to being deferred for too long. Grace is yours, if you'll have it.    And next time you find yourself wondering why it is taking so long for God's promises to be fulfilled, remember Luke chapter two, verse one. God is still on His throne, He has not abdicated and He never will. He is still sovereign over all. He is still faithful and true and dependable and consistent and true to His word. God is, after all, still God. And He is still moving the hearts of kings and rulers to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect timing. Who knows? That time might just be today. And if you find yourself in a position where you can glorify the Lord, whether you are a big noise and a big name or no-name who makes no noise that is noticeable in this world, you just go on and rejoice like those shepherds did. Because the God who delivered the message of Jesus' birth to them is the same God who is still delivering messages to people today. Rejoice like the whole world is watching, even if nobody else is around. The darkest night can be pierced with angels rejoicing and the light of Jesus shining bright. What will you do when He shows up in your life? And what will you do while you wait for Him to show up?    Merry and Blessed and Joyful and Hope-filled Christmas to you. Thanks so much for joining me for this episode, and I do hope you'll share it with a friend or on social media this Christmas season.  God bless and I'll see you next time. Bye bye.

Well hey there! Hello to ya today. Welcome to episode number 200 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast. I'm so excited and grateful that you're listening today. Let's jump right in!   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 200, and we're looking at some promises from 1 Peter.   So recently during my prayer time I started jotting down thoughts that I had while I was praying. It was for sure not just me thinking these things in my own mind - it was really the Holy Spirit encouraging me. Let me share what I wrote down.   Make a promise or keep a promise; which means more? Boastful speech with little love or fewer words and a God-honoring life; which is better? Loving God and loving others or making excuses for a cold, hard heart; which describes me? Dancing with the world or bowing at His feet; which do I do daily? Living for pleasure or living for Him; what do my daily choices reveal? Preparing for the King's return or preparing by default for eternal hellish torment: there is no more time.   So, yeah. Very encouraging, very convicting, very sobering and that last bit, there is no more time, was somewhat heavy. I had the sense that I ought to share this on the podcast, because I'm guessing I am not the only one who needs to be reminded often that how I spend my time, how I love others, how I honor the Lord, what I live for matters and I only have so much time. My lifespan is not unlimited on this earth (although it will be unlimited in eternity). It's important to pause, evaluate the condition of my heart, to discover yet again that there is a beam sticking out of my eye and I need to remove it before pointing out the toothpick in someone else's eye.  Sharing this was not exactly what I wanted to do. It felt pretty personal, ya know? But obedience to the leading of the Lord is important, because Jesus said those who love Him will obey Him in John 14:23.    1 Peter 4:7-9 and 10-11 from the NLT:  The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen.   In the Amplified Bible, verse 7 reads like this: The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer (staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him).    This is the passage the Lord led me to read after I wrote down what I read to you a moment ago. This is not a portion of the Bible that I have memorized, where I know by the reference exactly what it says. I ought to, because this is good stuff, but I didn't just know in my knower what the passage said when the Holy Spirit led me to read 1 Peter, and in particular these verses from chapter four of 1 Peter.   And these words go hand in glove with what I wrote down during my prayer time that morning.   Listen carefully. God's Word never returns to Him void but always accomplishes that for which He sends it forth. And so it will do what He wants it to do. God keeps His promises. He is unfailing in His faithfulness. His love and compassion know no bounds, His mercies are new every morning. He is a good God, a good Father. And this portion of Scripture says the end and culmination of all things is near…therefore, we need to be sober minded, earnest in our prayers, focused on Him, staying balanced in what we are focusing on so that our communication with Him in prayer and with others in our lives will be clear, not muddled or confusing, and reasonable, and specific, not vague, not bouncing all over the place, and pleasing to Him.    So what matters more? Making a promise or keeping a promise? Which is better?  And if the end and culmination of all things is near, is it important for us to know that God does not just make promises and throw them around willy nilly and leave it at that, but He keeps every single promise perfectly and to perfection? Yes, that's something we need to know, each of us individually, as the end of the world is coming soon, as the NLT says. Do you personally know that God is keeping, has kept and will keep all the promises He has made? And that you have promises from Him that He is keeping and will keep right til the end of it all? It's so important to know that. And to know it for yourself.    As I think about verse 11, as a podcaster and speaker, it's convicting but also encouraging to consider that each episode is me using the gift He gave to hopefully serve everyone who listens. And you serve when you use your gifts. Now maybe nobody has told you this in a while, or maybe ever, but when you do what the Lord equips you to do in service, that's invaluable. It's truly more precious than most of what we spend our lives on. You being the you that God created you to be is serving. Thank you for serving the way that only you can. You know, only my husband can give our grandchildren a hug that is from grandpaw. Nobody else can give them a grandpaw hug. It's not possible. That's how it is with your gifts. Nobody else can do what you do the way that you do it. So please keep doing it and thank you for doing it. You glorify God when you do so - and that's the Biblical truth. It's right here in verse 11.    Let me read 1 Peter 4 verses 1 and 2 from the J.B. Phillips New Testament.  Since Christ had to suffer physically for you, you must fortify yourselves with the same inner attitude that He must have had. You must realize that to be dead to sin inevitably means pain, and you should not therefore spend the rest of your time here on earth indulging your physical nature, but in doing the will of God.    That's not a Bible translation we often read from, but it phrases these verses really well.  Part of the promise for us as Christians is that we will suffer, because we follow Jesus and He suffered. We must fortify ourselves with the same inner attitude Jesus had. We must realize that to be dead to sin will inevitably lead to pain. We should not spend the rest of our time here on earth indulging our physical nature, but in doing the will of God.    Make a promise or keep a promise; which means more? Boastful speech with little love or fewer words and a God-honoring life; which is better? Loving God and loving others or making excuses for a cold, hard heart; which describes me? Dancing with the world or bowing at His feet; which do I do daily? Living for pleasure or living for Him; what do my daily choices reveal? Preparing for the King's return or preparing by default for eternal hellish torment: there is no more time.   Let's lay aside the boastful speech with little love and choose to perhaps speak fewer words and live a God-honoring life, because that's truly better. Let's love God and love others, and stop making excuses for our cold, hard hearts.  Let's stop dancing with the world and get serious about bowing at the Lord's feet daily. Let's be done with living for pleasure and choose to live for Him.  Let's be prepared for Jesus' return, because otherwise what are we preparing for by default?  And that last bit, there is no more time…my friend, we don't have many more days to waste. When the Holy Spirit led me to write down those words, “There is no more time,” and then led me to open 1 Peter chapter 4 in my Bible, well, this is no coincidence. The enemy Satan has no reason to quote unquote trick me into readying myself for the Lord's return, to trick me into loving the Lord more and living a life that honors Him, to trick me into bowing at His feet rather than dancing with the world, to trick me into preparing for His return. See, that wouldn't make sense. I know many people do not believe that Jesus is returning soon.  And I know many people, students of the Word, see things lining up for His return and they are doing what Jesus said we are to do in Mark 13, verses 34-37, “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. You, too, must keep watch! For you don't know when the master of the household will return - in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don't let Him find you sleeping when He arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for Him!”   Those are the very words of Jesus. And He doesn't say that since no man knows the hour or t he day, just don't think about it, don't talk about it, don't preach any sermons about it, don't keep yourself ready for His return, just say that there's another fifty or one hundred years yet to go (which is kind of funny - why is it always, always fifty or one hundred more years? Just strikes me as a funny go-to for those who don't believe we are actually in the very end of the end times.)   Jesus said not to let Him find us sleeping when He arrives without warning. Those who are kind of sleeping among the Church today are those who say, oh we've got time…we've got fifty more years at least, possibly a hundred years. We are told to keep watch. And if we are saying, oh we've got time, well, that's not keeping watch.    Will you live today with Jesus as fully Lord of your life? All of your life? Will you be prepared for Jesus' return? Because on a podcast about God's promises, and for the 200th episode no less, the Holy Spirit led me to talk about this, which is a promise so great, so important, that we ought to live with this in mind every day…that promise is the promise of Jesus' return. And on the great and terrible day of the Lord, nothing else will matter outside of the fact that He will be here. And with that in mind, can I boldly challenge you with the thought that if this promise is true, and it is, then nothing else matters more than being prepared for the moment that promise is fulfilled?   Thanks for listening today. Get ready and stay ready. Because Jesus? Oh, He's a comin' again, and soon.   I'll see you next time. Bye bye. 

Well hello to ya today, so glad you're listening to this episode of the podcast. Let's jump right in and look at a few verses from the New Testament that hold tremendous promises for us. Luke chapter one, verse 37 from the NLT and then Hebrews 13, verses 5 and 6. God's promises are true. Whether or not you believe those promises, well, that's kind of up to you. A Christmas Blessing from Mary's Song Episode Link A Merry and Bright ADVENTure book  You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing now via the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by the Christmas book for families titled A Merry and Bright ADVENTure - A Christmas Devotional for Family, Faith, Food and Fun by Katie J. Trent. Sure, my children are all grown adults…but my grandbabies are the ones I will be using this book with. It's divided into sections, by topic, by theme, and the advent readings consist of like a family devotional, a prayer, family discussion questions, some specific advent activities and of course, a recipe which is very family friendly. There are 25 of these really well thought out daily sections, which is of course perfect for advent. And there is a list of grocery items and craft items already compiled for you, to make it as easy as possible to implement the recipes and activities. Link is right here in the show notes, and a big thank you to Katie Trent for creating this Christmas season resource. I absolutely love it. And now, on with the show.  This is episode number 199.    Right there nestled among the first few verses in the book of Luke, almost too easy to read and go right on past, is the promise of verse 37. In the NLT it says, “For the word of God will never fail.”    And after that absolutely mind-blowingly huge promise, this chapter continues into Mary's Song, the Magnificat. Which, by the way, is really a beautiful passage of Scripture to read aloud as a family during the Thanksgiving or Christmas season. Amazing, that's what Mary's Song is. Worship - you might call it that. Beautiful worship.   For the word of God WILL NEVER FAIL.   Hang your hat on this verse today. I mean that, seriously. Bank on it. Depend on it. Lean the full weight of all your troubles and concerns onto it. It will hold up, no matter how heavy the load is that you've been carrying around. This verse can handle it. All of it. Perhaps this promise is one of the most powerful promises in the entire Bible. I don't want you to take my word for it. I want you to take God at His word. Then do it again tomorrow. And never stop taking Him at His word, every single day of your life.   Hebrews 13, 5-6 - also from the NLT -   5 Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,“I will never fail you.     I will never abandon you.”[a 6 So we can say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper,     so I will have no fear.     What can mere people do to me?”[b] What could possibly be missing from your life when God has said this? Combine these words from Hebrews with the words from Luke and I am thinking you have something unstoppable, ya know? Your God, whom you love and whom you serve, the One who secured your eternal salvation, He will never fail you or abandon you. What matters more than that? And what are we to say in response to these great and precious promises?  With confidence, we say, The Lord is my helper and I will have no fear. Because what can mere people, human beings, those who are created by the One making me these promises, what can they do to me?    The hope you have in knowing, believing, and living in the reality of these promises…well, I'm not really sure it gets much better than that. God won't leave you. God won't abandon you. God won't fail you. He will help you. You can live with no fear. And people? What can they really do to you? For the word of God will never fail. The word of  will never fail for Jan, or for Sara, or for Rachel, or for Mike, or for Betty, or for Stuart, or for Terry, or for Gail, or for Linda or for Jon or for any of His people.    What promises in the Bible do you most need to know won't fail right now? Is it something from Psalm 91? Psalm 103? Psalm 1? Something God promised in the book of Genesis? Acts or Joel? Isaiah? Hebrews or Matthew or Revelation?   What promises have you wanted to believe were for you, God's to you, but maybe are afraid to go all in with that belief? About what Bible promises can you say, “Lord, I believe…help me with my unbelief?”   I want to issue this challenge to you today: write down that promise, or promises if there are multiple, and on that page where you write them down, get a pen in a different color, maybe bright red, and over the top right Luke 1:37 - For the word of God will never fail.   I don't want you to think about this, and say eh maybe I'll do that some day. No. Please do it this day.    For the word of God will never fail. Those promises from the word of God? They will never fail. So says Luke 1:37. This is a big deal, isn't it?  Because when we begin to really know the word of God will never fail, we start praying that way, we start thinking that way, we gain victory in areas that we once thought would end up taking us out. This is important because God wants us to know that His word will never fail…and the enemy wants us to believe his lie that the word of God will always fail. Which will ya have today? Five pounds of Jesus in a brown paper sack, or more than that? Maybe God isn't going to be controllable if you go all in and believe. Maybe you will have to do battle with your fears and doubts. Maybe some of your Christian friends will try and talk you out of such radical belief, because let's just be honest, so many of our female small groups turn into gripe and gossip sessions, or stay so superficial that things like clothes and make up dominate the conversation…like, maybe that could change. And you might be the odd man (odd woman) out. Spoiler alert: if you are longing for those kinds of conversations to never be part of a women's small group or Bible study ever again, then you already are the odd woman out…you just don't want to rock the boat by mentioning it or by leaving…cuz we all know that when you leave, everybody wants to know why (like, more gossip, perhaps?) when they ought to know why just by reading the room, right?  What's the hardest place to leave gracefully, graciously, and without gossiping? A Christian community that isn't truly honoring the Lord. You are already the odd one out perhaps. That's okay. I'm thinking Moses, David, Elijah, Abraham, the entire early Church in the first century…odd man out over and over again. It's hard, but it's not the end of the world.  What will you need to face honestly if you choose to trust the entire weight of your life, and all those things and people you've been praying about, all of it on the promise that the word of God will never fail?  A whole lot could change, starting with your heart and mind. Maybe we can't really, fully love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as yourself until we really believe that the word of God will never fail.    Maybe, just maybe, this is the moment the Lord has been waiting for. The moment when you no longer let fear, worry, other people's opinions, doubts, all that kind of stuff, no longer let that hold you back, tie you up in knots inside and outside, and keep you from believing all God's promises. Maybe today is a big deal for you. Maybe tomorrow hinges on today.   Maybe, just maybe, this is your time.  What will you do now? I hope you choose to believe. Because you will never regret it, and God will never abandon you.   Until next time, keep on believing. Bye bye. 

Hey there! Hello to ya today.  Here we are, for episode number 198 of the podcast, where we focus on God's promises and make the decision to simply believe that what God has said is exactly what He meant. If He promised it, He means to honor His promise. Remember, God is not a man, that He should lie, and He always finishes what He begins. Knowing those two things leaves us no choice but to either believe Him for His every promise or to live as if He were lying to us. Which will you choose today?  Psalm 91 Audio Bible Study Course You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. And this is episode number 198.   Ya know how there are times in life, like seasons if you will, periods of time, when the same kind of thing keeps coming up, over and over again. Maybe God has been speaking to you about hope, or loving others well, or accepting His grace, and everywhere you turn, that subject is right in front of you, staring you down, you might feel like. Can't really get away from it. Boom, there it is. And wowza, there it is again. Ever experience that?    That's been the case for me recently. Over the last few months, for sure one aspect of life as a follower of Jesus has been prominent. And I didn't think it was a topic I'd cover on the podcast, at least not right now, fall of 2024. But I don't get to pick and choose when and how I obey what the Lord says. I mean, I could, and I have of course, but it's really wrong, and flat out sin. And this issue has been in the forefront of my life as of late, like I said, and the Holy Spirit led me to discuss it today.    In John 15 and 16 and 17, Jesus had so much to say to His disciples and for all who would follow Him later on, down the road, in the years and centuries to come. That includes us, of course. Jesus spoke about the importance of unity.  John 15 from the Amplified - 12 “This is My commandment, that you [c]love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. The header just before verse 12 says: Disciples' Relation to Each Other And the next section header says: Disciples' Relation to the World 18 “If the world hates you [and it does], know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love [you as] its own and would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world. And because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.   Does Jesus say that the world will treat His disciples well? Uh, duh. No. He told His disciples how to treat one another, and what to expect from the world. So people in the world are not the same as our fellow disciples and will not treat us the same way.    You may be thinking, “Uh, yeah… I know that, Jan. What is your point?” Chapter 16, verse 1: “I have told you these things so that you will not stumble or be caught off guard and fall away.   So that you will not stumble or be caught off guard and fall away. It's a very real possibility that we will be caught off guard, surprised and thrown for a loop and stumble and even fall away because of it. But what is the “it” exactly? The terrible treatment of Jesus' followers by those who don't follow Him. When have you been treated really terribly for choosing the Jesus way? If it was from those who don't know Him personally and are not His disciples, were you super shocked? It may hurt and be just a terrible experience. But you aren't shocked by that nearly as much as you are when it happens within the church, by someone who claims to follow Jesus but perhaps, oh I am gonna get some hate mail for this, but Ima say it anyway…perhaps they don't actually know Him, because the fruit of their life reveals that they don't. We're called by Jesus Himself to look at the fruit of people's lives, and to know them by their fruit. That's Scripture, my friend. That's words in red. And we don't likely stumble and fall away when someone who is not walking with Jesus, would never open a Bible or go to church or sing a worship song, when that person lamblasts you for your faith in Jesus, it probably isn't going to push you to fall away. Because you know who they are, it's evident by looking at the fruit of their life. Right? But when it's within the church (and hey, please remember Jesus Himself warned us that there would be wolves who come to devour the sheep, so this should not come as a shocker, what I'm saying here today)... when it's quote one of our own, man, then it hits hard, it can cause a stumble, often we're blindsided by it, and it can lead to falling away. My friend, I am boldly telling you today that this happens all the time in the church, and people will be held accountable by God Almighty for their actions against His people, the sheep of His flock. If it has happened to you, I am so very sorry. And if it happened at the hands of those in church leadership, I am grieved for you and for their abuse and misuse of the authority that really only ought to be about leading people to Jesus, if you boil it down, but is often not used for that purpose.    Control and manipulation are basically witchcraft. I mean, think about it. If you are twisting words, manipulating people, circumstances, using guilt and shame, turning Scripture this way and that in order to control people in any facet, it really is an evil thing to do. And it's like being under a spell, and if you've experienced it, you know what I mean.  Do you think, and I am actually asking you to think about this and make up your own mind, but do you personally believe that Jesus' call to unity in His church was intended for His true disciples to be unified with those who are in the church but are not truly following Him as disciples? And at what point do you think Jesus would want His true disciples to deal with this “sticky situation”?    I know this can be a heavy topic, and it is controversial (but maybe it needs to be more normalized and less controversial to talk about the reality of, for lack of a better description, church abuse). And perhaps because there are so many people dealing with and reeling from this exact issue, I suppose this is the time and season to take a look at it through the lens of the Word of God. And as always, don't just take my word for it - but take God's Word for it, and read it for yourself. John chapters 15 and 16 are what I've been reading from, so dive in and check it out. Pray about what you read, listen for the Holy Spirit to do what He does perfectly as the Counselor that Jesus promised in John 16 verses 5-15.   Over the last several months, several people have talked with me, reached out to me, connected with me, and so on, about real problems among church leadership and what in the world to do when you come face to face with some terrible stuff, and are treated terribly, even abusively, manipulated, guilted, controlled, shamed, slandered, oh boy some of the things that have been going on are truly terrible and there is no place for this stuff in God's Kingdom, let alone among those who call themselves leaders in the Church that bears His name! It's like we've stepped into the wonky zone, and things are all sorts of off kilter.    If I were to do one of those hard hitting expose pieces from the late 1980s, I would have ample material. This isn't so much an expose as it is a CTA.  If you are being abused spiritually, can I challenge you to this CTA, this call to action? First, read the Gospels. Read what Jesus said, how He lived, what He did for people, what He didn't do, what He approved of and what He disapproved of. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Do you see yourself as Jesus sees you? Are you being treated the way that He treated people when He walked the earth? Are those in authority over you in the Church living like Jesus, loving like Jesus, shepherding like Jesus? Pray on this! God wants you to see yourself the way He sees you. And He wants to be Lord in His church. The letters to the churches in Revelation tell us so very much about how seriously He takes this kind of thing.  Next, I want to boldly, strongly encourage you to do what the Bible says, and to follow where the Spirit leads. Remember what Jesus said in John 16, verses 5 through 15:  Let me read it from the NLT.  5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I've told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate[a] won't come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world's sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. 12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.' Verse 7 amplified - 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the [a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]   What is the Holy Spirit, your Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strenghtener, and your Standby saying to you? Leading you? Directing you? Counseling you? Strengthening you?   Church hurt is one thing, and it is a real thing and it is a terrible thing because it is so painful. Church abuse from leadership is another thing. Both can dwell together, for sure, but leadership abuse is the main focus of this episode. If you are dealing with this, can you look at it objectively and say yes or no to this question: is this behavior biblical or unbiblical? And are those in leadership telling me to keep enduring what is unbiblical, even though the very words of Jesus say it is wrong? Is it time to flee, like Joseph did when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him? He just left his cloak and fled. Could it be time to flee? What is your Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who is God dwelling within you, saying to you about the leadership abuse that's going on?    And do you know that you know that you know that Jesus is absolutely never going to be spiritually abusive to you? And His true sheep, His chosen shepherds for His sheep, won't either?  John 15:1 says “[a]I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away;    He takes away. Follow the fruit. Might be far more important than the call to follow the money, for the Christian community.   6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.    Those are Jesus' words.  This is an individual calling. We each have to follow Him, remain in Him, let His words remain in us, proving we are His true disciples by our fruit. I'm going to try and tread lightly as I say this next bit (and I am issuing this caveat - these words I am about to utter, they ARE NOT AT ALL related to 1919 S. Rock… ) If you need to leave a local church body because there is abuse happening, and you have looked and seen what the fruit or lack thereof is (or isn't), if the Spirit of the Living God says, “go”... then I say to you, obey the Lord. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Those who love Jesus will obey Him. And when we get the sense that the Holy Spirit is leading us out of someplace, it seems to be that He is already moving along, ready to go, ready to lead us onward. By the time we sense Him moving, He is already moving… So don't over question when He is leading. And don't let a bully pulpit or abusive leadership or manipulation or guilt and shame or twisting Scripture talk you out of following the Holy Spirit as He leads.    When He says it's time to go, then go. Because delayed obedience is disobedience, and you don't want any part of that.    Heavy topic today, and I'll just say that I've prayed for everyone who listens because it is so heavy. Lord bless you, keep seeking hard after Jesus, and next episode we'll be back to some of God's promises and how important it is to know that those promises are for you. See you next time. Oh, and please share this episode with anyone you know who might be facing this issue. It's hard, and sometimes we need a bit of encouragement, support, and understanding as we navigate it. You're not alone, but there is so much hope, freedom, joy, peace and love in the Church on the other side of spiritual abuse. Jesus sees you, He feels your pain, and He has good for you and a path out of this and into His light and His love. So please share this, because it's too important not to share.  I'll be back for episode number 199 next time. Bye bye. 

Well hey there, hello to you and welcome to this episode of the podcast. E.M. Bounds On Prayer at Amazon JanLBurt.com to grab free download of God's Promises in Isaiah & be on my email list & receive prayer And just as a quick FYI, my second podcast The Prayer Podcast is being retired in just a few days. Turns out hosting two shows is a lot, and I feel it has hindered my writing and this podcast, to be frank. So I am sunsetting The Prayer Podcast but will share episodes from that show occasionally here on TBNES, sort of bonus episodes. Thanks for the support of all the listeners to TPP, and also, a very special shout out to the slew of recent listeners to both of the podcasts in the country of China. You are on my mind, and I am praying for you. May the Lord's good promises to you prove true in every circumstance and situation, and I truly believe that they will because it is impossible for God to lie, and so all He has promised will come to pass. May you be richly blessed as you walk with Him, and again, thank you so much for listening. I don't take it for granted!   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network on the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by the book “E.M. Bounds on Prayer”, a resource that has encouraged and blessed me time and time again, year after year. A link to this book on Amazon is in the show notes, and I do not receive any sort of compensation for linking to Amazon - I share this resource solely based on how it has blessed me. Again, that's E.M. Bounds on Prayer. Now, let's jump into some of God's promises for us. This is episode number 194.   Today I'm going to share several promises from the Psalms with you. If one of these promises is super encouraging to you, maybe you can write it down on a sticky note or make a note on your phone. Seeing the Word of God written out in your own handwriting or popping up via an alarm on your phone can really be encouraging for the long term, and that's a lot better than a one-off kind of encouragement, ya know?   Psalm 10:14 - You, O God, do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it in hand. (This verse reminds me of the promise God gives to be near, to never leave us or forsake us, and knowing that He is so close to us that He sees our trouble and our grief, that's enormously comforting. Beyond that, though, it says He considers trouble and grief and He takes it in hand. That simply means that He takes control of it. Think of a new person in the role of CEO of a company, and there is a problem area; the CEO takes it in hand, as the boss now, with the aim of correcting or improving the situation, developing it into something better. He takes your trouble and your grief in hand. Believe God is going to do this exact thing!_)   Psalm 10:17 - You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted. You encourage them, and You listen to their cry. (Please don't forget that the Lord hears the desire, the heart cries, of the afflicted. What's afflicting you? Talk to God about it, like really talk to Him, cry out from your heart, tell Him the truth about how this is afflicting you, and then listen for what He might say to encourage you. He promises in this verse to listen to your cry, to hear you, and to encourage you. But if you never talk to Him, if you never take time to be still and know that He is God and listen to Him, you are likely going to miss much of the promise in Psalm 10:17). Also, I have to say, there is a lot of encouragement in the tenth psalm. So maybe add that to your reading sometime soon and simply by faith receive all that's promised in Psalm 10, and you'll find yourself encouraged!    Now let's look at a couple of promises in Psalm 40. Verse 2b, second half of that verse, says - He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.    Yes and amen to this! Anybody else look back at their life before Jesus and remember what it was like to live with your feet on mush? On sinking sand? When we remember what He has already done for us, and give Him praise and honor, we in turn encourage ourselves to believe for what He is going to do for us now and in the future.    And I do want to remind you that the future is not all that far away. Today is a great moment in time to believe and appropriate God's promises and to make the decision to simply believe that what God says, He means. And He means for His children, individually and as a whole. Don't let another day go by without choosing to believe that God will keep His promises, and He will keep them for you.    Psalm 40:4, 5b - Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. ~ The things You planned for me no one can recount; were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare. (Want to live a blessed life? Make the Lord your trust. Nothing else, no Jesus plus this or that. Just the Lord. Make Him your trust, and you will be blessed. That's the promise God makes here. May it be true of you, and of me, I'm grabbing hold of this one for myself too, may it be said of you that the things the Lord planned for you are too good, too vast, to count or recount…but do try! Try and recount what He's done for you, you'll never be able to remember or recall everything He's done while on this side of eternity, but give it a try! Thank Him. And know that they are too many to declare. Yeah, Psalm 40 verses four and five? Oh that's a promise. It's a good one.)   Psalm 40:11 -  You do not withhold Your mercy from me, O Lord. May Your love and Your truth always protect me.   This is something of a prayer verse, if you will. Like, I literally prayed this just yesterday. Lord, do not withhold Your mercy from me or from my family or from those I am praying for (speaking of those I pray for, stay tuned at the end of this episode as I share a few words to some people I've been sent prayer requests by). Lord, may Your love and Your truth always protect me. Pray it and believe and expect it. God's mercy will not be withheld from you, His love and His truth will always protect you. That's a wonderful way to pray, maybe on those days when you don't know what to say to God, what to ask Him to do in your life, in your children's lives perhaps, someone has asked you to pray over a situation in their life and you're not sure what to pray, well, keep Psalm 40:11 in mind, in your prayer arsenal. And trust that God will answer this prayer.    And from Psalm 100, verse 5 says: For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.  Oh this is such good news for all of us who love the Lord. Every disciple of Jesus needs to hear this! I mean that, literally, I really do mean it. For the Lord IS good - right now, present tense. In your life, in your family, in your workplace, in your scary situation. The Lord IS good. And His love endures forever! Forever! That's a word that bears so much weight in this context. His love for you in your current circumstances endures forever. That's fantastic, hopeful news for all of us today! His faithfulness continues through all generations. While we are still here on this earth, while mankind is still here, God's faithfulness is still here, as well. Man what a promise.    Psalm 130:3 is the final verse I'm going to share with you today. It says: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?  God's word tells us plainly that He remembers our sins no more, they are removed as far as the east is from the west. Once you are in Christ, this is a done deal for you. So says the very Word of God. Not so says Jan Burt. Who cares what I think, what I say? So says the Lord. Somebody may need to know that today, and maybe that somebody is you. No one could stand with God keeping a record of sins, and so don't measure yourself by someone else. Measure yourself rightly, by your own degree of faith as it says in the New Testament, and then believe that for those who know the Lord, your sins are remembered no more. Huge amount of hope and encouragement in these verses from the psalms.   Now I mentioned that I wanted to say a few words to those who have either emailed me with prayer requests, used the text box feature on my website, maybe sent me something via the jotform prayer request that I've shared in several places, or replied to one of the emails I sent out recently. And, yes, I do send emails with a verse and a prayer and I invite people to reply with any needs I can pray about, and I do pray for every request I get. Now I want to say that on my jotform, I had a couple of people request that I follow up with them about their prayer requests and I wasn't able to do that (I didn't get the contact info to be able to follow up, maybe a glitch in that form, and hey I understand that sometimes sites like jotform might drop info that is personal for safety reasons, to prevent spam and the like, and I get that, so no complaints from me about protecting privacy). If any of the listeners to this episode would like to be on my email list and get the verse and prayer emails, which I send a few times a month, the easiest way to do that is to go to Jan L Burt . com and scroll down a bit to where it says God's Promises in Isaiah, enter your email and you'll get an immediate reply email with verses from Isaiah that are promises God makes, and you'll be on the list for the next email I send out with a verse and a prayer and you just hit reply and send me your prayer request, those go to an inbox that I see right away, which is so nice for me to be able to quickly start praying. And that's it, I'll be praying. Jan L. Burt . com and I will be praying.    That's it for this episode, and thanks for listening. Thanks again for all who listened to The Prayer Podcast. As I say goodbye to it, I'm not saying goodbye to praying for you, that's for sure. See you back here next time. Bye bye. 

Hey there! Hello and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show…getting the promises of God into the hearts and minds of the people of God, which is right where they belong. So thankful you're listening to this episode of the show, and hey, today we're looking at a promise directly from the New Testament words of Jesus, and it's a good one. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you may want to just save this episode and plan to share it somewhere, or with somebody, because it's gonna get really real really fast and really bring it today. God's promises are true - let's talk about how they're true for you today.   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, which can be found via the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by the Psalm 91 audio Bible study & prayer sessions, created by the show host (that's me), Jan L. Burt. Access the study at JanLBurt.com/psalm91   Psalm 91 is perhaps the most astounding passage of promises with the most astounding miracles linked to it of maybe the entire Old Testament, and for sure it is one of the most amazing and life-changing passages in the Bible. It's something you should know and pray over yourself and your loved ones, because it holds promises that we find only in this passage, and it is something every believer needs to apply to their life - and that's why I created the Psalm 91 audio Bible study. JanLBurt.com/psalm91 and this is episode number 194.   Alrighty, so let's jump right into this. I'll be reading from the Amplified today, looking at a few verses from the book of Matthew, chapter 11.   Matthew 11:28-30 Amplified Bible 28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” That's from Matthew 11, verses 28-30.   We've got a call here, something we need to do, our part is to come to Jesus. Who is it He is calling to come to Him? Those who are weary, those who are heavily burdened, dealing with religious rituals that provide no peace…and hey, there are many things that fall into that category, so don't automatically assume this doesn't apply to you because it really might, and Jesus has freedom for you. Today, He has freedom for you from religious systems and programs and rituals that don't give you the kind of peace that Jesus wants you to have. And when we do as Jesus asks us to, calls us to, and come to Him, He promises (verse 28 says WILL and when He says He will do something, He will!) He will give you rest. The Lord's salvation is restful, is peaceful, for you and for me. We can have been in the Chirstian world for so long that we begin to lose our rest, our peace. That is not what Jesus wants, my friend. From day one of your salvation to day done of your salvation, when He takes you home or when He returns and you are caught up in the air to meet Him, whatever your day done might look like, Jesus wants you to have peace and a refreshed soul, rest like literal rest in every aspect of life, in every sense of the word, on every single day that you walk with Him. This isn't something we share with people when we are talking to them about Jesus, but we no longer have it as part of our daily life. It's meant to be lived, this walk of faith and lived well - lived on Jesus's terms and this verse tells us that His terms are trading our weariness and heavy burdened way of life for rest, peace, and refreshed souls. And while it might sound too good to be true, it's actually 100 percent true. God's promises are what, now? True. Always and in all ways.  He calls us to take His yoke upon ourselves and learn from Him - that literally means to just follow Him as His disciple. I say JUST, but I don't say there's never any struggle to do this. The world, our flesh, social media, old and new friends, our workplaces, even our families and sad to say often our church culture is too worldly, too focused on programs or not being a Christian weirdo, or seeker friendly or all that stuff (a subject for another day, but not biblical, not sustainable, and not discipleship…just sayin'!) All these things and more can make it tricky to keep following Jesus as His disciple. But when we stay yoked to Him and don't pull and tug and fight that yoke, just walk with Him at His pace and His leading doing life His way, well then, that's discipleship and we have His promised peace and rest, and it is just so good. Now if you've been walking with the Lord for a while, can I ask you to pause for a moment (maybe pause this podcast for a second and think on this) and just remember what it was like for you before you responded to Jesus' call when He rescued you and saved you and forgave and turned your life around in a good way. Can you remember what it was like? The stress, the fear, the anger or other emotions, the control you maybe tried to exert on situations and people, the overwhelm, the way your did all those things you didn't want to do, your hard heart, the lack of hope, the lack of joy, the lack of peace, afraid of all the things, uneasy, tossed around by life - do you remember? And if you have not yet made the decision to follow Jesus as His disciple, can I just tell you that right now is a great time to make that decision? It's super simple, there is no required prayer to pray, you can just talk to God and tell Him you're sick of your sin, sick of life like this, and you want what Jesus offers, peace and eternal life and total forgiveness for every single sin, past, present and future, and just ask Him to be Lord of your life, to forgive you of all your sins, and to take up reign on the throne of your heart. Thank Him, and believe it is done, and it is so long as you mean it. It really is that simple. Just talk to the Lord, invite Him into your life, your heart, and thank Him and say Amen, so be it, yes Lord. He doesn't make it hard, because He is a good God and He loves you too much to make it too hard to make Jesus Lord of your life.    So, remembering what it was like before you made Him Lord, your hard knock life, and that's the true reality for everyone who doesn't walk with Jesus as His disciple (not about a program for six weeks at church, about discipleship for all the rest of your days!). And now think about what it's like to have that peace, to take His yoke upon you and learn from Him, knowing He is gentle and humble in heart and that He brings you rest for your soul. Rest for your soul. This isn't just a nap. It's REST for your inner being, for your soul. Soul rests is next level. It's truly supernatural, it is not of this world. It's from the Lord. And it's life changing. You need it. Jesus has it for you. And that's just one smidgen of the promises from this passage alone! Soul rest. His yoke is easy to bear and His burden is light. You are not going to be weighed down and having a come apart when you are His disciple. That's not your life, because it's not His will based on Matthew 11, verse 28 through 30. You do need to believe that this is all true for you, because when we believe, our faith is accredited to us as righteousness, and Jesus often said that it would be done to those who asked something of Him, it would be done to them according to their faith, to their belief. So, believe the very words Jesus spoke, don't do an eye roll and refuse to believe it. Just choose to believe. And it really is a choice. Don't mind your feelings, but make your feelings mind the Word of God.   Now I'm going to sort of add some zest to this episode. It's a unique episode of the podcast, because I'm going to share some things I have never spoken about on this platform. Everything I'm sharing today is true, it actually happened, just as I'm telling it. And I know it's all true because it happened to me. I'm gonna tell ya some things, real life, nitty gritty, stuff. Here goes!   Bizarre and weirded me out experience #1: Now, first off, let me preface these next couple of snippets I'm sharing from my own life by clearly stating that I was not a follower of Jesus at all at this point in time. Not at all. Not one bit. Zero percent interested in God. I was a train wreck. No Bible in our home, didn't go to church on Easter or Christmas, just zero of that in my growing up home or in my life. This event happened when I was a teenager, and I worked as a teen, like many of us, and at this point I was around 18, working for a telemarketing company, more like a call center for customer service stuff than outbound sales calls, but basically telemarketing. I worked second shift, we called it the night shift (only two shifts there, days or nights and I was on nights). I worked in Omaha, Nebraska but lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, right across the river, actually very normal for the Omaha area, gotta add that piece of info to this true story.  So one afternoon, I went to work as usual, and there was a man at work that I didn't recognize, not that big of a deal, lots of turnover in a place like that, ya know? He sat in front of my and to my left at his cubicle desk area, and on our lunch break he came and sat at the table I sat at with my normal group of work friends, and back then, I was a smoker…actually started smoking probably around age 13, maybe even sneakily smoking at 12, but smoking with my mom's permission at 13 (meaning that at that point, when I was 13, we lived in a small town in Nebraska and she gave her permission to all the local stores that I could buy cigarettes there because she'd given me permission to smoke, and am I Gen X, the child of a Boomer? Uh, yes…) So, I sat at the outside table with the other smokers for my lunch break, and this man sat with us, but he didn't smoke. He was chatty and said something about working a different shift for this one day and wondered if anybody lived across the river in Iowa and might be able to give him a ride back to the Iowa side after work. I wasn't naive, I didn't give rides to men I did not know as an 18-year-old, and you can discern from my being a smoker at age 13 that maybe I was a bit street savvy. So, it was out of the norm for me to say yes to something like this, in fact I cannot think of another time in my life when I gave a ride to a stranger, but everybody seemed like it was okay and of course they knew I lived in Iowa, and they all seemed comfortable with him and I gave him a ride after work. Now for some reason, the whole drive to the place in Iowa where I dropped him off, I was not comfortable smoking. So, after work, a smoker lights up, that's just how it is, one of the key smokes of the entire day, honestly, is the after-work smoke. But I didn't grab my cigarettes. I left them in the side pocket storage area of my baby blue 1988 Chevy Beretta.  On the drive, he was very kind in a way that was super genuine, and he asked questions about my life, started as normal chit chat, but I answered each question and then he'd another one, and some of the questions were really interesting…like he asked about the small town I'd used to live in and what life was like there for me, and I shared things about being a heavy drinker and being in several car accidents where the car was totaled (like, the number of totaled cars I was in over the course of say four years was five, two cars that rolled, one that had a telephone pole fall onto it right where I was sitting, one launched off a dead end at nearly 100 mph, and another accident at around 130 mph that barely stopped before the car hit a large cement culvert). And I kind of chuckled / joked that maybe God was punishing me or maybe even trying to end my life because I was such a terrible person. (Now at this point I had not had a drop of alcohol in around a year and hadn't really been heavily drinking in 15-18 months, so I was not a raging drunk when I gave this man a ride home after work, but I was weirdly comfortable sharing about the mess that my life was in so many ways, including my heavy drinking and horrible car accidents, four of those totaled being my own cars). So, I made a comment to try and lighten the mood but also to acknowledge that I was a really terrible teenager, and said maybe God was punishing me or trying to even end my life due to my awfulness.  This man looked at me, like really looked at me, and told me that God was not trying to kill me, but that the devil, Satan, was, because if Satan could kill me without me knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, I'd go to hell. Now I knew I deserved hell, and I knew that was where I was headed…I think it was common knowledge to GenX teens to know that, to understand that. So, the mention of hell didn't shock me, but the idea that Satan was trying to kill me was a totally new concept to me.  He went on to say that God had actually protected me from what Satan wanted to do, and that He was not angry at me, punishing me, but that He loved me and was watching out for me, keeping me from death when I should have been dead many times over.  He just told me that God loved me. And then, we arrived at the place he'd told me to drop him off. Of course it was dark, probably at least 11pm or so, and I parked near a long sidewalk that led to the doorway of this building, I still don't know what the place was, it kind looked like maybe an apartment building but not a layout I'd seen before, it had kind of a small town hospital feel to it more than apartments, and it looked like not a place someone would live, and the sidewalk leading to the door was pretty well lit, the doors were glass and the hall inside was super well lit, bright white lighting, think hospital lighting, white walls, white ceiling, white tile floor…and I could see all the way down that hallway. He thanked me for the ride, got out of the car, and shut the car door. I reached for my cigarettes, which were in the door panel pocket to my left, and then glanced back to the right, out the passenger side window, and the dude was gone. I mean gone gone.  This sidewalk was long, and lights were shining on it. There was a barren yard on both side, no trees, no shrubs, just super short grass, and nowhere for him to hide. There was nobody in the hallway inside the building. It startled me. I literally jumped, and looked behind my car, out the driver's side window, the guy was just gone. Once I knew he was not anywhere around, I just drove home.  Went to work the next day and had some questions about what he had said and wanted to make sure he got into his building okay, so I asked my supervisor if he could get a message to that man. My super looked at me like I was nuts. He said no day shift worker had worked the night shift, and when I said, “He worked the whole shift in that cubicle right there, ya know, dark hair, skinny dude, wore faded jeans, brown shoes…that guy, he was right there.” He said nobody had been in that seat the day before, and he had no idea who I was talking about because that didn't describe any of the day workers.  Now I was feeling really weird. So, on the lunch break, I asked my friends. “Remember that guy who sat with us yesterday, he didn't smoke, but he lives in Iowa and needed a ride home, so I gave him a ride? Remember him?” Every single person at the table looked at me like, “Huh?” Nobody remembered this guy. They all said, nobody sat with us yesterday, just us. And a couple of them said they told me bye the night before as I got into my car…they were emphatic that I got into my car alone. Nobody was with me. Okay, I was in weird town, and they were wondering if I was okay, like what was I talking about? So, I just said something like, Oh, well this is weird… and tried to change the subject. Didn't work too well, because they really were curious what was going on and I just never mentioned it again.  But I sure did think about it.  A lot. Not really just because of what he'd said to me about God, but because it was such a weird experience, and nobody remembered him but me and I'm telling you, he was a real guy at my real workplace who rode to Iowa in my real car, and we had a real conversation and then he was just gone.  This really happened to me. And it really happened just as I've told it. And it really stuck, because of the way it happened. This event in my life paved the way for me for what God was going to do in the future, which was to reveal Himself to me (Christ revealed to us, as Paul wrote in the New Testament). It was part of the rock-solid foundation the Lord was building in my life. The verses I read today from Matthew got me thinking about this and got me thinking about all the ways God is working in the lives of people all the time. Remarkable things like this happened often. Have they happened to you? Maybe they're happening to people you're praying for. Don't stop praying! Please! And maybe you can share something God did to get ahold of you, to get your attention, to make a mark on your life, that was how He was drawing you to Himself, so He could save you for time and all eternity, give you new life, freedom, hope, joy, peace, and forgiveness. I personally believe that I had an encounter with some kind of angel in disguise. He told me the truth, and it stuck. And he disappeared from sight in an instant, and that stuck. I don't know that I was entertaining an angel unawares, but I do believe it was an angel, nonetheless. God sent him to my workplace, God made me comfortable enough with him to give him a ride from Nebraska to Iowa, and God set up those circumstances with nobody else remembering this man and him poof vanishing right out of thin air so that I would not forget that moment in my life.  And when the next moment came along for me, when God was doing the miraculous to get hold of me, you'd better believe that this moment was still fresh on my mind.   I'll share Part Two of my salvation story in the next episode, and I hope you'll tune in because it's really a precious part of my life, and I'm honored to be alive to share it with you. And I mean that. Share your story with somebody as the Lord leads, and of course feel free to share this episode if it might encourage others that are in your say social media circle.  Thanks for listening, and I'll see ya back here next time. Bye bye.   

Well hey there! Hello to you today! So glad to be able to talk about God's promises today - the freedom to share the truth of God's Word is something I am so very thankful for. And I'm also very thankful for you.    You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 188, and we're taking a look at some promises from the Old Testament Book of Hosea. Let's jump in.    Working our way through the Bible, one book at a time, and finding promises God has made to His people in each book is pretty amazing. It's like a treasure hunt that never stops yielding huge treasure.    Hosea chapter one, verse seven in the New Living Translation says, “But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies - not with weapons and armies and horses and charioteers, but by My power as the LORD their God.”    God's not promising no struggles or difficulties.  God's not asking His people to live in denial about their hardships and their enemies.  You know, it's passages like this that come to mind when people have said to me that my “religion” is just a crutch to keep me from facing reality. I don't have a religion. I have a Living Savior and I have a daily relationship with Him. And Hosea 1:7, well, this is a verse for the times that are so tough in life, no crutch would do. Any crutch that we try to use, as believers, that is anything outside of leaning fully upon Him and relying on His strength alone, well, any other kind of leaning on a crutch ends up being a flimsy reed that breaks and then stabs us in the hand, ya know? It does not work! The only thing that works is actually putting the entirety of our hope in Him alone.  And this verse is a great reminder of that hope, that truth. There is a great big promise here for us, but only if we choose to believe it!  Are you facing an enemy right now? Can I encourage you to seek the Lord for His favor, asking Him to pour out His love on you, to free you from your enemies, and not with some means that you can figure out on your own, but by His power alone as the Lord your God?  Sure, it's a big, bold prayer to pray and it can feel kind of risky or even presumptuous to pray like this…but when we pray based on what we read in God's word, I don't think that is the same thing as presuming upon the Lord. When we ask for things He freely gives all over the pages of the Bible, I think we asking well.   In chapter three of Hosea, we find a verse that stands as a firm reminder of what will happen in the last days. Verse 5 says, In the last days they will tremble in awe of the Lord and His goodness.  This is going to happen. God says will in this verse, and He actually means will.  I think it would be very wise for us to acknowledge that this is going to happen, that everyone will tremble in awe of Him and His goodness. I'd like to start trembling in awe of Him and His goodness right now, and not wait for the time when everyone can't help but stand in awe. I'd like to honor Him in my awe of Him, if that makes sense. And I'd like to do that today.    Hosea 14-8-9 says: “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the One who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green, all your fruit comes from Me. Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.   We see a lot in these two verses. First, God wants His people to stay away from idols. Sure, it says Israel, but we can know for certain that Christians also need to stay away from idols. And an idol is anything that pulls at our hearts and gets us focused on something other than God. Yes, lots of bad bad things are idols. And also, lots of things that aren't inherently good or bad in and of themselves are also idols. Food can be an idol. Our appearance can be an idol. Our followers on social media, stats, can be an idol. Our children can become what we idolize most in this life. Possessions, big and small..our health, our athleticism, our intellect, our job title, our list of achievements, our degrees, who we rub shoulders with, our address, where we vacation…the list goes on and on.  Idol worship is what God says we are to stay away from. Stay away from idols. This doesn't sound like a request. It sounds like God is serious, and states this very plainly. We have no excuse for our idols. And we all deal with this issue, so we may as well be honest with the Lord about it and seek His help with whatever or whomever the idols are in our own hearts and lives.  God is the One who answers our prayers and cares for us. So why are we to stay away from idols? Because we get ensnared, drawn into the trap of thinking these things will deliver something that we are seeking. Security, status, any number of things. But they can't deliver. They aren't gods at all, they're not real like the One True God is, and we need to continually check our hearts to see if we are making some desire, something we want to see fulfilled, into a form of idol. This is a personal heart check, not a fix your spouse or your sibling or your child, but personal.  Idols keep us from living like the One who answers our prayers and cares for us is the One who answers our prayers and cares for us. They rob His glory, and they rob from us as His children. We get stressed out, we worry and fret, we moan and groan and complain. All while God is the One taking care of us, never forgetting us since He has engraved us on the very palms of His hands. He is the only One capable of answering our prayers. We pray to Him and in the next breath we try to find another option, a solution for the things we just prayed about. Idol worship does this to us, dimming our eyes of faith and darkening our hearts of trust. It's a way of dethroning God in our lives. Stay away from idols, regularly ask the Holy Spirit to show you idols that are in your heart, repent, turn away from those things, and keep on renewing your daily and constant trust in the Lord.  Remember, He cares for you you and He answers your prayers. He says that He is like a tree that is always green. Never barren or brown. Always green, and all our fruit comes from Him. Something good in your life? Something fruitful? Then it comes from Him. Period. He doesn't give any other options here, because there are no other options. Is it good and fruitful and full of life and joy? Then it comes from God.  Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully.   Let's pray for discernment to be able to listen carefully when God speaks, and let's ask Him to give us wisdom and understanding. We need to be wise, discerning, and understanding in this season of our world. Let's ask God to give us what we need! The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. Ah, well here we have the hard truth.  We can evaluate our own lives based on this text, and we can notice other people's lives and apply wisdom and discernment.   Think of it this way - if Biblical truth and wisdom cause people to balk, to get stiff necked and angry, argumentative, overly frustrated, rebellious…if God's word is causing that reaction, they are likely stumbling and falling in the paths of the Lord. Not throwing stones by saying that - just stating what God's Word says. You can and should pray for people who react that way. But you don't want to do daily life hand in hand with them. Remember what Psalm 1 says  about walking with the wrong people…first we are walking with them, then we stop walking and are standing with them, like conversing with them in a more focused manner, listening to them intently…and then, next thing you know, we're sitting with them, doing life with them, in agreement with them. Can two walk together unless they agree? No, they cannot. Same for sitting and standing. We don't want to walk, stand, sit with those who become angry, agitated, argumentative, irritated by God's wisdom in His Word. Because, as God says in Hosea, they will stumble and fall. And we are meant to live, not fall, not stumble, but live in the paths of the Lord, which are true and right, live by walking in them. You can't walk on bad paths and on God's paths at the same time. And those who stumble and fall on God's paths are not ones you can do life with, they can't keep walking with you because they will absolutely stumble and fall. So if you are walking with those who you know don't really adhere to or accept God's word, think about that and pray about it. You may need to check yourself and make sure you are on the Lord's paths, the ones that are true and right, and live there.    If that seems like a harsh message, it actually isn't. I promise. It's just an honest one based on Hosea in the Old Testament. We want to have the hope come to fruition for us, what's promised here in the 14th chapter. And we will, so long as we heed God's words to us and don't stick our heads in the sand and live in denial.   God has good for you, my friend. Answered prayers and blessings untold and uncountable. Good things, and good fruit. Grab hold of all of it with great gusto, in total faith, being unwilling to walk anywhere other than in his paths of peace and righteousness! 

Well hey there! Hello to you today and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. God's promises are to be believed. We can rely on them, leaning the full weight of our concerns upon them, because they come from our God who is unchanging in His keeping of His word. Today I have some verses to share that will encourage you to fully believe all of God's promises. Kerry Beck's Homeschool Summit - Free Ticket Available Here Psalm 91 Course from Jan L. Burt available here You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing in the Edifi app. This episode is sponsored by Kerry Beck and her summit for homeschool families - Homeschool Superheros. For information about the summit or for a free ticket, click the link in the show notes. This is episode number 186.   Let's look at a handful of verses today that are going to perhaps challenge us in our belief, or lack of belief, as it comes to God's promises, and they will also spur us on to even great belief. You know, we don't trust in just any old book, or in mere words, but in God's very word, penned by men at the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is good news for us, because we don't rely on something vague, artificial, or temporary (in fact Jesus said that the earth and all that is in it will pass away, but His words will never pass away). We are in a good place, in our sweet spot, when we fully believe God's promises and apply them to our lives.   One way to apply God's promises to our life is to take a particular promise and pray that promise about an exact situation or problem or relationship or issue we are facing. When we do that, we are literally applying the promises of God to our life and we can expect to see God's movement in those parts of our lives.   1 Samuel 22 verses 2 and 3 say this  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; You save me from violence.   What has God promised to be for you in these verses? Let me recap: your rock, your fortress, your deliverer, your God, the one in whom you need to take refuge, your shield, the horn of your salvation, your stronghold and your refuge, your savior. He promises to save you from violence. The definition of violence is this: physical force to injure or abuse, damage or destroy - intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force - vehement feeling or expression-a clashing or jarring quality   This is what God is promising to save you from. Violence isn't just a punch to the face or a pile drive to the face. Violence can be, and often is, much more than a physical blow. Believe that He is going to keep this promise to you. Won't He do it?  Psalm 28:8 a - The LORD is the strength of His people   Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.   Psalm 34:8 - Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!   Psalm 91:1-2 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”   Let me read to you words in red, words Jesus spoke, and let me remind you somewhat sternly that these words are meant for you to know only hear, but to believe, and to make your very own. Take them personally. These words, they are personal if you will believe that they are for you, personally.   John 8, verses 31 and 32 and then skipping down to verse 38 say: If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free…So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.   Are you truly free today? Free because the Son has set you free? If not, do you want this freedom? And for God's promises, all of them, every single one, to be true for you? It's actually quite simple and quite hard, all wrapped up together, this gift of salvation Jesus offers. It demands allegiance to Him alone as your one true King, and it comes with a repentant heart, actually repenting to the Lord for your sins, and receiving the total forgiveness Jesus won for us on the cross. And then the followers of Jesus must actually follow Him on the narrow road that constitutes our life from this point forward. Simple and hard all at the same time, but the right decision for you and for me, to be sure.   Be sure to share this episode if it has been helpful to you, and thanks so much for listening to the podcast. God bless you, see you next time. Bye bye. 

Well hello and welcome to the podcast, thanks for listening. This week, just as warmer temps get closer to the 100 degree mark here in Kansas, we're looking at a portion of the Bible that can bring some intensity and a tremendous reminder that every single thing God has promised always, absolutely, comes to pass.   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, and you can listen via the Edifi app for this podcast and many others with Biblical content. Today's episode is sponsored by Growth Roots, the makers of my favorite linen covered journals themed with the Christian in mind. Learn more at GrowthRootsCo.com or follow them on Instagram @growthrootsco.  This is episode number 183. The Pour Over news source   We're moving along in our look at promises in every one of the 66 books of the Bible, and we are in the Old Testament book of Ezekial for this episode. It's a hefty book, and so there were several promises and passages for me to choose from when I was preparing for this episode. I landed on chapter 36 because it is so fitting for the current moment in which we are living.    I'm going to be reading from the NLT today, chapter 36, starting in verse 8:   8 “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! 9 See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. 10 I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. 11 I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord..   So Israel was a nation, think back to the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants, then Moses leading the people out of Egypt in the Exodus and then Joshua taking the lead as the people of Israel moved forward literally into that land that was promised to them. Move forward through the Bible and you see times of exile, destruction of Jerusalem, and eventually Israel was no longer the nation that it once was. For a long time, and the history is extensive of all that happened over the centuries, but Israel was not a nation for quite some time. And then in May of 1948, 76 years ago, they became a nation again. It's an amazing thing to study how exactly that came about, but it really did happen just as God said it would when He asked the question, “Can a nation be born in a day?” You can find that verse in Isaiah 66.   Literally, the nation of Israel was born in a day. And so, very uniquely, when they celebrated their 76th birthday last month, they were actually celebrating it for the second time, because they'd been a nation before. God keeps all of His promises, and for this era we are currently in, I mean world wide, it behooves us to remember that God has made specific promises to Israel, to the people He chose to be His own possession, and when we read the news through the lens of God's Word, we get the proper perspective.    And we truly do need the right perspective, or how can we endure all the things that we don't fully understand? If we're honest, there's a lot that feels confusing and overwhelming. Standing on the solid rock of Jesus and the Word of God give us sure footing, hinds feet for high places, that we need. The Bible speaks into our circumstances today, right now, and that is comforting and it also reminds us, we need to be students of the Bible.    Verse 8 says the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops, verse 10 says God will greatly increase the population of Israel and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. Verse 11 says animals will increase, too, and that the nation will be more prosperous than it was before.    Israel has a population of around 9.8 million people. 36 Israelis are on the Forbes list of billionaires, with a b, for 2024. As far as millionaires go, Israel has about 131000 of them. Wheat, sorghum, corn, avocados, citrus, kiwi, guava, mangos, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchine, melons, bananas, dates, apples, pears, cherries, wine, cotton, cows, milk, silver carp, grass carp, gray mullet, St Peter's fish, rock bass, silver perch, Asian seabass, sea bream, trout, salmon, pomelo (a fruit they created), olives, figs, plums, strawberries, prickly pear, persimmon, pomegranates, almonds, around 90 million in annual flower exports, especially waxflower and roses, but also lilies and tulips, and I could go on.    Lest you think that this is not a big deal, that it's just their GDP and hard work and not God keeping this specific promise that He made here in Ezekial, well, in the 1920s and 1930s, the land that is now Israel was a wasteland, basically a desert where not even cacti would grow, and it was malarial…which is interesting, isn't it? A desert that gives you malaria? It was so bad, seemingly useless and place to go to lose your health, that only God could revive it and make it what it is now. He made promises, and He kept them with exacting precision.   So, let's bring this home to roost for you, in your life. The same God that keeps all His promises to Israel is the God who is right now in the business of keeping every one of His promises to you.   Not to beat a dead horse here, but I have this podcast for the express purpose of reminding Christians that all of God's promises are true, and He won't forget about those promises, nor fail to bring them to pass. Now if you don't believe them, you end up in the camp of the people Jesus encountered who did not believe He could do much, they had no faith, and among them He could do only a few miracles. So we can land there, we can end up not receiving what God wants us to have, solely because of our unbelief, our lack of faith. But God isn't shoddy in His workmanship. He doesn't make a promise with the intention of breaking it. He makes it so He can keep it, and He delights in our faith, our trust, our total belief and expectation that His promises to us will absolutely come to pass.    How's your faith today? What would you say is a fair and accurate description of what you are believing God to do for you, for your loved ones? And does that line up with hard times and the lowering of expectations and the dimming of hope that we often give way to when life is rough…or does it line up with the truth of God's Word? Only one of those is worthy of guiding or directing our faith. Which one is ruling the day in your life, right now?    God's Word is going to prove true, 100 percent. Why not make the choice, by faith and in faith, to believe God for all His promises and be on the right side of history? One day all of this will be history, and we can choose today which side of history we'll end up on. May as well be the right side, the winning team, am I right? Like, God's going to win the whole ball game, so let's get on His side and let's live expecting to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living even now. Grow your faith, maybe focus on that more than growing your bank account or your resume or closing the rings on your watch each day or whatever your big focus is.    My prayer for you today is that you will have such solid faith in the God who makes amazing promises that you'll live each day, starting with this day right now, as if He has already kept them, just like Israel is living in those promises from Ezekiel 36. He'll never fail in the keeping of His promises, not even a single one. Let's never fail in believing Him and living in a state of chronic belief and expectation, knowing that our hope in Him will never disappoint us.   I'll see you back here next time. Bye bye.

Have a prayer request? You can share it here & I will be praying!  Psalm 91 Course Access  Well hey there, hello to you today. Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, getting the promises of God into the people of God. When we know what God has promised us and we live like all those promises are true, our lives change. Now I mean that literally! God's Word is life-changing. And that's awfully good news for us!   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, playing via the Edifi app, which you can find in your app store. Today's episode is brought to you by my very own Psalm 91 - Pray It and Believe Course, all twelve sessions with lifetime access and the bonus content for $35. The link is right here in the show notes! I'd love to have you join me in the course - because the promises of Psalm 91 are for you (which is why I created the course in the first place). And this is episode number 182.    Last time we looked at the book of Jeremiah, and today we will look at the book of Lamentations, which was also written by Jeremiah. And yes, it's a book of lament, which means it isn't all happy, happy, happy, but is a serious book of the Bible. Written by a man who lived a serious life. Jeremiah was not living on easy street! He had a unique calling and it wasn't happy-go-lucky. And you know what? We find a lot of comfort in Jeremiah's words, in how his life played out, when our own lives take a turn that is uncomfortable, when something truly terrible hits us right between the eyes. We live on every word that comes from God, to be sure - that's Biblical and that's what Jesus said to Satan when he was tempting the Lord in the desert. And every word of His, what we read in our Bibles, is most comforting to us when we are at our lowest. I'm guessing that you've found that to be true. It's most comforting when we most need to be comforted. And that is why the book of Lamentations, being an actual lament, holds out so much hope to us. It's here when we truly need it, and we truly need it when the going gets tough, not when everything is coming up roses.    So let's take a look at a promise from Lamentations and let's either apply it right now to the hard thing we're facing in life, or store it up, hide it in our heart, so we can easily grab hold of this promise when we need it (so if you're not dealing with something difficult right this very moment, you can keep this in mind for when you're facing something tough…and it may be something good to have on hand to share and encourage and bring comfort to someone you know in real life, or via social media, who is dealing with something difficult right now).     From the Amplified Bible, I'll read Lamentations chapter 3, verses 57 and 58, and then I will move backward a bit in this chapter and read verses 24 and 25. But first, let me read verse 37, because it kind of jumped off the page at me - it just stood out to me as I was reading over this chapter and I want to share it so that it can be an encouragement for somebody today. It says this: “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has authorized and commanded it?” (Now this may not seem like a verse that is relevant to this episode, but hang with me for a moment. This verse, Lamentations 3:37, is such a wonderful reminder that God is always completely in control. Please don't forget that, my friend!)    Lam. 3:57-58: You drew near on the day I called to You, You said, “Do not fear.” O Lord, You have pleaded my soul's cause (You have guided my way and protected me).    Lam. 3:24-25: “The LORD is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul; “Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait (confidently) for Him, to those who seek Him (on the authority of God's word).    These four verses contain promises God gives His people from the book of Lamentations.  When you are in that terrible place in life, even if things are going well with your health, your finances, your job, your marriage, your friendships, and so on…but you are still struggling and feel a heaviness internally. Maybe one area is amiss, and it feels like you are drawing because of it. Even if it is just one part of life that's not so good, even if (and that's a big if, because most people I know are dealing with more than just one tough thing right now), but even if it's just one area, one thing, just one…I have to ask this question: what are you doing about it? Are you worrying? Are you trying to find a way to handle it, to buck up, to get thicker skin? To deal with things in a healthier manner? To sugar coat it? Are you fretting, giving in to fear, losing sleep, going gray, mind wandering as you kick this thing around, trying to find a solution? Asking others to pray for you? Doing all the things…but what are you DOING about it? Remember the first verse I read, the reminder that God really is in total control? These verses go together, in a way. Verse 57 says that when Jeremiah called to God, the Lord responded with these words: “Do not fear.”  It says God drew near on the day Jeremiah called to Him. So, whatcha doin? Are you calling to Him? What's the one thing we really need, and likely want, to hear from God when something has gone so far south that we couldn't locate North on a map with a compass glued to our nose. Call to Him. I do believe He wants to draw near and speak, “Do not fear.” to your heart. Verse 58, where it says God pleaded Jeremiah's soul's case…you know, Jesus secured our freedom and forgiveness and our eternity at Calvary, and He did indeed plead my soul's case, and yours, too. He has guided our way and protected us, and we have no evidence to think He will stop doing so for us, for all our days. He is good, is He not?   Does your soul say that the Lord is your portion and your inheritance? Say it to yourself - preach this to yourself if you need to be reminded! What's your portion? Not your bank account, your retirement plan, not your mid life crisis car, not your dress size, not even what your labs and bloodwork show, not your address, not your salary, your title, your name, your alma mater, your GPA, your vaca destination, carats on your ring finger, how many people know your name, if you are saluted or do the saluting, how many letters come after your last name, your merits, your accomplishments, the stories you tell to impress others…need I go on? I could, you and I both know this is real life, what we do and how we measure one another and how we give ourselves a pass or fail when we evaluate our own lives… But that's not your portion! Let alone your inheritance! The Lord is both! The Lord is your portion, and if you have Him, you have the best thing, as Jesus said to Martha when Mary was sitting at His feet being taught by Him, the best thing and it will not be taken from you. Your inheritance is not safe on this earth, in this life. With Him, your inheritance is safe. He is the only safe place there is! And yes, I do know what C.S. Lewis wrote in The Chronicles of Narnia, and I do know it is quoted by pastors and Christians on the regular…and I also know it's not true, that line about Aslan being good, but not being safe. Ha! What??? Man, if that's what floats your boat and forms your theology, get and auger and drill a bunch of holes in your boat and sink it and get your theology in line with the Bible, because my life was very unsafe before Jesus pulled me out of the pit, and the only safe place I have ever found in this world is with Him. Ain't nobody, C.S. Lewis included, gonna tell me convincingly that my God isn't safe. He is my refuge - He is my fortress - He is my deliverer - He is my salvation - He is my peace - He is my hope - He is the Way, the Truth and the Life for me. And He is indeed safe.   When the Lord is our portion and our inheritance, we truly can say along with Jeremiah that we have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. Hope in Jesus is never misplaced! And He is always worth the wait!    The last portion of verse 25 says The LORD is good to those who wait (confidently) for Him, to those who seek Him (on the authority of God's word). Man, that's rich, isn't it? I mean that seriously. This is gold, this is rich!  Can you wait not anxiously, gnawing on your thumbnail and holding your breath…but confidently? Knowing your God is going to show up. He's got this, He's got you. Nothing, not one hair on your head, is misplaced or overlooked. He is always in absolute control of the situation. What situation? Your situation!    Wait confidently for Him. Be one of those who seeks Him, and seek Him on the authority of His word. What does the Bible promise? Believe God for that exact thing. What does God's Word tell you about who God is, His character, His ways, His faithfulness, His mighty deeds, His unending love and astounding mercies? Seek Him based on those truths. And you, my friend, will not be left abandoned but will be, like Jeremiah, guided and protected.   That's it for this episode, and I'll put the link to the Psalm 91 course here in the show notes and I'll see you back here next time. Feel free to subscribe to the show and get new episodes as they release. Hang on to these promises and remember, they're not just for everyone else…if you know Jesus, these promises are for you, right now, this very moment in time. Bye bye. 

Well, hey there! Welcome to the latest episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I'm Jan, and if we have never met in real life or on the interwebs, it's so nice to “meet” you!  Let's take a look at some promises God offers His people in the book of Jeremiah. Episode #181 is sponsored by JoannaWeaverBooks.com How can I pray for you?   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by the author and speaker Joanna Weaver. You may know her from the bestseller Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Her words resonate with so many Christian women, and I am currently working through her book Lazarus Awakening. Thanks, Joanna, for writing what I've needed to hear so many times. I'll share a link to Joanna Weaver's website here in the show notes. This is episode number 181.   Jeremiah. The weeping prophet. His calling from the Lord was far from easy. In fact, it was downright brutal in many aspects. This is a man who lived a rough life for all the years he walked in obedience to God. And so, we can take comfort in his words when we feel like things go from bad to worse when we do what God told us to do. And in the midst of so much hardship, we find some amazing promises in the book of Jeremiah.   Jeremiah 17, verses 7 and 8 from the NLT say this: But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.   Isn't this passage remarkable? It reminds me very much of Psalm 1. The promise here for you is that you will be blessed so long as you trust in the Lord and make Him your hope and confidence. Listen, the honest truth is that we can feel like we're trusting Him but when pressed a bit regarding whether or not any and all of our confidence is in the Lord alone, well, hmmm… it's not always placed fully there, is it? And it needs to be. There is nobody that will fail to let you down save One, and His name is the Lord. So put your hope in Him, put all your confidence in Him, and you will be blessed. That's the promise here, and God never fails to do what He has promised. You will be like a tree planted along a riverbank, your roots are gonna go deep into the water and you will not have to feel barren and dry and fruitless and useless and pointless even when the whole world around you is in a season of drought. Your leaves will stay green and you will never stop producing fruit. Does that describe you right now? You know, one of the best ways to examine your life, to examine yourself to see if ye be in the faith, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5, is to take a look at your life's fruit, or lack thereof.  If you have no fruit, meaning the kind of stuff that marks you as a Christian, that is different than the ways of the world, that is evidence that Jesus has hold of your heart and is doing a sanctifying, transforming work in you and through you…that kind of fruit, well if it isn't evident in your life, then I'm going to be bold enough to say that you may not be planted firmly in the Lord, may not be fully trusting in Him alone. And if you're not, can I encourage you to change that today? Walking with Jesus is not about saying a prayer one time during an emotional moment at the end of a three day conference. Climate controlled settings with emotional speakers and worship can be awesome, there is not doubt, but they don't always equate to the kind of transformative life change that Jesus is really after in the lives of each of His disciples. If we are going to see the kind of fruit that points to us belonging to Him, we need to make a decision to take up our cross daily and follow Him, and that goes far beyond the women's event and stretches into every nook and cranny of our life.    Jeremiah 33:3 is another verse I'd like to share with you today, and I actually mentioned this verse on episode number 33 of my other podcast, The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt and I can drop a link to that episode in the show notes for you to easily listen to if you're interested. Let me read it from the NLT.  I'll start in verse 2 and then read verse 3: This is what the LORD says - the LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the LORD. Ask Me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.    Yeah, that right there is a big deal. It's a huge promise. Ask Him, call to Him some versions say, and ask Him things you don't know. Ask Him and He will tell you secrets that are remarkable about what? About things you don't know, about things to come. This tells us that we aren't on our own, we don't have to figure it all out by our own selves, and beyond that, we can ask Him to tell us secret things about what is to come and He will do it. Isn't that amazing? Like, how is that even possible, that we can ask and God will tell us things like that? Oh it's amazing all right, and God means what He promises here. We aren't walking into an unknown, uncertain future in the same manner as those who don't follow Jesus…and this verse gives us tremendous hope and comfort that God will show us things, remarkable things, secret things, if we will but ask Him. Our future is not unknown - it is safe in the hands of the God who knows us and we can keep expecting Him to show us things about the future if we will just ask. Yup, this is an awesome promise!   The last verse we will look at in Jeremiah is from chapter 10, verse 23, still reading from the NLT.   This section of chapter ten has the header “Jeremiah's Prayer” and verse 23 says: I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. And verse 24 says: So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.   I love this. To begin a prayer by saying that we know our lives are not our own, that we are not able to plan our own course, is a huge admission that we all need to make! God already knows this is true; we need to know it! And as a Christian woman in America in 2024, it's not common to our western culture, this kind of admittance.  We DON'T know that our lives are not our own. We really have been taught to drink the Kool-Aid and believe the untruth that we can plan our own course. Actually, according to the very Word of God, we cannot!  The promise here for you and for me is that this acknowledging brings with it so much comfort and peace, because we put our lives where they belong…in His hands. Honestly, we don't want them anywhere else. And Jeremiah goes on to pray, so correct me Lord, but please be gentle. If God corrected us, dealt with us in His anger, none of us would be alive. Instant death. Poof. That's it. Time to punch out. But of course, our loving God in His grace and mercy doesn't deal with us in His anger! He gentleness is known to all, if we take the time to notice it.  But in praying these words, asking God to move in our lives, to do His sanctifying work, which does at times, often times for me, involve correction, is a really amazing way to ask God to do His will, but in a way that is gentle. He does remember that we are but dust, it says in Psalm 103, and in His gentleness toward us, we see evidence of how much He loves us.    Take comfort in this! God's love and care for you knows no bounds, and He will finish the work He has begun in your life. I hope these verses from Jeremiah have been encouraging for you today, and if so, well, praise the Lord!   Lord bless you and thanks for listening today - also, I'm leaving a link in the show notes where you can send me any prayer requests you may have, and I pray for every request I receive. I'll see you next time! Bye bye. 

Well hey there! Hello to ya and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where we talk about God's promises and apply them to our lives. God's promises are all true, and they are true for you if you are a follower of Jesus. Isn't that great news?!? I'll go ahead and answer my own question: yes, it is most certainly great news. I'm speaking at the Vibrant Home Life Summit & I hope you'll join me (it's online!) You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by Mr. Pen , and I've put a link in the show notes. I love pens, journaling, and the like…and I love Mr Pen products. I also love their heart to support IJM and take a stand against human trafficking. So check them out, follow them on the gram, and be part of something more than just buying a new Bible highlighter. And one more important thing I want to share with you today - I'm honored to be speaking at the upcoming Vibrant Home Life Summit. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the secular culture that seems to surround us at every turn? Do you find yourself struggling to maintain your faith and uphold your Christian values in a world that often feels hostile to them? If so, I want you to know that you're not alone.   In the midst of the chaos and confusion of the secular world, there is a beacon of hope shining brightly: the Vibrant Home Life Summit. This transformative event, taking place from April 29 to May 3, 2024, is designed to breathe new life into your faith and equip you with the tools you need to thrive as a Christian family. I'd love to have you join me for this summit, which is an online event, and find a whole ton of encouragement. The link is right in the show notes, and I'll be sending out some emails about the summit and sharing on social media and am going to have a special bonus episode of the podcast to hit on some issues that are facing us as disciples of Jesus in this day and age, so be sure to keep an eye out for that and I'll be hitting this subject hard in that episode, number 179, because you and I are living in this exact time for such a time as this, and in order to live well we need one another, we need to be shored up and encouraged and reminded that we're not alone, far from it, in this culture war and war on our families. I'm looking forward to that episode, and to have you join me at this summit, which is so needed right now.  We're taking a look at some promises God's given us in the book of Isaiah today, and this is episode number 178. Episode mentioned for reference - Episode 38 - Isaiah 40:31 & Psalm 103:5 (A Molting Season...) | The Burt (Not Ernie) Show (podbean.com) Isaiah is a book that is packed full of warnings, prophecies, encouragement and promises. It's a book that you can, and probably should, study with a long-haul perspective. It is anything but lifeless! And it isn't something to glaze over quickly. And so, here we are taking a second look at the promises in Isaiah because it's not really a book of the Bible that can be fully addressed in one short podcast episode. Or in a dozen episodes, honestly. I cannot possibly do this book justice. I just can't. I won't even come close. But I can share several promises from Isaiah that will encourage you, no matter what your life may look like today, or what it may look like in a few months or a few years (and I do think we are entering a phase of history that will leave all of us living lives that look very different in the next several years as compared to how  they look right now… as I've said before, keep your eyes on Israel and pay close attention to what's happening there… some upcoming events are going to take place that could very well be the next steps toward the prophecy we read about in Daniel and the explanation, if you will, that Paul shared in 2 Thessalonians… and while that isn't the express focus of this episode, it is noteworthy. Because if we don't have any real idea of what's happening over there in the Middle East, in Israel specifically, that could be because our news isn't telling us some of the things taking place that pertain to the Bible being fulfilled exactly as it's written, and not all of us have our social media feeds curated so that our feeds keep us somewhat up to date of what's going on. And what's going on has to do with Iran readying to attack Israel, now per it's old school Bible name, Iran is the same as Persia. It's a wild time to be alive, for us as Christians, so let's keep loving people well, and we do that better when we know what time it is on the Kingdom calendar and realize that our priorities can easily get all out of whack when we think it's a different time than it really is. If things are heating up in Israel, which they have been the last six months, then we know it's a ramp up time. Gotta know the Bible and gotta keep our eyes on Israel and gotta love people now better than we ever have before, because that's our job as disciples, to go and tell. Let's allow the words from Isaiah to spur us on toward love and good deeds, and I don't mean platitudes and somewhere over the rainbow, but actual love that moves us to love others. Christ love compels me, wrote Paul. But what about us? Does Christ's love compel Jan? Do you find yourself compelled by Christ's love?   So it says in Isaiah chapter 8, verse 13 AMP - It is the LORD of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome. He shall be your (source of) fear. He shall be your (source of) dread (not man). Verse 14a - Then He shall be a sanctuary (a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him);    What you fear rules the direction of your life and the attitude of your heart.  I think you likely already know that, but it's worth the reminder. Because  we are living in uncertain times, lots going on every single day, we are in an era when the next news story doesn't even shock us because it's been so much for so long. I've seen surveys of younger people who all seem to agree that since 2020, they feel like their life has sort of been on hold, in some kind of a pause, and they feel lost and somewhat depressed and I don't think that only applies to the younger generation. It's sort of true for all of us, isn't it? So the hope we find here, to fear the Lord, to let Him be our only source of dread, that takes the fear out of everything else. But we have to be reminded about this, at least I do. Fear Him, He is to be your only source of dread. Not man. And then He will be a sanctuary and an indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him.   Here's a big promise, whopper sized, for us from Isaiah Chapter 30, verse 21, still in the AMP Your ears WILL hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.   If you need some guidance (and who among us doesn't at one point or another?) or clarity, direction, which choice do I make, which way do I go, what do I do? This verse holds the hope and the promise that we are in need of.  I say this often, although I haven't said it on the podcast in a while, but when one of God's promises says “WILL”, He means it! Let me read that aloud to you once more. Your ears WILL hear a word, or a voice, behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. WILL! He is going to give you a word of guidance when you are weighing your options, do I go right, do I go left…but here's the thing, we have to walk in it. He will say, “This is the way,” but He won't take those steps for us and He won't force us to walk in those ways. He will tell us, Go this way, take a left, not that way, this way is the way to go…and He expects us to do as He directs us to do and to walk in the way He leads us. If you will do that, not all the second guessing and the what iffing, but will just say, yup, He directed me and it's a left turn here at this junction, so I am going left, if you walk in it, then you'll be living in the fullness of this promised blessing. To be able to know that you have the guidance and direction from the voice and word of God for all the days of your life in every decision, to be able to know the way to go, the route to travel, the path to take, the turn to make…this is a huge promise. Don't miss out on this! Take full advantage of this one! And believe that God says will because He means it. He WILL do this for you. But you need to walk in the way He directs you to go.    Isaiah 40:29 AMP He gives strength to the weary, and to him who has no might He increases power.    Now this one, it's for me. It might also be for you today, but I can tell you without a doubt, it is for me right now. I am somewhat weary from health problems. In all honesty, I am super weary. I'm tired of discomfort, I'm tired of the cough that is either due to the heart failure diagnosis or due to my busted thyroid or due to both. I am weary of the pain due to a large number of uterine fibroids. I don't like the constant feeling of needing to catch my breath. I don't like coughing and people wondering if I am contagious (I'm not, it's just due to my heart). I'm tired of hypothyroidism. I'm tired of not knowing if it will be a good day or a not so good day, energy wise. I'm weary of feeling like I ought to enjoy my life more and live better. I'm tired of gained weight (again, thyroid and heart problems…like if you see me and want to know what happened, well, Google heart failure and you'll know!)  And so, a verse like this one is for me. He promises to give strength to the weary. That's me! And to him, or her, who has not might He increases power. I have no might on my own! For a fact, there is no might I muster up to do anything. If it gets done, it's all because God gave me power to do it. Now that's true for all of us, but in my case, I am just a lot more aware of it on a daily basis.    Isaiah 40 verse 29 is a verse I need, and so I opt to believe that God will keep His word, keep His promise, and I pray for that to be my reality.  Yes, I pray for healing. And I also pray for power and strength while I keep praying for healing.  I hope you do that, too, for whatever need you have, whatever your current station in life might be.    Isaiah 40:31 AMP But those who wait for the LORD (who expect, look for, and hope in Him) will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings (and rise up close to God) like eagles (rising toward the sun}; They will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired.    Ah, what a verse! We have to wait for the Lord in order for this promise to be fulfilled for us - but we wait with expectancy, we wait in hope, knowing that our hope will not be disappointed! We look for Him, watching and searching for Him to show up in our circumstances. Active waiting is a real thing, and in the Kingdom of God, it's the only way to wait well!   When He shows us, we gain new strength (I've talked about this on the podcast way back in 2019, I think it was, and it is amazing how the eagle transforms after a molting season - it is hands down one of my favorite episodes of this show and I'll add the link here in the show notes). Renewed power. New strength. All because we wait for Him expectantly and with hope.  We'll rise up close to God like an eagle rising toward the sun.  We will run and not become weary and to this I say, Yes, Lord! Do as You have said! And they will walk and not grow tired. You know, last fall I took a trip that involved a lot of walking and I began to see with a new set of eyes more clearly what my health was like, sort of how bad it had gotten, because walking several miles did some revealing of things in my health that I had kind of not really clued in to.  And I'm glad for that experience! But also, I'm praying that it will come to an end, in this life and not merely the next one, and I'll have healing and be free from the hindrances that I did not used to deal with and would like to not deal with now.  What about you? I've shared a lot about how these passages from Isaiah spur me on, emboldened me as I pray, and give me tremendous hope as I wait for God to fulfill them for me. Do they do the same for you?  Are you more free, more excited, more hopeful, after reading God's promises?  Do you rise up with new energy and strength because God, via His living word, has supernaturally done a work in your heart and mind and inner being?  I don't want to only talk about my health struggles. I want to use those as a real life example that will hopefully encourage you that God's promises are for you, remind you that He is for you, you are never alone, and all His promises to you will not fail because He will not fail.   Not only are you loved, but you are so loved. Not only are you favored, but you are highly favored. And not only are these promises for all God's people, but they are also just for you.    There are some more promises in the book of Isaiah that might encourage you, and I'm going to put together a pdf download for you that has a list of promises from the Amplified Bible. I don't know that it will be linked in this episodes show notes, but I will get it linked in the next episode for sure and will also share it on social media and on my website, which is my name, JanLBurt dot com.   God's gonna keep these promises, to me and to you. Believe Him for it! And honor Him by waiting with great hope and expectation!   Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you back here next time. Bye bye!

Well hey there, hello to ya. Thanks for dropping by the podcast today. It's a good one, this episode, as we take a look at a promise from the book of Isaiah. What a book - am I right? What. A. Book. Alexandra Bowman Photography You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, playing via the Edifi app. This episode is sponsored by Alexandra Bowman Photography, located in south central Kansas, and a link to see her work is right here in the show notes. This is episode number 176.   Every book a promise.  How many promises are there in the Bible, exactly? I've read that there are over 6000. That's something like one promise a day for 16 plus years. It's a book of promise, it's a book of hope, the Bible is living and active, so says Hebrews. And all those promises? They are all yes and amen for those of us who are in Christ. That's very good news for us today, don't ya think? And so this series, looking at a promise from each and every book of the Bible, all 66 of them, from Genesis to Revelation, well, it's a good series because it's so filled with the hope of those promises. God's track record at keeping His promises is perfect, absolutely perfect. Of course it is, seeing as He is perfect. Total perfection, nothing less.  Isaiah, however, is a big, full, rich book. Sixty-six chapters and so many promises, especially once Isaiah turns a corner in chapter 40 and the hope just pours out. If you haven't read much of the book of Isaiah in a while, you won't regret diving in and reading, applying to your life, choosing to believe what is says.  I decided that it would be pretty near impossible for me to truly do a good job, or even a moderate job, of touching on the promises in Isaiah in just one single episode. So today I'm going to share a promise from chapter 43, a really amazing promise, and then I am going to have another episode with other promises. Because we need it, right now, in our current day and age. We need to hear God's promises spoken aloud, we need it. It's like oxygen - this is not the time to be holding our breath. This is the time to be breathing deeply and getting life from God's promises.    Isaiah 43, verses 1, 2 and 3.    CSB   Now this is what the LORD says - the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel - “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior.”   Who created and formed Israel? It was the Lord God who created and formed Israel. God was intentional when he formed Israel, when He changed Jacob's name to Israel, in all His dealings with His chosen people, He has always been intentional. And this understanding of the intentionality of our God reminds us that He is not, nor will He ever be, unintentional with us. He is working in our lives and all around us, and He does so with loving and careful intention.  Your God is intentional. And He is intentional about you. Do not fear. These three words are repeated again and again to us all throughout the Bible. And aren't you glad for that? That the Lord says this to us, for us, again and again and again? I know I am!    God's call to us to fear not comes with a promise attached. He knows how we are made, that we are but dust is says in the Psalms. And so, He knows what we can and cannot do in our own strength. (Spoiler alert: we can do basically nothing in our own strength and we need Him for every single thing, every single breath, every single moment.) He doesn't tell us not to be afraid and then leave us with no way of actually not being afraid. He calls us to a life of no fear and then He makes it possible. Do we need faith, do we need to actually believe what the Bible says? Yes. So choose faith, choose belief, choose to obey the Lord on a daily basis. And when you are scared about something, remind yourself, preach to yourself, that God does not want you to be fearful and then pray and ask Him to do what seems like it's impossible - to truly make you not fearful. He doesn't say, “Do this,” or “Don't do that,” and then leave us unable to do or not do said things. Your God is a good God, and your God loves you so very much, and He will enable you, empower you, to not be afraid.    He says here that He redeemed Israel. And in Jesus, we who are not of the nation of Israel are also redeemed. Do we live like we're redeemed? Are we behaving like a redeemed people? Just food for thought today. God wants us to understand in the deepest recesses of our hearts and minds that we are redeemed…from death, from hell, from all that a sinful and broken world brings at us, and He wants us to live a changed life as a result of knowing that we are a redeemed people. Does that make us look a bit different than those who don't know Jesus personally and thus aren't redeemed as of yet? Well, yes. But isn't that actually good? Doesn't that difference, that oddness, us being a peculiar people as it says in the New Testament, doesn't that give other reason to look at us and maybe, just maybe, some will do more than look, they'll study us a bit and who know? Some will come to know Jesus for themselves because you and I, we are different because we've been redeemed. You could look up the word redeemed in the dictionary and check out the definition and see if it describes you as a follower of the Lord Jesus.    He calls us by name. He knows us all, and He knows us each one, and He knows us well, better than we know ourselves. He calls us by our names. Personal? Yes, your God is personal. He knows. Whatever it is that is weighing on you, maybe a skeleton in your closet, maybe someone really did you dirty and you have not talked to anyone about it…God knows. In His knowing of us, we can rest and we can receive His peace and we can just set it all down, lay it down, and receive what He has for us. You are known, because He calls you by your name. Not a stranger, but one whose name is known and whose name is called.    You are Mine, is says next. You are called by your name and the One calling you by name says this: You are Mine. When God says something or someone is His, who are we to argue? But we do sort of argue, don't we? I don't feel like this is true (oh, those fickle feelings, always messing with us and playing tricks on the way we think, which ends up impacting the way we live our lives…) Listen, if He says something is so, then it is. Period. Your input, my advice, the counsel of the billionarist of all billionaires is irrelevant, it is not needed, He never asks for it.  What God says, that's that. That's it. Case closed.  You are Mine. Says who? Who says that? God. That's who. And that's that. Once He says you are His, well, just let that be settled here in your life on earth as it is already settled in heaven.    When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.  So, sometimes we are gonna go through some stuff. No way around it, gotta go through it, and that's how it is. But you aren't alone, far from it, God has said here, promised here, that He will be with you. Okay then. God's with me as I pass through those waters? Alright. That changes everything! And through the rivers, they won't overwhelm you. You won't drown in this situation, because that's the promise here.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior. I guess we're fire walkers, aren't we? Things will be hot sometimes, but God has said we won't be scorched, the flame won't burn us because, and here is the promise, because he is the Lord our God, the Holy One of Israel, now think on that for a moment. Think of God doing all those miracles in Egypt, think of it! The Holy One of Israel, that's who says you won't be scorched or burned. He is your Savior. No political candidate is your savior. No job, career, inheritance is saving you. Good health, you're a marathon runner, a super athlete, got all these friends around you, live in an underground bunker compound or whatever, nope. That's not the promise. That's not where it's at. The Lord is your Savior. Will you rest in that promise today? You won't drown, you won't get scorched, you are called by name, you are His, He will be with you and He is your Savior.   Now that's quite a promise. Remember, next week we will look at Isaiah again because the promises in this book, they are for you and for me and so let's know what they are, and let's believe them. He's got you, and He will not let you go. And I'm adding Isaiah chapter 11 to the show notes to make it super easy for you to read and pray through. ISAIAH 11 A Branch from David's Line   1 Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. 4 He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. 5 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.   6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. 7 The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. 8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. 9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.   10 In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people— those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. 12 He will raise a flag among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth.   13 Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end. They will not be rivals anymore. 14 They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west. Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east. They will occupy the lands of Edom and Moab, and Ammon will obey them. 15T he Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River, sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams so it can easily be crossed on foot. 16 He will make a highway for the remnant of his people, the remnant coming from Assyria, just as he did for Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt.   I'll see you next time! Bye bye!

Welcome to the annual year-end reflection and new year visions for Anchored by the Sword! This past year has been amazing! I love getting to do this with each of you! I share with you some stats about this year, reflect on the top 5 episodes, my personal reflection of 2023 and some changes coming in 2024. I also talk about two new members on the team! Thank you so much for joining me and get ready for this new year! Top 5 Episodes: Mike Noriega's Freedom Story! https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Mike-Noriegas-Freedom-Story-e26goq3 Jami Nato's Freedom Story! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Jami-Natos-Freedom-Story-e24s2th Jennifer Eikenhorst's Freedom Story!  https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Jennifer-Eikenhorsts-Freedom-Story-e1t8uk5 Holley Gerth's Freedom Story!  https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Holley-Gerths-Freedom-Story-e1tau5m Phylicia Masonheimer's Freedom Story!  https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Phylicia-Masonheimers-Freedom-Story-e20dkv8 Other Discussed Episodes: Lacy Velton's Freedom Story: https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Lacy-Veltons-Freedom-Story-e2cjqv4 Rickey Hill and Jeff Calenteno's Freedom Stories! https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Rickey-Hill-and-Jeff-Calentenos-Freedom-Stories-e280se4 Rachel Joy Baribeau's Freedom Story: https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Rachel-Joy-Baribeaus-Freedom-Story-e24s384 Christy Osborne's Freedom Story! https://anchor.fm/anchoredbythesword/episodes/Christy-Osbornes-Freedom-Story-e20bjjv Horacio Printing link:  https://www.horacioprinting.com?aff=77 2024 Verses Ministry and Life: 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 (CSB) Personal: Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT) ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode is definitely one to end 2023 with! My guest, Kathy DeGraw, talks about how she grew up in a fear-filled environment and how God delivered her from many of the fears and generational curses she carried into adulthood. We talk about how being proactive in our prayers and worship will help us to minimize the enemy and his impact in our lives and situations. Her prayer and desire for each one of us is to love as blessing makers and curse breakers! We dive into topics such as trauma, deliverance, becoming prayer warriors and so much more. I pray that as we end 2023 and walk into 2024, we do so with the mind of Christ and live with open hands to allow God to use us in the ways He has planned for us! Bio: Kathy DeGraw is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and K Advancement LLC. She enjoys ministering and releasing the love and fire of the Holy Spirit, teaching believers how to walk in the fullness of God and release their prophetic potential. She uses her prophetic anointing to deliver people from the powers of darkness and goes deep in the ministry of deliverance to eradicate strongholds, expose the root causes and legal rights of the enemy, and evict evil principalities. Kathy hosts a weekly podcast show called Prophetic Spiritual Warfare that has reached more than one million listeners. She has been a guest on The Jim Bakker Show and Sid Roth's It's Supernatural! Kathy is a prophetic voice and writer on The Elijah List, Charisma Magazine, Prophecy Investigators, and Spirit Fuel. She has a clear and unique gift of discernment and operates in a strong prophetic, healing, and deliverance anointing. In addition to Mind Battles, she has published several books, including: Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan and Prophetic Spiritual Warfare, based on her podcast. Kathy is married to her best friend, Pastor Ron DeGraw. They reside in Michigan and are the parents of three adult children. Anchor Verses: Romans 8:15 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 2 Timothy 1:7 Connect with Kathy: Website: https://www.kathydegrawministries.org/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathydegraw/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathydegraw/ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's guest, Sarah E. Frazer talks about how the adoption of two children from China changed her family's lives for the good and also left her saying at times, I Didn't Sign Up For This, which is the title of the book she released this year. She goes into the story of discovering the special needs of her daughter were much more severe than they had realized. She knew God has orchestrated the entire adoption process and He knew her family was the one she needed. She had to learn to release control to God and when she did, she found the peace and freedom she truly needed. I pray this episode encourages you to carry this idea of relinquishing control to God, who already knows the future as we enter into a brand new year. Bio: Sarah E. Frazer is a writer, Bible study mentor, wife of Jason, and mother of five. With a background in missionary work and Bible teaching, her passion is to encourage women to start today with a Bible reading and prayer habit. She shares tools and encouragement for Bible study and prayer study on her website. Anchor Verses: Philippians 4:6-7 Psalm 90:1 Connect with Sarah: Website: https://sarahefrazer.com IG: https://instagram.com/sarah_e_frazer FB: https://www.facebook.com/sarahefrazer ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation is with JT Jester. We actually recorded this over 1 1/2 years ago and I still found it just as encouraging today as the day we recorded it! His story about working through and living with the physical and learning issues he has to become an author, speaker and also to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro is an inspiration to all of us to keep on going and look to each day as a gift from God. His book, No Bad Days, is available now wherever you buy books! Bio: JT Jester is a young entrepreneur, philanthropist, podcaster, and inspirational speaker based in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. A graduate of High Point University in North Carolina, JT is also an experienced mountaineer, extreme skier, boater, hunter, and adventurer who has made it his life mission to encourage people to untether from natural or self-imposed limitations and live full, passionate lives. Born with life-threatening VATER/VACTERL syndrome, as well as extreme dyslexia and short-term memory loss, he established the JT Mestdagh Foundation to bring encouragement, joy, and laughter to people with physical and learning disabilities and their families. JT hopes that through sharing his life experiences and other people's stories, people will be reminded there truly are no bad days and to never give up. Anchor Verses: Proverbs 3:5-6 Connect with JT: Website: www.jtjester.com Facebook, Instagram, Twitter YouTube ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode is with my friend, Doris Swint. We were friends online for years and got to meet IRL at the Spark/NRB Conference in Nashville in March of 2022. This conversation is a great reminder about how your past does not dictate your calling. Once you give your life to God, He no longer judges you on your past, but leads you out of guilt and shame and into your fierce calling. Doris talks about how this happened for her after years of carrying the shame of getting pregnant as a teen and having to leave school six months before she graduated because of it. She also reminds us that we are not alone; even when we feel like we want to isolate, we need to find a community to surround us, pray for us and lead us back to God. We pray this conversation encourages you as we are entering the Christmas season and the new year to really lean into what God is speaking to your heart and mind and that you will be open to Him. Bio: Doris Swift is an author, speaker, founder of Fierce Calling Ministries, and host of the award-winning Fierce Calling podcast. She is passionate about equipping women to dig deeper into God's word, take action where their passion, compassion, and conviction intersect, and walk boldly in their fierce calling. Her new Bible study, Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You, a six-week Bible study rooted in John 15, is available wherever you purchase books. She currently resides in Central Florida with her husband Brian, is mom to an amazing son and daughter and their spouses, and Gammy to six awesome grandkids. Anchor Verse: John 15:11 Ephesians 4:1 1 Thessalonians 5:11 James-the whole book Connect with Doris: Website: dorisswift.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DorisSSwift Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorissusanswift/ X: https://twitter.com/DorisSSwift ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

This conversation with my friend, Heather Creekmore was one I know I really needed to hear! We talk about the struggles we both have had over the years with weight up and downs, dieting and trying to obtain the world's version of perfection and healthy. She talks about how exhausting and unnecessary that struggle really is. She also brings comparison into the discussion and how that can encourage even more unhealthy habits and breakdown for us physically, spiritually, mentally, etc. She reminds all of us to really examine whose definition of health are we paying attention to and who's teaching are we listening to. We need to make sure we keep God as our focus in every area of our lives and we pray that this episode and Heather's new book will be the start. Bio: Heather Creekmore writes and speaks hope to thousands of women each week, inspiring them to stop comparing and start living. The host of the internationally popular Compared to Who podcast, she has been featured on Fox News, Huff Post, Morning Dose, Church Leaders, and For Every Mom, along with dozens of other shows and podcasts. She was a contestant on Nailed It, the hit Netflix bake fails show. Heather and her Marine-fighter-pilot-turned-pastor husband, Eric, have four children and live in Austin, Texas.  Anchor Verses: Ephesians 3:20 Jonah 2:8 Connect with Heather: Website: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/comparedtowho/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherCreekmoreblog/ Podcast: https://comparedtowho.me/podcast/ Book Link: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/40-Day-Body-Image-Workbook-Christian ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Hello there, welcome to this episode of the podcast, I'm your host Jan L. Burt, and I am tremendously thankful you're listening. In this episode, we'll be looking at the book of Nehemiah, which holds so much hope, in the midst of genuine opposition, and the wonderful truth that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Let's jump into this chapter. God's Best for My Life Devotional You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, found on the Edifi app. Today's show is sponsored by the devotional God's Best For My Life, by Lloyd John Ogilvie, available via Moody Church Media. The link to purchase your copy is in the show notes, and if you need a new devotional for the upcoming new year, or maybe a Christmas gift, this devotional is worth reading. It is powerful in that it is life-changing and based solidly on the Bible. It's on my list to give this year, because it's a game changer. This is episode number 168. Nehemiah chapter 4, verses 1 through 3 and today I'm reading from the CSB, from my Spurgeon study Bible.  When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria, and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” Then Tobia the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall.”   The header for this chapter is titled, Progress In Spite Of Opposition. Anybody feel like they are up against some opposition? Trying to make progress - maybe in your finances and the economy is fighting you. In your health and man, it's so hard, this time of year, to make changes or find time to get to the gym, or to cut out your favorite craft coffee…we were in Florida over Thanksgiving and we had some good coffee while we were there, at a place we really love, and it would not have been easy to give up good coffee right before heading down south on that trip. What about trying to make progress for God's glory, doing Kingdom work, maybe in your family, doing family devotions, Christmas and nightly advent devotions seemed like a great idea but some of those kids, they are in opposition to this idea and it's hard. Trying to keep the neighborhood outreach going, but nobody else is really helping out and it's just so hard…Okay, you get the picture. We all have times of opposition. But are we making progress in spite of it? Now, not everything that WE decide to work on is something God is going to bless, because sometimes we're selfish, sometimes we know He wants us to go over here but those people are difficult and so lemme just go on this a way and start doing this other thing, and God won't You just bless it same as You would if I'd done what You said? There are times we are doing good-ish stuff but it isn't God-ish stuff, He didn't ask us to do this, He said to do that. Or we never even asked Him, we just jumped in, started this new thing, it's way more than we bargained for and we don't feel like He's giving us much favor. Gotta talk to Your Father about these things, my friends. And you also have to do what He says, and ideally do it quickly because obedience matters so much. I've got something I am going to do this week, and it's a busy week, getting busier and busier by the second, but it's gonna get done cuz He said to do it. By the start of next week, I'll have it done. Because that's the timeline He's given me and I'm going to obey. I want His blessing, I want His favor, don't you? I want progress in spite of opposition. And satan is against us, because we are part of the family of God. So we will have opposition.    In these verses, we see two men who are just on a tear. They are against Nehemiah, they are against all of the Jewish people who are back in Israel doing a rebuilding work. They are not nice or polite in these verses, and they don't get nicer or politer (that's not a word, but whatever) as this book continues. Why do we expect the opposition to be nice and tidy and neat and polite and manageable and not so darn mean when we're dealing with it because we're obeying the Lord? It's not nice. It's not polite. And often, it comes from the back, the sides, the flanks, not head on directly where we can see it coming and get ourselves ready. Nehemiah kept working, alongside many others, and he also prayed that these attacks would be stopped and their attackers dealt with. In verse 13 we find that things got so rough that Nehemiah stationed people around the vulnerable areas and the lowest sections of the walls with swords, spears and bows. He also reminded the people not to be afraid of their enemies, but to remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, as they fought for their countrymen and their families and their homes (see vs. 14). Remember the Lord should inspire us to awe. He is awesome, we ought to be in awe of Him. Every so often, take time to stand in awe, to stand amazed, and to ponder just who this God is that you know and serve and love. Need some courage? That's one way to find it, and not courage based on others, on yourself, on circumstances. Courage in the Lord.    In chapter four we see that they did the rebuilding work with a trowel in one hand, so yes this is manual labor they were doing, literally rebuilding this wall brick by brick, a trowel is used for brick laying type work, masonry, they had the trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. They were working, they were ready to fight and defend themselves, and they were reliant on God. The end of this chapter says they never removed their weapon, even when washing. This threat was real.   Listen, you may feel pushed on, under a heavy spiritual weight at times. Your threat, your attack, it is also real. It's okay if you need to do your daily work with one hand a keep your spiritual weapon in the other. Put on the full armor of God, and if you haven't done that in a while or want to know where that is in the Bible, NT Ephesians chapter 6. Get in the Bible daily. Pray daily, and don't just give God your list and then sign off, but listen for what He might say to you, how He may answer you. And put on worship music. All these are ways to keep a weapon in your hand. The enemy is real, and he hates Jesus and so he also hates you because you belong to Jesus. Use the weapons God has given you, and don't feel bad about it. We don't fight against people, our enemies are in the spiritual realm, remember that. And ask the Lord to protect you and to help you, which is what Nehemiah did.   Jump to chapter 8, and we find the people all gathered together and Ezra, from the last episode we mentioned him, he read the book of the law of Moses from daybreak until noon before the people. Verse 3b says, “All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.”   When you are at church, do you listen attentively or distractedly? Ya know, I have to say, this is in total honesty, we don't listen as attentively as we ought to. Lots of reasons for this, most of them you already know and don't need me to mention. But I will say this: church hurt is real, and some folks are in the church each week, they are there, but they have some hurt from prior experiences and they love Jesus and they love His people, but they have been through some stuff and honestly, I do believe some of the inattentive “listening” we find is linked to this. Keep attending church if this is you. Keep praying, keep reading your Bible, keep listening for the Spirit of the Lord to speak to you, and keep allowing space in your life for God to bring you healing. That's all I want to say on this issue today, but I don't think I'm wrong that there are walking wounded in our churches and some of those wounds came from within the body of Christ. Thank you to those who are in church even when you've been hurt. I'm glad you're there!   Ya know, maybe the promise for us from this book, for this episode, is that we can rebuild. We can trust God again. And again. We can serve alongside people, even those who are also rebuilding and recovering from a long, hard season. We don't have to be perfect, to get better before we show up, we don't have to hide out and avoid the rebuilding work God has for us to do.   We live in a hurting society where God is being rejected and pushed aside at every turn. There are a thousand areas where we can see rebuilding would be helpful. Ask God if He has a work for you to do, to be part of, to join, in the world in which you live. Your workplace, your family, your church, your neighborhood. And as He leads, you follow. If it's a work that requires you to build with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, that's okay. It's happened before, with success, and God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Who He is does not shift, and we can ask Him to help us and know that He will.    And if you need some part of your life to be rebuilt, would you be brave enough to believe that God cares for you, about that area of your life, so very much that He will do the rebuilding work that needs to be done, in the way He knows is best, in the timeframe that He chooses, and with the means, resources, people and ways that He decides? Sometimes we've just been so hurt, we don't even realize we never asked Him to help us, to heal us, to rebuild. Go ahead and ask. He's so good, and His love for you knows no bounds. Rebuild in us and through us, Lord! Do what You do best! Thanks for joining me today and I hope you'll be back next time - I'm so grateful for your time and I am praying you have a blessed, Christ-centered month of December. Lord bless you! Bye bye! 

I love every part of this discussion with my new friend, Courtney Burg! She talks about how her struggles with co-dependency and people pleasing led to the creation of her forming her online membership community, Discover Your Worth and her book, Loyal to a Fault, which comes out on Tuesday. I found myself nodding my head profusely because I related to her so much, since I too, am a recovering people pleaser. We also dive into the topics of boundaries, healthy relationships and common enemy intimacy. One of her key points when talking with people is discovering their core values and building your life around them. Enjoy today's conversation and go out and preorder he new book! Bio: Courtney J. Burg is the founder of Discover Your Worth, an online membership designed to support women with practical tools to break free from codependency while establishing a healthy boundary practice. Through self-led video coursework and supplemental material, women from all over the world are finding this resource a key component in reclaiming their peace and setting down dysfunctional patterns of behavior for good. Courtney has an undergrad degree in Psychology from the University of Florida and is currently pursuing her Master's in Evangelism and Leadership with the Propel Cohort at Wheaton College. She and her husband, Jim, live in South Florida with their four young children.  Her first book, Loyal to a Fault, releases on December 12th. Anchor Verse: Psalm 25:20 Connect with Courtney: Website: https://courtneyjburg.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/cjbwriter IG: https://www.instagram.com/courtneyjburg/ Book page: https://courtneyjburg.com/blog/loyal-to-a-fault/ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation with Mary DeMuth is a testament to the power of prayer and the Word of God. She talks about the trauma she went through as a child and how many people did not believe her. When she entered a Young Life group at 15, eventually people did believe her and she started a 4 year intensive time of prayer. It helped so much that when she went into counseling later in life, the counselor didn't believe she had no prior counseling. She shares her story in many of the 48 books she has written to this point. I would encourage you to pick up some of her books and allow them to educate you and also to find the help you or someone you love may need. While you are there, sign up and join us for the 90-day Bible Reading Challenge that is the subject of her newest book. It starts on January 1st! Come get focused with us and start the New Year with our priorities straight in the Word of God!!! Bio: Mary DeMuth is an international speaker, podcaster, and author of nearly 50 books, fiction and nonfiction, including her latest book, 90-Day Bible Reading Challenge. As an avid Bible reader, she has guided many people into the Scriptures to supercharge their faith. Through God's healing, Mary has overcome a difficult past to become an authentic example of what it means to live a brand-new story. She loves to help others “re-story” their lives through the books she writes. Mary lives in Texas with her husband of 33 years and is mom to three adult children. Anchor Verses: Romans 8 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Connect with Mary: Website: https://www.marydemuth.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/marydemuth/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryDeMuth/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgUTGLqjEsxAiIzazOwwhtg Order 90 Day Bible Reading Challenge: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764242040 **Click the link above and sign up to join us read the Bible in 90 days starting January 1st 2024.** ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

This episode is 100% pure fire! I love getting to do what I do by sharing freedom stories with you, but when my IRL best friend asked me to be the place where she shares her testimony for the first time, I can't even begin to tell you what that means! Lacy Velton is one of the women I thank God everyday that she is in my life and let me force myself into her friend group many years ago at church! Her story of how she walked through some of the darkest times of her life will leave you encouraged and ready to do some spiritual battling in your own life! I included the statement of faith she is standing on so that you can lean on it as well! If you or anyone you know is struggling as we get started in this holiday season with grief, please listen to this episode and share it! Bio: Lacy Velton is a wife and mother. She was a nurse for 17 years and recently stepped out of nursing to follow what God called her to do. She started working for a non-profit organization that helps women transition from prison back into society and helps women to know that they are loved by God and others. She also works for another close friend at her business part-time. Her Personal Statement of Faith to Lean On Today: I am a woman who has found joy, peace, and hope in the midst of a great storm. I am a woman who has found the love of God in the midst of hurt and fear. I am a woman who has decided to trust God during the storms. I AM A WOMAN THAT HAS FOUND HER AUTHORITY IN CHRIST TO OVERCOME GRIEF! I AM A WOMAN THAT IS FREE!!! Anchor Verses: Mark 11: 23-24 James 4:7 James 1:17 Connect with Lacy: IG: https://instagram.com/lacygrace21 ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Fig Tree Books & More location info Fig Tree Books & More on Instagram Well hey there! Hello to you today and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, spent time resting and also able to spend time with loved ones, and of course had the chance to express your thankfulness for what God has done and will do in your life. He is good and He acts out of His lovingkindness toward His children, and that is something that we should never stop being thankful for. I really do believe that Christians ought to be the most thankful people on this planet. Thanksgiving is a time to express that thankfulness in all sorts of ways, and I do hope yours was wonderful. I am thankful for you.   You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by Fig Tree Books & More, located in Branson. If you are planning a trip to the Branson area at any point in the future, I hope you get the chance to swing by Fig Tree Books. You will not regret it, that I can promise you! It's more than a bookstore, it's an experience with some of the most rock-solid, Jesus loving believers I have ever met. I'll have the link to their Instagram here in the show notes as well as a link to their exact address. Fig Tree Books & More, thank you for the work you are doing for the Kingdom, for every prayer you pray with customers, for every product selection you make with such care, for reaching your community and for being a haven for those visiting the Branson area. May the Lord bless you and the work of your hands in ways beyond your wildest imagination. I am thankful for you! This is episode number 167, and today we are looking at the book of Ezra.   The Amplified Bible is what I'll be referencing for this episode, and I'm going to read a couple of verses from Ezra chapter 7. Verses 9b and 10 say this: …because the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart (resolved) to study and interpret the Law the the LORD, and to practice it and teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.    Ezra lived in captivity in Babylon, so think about Daniel and his life in Babylon and Nehemiah and his calling to work on rebuilding the Temple at the end of this season of Israel's captivity. Ezra was alive in this same era. He left Babylon and traveled for months to get to Israel, according to verse 9 of Ezra chapter 7. Months of travel. What do we do for months? Like, what's worth that to us? Granted this was normal in that day, travel from Iraq (which is modern day Babylon) to Israel just took that long, and it doesn't take that long today, but it is worth thinking about, this idea of what is worth a long journey for us? And have you considered as of late that you are on a long journey? A journey home, to eternity with Jesus. You are on a long trek, you are a pilgrim on your way to your final destination. We as Christians are, in a way, sort of like Ezra. And the destination is more than worth the long, hard road we walk to get there.    When the Temple was rebuilt at the end of this time of captivity, as we see in Ezra chapter 6, the Temple was completed and dedicated and Passover observed in the homeland of the Jewish people once again, then we move into chapter 7 and we see Ezra making the journey to Jerusalem.    The promise in these verses is that when we, God's people who bear His name, have the good hand of our God on us (not the heavy hand of the Lord on us, as we find in the Bible at times, but the good hand of our God), we are able to do hard things for His Kingdom and His purposes. Ezra had set his heart to study and interpret the Law, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, the Torah. How about us? Are we set like that? Do we have our hearts set on studying the Bible? It's easy to answer, yes or no, there is no middle ground or wiggle room on this…the question begs an answer, an immediate and honest one. Is my heart set on studying God's Word? Yes or no. Can you be brave enough to answer this honestly? And then, be brave enough to ask the Lord to make your heart set upon this, if the answer is no…and make it even more set upon it if the answer is yes? I'm not bagging on anyone, but I am asking an important question that warrants and honest and introspective answer because Jesus held back nothing to save us from death and hell, and He is worth everything, including our hearts set on knowing Him better and better day by day as a result of studying the Bible.    The Amplified says “resolved”. Ezra had set his heart resolved to study and interpret the Law of the Lord. How resolved are we in our study of God's Word?  Ezra made this long journey to a place that had been decimated and trashed during this terrible exile season in Israel's history, and at this time it was on the uptick. He was going back home, but to a home that had been broken down alongside a people who had been broken down. Sometimes the journey we make in life is alongside those who have also been broken down. You know, we want those strong leaders to lead us…and I think when we are strong in the Holy Spirit, when we are weak then God is strong in us and through us, that's good strength. But it doesn't always look pretty and it isn't always neat and tidy and polished the way the world tells us our leadership ought to look. Looks don't seem to matter as much to God as they do to man, to you and to me. Good leadership, chosen and appointed by God, may not look shiny and lovely. Good leadership may be the guy next to you, walking the same path you're walking, who has answered God's call to leadership. It may be the lady who is just a few steps beyond you on the road of life, she's far from perfect and she's got her hair in a messy bun or a banana clip and she may be walking with a limp…but she's going where God says to go, following His leading as she obeys His call to lead others. You want leaders who are good followers, who follow Jesus closely and who obey quickly, immediately, because otherwise they're not fit to lead anybody and they know it. What might happen if that kind of leadership became what we as the Church look for rather than wanting only leaders who look like the world, act like the world, and run the Church like a business, like the world. I have been young and now, I'm getting older and I've seen both kinds of leaders. And I know which kind have impacted me the most with the things of the Lord, and it's not the polished and social media post perfection kind of ones who made real impact. It's the one just a few steps ahead, been through some stuff in life, and they just keep on loving, serving, trusting, following, obeying and honoring God with the whole of their messed up, messy life.    Ezra may have been somewhat weary before his journey even got started. Anybody else ever feel like that? Lord, I'm so tired from this…and now You are asking me to start this next leg of my race when I'm feeling weary? Sometimes that is how it goes. I'm not against rest, but I think I can honestly say that we can have sabbath rest, resting in Jesus, even while walking the path He's called us to. How many Bible characters were totally ready for the task God called them to? The blessing came from their obedience. Lack of obedience would not have yielded the same degree of blessing…or likely much blessing at all.    Sometimes we feel weary before the journey begins.  Others were probably weary too, and Ezra as a leader was dealing with his weariness and theirs. It can be hard to lead weary people. Not always, but at times our flesh cries out for ease and after a long season of reign by an oppressor, some happy news may have been pretty appealing. But an honest study of the first five books of the Bible would come with conviction and a real hard and honest look in the mirror.  Weary people can want an answer and a solution more than they want to be taught, and Ezra was called in verse 10 to teach Israel what the Bible had to say.  The point here is that Ezra did not have the easy street assignment, and even when he was weary, he still obeyed. That's the mark of a mature believer. Ezra had a tough role to play, but he did it. Do we want the good hand of God on our lives? Do we really?  Verse 25 tells us that Ezra was tasked with appointing magistrates and judges in accordance with God's wisdom and instruction. He was to appoint those who knew the laws of God, and he was told to teach anyone who did not know God's law.    If hard times come - and I mean hard hard times, not so so hard times, but hard hard times, if those times come, do you realize there may be a special role for you provided you know the Bible well? I'm serious about this! Do you know any part of your Bible well enough to instruct someone about it? Over a cup of coffee, as part of a Bible study group, in a group text of Christian friends. The need may well arise. Are we ready if it does? Because when hard hard times come, people tend to land in one of two camps, and it's pretty distinct. They either want to know more about God, what the Bible says, how to pray, or they get hard hearted and want to shut God out while blaming Him for everything that has gone wrong. But those that will want to know how to seek and to find the Lord in the hard hard times may need someone to show them the way, to explain the Bible to them, to pray with them. Could that someone be you?   Now these may not seem like promises at first glance, the verses I'm sharing today. But I think they actually are. Can you imagine receiving the call of the Lord to teach people about His word in hard times, in a season that could be considered the tail end of a long spiritual famine?    Church attendance in the United States post COVID has dropped and remained below 50% for the first time since attendance began being tallied or monitored in our country. It's below and it's staying below. How's that for the mark of a spiritual famine? I think we're in one in the US. It's also a bit of an indictment on us as a so-called Chrsitian nation. Where will you and I land in this post-Christian era in which we live? Will we be ready to teach others what the Bible says, or fail to be ready? And as far as hard times go, the writing is on the wall, so to speak, when the people in a nation have turned away from, even against, the God of the Bible. We know what happened to such nations in the past. We know from the book of Revelation what will happen to those who deny the Lord God Almighty in the future. And so we understand that in our day, hard times may come, probably will come sooner rather than later.    We also know that persecution grows Jesus' Church. Hard times drive people to their knees in prayer. And we have this moment, this era, to ready ourselves to serve God in like manner as Ezra when those days come to pass. But only if we know His Word! We cannot teach what we do not know!   In the new year, I'm planning to start sharing monthly Bible reading plans and some pdf Bible study tools and do a weekly study of the psalms in my private prayer group on Facebook, working through all 150 psalms week by week and praying based on what we find in those passages. These are just a couple of ways I hope to encourage people to get in the Word and to learn it, to live it, and to know it well enough to teach it to others. Which is discipleship 101 and Titus 2 ministry in a nutshell.    On my other podcast, The Prayer Podcast, this week I'm going to share and pray from Ezra chapter 8, a prayer for protection that God answered powerfully, you can find this in verses 21-32. And also, side note, on TPP soon we will start a series on the NT book of James and it's going to be a good prayer series because the book of James brings life change, like, every single time we read it and apply it and study it and believe it and pray that what it says will become our reality. I'd love to have you join us for that series on The Prayer Podcast.   But when we look at Ezra 8, verse 23 from the Amplified, we find this: So we fasted and sought help from our God concerning this matter and He heard our plea. And verse 31 - We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way.    Does God answer prayer? Yes Does God still in our day and age answer prayer? Yes Can we really expect Him to help us? Yes Can we talk to Him about anything and everything, specific matters that concern us and not just high and lofty spiritual things? Yes Can we do what He is calling us to do and make the impact that He wants us to make (or rather, to allow Him to make the impact He wants to make through us)? Yes Can we get to our destination safely, protected from marauders, fully able to do what comes next once we get to that place? Yes Can we ask Him to see us safely all the way home? Yes   More than just a single promise from the book of Ezra, preparing for this episode has shown me that the whole of Ezra, the whole book is God's promises being fulfilled. It's proof positive that God keeps His promises, every single one, in perfect detail. And it's a call to be reconciled to God. Our reconciliation should lead us to trust more. If it doesn't, are we really reconciled? I'm not fully reconciled to someone if I do not trust them. The two go together. Be reconciled to God and trust Him completely.  Pray to Him and listen for His answer to your prayers. Be like Ezra.   That's all for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Thanks for joining me today and don't forget to check out Fig Tree Books & More when you're in the Branson area.    See you next time. Bye bye!

I am so excited for you to hear today's episode with my friend, Tina Yeager. We talk about her journey through an eating disorder and how becoming pregnant saved her life. We also talk about how to walk out each part of our journey through life and the times that threaten to break us. She talks about how we can struggle with God as we walk through things and how that is okay and how we can be there for people as they are going through their own grief. I know this episode will resonate with you as we enter a time of the year that is difficult for so many people. We both pray this episode encourages you as you walk through this holiday season. Bio: Award-winning author, inspirational speaker, and life coach, Tina also hosts the Flourish-Meant podcast and publishes Inkspirations Online, a weekly devotional for writers. She has won over thirty writing awards,including a 2020 Golden Scroll Award and 2013 FCWC Writer of the Year. Her fiction and nonfiction strive to clarify how we might relate better to others, to ourselves, and to God. Licensed as a counselor since 2005, she has over twenty years of experience teaching parenting to at-risk families, writing skills, communications, inner healing, and spiritual growth. She has counseled and taught adults, teens, and children in academic, clinical, and faith-based settings. Tina enjoys working with diverse populations and has practiced in community mental health settings and private practice since 2000. She specializes in ADHD, stress management, purpose definition, abuse recovery, and esteem-building, and currently runs an online life coaching practice, Divine Encouragement, LLC. Yeager holds a BA in creative writing and an MA in counseling. Yeager serves on the board of the Christian Authors Network, as head mentor with Word Weavers International, and as an active member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and Christian Women in Media Association. Her courses on Subdue Stress and Anxiety, Psyched Characters and Kindle your Creative Spark are available online. Though currently a life coach, author, speaker, and podcast host, Yeager is also familiar with shame's oppression at a personal level. Tina wrestled with isolation from peers, body image, and low self-esteem issues, even trending into eating disordered behavior. The Lord sustained Tina through a desert-like journey of character transformation, training, and effort. Anchor Verse: Philippians 4:6-7 Connect with Tina: Website: https://www.tinayeager.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TinaYeager FB: https://www.facebook.com/tyeagerwriting IG: https://instagram.com/tina.yeager.9 LINKTREE: @tina.yeager.9 | Linktree ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

This episode is one I have been waiting to release! I met Wendy Blight many years ago through Proverbs 31 ministries and absolutely love her heart for reminding people they are not alone and that God will use every part of their stories, even the hardest parts, to not only grow us, but to help others who are going through the same thing. She demonstrates this during today's episode when she talks about how she was sexually assaulted for an entire day after graduating from college. She talks about how that event led to over 10 years of debilitating fear, so much so that she could not even be home alone. The story about her first night alone is a great reminder that God knows what we need and how He speaks directly to us, even if it isn't audible. She speaks about the importance of learning the Bible on our own, not just through a study or a book, but discovering the living, breathing, active Word of God. She even ends the podcast in a way no one has done before, which I loved so much! Enjoy this episode and let it remind you as you enter into this busy Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons to take time and be silent before God and let your soul have rest. Bio: Wendy is a wife, mother, author, Bible teacher, attorney, and the Biblical Content Specialist for Proverbs 31 Ministries. Her heart's desire is to connect women more deeply with God's Word. To learn it, pray it and know with confidence they can tackle any problem life presents through it. Wendy's newest book, Rest for Your Soul: A Bible Study on Solitude, Silence & Prayer, released in August 2023. She's authored four other books, Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner, Living So That, I Know His Name and 1 John: Walking in the Fullness of God's Love. Wendy has been a featured guest on Oprah Radio, The 700 Club, Family Life Today with Dr. Dennis Rainey, Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman. Wendy lives with her husband, Monty, in Charlotte, North Carolina and loves most when her children, Lauren, Morgan and Bo come home to visit and fill their home with lots of love and laughter!   Verses Discussed: Hebrews 4:12 Psalm 40:1-3 Psalm 139 Isaiah 55:11-12 Anchor Verses: Isaiah 26:3-4 Romans 8:37-39 Connect with Wendy: Website: https://www.wendyblight.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/WendySBlight IG: https://www.instagram.com/wblight/ Proverbs 31 Ministries: Website: https://proverbs31.org/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/Proverbs31Ministries/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/Prov31Ministries/ Podcast: https://proverbs31podcastnetwork.com/ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation with my new friend, Brandi Wilson is an honest and vulnerable conversation about what it is like to lose everything you thought you knew by going through a public divorce, becoming a single mom to 3 boys, and losing the church family she knew and loved. We discuss the role therapy had on both her and her sons's lives to help walk through this process and heal. She wants to encourage people that healing is a process, how to find the beauty in putting back the pieces and learning how to be better than okay. I pray this episode will encourage you and that you will share this with others who need to hear this message! Bio: Brandi Wilson is an author, coach, and speaker who has been in leadership for more than a decade at Leading and Loving It, a non-profit created to empower women to love life and ministry. Brandi has helped plant two churches and is passionate about walking alongside single moms and divorced women as they navigate parenting and life. Her latest book is Better Than Okay: Finding Hope and Healing After Your Marriage Ends. Brandi lives with her three sons in Nashville, TN.  Anchor Verse: Connect with Brandi: Website: https://lovebrandiwilson.com IG: https://instagram.com/lovebrandiwilson FB: https://www.facebook.com/lovebrandiwilson ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation is with Michele Cushatt, whom I met online years ago during the release of her third book, Relentless. I love our conversation so much because she talks about how she has and continues to walk through the dichotomy of gratitude and grief. She is a three time cancer survivor and has had to live with daily chronic pain ever since. She asked a question I believe many of us have had to walk through, "How do I reconcile a God who seemed indifferent to my suffering when I gave Him everything I had?" I know many of us have dealt with this at one point or another. I pray that this episode will minister to each one of you where you are today and also to share with others who need to hear this. Bio: An experienced executive, communicator, speaking coach, and four-time author, Michele Cushatt speaks to a wide variety of audiences, in the US and around the world, on leadership, communication, and team culture and development. A three-time head and neck cancer survivor and foster-adopt parent, Michele is a (reluctant) expert on trauma, resilience, and our deep human need for authentic connection—at work and at home. She and her husband, Troy, have six children, and they live on 8 acres outside of Denver, Colorado. Anchor Verse: 2 Corinthians 4, especially 16-18 Romans 8 Connect with Michelle: Website: michelecushatt.com Speaking: www.michelecushatt.com/speaking/ FB: facebook.com/michelecushatt/ IG: instagram.com/michelecushatt Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Faith-That-Will-Not-Fail-ebook/dp/B0B5CGFV3G ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

This is the second conversation I have had with someone about how the nameless women in the Bible have impacted how we can see ourselves today. Today's guest, Paige Allen, wrote a book that comes out today about seven of them. We talk about how these women were not looking to have their name in lights, they were just looking for and wanting to be with Jesus and be known and acknowledged by Him. I think this conversation will be so helpful to anyone who has been seeking acknowledgment from the world around them and has been finding emptiness and insecurity. The prayer that Paige and I both have for you as you listen today is first you would seek God with your everything you are and second that you would feel known, acknowledged and loved by the One who came and died just for you. Bio: Paige Allen is a pastor, speaker, and writer who is passionate about opening doors for others to have ah-ha moments in scripture. She is known for her sometimes hilarious yet vulnerable story-telling that disarms the audience in order for truth to settle in hearts. Paige grew up as a pastor's kid, and although she thought she would try and stay away from vocational ministry, she's now served on the same church staff wearing multiple hats for over seventeen years. Currently, she serves as executive pastor at Church on the Rock in Lubbock, Texas where she preaches often, leads the staff, gives oversight to global missions and The New Legacy Home for Women. Paige also leads a thriving women's ministry and co-hosts the Bloom Talks podcast, where unknown but remarkable women tell their stories of God's faithfulness. She has a Masters of Divinity degree from The King's Seminary and she published a bible study called Road Signs in 2014 that explores the ups and downs of trusting God.  She has always loved traveling to the nations and seeing God at work around the globe. She founded Pursue Missions in 2007 with a simple yet daunting goal of infusing God's heartbeat for people into the fabric of COTR and West Texas. Pursue Missions now oversees both full-time missionaries stationed around the globe and multiple short-term endeavors each year. Paige has travelled and preached in more than twenty countries and she is passionate about seeing the unreached and often forgotten hear of His love. Paige has been married for over twenty years to Josh, a man with an amazing ability to connect with people and an entrepreneurial spirit that is inspiring. Together they have two awesome daughters, Selah who is observant and the most loyal friend and Haven, a natural born preacher who starts dance parties everywhere she goes. Anchor Verse: Philippians 4:6-7 Isaiah 43:2 Connect with Paige: Instagram: www.instagram.com/paigeallentexas Facebook: www.facebook.com/itspaigeallen Website: www.paigeallen.net   Order her new book, He Knows Your Name today!! https://www.amazon.com/He-Knows-Your-Name-Nameless/dp/0764241753/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699330024&sr=8-1 ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

This week's episode is so powerful! I love this conversation with Inés Franklin so much! We talk about the power of a praying Abuelita, which we both were so blessed to have in our lives. She goes on to tell me that she did not begin to truly follow Jesus until she was 40. She talks about walking through the immense amount of shame she had after having 2 abortions and 2 divorces, and then having an affair with her boss that led to the end of his marriage. She is an amazing woman who is not afraid to share the good, the bad and the ugly of her story because she knows and trusts in the redemptive work of the cross. I pray this episode will not only encourage you in your faith walk or lead you to begin your walk, but also to let God redeem your ugly places so they can become beautiful markers of His grace and mercy. Bio: Inés Franklin completed a Master of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary and is the founder of Trochia Ministries, whose missions is to provide Christian discipleship. She serves as a teaching pastor at Mariners Church in Southern California. She and her husband, James Franklin, live in Irvine, California. Anchor Verse: Colossians 1: 28-29 Acts 1:8 John 21: 15-18 Connect with Inés: Website: https://www.inesfranklin.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/inesfranklin FB: https://www.facebook.com/ines.franklin TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ines.franklin ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

I am so grateful to my guest today, Julie Thomas for her vulnerability and willingness to share about a topic that many women do not want to talk about. She talks about the years she silently battled postpartum depression after her second son was born. She talks about the day she felt released by God to start sharing her story and the fear, trepidation and attacks she experienced in both the physical and spiritual areas. She discusses how amazing it has been that by sharing her story and hearing the reactions of the women she meets, she continues to gain more freedom each time. She also gets into how she came to share her story with the I Am Second team. I pray this conversation really encourages you today to not just share your own story, but also to not suffer in silence and get the help you need. You are not alone! Bio: Julie Thomas is a wife, mother of two, life coach and author. After the birth of her second son, Julie battled a severe case of postpartum depression. For years, emotions of anxiety, confusion and shame consumed her life, leading to isolation and suicidal thoughts. In her darkest hour, she felt God's undeniable call to share her story with others. With the release of her novel, HOPE Inside Out, and her willingness to be open and transparent, Julie was able to find healing for herself and help others do the same. Anchor Verses: Psalms Romans 4:18 Julie's White Chair Film: https://www.iamsecond.com/film/julie-thomas/ Connect with Julie: Website: https://julsthomas.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/juls_thomas/ Order her book Hope Inside Out: https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Inside-Out-Julie-Thomas/dp/1512781835/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1495222314&sr=8-1 ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

My Savvy Design on Etsy   Well hey there, hello to ya today. Thanks for joining me for this episode and today we are looking at the book of 2 Kings from the Old Testament. Just to get us all on the same page about this book, in 1 Kings the life of the prophet Elijah takes place, filled with remarkable events and it shows his life in total honesty, which is something the Bible always does and should be a comfort to us in our daily messes and also remind us not to be too judgey-judegey of people in the middle of their messes (point them to Jesus, offer them the hope we find in Christ, pray for them, speak life and truth based on the Word of God, and sometimes let the Lord do what He alone is able to do in their life, because He is so faithful and so trustworthy…do those things, working to make heaven crowded, but doing it with humility cuz we all need Jesus, nobody is exempt from that great need.) In 2 Kings, we will see the end of Elijah's life and see Elisha step onto the scene.  You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Normally there is a sponsor for the show, but today I'd like to share about something more close to home and dear to my heart - my daughter Savanna's Etsy Shoppe. She has some trendy and fun designs in her Christian store and I've got to share it with you because her stuff is just beyond amazing. Her clients love her work as a graphic designer, and I think you will love her work, too. Click the link to her Etsy in the show notes and show her some love, cuz she's pretty terrific. And she didn't know I was going to feature her on this episode, so this is a surprise for her! Thanks for blessing her! This is episode number 164. So, we find Elijah in the book of 2 Kings. The one and only.    Followed by the life of Elisha, also the one and only. Elisha is successor to Elijah, but he for sure was not one to lag behind, to dawdle, to live a lackluster life of service to God. Nope. Elisha followed suit.   Both these men are inspiring in the sense that they encourage us to go all in with the Lord and give us comfort that even the “greats” in the Bible were dealing with the reality of their own humanness as well as  the fallen men of society around them… I think that is a fitting description of the life of a follower of Jesus, isn't it? We have our own issues that we are dealing with, and by dealing with I mean taking to the cross and leaving them there, seeking the Holy Spirit to heal and guide and deliver and protect and do what only He can do in us, for us, through us. All the while there is a lost and hurting world filled with people that we really want to love well, to be ambassadors of Christ to, and yet at times it is just plain hard because the people part of people makes it tricky sometimes, doesn't it?    So if living in this current world combined with a deep longing to live fully for the Lord is something that you strive toward (and by strive I actually mean abide toward, since we only have power when we abide in Jesus, the True Vine), then this one's for you today, my friend.   Now, let's say that you feel like you can't be an Elijah of sorts in this day and age. It's not the same (and it's not, that's true…but it's also not as different as you might think…). That's okay if you land in that camp because 2 Kings has got you covered. The lives of these two men hold a lot for us, no matter if we want to emulate them or want to just get through the day. The word of God is living and active, it says in Hebrews, and that means it is still speaking to us today…and there is something God's word has to say to you. Isn't He good to give us a living Savior and a living Bible and prayer that allows us to enter into His throne room of grace to seek, and receive, help when we need it?    Before I read a few verses for this episode, can I just mention one more thing? Many of us know more about Elijah than we do about Elisha, and so we may have decided that we don't have the tenacity to be an Elijah in our day. If that's you, no worries! That's okay! But I will say that if God chose to take somebody from their regular job and place a calling on their life, would you be willing to respond to that call if the one He called was you?   And one more thing to make mention of - are you willing not only to ask for a big blessing, but also be willing to walk out the life that comes with that big blessing?  Just a couple of questions for you to think about! I'm going to read 2 Kings chapter 2, verses 1-14 from the Amplified.   When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now the [a]sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].” 4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].” 6 Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood opposite them [to watch] at a distance; and the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his mantle (coat) and rolled it up and struck the waters, and they were divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double [b]portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked for a difficult thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 As they continued along and talked, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire [appeared suddenly and] separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he no longer saw Elijah. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces [in grief]. 13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell off him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he too had struck the waters, they divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over. The prophet Elijah's exit from Israel, from the planet earth, was amazing, wasn't it? Truly an epic event in the history of mankind. Elisha saw it happen with his own eyes because he really desired to be there when this took place. He didn't want to see Elijah go, per se, we know that to be true based on the text found in chapter 2 of 2 Kings. But he did know this event, the time Elijah was to go and be with the Lord, was upon them and he simply did not want to not be there, in spite of the grief he would experience (remember in verse 12 when he took his clothes and tore them into two pieces in grief - Elisha did not rejoice or celebrate this moment…but even in his grief, he made sure to be there for this moment… Can you relate to that at all? Doing the thing that's hardest to do even in the midst of your grief?)   He opted to follow Elijah closely throughout this day so that he wouldn't miss Elijah being taken. Also, isn't that beautiful? Now of course Elijah did not die when he was taken via a chariot of fire to be with the Lord, but it still is a beautiful way to look at the end of a life on earth for a Christian. Just being taken. I really love that!   He followed closely and he didn't miss it. Even though it would bring grief, Elisha stayed close to Elijah. Sometimes we hang back when we should stay close. Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother, so even when it's hard to deal with the things that grieve us, we've not alone. He is close. Close enough to collect our tears in a bottle. Don't hang back when you know God wants you to stay close.   Elisha followed and followed and followed all over the place so he would be there when Elijah was taken. And in verse 9 Elijah asked him what he should do for him before being taken from him. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. A difficult thing is how Elijah described this request! And what he asked for was what he received. The double portion he asked for is exactly what he got.    And when he turned back and returned the way they had both come, it was time for him to step into the new role that came with the double portion blessing he'd asked for.   Sometimes we ask for things and we just don't really think beyond it. Not really. We know what we want, and we ask for it, and that's oftentimes where our thinking has stopped. We have put it in park at that point, receiving what we want…but in reality, getting what we ask for may be the moment we need to put the car into drive or overdrive and get moving. A responsibility came into Elisha's life when this request was granted. He was now the leader of the prophets and the hardships of leading and teaching, the actual work of being a prophet in this leadership role, on the heels of Elijah no less, that's a tall order. Who can fill those shoes? Thankfully, God only called Elisha to be himself in this role, not a 2.0 version of his predecessor. And thankfully, that's what God requires of us as well. You don't need to be anybody else, there is no need for any 2.0 upgrades when God made each one of us unique and individual in the exact way that only He can.    But I want you to consider if perhaps you've asked for something, prayed about it, and gotten what you requested…and then have simply stopped. Hit pause. Put it in park. Things are now on hold. You're living in the pause rather than living your life out in the way that the Lord wants you to.   Elisha had to go back the way he had come, but go back in a new role with this new mantle. And he had to be about this new role under this new mantle for the rest of his days. Do you think it was always easy for him? And do you and I ever avoid putting it back into drive and moving forward simply because we know it's not gonna be easy? What if the answered prayer God provided was not just for us to hold on to and do nothing with…what if God has something for us to do with those answered requests? What then? Can we buckle up and get going and not give in to laziness, procrastination, or fear? Ever feel like it is just plain hard to live out the daily reality of that thing you prayed for - I guess that's the real question I am asking. And if so, can you believe the overarching hope the Bible gives you that every promise of God will prove true for you, they are all yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord - can you believe the promise God gives to be with you, never to leave you nor forsake you? And can you do the thing He wants you to do, trusting fully in His goodness and faithfulness toward you? Or will you remain in that place where it's just so hard that you don't want to move on.   God has this thing for you - you prayed for it and put some skin in the game by faith as you asked Him for it again and again perhaps, like this was a prayer that you kept praying, not a one time prayer, but it was on your prayer list for a while. Now the answer has come and it's go time and while you thought the great act of faith was what it took to ask and keep on asking in prayer…but now you see that it will take a great act of faith to step out into what this answered prayer holds for your life. It's here! Finally! God answered my prayer! I'm thankful, I'm rejoicing, I'm overwhelmed and undone by His goodness toward me! And now, the journey has just begun.   Am I only talking to myself today or can anybody else relate? Has anyone else ever felt like they had to lean so hard on the Lord and choose to daily believe His promises yet again, totally by faith, as a response to answered prayers? That new mom who prayed as she battled fertility issues…now the newborn is here and wowza, this answered prayer is just the start of a new journey. The job with the amazing promotion and the best coworkers who are on the next level is now taking a lot of faith as you learn the ropes and bump up against things you've never dealt with before. The ministry you prayed about for so long is here, the opportunity has arrived and now you have to add your preparedness to that opportunity and do some things that are super hard in order to advance the Kingdom of God in this new ministry that the Lord has entrusted you with. Anybody?    When you feel like asking, “Well, what now?” I would say that the answer to the question what now is this: put your new mantle on, that's what now.   If you know Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit within you. He will equip you, not ditch you. He'll lead and guide you, not abandon you. The New Testament says the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is a work in us, it dwells in us. That's ample power for what this new mantle, this answered prayer, will demand of you.    Don't make the mistake of looking back at your former life, before the prayer was answered, looking back wishing you could go back there, wishing you had never stepped out and asked big and leveled up.    Listen - insecurity is normal for all of us when we are in new situations. When we are changing life roles. When a big prayer gets answered in a big way. But insecurity can be a signal for us - a signal that you are being grown, being stretched, in your faith and in your maturity in Christ. Insecurity does not have to have the last word. It can be a laser pointer letting us know that in this exact spot, right there where you're feeling really out of your depth and vulnerable and the new kid on the block, right there is the place God is simply maturing you and where you can expect His strength to come in hot in the midst of your weakness. That's all it is.    So, yield to the Spirit of the Lord. Do the next thing, and then the next. Don't make the mistake of looking back at the former things, because the Lord wants us to behold Him doing a new thing. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Rejoice in what God is just getting started in your life! It's a gift, this answered prayer, and hey…if you are listening today and you're in the middle of some long time praying and now you're like, huh, well if there is gonna be a lot of new faith required when God answers, maybe I'll stop asking. I suppose you could do that and just stop. Stay stagnant, remain where you are, do nothing new. But wouldn't you rather live the adventure that is your life when walking by the Spirit with your Good Shepherd guiding you, to the glory of your Father? (The answer is yes, btw…there is no alternative answer.)   Don't stop now. Don't go backward, cuz that's like reverse potty training and yeah, that's not a good plan.    Are you called to live like Elijah or like Elisha in your generation? Like Barnabas or Lydia? Like Ruth or Esther or Mordecai or like Joseph in Egypt or like Peter, moving forward even after heartbreaking, gut wrenching failure? Honestly, yes, you probably are called to live like the Bible characters…because you are a child of God, and so you are called to live like one. You're called to be a disciple and to make disciples, to live a life of discipleship on both fronts, like a two front war. Your own discipleship and investing in others. Don't stop now. Go and tell about Jesus and live your life for Him. He's worth it! In eternity, you'll never regret so much as one second spent for the Lord and His purposes and His glory and honor. The promise of 2 Kings is the all-encompassing promise of Elisha's life. So please, don't stop now!    Thanks for joining me on the podcast today - I'm super grateful for you and honored to have you as a listener. And the link to my daughter's Etsy shoppe with Christian themed encouraging and super cute and modern items like tees, coffee mugs, journals, hoodies, etc is in the show notes. I'll see ya next time! Bye bye. 

My Savvy Design on Etsy   Well hey there, hello to ya today. Thanks for joining me for this episode and today we are looking at the book of 2 Kings from the Old Testament. Just to get us all on the same page about this book, in 1 Kings the life of the prophet Elijah takes place, filled with remarkable events and it shows his life in total honesty, which is something the Bible always does and should be a comfort to us in our daily messes and also remind us not to be too judgey-judegey of people in the middle of their messes (point them to Jesus, offer them the hope we find in Christ, pray for them, speak life and truth based on the Word of God, and sometimes let the Lord do what He alone is able to do in their life, because He is so faithful and so trustworthy…do those things, working to make heaven crowded, but doing it with humility cuz we all need Jesus, nobody is exempt from that great need.) In 2 Kings, we will see the end of Elijah's life and see Elisha step onto the scene.  You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Normally there is a sponsor for the show, but today I'd like to share about something more close to home and dear to my heart - my daughter Savanna's Etsy Shoppe. She has some trendy and fun designs in her Christian store and I've got to share it with you because her stuff is just beyond amazing. Her clients love her work as a graphic designer, and I think you will love her work, too. Click the link to her Etsy in the show notes and show her some love, cuz she's pretty terrific. And she didn't know I was going to feature her on this episode, so this is a surprise for her! Thanks for blessing her! This is episode number 164. So, we find Elijah in the book of 2 Kings. The one and only.    Followed by the life of Elisha, also the one and only. Elisha is successor to Elijah, but he for sure was not one to lag behind, to dawdle, to live a lackluster life of service to God. Nope. Elisha followed suit.   Both these men are inspiring in the sense that they encourage us to go all in with the Lord and give us comfort that even the “greats” in the Bible were dealing with the reality of their own humanness as well as  the fallen men of society around them… I think that is a fitting description of the life of a follower of Jesus, isn't it? We have our own issues that we are dealing with, and by dealing with I mean taking to the cross and leaving them there, seeking the Holy Spirit to heal and guide and deliver and protect and do what only He can do in us, for us, through us. All the while there is a lost and hurting world filled with people that we really want to love well, to be ambassadors of Christ to, and yet at times it is just plain hard because the people part of people makes it tricky sometimes, doesn't it?    So if living in this current world combined with a deep longing to live fully for the Lord is something that you strive toward (and by strive I actually mean abide toward, since we only have power when we abide in Jesus, the True Vine), then this one's for you today, my friend.   Now, let's say that you feel like you can't be an Elijah of sorts in this day and age. It's not the same (and it's not, that's true…but it's also not as different as you might think…). That's okay if you land in that camp because 2 Kings has got you covered. The lives of these two men hold a lot for us, no matter if we want to emulate them or want to just get through the day. The word of God is living and active, it says in Hebrews, and that means it is still speaking to us today…and there is something God's word has to say to you. Isn't He good to give us a living Savior and a living Bible and prayer that allows us to enter into His throne room of grace to seek, and receive, help when we need it?    Before I read a few verses for this episode, can I just mention one more thing? Many of us know more about Elijah than we do about Elisha, and so we may have decided that we don't have the tenacity to be an Elijah in our day. If that's you, no worries! That's okay! But I will say that if God chose to take somebody from their regular job and place a calling on their life, would you be willing to respond to that call if the one He called was you?   And one more thing to make mention of - are you willing not only to ask for a big blessing, but also be willing to walk out the life that comes with that big blessing?  Just a couple of questions for you to think about! I'm going to read 2 Kings chapter 2, verses 1-14 from the Amplified.   When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now the [a]sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].” 4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].” 6 Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood opposite them [to watch] at a distance; and the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his mantle (coat) and rolled it up and struck the waters, and they were divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double [b]portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked for a difficult thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 As they continued along and talked, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire [appeared suddenly and] separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he no longer saw Elijah. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces [in grief]. 13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell off him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he too had struck the waters, they divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over. The prophet Elijah's exit from Israel, from the planet earth, was amazing, wasn't it? Truly an epic event in the history of mankind. Elisha saw it happen with his own eyes because he really desired to be there when this took place. He didn't want to see Elijah go, per se, we know that to be true based on the text found in chapter 2 of 2 Kings. But he did know this event, the time Elijah was to go and be with the Lord, was upon them and he simply did not want to not be there, in spite of the grief he would experience (remember in verse 12 when he took his clothes and tore them into two pieces in grief - Elisha did not rejoice or celebrate this moment…but even in his grief, he made sure to be there for this moment… Can you relate to that at all? Doing the thing that's hardest to do even in the midst of your grief?)   He opted to follow Elijah closely throughout this day so that he wouldn't miss Elijah being taken. Also, isn't that beautiful? Now of course Elijah did not die when he was taken via a chariot of fire to be with the Lord, but it still is a beautiful way to look at the end of a life on earth for a Christian. Just being taken. I really love that!   He followed closely and he didn't miss it. Even though it would bring grief, Elisha stayed close to Elijah. Sometimes we hang back when we should stay close. Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother, so even when it's hard to deal with the things that grieve us, we've not alone. He is close. Close enough to collect our tears in a bottle. Don't hang back when you know God wants you to stay close.   Elisha followed and followed and followed all over the place so he would be there when Elijah was taken. And in verse 9 Elijah asked him what he should do for him before being taken from him. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. A difficult thing is how Elijah described this request! And what he asked for was what he received. The double portion he asked for is exactly what he got.    And when he turned back and returned the way they had both come, it was time for him to step into the new role that came with the double portion blessing he'd asked for.   Sometimes we ask for things and we just don't really think beyond it. Not really. We know what we want, and we ask for it, and that's oftentimes where our thinking has stopped. We have put it in park at that point, receiving what we want…but in reality, getting what we ask for may be the moment we need to put the car into drive or overdrive and get moving. A responsibility came into Elisha's life when this request was granted. He was now the leader of the prophets and the hardships of leading and teaching, the actual work of being a prophet in this leadership role, on the heels of Elijah no less, that's a tall order. Who can fill those shoes? Thankfully, God only called Elisha to be himself in this role, not a 2.0 version of his predecessor. And thankfully, that's what God requires of us as well. You don't need to be anybody else, there is no need for any 2.0 upgrades when God made each one of us unique and individual in the exact way that only He can.    But I want you to consider if perhaps you've asked for something, prayed about it, and gotten what you requested…and then have simply stopped. Hit pause. Put it in park. Things are now on hold. You're living in the pause rather than living your life out in the way that the Lord wants you to.   Elisha had to go back the way he had come, but go back in a new role with this new mantle. And he had to be about this new role under this new mantle for the rest of his days. Do you think it was always easy for him? And do you and I ever avoid putting it back into drive and moving forward simply because we know it's not gonna be easy? What if the answered prayer God provided was not just for us to hold on to and do nothing with…what if God has something for us to do with those answered requests? What then? Can we buckle up and get going and not give in to laziness, procrastination, or fear? Ever feel like it is just plain hard to live out the daily reality of that thing you prayed for - I guess that's the real question I am asking. And if so, can you believe the overarching hope the Bible gives you that every promise of God will prove true for you, they are all yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord - can you believe the promise God gives to be with you, never to leave you nor forsake you? And can you do the thing He wants you to do, trusting fully in His goodness and faithfulness toward you? Or will you remain in that place where it's just so hard that you don't want to move on.   God has this thing for you - you prayed for it and put some skin in the game by faith as you asked Him for it again and again perhaps, like this was a prayer that you kept praying, not a one time prayer, but it was on your prayer list for a while. Now the answer has come and it's go time and while you thought the great act of faith was what it took to ask and keep on asking in prayer…but now you see that it will take a great act of faith to step out into what this answered prayer holds for your life. It's here! Finally! God answered my prayer! I'm thankful, I'm rejoicing, I'm overwhelmed and undone by His goodness toward me! And now, the journey has just begun.   Am I only talking to myself today or can anybody else relate? Has anyone else ever felt like they had to lean so hard on the Lord and choose to daily believe His promises yet again, totally by faith, as a response to answered prayers? That new mom who prayed as she battled fertility issues…now the newborn is here and wowza, this answered prayer is just the start of a new journey. The job with the amazing promotion and the best coworkers who are on the next level is now taking a lot of faith as you learn the ropes and bump up against things you've never dealt with before. The ministry you prayed about for so long is here, the opportunity has arrived and now you have to add your preparedness to that opportunity and do some things that are super hard in order to advance the Kingdom of God in this new ministry that the Lord has entrusted you with. Anybody?    When you feel like asking, “Well, what now?” I would say that the answer to the question what now is this: put your new mantle on, that's what now.   If you know Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit within you. He will equip you, not ditch you. He'll lead and guide you, not abandon you. The New Testament says the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is a work in us, it dwells in us. That's ample power for what this new mantle, this answered prayer, will demand of you.    Don't make the mistake of looking back at your former life, before the prayer was answered, looking back wishing you could go back there, wishing you had never stepped out and asked big and leveled up.    Listen - insecurity is normal for all of us when we are in new situations. When we are changing life roles. When a big prayer gets answered in a big way. But insecurity can be a signal for us - a signal that you are being grown, being stretched, in your faith and in your maturity in Christ. Insecurity does not have to have the last word. It can be a laser pointer letting us know that in this exact spot, right there where you're feeling really out of your depth and vulnerable and the new kid on the block, right there is the place God is simply maturing you and where you can expect His strength to come in hot in the midst of your weakness. That's all it is.    So, yield to the Spirit of the Lord. Do the next thing, and then the next. Don't make the mistake of looking back at the former things, because the Lord wants us to behold Him doing a new thing. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Rejoice in what God is just getting started in your life! It's a gift, this answered prayer, and hey…if you are listening today and you're in the middle of some long time praying and now you're like, huh, well if there is gonna be a lot of new faith required when God answers, maybe I'll stop asking. I suppose you could do that and just stop. Stay stagnant, remain where you are, do nothing new. But wouldn't you rather live the adventure that is your life when walking by the Spirit with your Good Shepherd guiding you, to the glory of your Father? (The answer is yes, btw…there is no alternative answer.)   Don't stop now. Don't go backward, cuz that's like reverse potty training and yeah, that's not a good plan.    Are you called to live like Elijah or like Elisha in your generation? Like Barnabas or Lydia? Like Ruth or Esther or Mordecai or like Joseph in Egypt or like Peter, moving forward even after heartbreaking, gut wrenching failure? Honestly, yes, you probably are called to live like the Bible characters…because you are a child of God, and so you are called to live like one. You're called to be a disciple and to make disciples, to live a life of discipleship on both fronts, like a two front war. Your own discipleship and investing in others. Don't stop now. Go and tell about Jesus and live your life for Him. He's worth it! In eternity, you'll never regret so much as one second spent for the Lord and His purposes and His glory and honor. The promise of 2 Kings is the all-encompassing promise of Elisha's life. So please, don't stop now!    Thanks for joining me on the podcast today - I'm super grateful for you and honored to have you as a listener. And the link to my daughter's Etsy shoppe with Christian themed encouraging and super cute and modern items like tees, coffee mugs, journals, hoodies, etc is in the show notes. I'll see ya next time! Bye bye. 

My guest today, Naghmeh Panahi has an amazing story to tell! She starts by talking about her Muslim upbringing in Iran to her conversion to Christianity after her brother had a vision of Jesus. She talks about how they had to hide their relationship with Jesus until her parents conversion years later after moving to Idaho. She talks about moving back to Iran in her 20s and being able to see full blown revival and to be a part of it. Then she talks about meeting her ex-husband and the life and abuse she suffered at his hands and through his words. She stated that she didn't know she was in an abusive relationship until after her husband was arrested and she was removed from the situation. She states, "God used his imprisonment to set me free." This episode will challenge you, as it has me, to look at what you put your faith and trust in. Do you put it in material things or in the things and people around you, or do you place it in God and His promises? It will also encourage you to discover the passions God has put in your heart for His people and to ask Him to use you in that way. She has a huge heart and passion for the persecuted church and that is evident in her voice, her life and her story. Enjoy this episode and go out and get her book today! Bio: Naghmeh Abedini Panahi made national news when she publicly advocated for the release of her then husband, Saeed Abedini, who was imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith. Through Saeed's imprisonment Naghmeh was not only able to bring worldwide attention to the plight of the persecuted Christians, but she was also able to proclaim the Gospel to millions of people across the globe by speaking at human rights groups, major news outlets, the United Nations in Geneva, the European Parliament, Congress and have personal meetings with President Barrack Obama and Donald Trump. When it came to light in 2015 that Naghmeh had been abused throughout her marriage by her “hero” husband, the Christian community turned on her and she was harshly judged by religious leaders. Although Naghmeh was judged, abandoned, and rejected by the Christian community, she trusted in Jesus to be her defense and to fight her battles (Exodus 14:14). Naghmeh's story is a story of God's amazing rescue and restoration. Anchor Verse: Hosea 2:14-16 Song of Solomon (Songs) 6:3 Connect with Naghmeh: Website: https://naghmehpanahi.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/NaghmehSPanahi/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/naghmeh_panahi/ X: NaghmehSPanahi LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/naghmehpanahi Order her book, I Didn't Survive: Emerging Whole After Deception, Persecution, and Hidden Abuse https://www.shoptheword.com/product/i-didnt-survive/ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation with my friend, Kathryn May is so good!!! I needed to hear this conversation, both while we were recording and while I was editing. She starts by talking about abuse that she endured as a child into her adulthood and how she used unhealthy coping mechanisms because she didn't have a healthy understanding of who she truly was. That came through God using people, whom she calls her "checkpoint people" at a time where she really needed Him to show up, but was unsure if she could even trust Him. We then talk about how she lost 65 pounds after coming face to face with truths she needed to admit to herself so she could heal from the inside out and change her life. As I previously said, this is the episode I needed today and I pray it will help you face some things you have been avoiding in order to pursue the calling God has on your life. Bio: Kathryn May is a certified mental health and wellness coach and founder of Revitalized Biblical Wellness Coaching. She helps women achieve sustainable weight loss using biblical wellness principles. Her online course, "Biblical Body Plan," guides women through the process of transformation to overcome emotional eating, release past trauma, and deal with limiting beliefs about food and themselves. Kathryn believes that weight loss begins in the mind with what we think about what we do. She is also the author of the book "Behind Enemy Lies" and the Healing and Truth Journal. It's her mission to help as many women to live whole, healed and healthy inside-out. Mark Connect with Kathryn: Website: https://www.biblicalbodyplan.com IG: https://instagram.com/kathrynrosemay YouTube: https://youtube.com/@KathrynMay FB: https://www.facebook.com/kathrynrosemay ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode was recorded when my friend, Laura Lindahl was 8 months pregnant with her son. Her son, Boaz was born in July and is now 3 1/2 old! This episode was so helpful to me when I was recording it and again while I was editing it to remind me of how God truly loves His creation, by the way that is all of us. She talks about her journey with being dissatisfied with her body after someone had a negative comment about it to her. She talked about how she began to train other people after she graduated with her degree in Exercise Physiology and started hearing her clients putting conditions on their bodies, just as she was doing to herself. That is when she realized something needed to change. She learned how to find satisfaction in God alone and started to view working out and taking care of her body from a place of contentment instead of not looking for contentment. She now runs an online group called True Strength Collective to help women discover this as well. I pray this will help you today as you walk your own journey! Bio: Laura is a Nationally Certified Exercise Physiologist, Eat to Perform Nutrition Coach, wife, dog mom, Enneagram Three, and avid lover of Jesus. After graduating with a degree in Exercise Science and spending years in the fitness industry, she started to realize all the negative effects that fitness can have on a woman's view of her body and her faith. She saw bodies shamed, relationships hurt, and faith neglected all in the name of being fit. That's when Laura founded the True Strength Collective. The True Strength Method guides women on a journey to identify what limiting beliefs they have about their body and faith so they can finally find freedom from body pressures, knowledge to confidently build strength, and unshakable faith. Laura's clients train smarter not harder, find peace in their true identity, and best of all can see their body in the mirror with confidence. Anchor Verse: John 3:30 Connect with Laura: Website: https://www.truestrengthcollective.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/truestrengthcollective/ IG: https://instagram.com/truestrengthcollective Strong Body, Bolder Faith: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ececb54baec9423266d87ee/t/5f10eb4143286f101cb16a64/1594944351680/StrongBodyBolderFaith.pdf ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

On today's episode, Jillian Benfield talks about her life and the unexpected twists and turns it has taken. She talks about her childhood experiences with church and how there was a lot of "rule following" and not as much grace. She said she became agnostic for about 12 years until she began dating her husband. That is when she began to ask the difficult questions and met the real Jesus of the Bible, not the shiny Jesus. Then we get into the story of her son, Anderson, which is discussed in her book, The Gift of the Unexpected. His diagnosis of Down's Syndrome changed the trajectory of her life. She said that "Jesus's life became more real to me when a child with a disability entered my home." I loved this conversation with her and I pray it encourages you to look at events or things that have happened in your life in a brand new light, maybe for the first time. Bio: Jillian Benfield is a former journalist and news anchor. She holds a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Georgia. As a freelance writer, her essays about living an unexpected life have appeared on sites such as TODAY, Good Morning America, Yahoo! News, and ABC News. Jillian regularly advocates for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in her writings, in her community, and as a part of the National Down Syndrome Congress's National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition. Jillian and her husband, Andy, and their three children make their home on Florida's Space Coast. Anchor Verse: Psalm 13 Connect with Jillian: Website: http://jillianbenfield.com  IG: https://instagram.com/jillianbenfieldblog FB: https://www.facebook.com/jillianbenfield ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode is with Benjamin Windle is a discussion that is definitely needed. We talk about some of the reasons why people are leaving the church and one of the main reasons is because people have a difficult time understanding why bad things happen to good people. I know I am not the only one who has struggled with this as well. That is why Benjamin wrote his book, Good Catastrophe. He discusses how we can reframe the way we see our problems and that hardship and hope together can do something for us that a problem free life never could. He talks about how a problem free life was not one of God's promises and isn't the pursuit of a Christian. We also talk about how hope and community go hand in hand and that we can become hope ambassadors to those around us. I pray this conversation helps you to better understand how we can get our hope and joy back even in the midst of catastrophe. Bio: Benjamin Windle is an innovative and empathic author and speaker. He has a Bachelor of Theology, an MBA from Deakin University, and Executive Education at Stanford University and the MIT Sloan School of Management. As a pastor for over twenty years, he's walked with many people through the dark shadows and valleys of the  human experience. He has dedicated his life to helping people overcome life's challenges by growing deeper in their faith and reaching higher in life. Along with his wife Cindi and their three sons, he is now based between both the U.S. and Australia. Benjamin is a new-generation content creator for some of the most respected Christian brands in the world. His work has been featured by the Barna Group, YouVersion, RightNow Media, Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast, and the Glorify App. Anchor Verse: Job 14:7 Connect with Benjamin: Website: https://www.benjaminwindle.com IG: https://instagram.com/benjaminwindle FB: https://m.facebook.com/benjaminwindlepage Book Website: https://www.goodcatastrophe.com ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Free access to the ROAR Marketing Conference - What's So Holy About the Hustle? Jan's Speaker Request Form   Well hey there, hello to ya today. Hope you are blessed beyond measure (and I actually do mean blessed BEYOND your ability to measure all the blessings from the Lord to you). Today we are continuing to look at a promise from each and every book in the Bible. And we have made it to the book of 1 Kings. (Remember the kids' songs … 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles…that's all the first and seconds.) 1 Kings is our landing spot today. Sometimes I think of podcasts or Sunday morning sermons or reading a chapter of a Christian book that aims to make me a better disciple of Jesus, I sort of think of them like I'm on a plane headed to my final destination (which is eternity with the Lord, right?) and the plane lands but I don't disembark, I stay on the plane for a refuel and then take off again for the next leg of this journey home. I hope this podcast is like a bit of a refuel for you, and that you are, as much as possible, enjoying this journey home with the Lord. He's a trustworthy pilot and I believe He wants you to experience the full depth of His love (even though it is impossible to fully know it, said the apostle Paul) but to know the depth of it as much as possible on this journey home where you get to live out, day by day, the Lord's unique calling on your life. My prayer is that this refuel blesses you, not because of me, but because of the Lord Jesus and His tremendous love for you.  You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This episode is sponsored by the ROAR Virtual Marketing Conference. If you may be interested in speaking or podcasting from a Christian perspective, this conference may be just what you're looking for. Grab access to the conference at the link above, and make note of the fact that there are paid options as well as a free ticket option. It's happening soon, in mid-October, so don't delay! I'll see ya there! Now, on with the show. This is episode # 163. 1 Kings 8:56 from the Amplified reads this way:   Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, in accordance with everything that He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke through Moses His servant.   These are the words of Solomon during his benediction, which is part of the Scripture portion where he dedicated the newly completed temple. It's a wonderful chapter, all of 1 Kings 8, and marks a beautiful moment in the history of Israel.   This verse seemed like the right one to talk about on the podcast today because it reassures us that the same God who kept His every promise to Israel, in total accordance with everything He promised through Moses, is the same God who keeps His every promise to us. And we know that all God's promises are yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord, as it says in 2 Corinthians 1:20.   We can read the Old Testament and discover mountains of hope and assurance…or we can skim read it or skip it altogether and think that there is a vast sea of separation between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. But what happens when we choose to believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever? That there is no shadow of turning with Him?  How do we think then? And how do we live day by day as a result of that thinking?   Can we say, like Solomon did, blessed be the Lord? Can you right now, in this very moment and this exact place in your life, say blessed be the Lord! Helpful hint for ya today: you most certainly can, and you most certainly should.  Choose to believe that God is going to keep every promise He has made. To you. And as a result of your choice to believe that (even if you don't feel like it's true…we don't all feel it all the time…belief is sort of like love in that it is a continual choice…you are normal if you have to choose to believe today and then choose to believe again tomorrow…) When we choose to believe that God is a perfect keeper of all His promises, then we can say, blessed be the Lord, and we'll mean it. We mean it when we say that out of a place of belief, because the place of belief really is the place of trust.    And I'd like to note what Solomon said after he stated, “Blessed be the Lord.” It goes on to say, who has given rest to His people. In accordance with everything that He promised.    Isn't that awesome?  Rest comes for us as part of God keeping His promises to us. Rest.   If you feel weary today, and need rest, my prayer is that you will have what you need, straight from God. In whatever way best blesses you and brings Him glory, may He grant you rest and more rest and then some more rest. It may not come in the form of a nap, but God can give us rest in our inner being and renew and refresh us and give us renewed strength….may your strength be renewed like the eagle, as it says in Psalm 103:5.  Keep Your promises to the one listening to this podcast today, Lord, and give them rest that is perfect for them right now in this season of their life. Provide all that they need, and be glorified in this time of rest.    God knows just what He has promised to you. And He knows how to keep every bit of those promises to you.    It can be hard when we feel a bit stuck in the in-between. We know we've been given a promise, but it hasn't come to pass yet, and we have needs and hopes and we are feeling like maybe we missed it…did we do something wrong? What's going on, Lord? What's up with this? (ever have a prayer time that sounds like that…your prayer is, I don't know what's going on and I sure hope I didn't miss something…)  Those are the moments when it is hardest to hang on to belief, which is also hanging on to our trust.  Those are also the moments that can be real faith stretchers for us. Faith that is untested is no faith at all. I've read that somewhere and I'm not sure who to attribute that quote to, but it's a good one.  Faith that is untested is no faith at all. We don't need a flashlight at high noon in Tucson on a sunny summer day. And we don't need faith if life is constantly giving us nothing but ease.    If you are experiencing a moment of faith stretching, can I read today's verse once more as a rock solid reminder that God will, absolutely and with utter perfection and precision, keep His promises? One of those promises is that He will never leave you nor forsake you, and I think that may be a promise that somebody needs to hold onto today…your God who loves you beyond measure or comprehension WILL NEVER leave you nor forsake you. You are chosen, not forsaken. You are His beloved. You are loved by the God who spoke the world into existence.    1 Kings 8:56 - Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, in accordance with everything He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke through Moses His servant.    Not one word failed. Not one word will ever fail. All God's good promise, which He has given us via the Bible, all of God's good promise is unfailing and infallible. It's certain, and it cannot fail. God's promises are inerrant.  And not one word of God's good promise to you will fail. Ever.    Choose belief today, even in, maybe especially in, those hard places, those faith stretching spots, and when it's not high noon in Tucson and you need no faith.   Take heart, and remember that in this world you will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world. The words Solomon spoke in 1 Kings 8 during the dedication of the first temple are an encouraging reminder of the truth about God and His promises to us as we look toward the soon building of the third temple in Jerusalem. True, true, ever always true…God's promises are true for you.   Thanks so much for joining me today, and hey, I haven't asked in a while so I'll ask today. If you are encouraged by The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, I'd be super grateful for a review or a rating or a share of the show. And if you have a women's ministry event coming up, or a moms event, or maybe even an online event, like a summit or conference, and you are looking for a speaker, I'd be honored to be in the mix, to be considered for those events. I've got a link in the show notes to a Google form - click that or pass it along to the women's ministry leader if that might be helpful. Have a blessed rest of your day…a blessed week, and I'm praying that you have all the rest you need and receive an outpouring of God's favor, grace and tremendous love today. See ya next time. Bye bye. 

Today's guest, John Chisum, was such a joy to meet and hang out with! Getting to hear his story of following God after his radical conversion to see how He opened up doors for John when he least expected it. He also talks about a very dark time during his career when he felt so depressed and hopeless that he considered taking his own life. When he was at his lowest, God presented him with a new opportunity to begin helping singers and songwriters across the world with the Nashville Christian Songwriters website and organization. You will sense the joy he feels and just how much he loves the place God has put him. I pray this episode encourages you to keep going when you are at your lowest and know that God loves you and He doesn't leave you! Bio: John Chisum is an internationally loved worship leader, recording artist, songwriter, coach and teacher specializing in the areas of worship, songwriting, and personal empowerment. Currently President of Nashville Christian Songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee, John is continuing a 30+ year passion “to empower Christian songwriters worldwide.” John is widely known for his songs recorded by Christian artists Ron Kenoly, Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, The Gaither Vocal Band, Truth, First Call, The Cathedrals and many of Integrity's Hosanna! Music recordings. John has been a long-time music industry professional in music publishing, artist development, songwriter, and producer roles for over 200 projects. John studied classical voice at the University of Memphis and holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from The University of South Alabama (Mobile) and a Masters of Arts in Worship Studies from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. John has had over 400 songs published in his career and has co-written and produced eight children's and youth musicals in conjunction with Word Music, Integrity Music, and Lifeway Christian Resources. His compositions are in print with every major choral music company including Integrity Music, Word Music, Lillenas Music, Lifeway Christian Resources, and Allegis Music. He has released eight worship recordings distributed through Warner Brothers, Pamplin Music, Integrity Music, Martingale Music, and Firm Foundation Worship Ministries. John counts among his personal mentors the late evangelist and Bible teacher Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin, influential Christian music pioneers such as Bill & Gloria Gaither, Darrell A. Harris, Stan Moser, and the late Dr. Robert E. Webber, author and founder of The Dr. Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. John has a great love for international ministry, as well, and has ministered in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia over the last twenty years. He has been involved overseas with Worship International and with The Protestant Women of the Chapel, a military organization that provides ministry to military families throughout the nations. John has been married to Donna for 40 years, and they have a lovely daughter, Aly. Anchor Verses: Proverbs 16:9 Ephesians 3:20-this is the one he meant to say:) Connect with John: Website: https://www.johnchisum.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnchisumofficial/ Nashville Christian Songwriters: Website:https://www.nashvillechristiansongwriters.com An Evening with John Chisum and Friends on October 16th: https://www.nashvillechristiansongwriters.com/jc-event/ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

I have been looking forward to sharing this interview with my new friend, Jennifer Marie. We spoke back in June just after her new EP, You Can Whisper was released. She talks about how from a young age, she knew music was her path and gifting. She was involved in church worship from the time she was in middle school and then stepped away for after she started her family. In 2020, she felt as though God was calling her back to writing and singing music. I am so glad He did and you will too when you hear her heart behind her music and then tune in. I pray that her story of following her dreams will encourage you to follow yours wherever you find yourself today! Bio: Jennifer Marie and her husband Jeremy live in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area with their two daughters, Jordyn and Lauren, along with their dog Paxton and their three cats, Bella, Theo and Arlo. Anchor Verse: Exodus 14:14 Connect with Jennifer: Website: www.jennifermariemusic.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Iq7p1OofHNLGJ0EzqP6Tv?si=6dohF_ZxT6SnXZvyr76P-A  Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jennifer-marie/1580177810  YouTube: www.YouTube.com/@jennifermariemusic  Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennifermariemusic  Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JenniferMMusic  TikTok: www.TikTok.com/@jennifer_marie_music  Twitter: www.Twitter.com/jenmariemusic  ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode with my new friend, Rachelle Starr. Rachelle talks about how her journey of working with women in the adult entertainment industry started when she was 23 years old, starting with a daily prayer session for 18 months with the people who decided to walk this path with her. When God told her it was time to start going in, the soil was ready for planting. She emphasizes the importance of developing rhythms of prayer, fasting and soaking in the Word of God, not only to discover His plan for your life, but also to discover more about who He is. I pray that this conversation will open your eyes to see what is going on in the world around you and leads you to ask God what He wants for you to do and who He has for you to reach. Then be ready to answer the call! Bio: Rachelle Starr founded Scarlet Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to sharing the hope of Jesus with women in the adult entertainment industry. Rachelle also leads a gospel-centered career development program where women can receive employment and job skills while discovering their God-given gifts and talents. Rachelle and her husband, Josh, have two boys and reside in Louisville, Kentucky. Anchor Verses: Psalm 23 Matthew 28:18-20 Connect with Rachelle and Scarlet Hope: Personal Website: https://rachellestarr.co/ Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rachellestarr.co Website: ⁠www.scarlethope.org⁠ IG: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/thescarlethope⁠⁠ FB: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/thescarlethope⁠ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode with Tracy Taris covers so many different topics! She talks about how before she went through years of therapy and healing, the only way she would describe her past was with a victim mentality. She used to be only be able to see the hurt and trauma that her mom caused her in her childhood, to now being able to see that her mom was coming from a place of pain and hurt on her own and didn't know how to heal from that herself. She talks about how going through therapy led her to become a therapist in her daily life. We talk about how people want to pit Christianity and Psychology against each other. This can be true, but in many ways and situations, they can be a great help when used together. We have talked about that many times on previous podcast episodes. When used properly, we can learn about who we are in Christ and how we can become the man or woman He has called us to be. Tracy talks about this using the concept of "broadcast networks" in her book, Many Voices One Truth. I pray this conversation helps you and those around you when walking this life journey and growing closer to Christ and those around you! Bio: Licensed Marriage & Family Christian Therapist and author of Many Voices One Truth, Tracy Taris is a healer and educator providing guidance through her private practice, within her church and in her community. She is the president and owner of Healing the Mind & Spirit, Inc. where she leads a team of counselors as they guide people towards healing. Located in Santa Clarita, California, her team offers therapy services to individuals, couples and families as well as coaching services that cover a variety of topics from creative blocks, nutritional problems and women's issues.  Tracy's service to the Santa Clarita Valley also includes work as a Contract Therapist for local community college, College of The Canyons' (COC) Student Health and Wellness Center. She is part of a team of therapists who provide therapy to students at COC. Tracy holds a master's degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy from Azusa Pacific University. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcasting from California Polytechnic State University. Tracy completed her service as President for the Santa Clarita Valley California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists Chapter as well as her role in serving as President in the past for the organization. Additionally, she has contributed to the city's local newspaper, The Signal, and has led workshops for the City of Santa Clarita, her private practice and for COC. Anchor Verse: Jeremiah 29.11 Jeremiah 33:3 Isaiah 26:3 Romans 12:2 Connect with Tracy: Website: https://www.healingthemindandspirit.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingthemindandspirit/ Personal Website: https://tracytaris.com/ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracytaris/ Many Voices ONE TRUTH is currently available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Many-Voices-Truth-Tracy-Taris/dp/1956654771 ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Well hey there, hello to ya and welcome to this episode. Today we will be taking a look at 2 Samuel, studying the word of God to find out what it has to say to us right here, right now, today, in the very place we find ourselves. There is no part of your life that God is careless about. He cares, and His care runs deep. And today, we're going to see heartbreak versus loyalty within the pages of our Bible. I'm so glad you're here! ROAR Virtual Marketing Conference Link  You're listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. Today's episode is sponsored by the third annual ROAR  Virtual Marketing Conference (happening online October 12-14, 2023…if you are a writer, speaker, podcaster, in some type of ministry or are thinking about beginning a podcast or hosting an online summit or other event, in women's ministry perhaps, this event could be just the thing you've been looking for. I'll be attending and it is something I am very excited about.) For information or to register just click the link in the show notes, or go to roarmarketingconference.com  ROAR marketing conference dot com. Seriously, if you're looking for marketing info from a Christian perspective, you gotta check it out. Now, on with the show! This is episode number 162. Way, way back in the earliest episodes of this podcast, I remember mentioning that people's last words are often chosen carefully and are paid close attention to. When we know someone is sharing their last words, we listen much more closely and with greater intention than our normal state of listening. Which is kind of like listening…kind of? With a question mark more than a period, if we're honest. And sometimes we just don't know that the words someone is sharing are their final ones, and when we don't know, then we don't know to listen closely.    Chapter 23 of 2 Samuel contains David's last words.  When it came to this remarkable king, this man after God's own heart, do you think those around him and those within his kingdom and even those outside of his kingdom whom he had influenced and impacted, do you think they listened to what he had to say? How much weight do you imagine David's last words carried?    In a handful of verses from the pages of my Bible, the life of arguably one of the most well-known and admired figures from God's word comes to a close.    I'm reading from the NLT today.   2 Samuel, chapter 23 -  These are the last words of David: “David, the son of Jesse, speaks—     David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob,     David, the sweet psalmist of Israel.[a] 2  “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me;     his words are upon my tongue. 3  The God of Israel spoke.     The Rock of Israel said to me: ‘The one who rules righteously,     who rules in the fear of God, 4  is like the light of morning at sunrise,     like a morning without clouds, like the gleaming of the sun     on new grass after rain.' 5  “Is it not my family God has chosen?     Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail.     He will ensure my safety and success. 6  But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away,     for they tear the hand that touches them. 7  One must use iron tools to chop them down;     they will be totally consumed by fire.”   (David knew who he was, as indicated by what was just read. He knew how greatly the Lord had blessed him. He knew the Spirit of the Lord spoke through him. And he knew the difference between the godly and the godless. These really are lovely words to speak at the end of your days.) Continuing in chapter 23 -  David's Mightiest Warriors 8 These are the names of David's mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite,[b] who was leader of the Three[c]—the three mightiest warriors among David's men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle.[d] 9 Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. 10 He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder! 11 Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, 12 but Shammah[e] held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory. 13 Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David's fighting men) went down to meet him there. 14 David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. 15 David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” 16 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. 17 “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men[f] who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three. (Remarkable! The battles these three, David's top three warriors among his thirty mighty men, the mighty men of David, doing exploits that leave us astounded and wondering, “How can this be true?” And yet, true it is. Let God be true and every man a liar - His word is true. These things really did happen. What about you? What great exploits can you do for the kingdom of your God? Are you a prayer warrior? Then do it with all your heart, working as unto the Lord, expecting great results and powerful answers to those prayers. Never stop praying - never stop seeking the Lord's will to be done right here on earth just as it is in heaven. And one day, your faith will become sight and you'll find out how your prayers impacted people for all eternity. There is no doubt that a praying man or woman holds great sway in the Lord's throne room of grace, where we boldly approach His throne to obtain grace and mercy in our time of need. When He looks, does He find one who stands in the gap? Who intercedes for others? Are you that one? Don't stop praying. Never stop praying.) David's Thirty Mighty Men 18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty.[g] He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three. 19 Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty[h] and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three. 20 There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior[i] from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions[j] of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. 21 Once, armed only with a club, he killed an imposing Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it. 22 Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors. 23 He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard. 24 Other members of the Thirty included: Asahel, Joab's brother; Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem; 25  Shammah from Harod; Elika from Harod; 26  Helez from Pelon[k]; Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa; 27  Abiezer from Anathoth; Sibbecai[l] from Hushah; 28  Zalmon from Ahoah; Maharai from Netophah; 29  Heled[m] son of Baanah from Netophah; Ithai[n] son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin); 30  Benaiah from Pirathon; Hurai[o] from Nahale-gaash[p]; 31  Abi-albon from Arabah; Azmaveth from Bahurim; 32  Eliahba from Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen; Jonathan 33 son of Shagee[q] from Harar; Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar; 34  Eliphelet son of Ahasbai from Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh; 35  Hezro from Carmel; Paarai from Arba; 36  Igal son of Nathan from Zobah; Bani from Gad; 37  Zelek from Ammon; Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah; 38  Ira from Jattir; Gareb from Jattir; 39  Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all. (That was a list of names. Why is that important? Because you're important to the Lord. Important enough that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Reading a list like this reminds us that  people matter so very much to our God. And that means everyone you encounter matters to God. He cares about them, He cares about what happens to them, He cares where they spend eternity. And while I butchered some of those for sure, there were some tough ones on that list, God never gets our name wrong. He knows who you are. He knows where you are. And He knows where you fall in history. You matter, your place matters, and you are not forgotten. Your name is on a list, and once it's written there it cannot be erased because the precious blood of Jesus bought you with a price. And if you don't know that your name is written in Jesus' Book of Life, you can know it immediately by praying by faith for Jesus to forgive your sins, by accepting His payment on the cross as the full payment for all your sins, and then give your life to Him fully and completely. If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved - that's Romans 10:9 and it is God's honest truth. You can know immediately that your name is written in the book of life, and when the roll is called up yonder, you'll be there.)   Can I mention that this chapter ends with the mention of Uriah the Hittite. There's a story there, one of heroism on Uriah's part and great heartbreak as well. Godly people really do ungodly things sometimes, as was the case with the death of Uriah as ordered by King David. One of his mighty men, as listed here. When you have an in-the-spotlight kind of life, as David certainly did, there is added possibility of great heartbreaks. Is it fair? Well, I suppose life isn't fair, honestly. And so, if you are in some sort of a spotlight type of role, be sure to pray and ask the Lord to give you discernment, conviction, grace, compassion, empathy, wisdom and His protection in that role. That is a prayer you won't ever regret taking time to pray.  And you know, for those of us living a “small” life, not one in the spotlight, just kind of normal (which we may feel is boring, but normal or small does not have to equate to boring!) - a small life may just be good for you. A blessing from the Lord. Don't assume that a small life, a small ministry, a small role is a curse. I'm very serious when I say it may be the biggest blessing you never knew you had. In the spotlight, it gets warm. The spotlight is the hot light. And it can be so very hard. There is no shame in a small life lived well for God's glory, for a small ministry that serves others and honors the King of kings. Maybe social media says it's not big enough to be good enough. But that's not what God says, and His opinion really is the only opinion that matters since it's the only opinion that will stand at the end of all time. Uriah's life was cut far too short, and it serves as an example for us to daily rely on the Holy Spirit.

I love this conversation with Amy Debrucque! She talks about how she struggled with severe anxiety for many years and how a cancer diagnosis 11 years ago started her down a path where she learned how to lean more into God and trust Him more. Amy's first book Embolden, co-written with her college-age daughter Blair, helps women discover the next brave steps and actions to conquer their fears and insecurities. She reminds us that whatever we are going through doesn't have the final say; that courage gets the final say and knowing we are not the end all because God already knows the end of the story. I pray this episode encourages you wherever you are today to turn and keep your eyes on God and know that He has got you and doesn't ever leave you! Bio:  Amy Debrucque is a wife, mom of four, life coach, co-author of Embolden, and host of the Life On Purpose Podcast where she helps women identify their fears and surrender them so they can live boldly in joy instead of fear. Amy loves entertaining with family and friends. A self-proclaimed "beach junkie", health nut, and chocolate lover, she loves cooking, baking, attending her kids sporting events and getting in weekly HIIT workouts with her friend Alice. Anchor Verse: Psalm 46:11 Connect with Amy: IG: https://instagram.com/amydebrucque FB: https://www.facebook.com/surrenderyourfear Website: https://www.amydebrucque.com/ Podcast: https://apple.co/3JNvoMd Embolden Book: https://amzn.to/3rCfUEx ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today, ABTS goes global! Today's episode is with Christy Osborne, who is originally from California and has been living in the UK for 15 years. We talk about her journey across the pond and how she came face to face with a decision that ultimately changed her life just as the world was coming to its own crossroads. I loved our discussion and pray that it will help anyone who is struggling with any type of addiction right now. Bio: Christy Osborne is a certified sobriety coach and founder of Love Life Sober, who helps empower women across the UK and US to get back in control of their relationship with alcohol. Alongside this, Christy is co-host of the podcast “But Jesus Drank Wine & Other Stories That Kept Us Stuck” and is currently writing her first book ‘Love Life Sober: Finding Freedom from Alcohol in 40 days' for Waterbrook, the Christian imprint of Penguin Random House, due mid- 2024. Anchor Verses: 2 Corinthians 12:9 Romans 12:2 Connect with Christy: Website: https://www.lovelifesober.co.uk IG: https://instagram.com/lovelifesoberwithchristy ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

I really enjoyed getting to meet and talk with Tarah-Lynn! She has already done so much in her short life and it has all started with her saying "yes" to God. She talks about how she first learned how to separate her mom's testimony from her own and how it helped her lean more into what God wanted to teach her. She talks about her journey from not wanting to wear the school uniform because it wasn't "fashionable" to now working in the fashion industry. She has learned about confidence both from the industry and through growing up with a family who encouraged her to know her true worth. When she talks about confidence, she says, "we can't talk about confidence without talking about where we come from." This conversation is so encouraging and I know it will help you where you are today!! Bio: Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien is the fashion editor for Cosmopolitan magazine, host of the Dressed for Battle podcast, and founder of Adorned in Armor ministry. She recently was a finalist in the Miss Supernational Haiti beauty pageant and placed first runner up, Miss Elegance, and Miss Woman Empowerment. A love-driven and multi-hyphenated millennial, her desire is to demonstrate how to live purposefully and dream big in unconventional spaces with Christ at the forefront. Crowned Miss Black New Jersey in 2018, Tarah-Lynn is the author of Claim Your Crown, Love Letters from the King and She Reigns. Anchor Verses: Isaiah 26:3 The Beautitudes, especially Matthew 5:8 Connect with Tarah-Lynn: Website: https://adornedinarmor.com   Podcast: Dressed for Battle Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarahlynnadorned Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamtarahlynn Personal Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamtarahlynn Ministry Instagram: https://instagram.com/adornedinarmor YouTube: https://youtube.com/@AdornedinArmor Pinterest: https://pin.it/3uylLPP ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation could not have come at a better time!! Keri Eichberger and I are talking about anxiety and her new book, Win Over Worry and the first time she suffered a major anxiety attack was when 9/11 happened. So many of us can relate to this even if we did not personally know anyone who died that day. Our very foundation as a country was shaken and that is when Keri realized that when our foundation is on anything but Jesus, we will be easily shaken. She also goes into detail about how her anxiety and depression was so great after her first three children that, if it were not for God's prompting and promises, she would not have had her last two children. She sees her freedom as a progression that has occurred throughout her life and continues today. I pray this conversation encourages you or someone you know who has or continues to suffer with anxiety. Go give Keri a follow and order her new book that is officially out now! Bio: Keri Eichberger lives just outside of Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband Mike and their five kids. Her own roller coaster of life trials, redeemed by a relationship with the Lord, fueled her desire to help others discover and experience the fullness of life found in Jesus. After years of writing for an online audience, she became ordained through Southeast Christian Church, giving her life to full-time ministry. She continues to follow her calling to bring faith-filled encouragement to others around the world through her social media influence, devotionals, Faith Fueled podcast, and Christian nonfiction books. Anchor Verses: Romans 8:28 Zephaniah 3:17 1 John 5:4 Connect with Keri: Website: https://keri-ann.com IG: https://instagram.com/kerieichberger FB: https://m.facebook.com/KeriEichberger.author  Faith Fueled Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/faith-fueled-devotions-with-keri-ann-eichberger/id1493448775 Book link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1684262429/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's episode with Jenn Schultz was something I knew I needed to hear while we recorded it and it is something I know will resonate with you as well! We discuss how she is a recovering people pleaser and perfectionist and how those two attributes had a negative on her relationship with God and with others for a long time. In her first published book, She's Not Your Enemy, she examines nine different categories of women who we may interact with or may see in ourselves. She reminds us that we don't need to have an unhealthy way of comparing ourselves with each other and we can 100% support other women because we are on our own journey with God and He wants us to be who He created us to be! She begins the book in the most important way, by reminding us who the real enemy is and he wants his to believe we are on our own. My friends, that is the farthest thing from the truth! Enjoy today's episode, go give Jenn a follow and buy her new book!!! Bio: Jenn Schultz is the author of She's Not Your Enemy, and she typically writes about messy faith, shaking off insecurity, and pursuing God's purpose confidently. Her mission is to empower women to ditch shame and striving by finding identity in God and freedom in abundant grace. She is a wife and mom who reads too many books at once, drinks decaf coffee, and speaks in scriptures and movie quotes.  Anchor Verses: Psalm 103 Romans 8 Lamentations 3: 22-23 Connect with Jenn: Website: jennschultzauthor.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/jennschultzauthor/ FB: https://m.facebook.com/jennschultzauthor Pinterest: https://pin.it/4fJXq7z Order She's Not Your Enemy: https://www.estherpress.com/books/shes-not-your-enemy/ ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***

Today's conversation with Michelle McKinney Hammond will both inspire and challenge you to look at your life and how you live it. Her life is the culmination of just saying yes to God and seeing what He does with it. We discuss how she came to know Christ after a devastating incident occurred and how He has carried her since to places and doing things she could have never imagined. She reminds us that He always brings us out after He brings us through! Enjoy today's episode and go give her a follow for more encouragement! Her new book, When Shift Happens, comes out next week and it is definitely one you want to add to your library! Also if you are in the Chicago area in October, her conference, The D.I.V.A Conference is taking place! Click below on her website to get more information! Bio: Emmy Award-Winner, global entrepreneur, and bestselling author of over 40 books that have sold more than two million copies worldwide, Michelle McKinney Hammond is well known as “The Queen of Reinvention and Empowerment.” Her first title (What to Do until Love Finds You: Getting Ready for Mr. Right; 1997) was an instant bestseller, launching her enormously successful multimedia career as a speaker, singer/songwriter, producer, actress, relationship expert, life coach, and a monumental voice in broadcast media and publishing, including top sellers, The Diva Principle; Sassy, Single and Satisfied; 101 Ways to Get and Keep His Attention; and Secrets of an Irresistible Woman. Michelle has appeared as a guest on hit shows including Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect, NBC's The Other Half, CBN/The 700 Club, Daystar, 100 Huntley Street, TBN, BET's Oh Drama, The Michael Baisden Show as well as a regular relationship segment host on Chicago's WGN Morning News and Fox's Fox and Friends. She can be seen in Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's productions of Women of the Bible on Lifetime and A. D., The Bible Continues as well as Truth But Fair segments on lightworkers.com and Light TV. In print, she's graced the cover of Today's Christian Woman and has been covered by Essence, Ebony, Jet, Black Enterprise Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and Associated Press. The New York Times named her one of the most visible faces in the evangelical advice industry. Having won an Emmy for her work on Total Living Network's television talk show Aspiring Women, Michelle is returning this year to Tri-State Christian Television's 3DWoman which she previously hosted for eight seasons. She'll be stepping up as the host of Sunday School Made Simple for UMI. A graduate of the Ray-Vogue College of Design (now the Illinois Institute of Art), she received an honorary doctor of ministry from American Bible University and serves as the president of Michelle McKinney Hammond (MMH) Ministries and DivaCor LLC. She splits her time between Ghana, West Africa, and the US, traveling the world for global events, interviews, and engagements. Anchor Verse: Romans 8:28 Connect with Michelle: Website: https://www.michellehammond.com IG: https://instagram.com/mckinneyhammond https://www.facebook.com/MichelleMcKinneyHammond YouTube: https://youtube.com/@MichelleMcKinneyHammond?si=Ce5Q60KDZAWJmczv Preorder When Shift Happens: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=when+shift+happens+michelle+hammond&crid=1BXEBN52XQLCM&sprefix=when+shift+happens+michelle+hammon%2Caps%2C291&ref=nb_sb_noss ***This podcast is a proud member of the Spark Network! It is a network of Christian podcasts that cover so many different topics!  Head over to: https://www.sparkmedia.ventures/spark-network#/ to find more amazing podcasts!!***