The Other 167

Reading the Bible isn't hard. It's long, and some of it can be a bit mysterious. But taking the time to read and study God's Word isn't the challenge.  Believing the Bible is true can be harder for some people. There are some pretty incredible stories in there that some people might find hard to believe. But even believing the Bible isn't enough. As Christians we are called not only to act on the Word of God, but to live our lives by it. Submit ourselves entirely to Him, to follow the commands of Christ, to trust entirely in His grace, and forsake our will for His. If you believe the words in the Bible, this shouldn't be hard. Surely if God can do all that, He can handle our lives better than we can. We never know how He will work in our lives. But what if you did? What if you knew the faith He was asking of you would take you to, and through, the hardest times of your life? Would you surrender to Him anyway? Well, Jesus did.

The call of a Christian can be a difficult tight rope at times. We are called to be kind, but not naive. We are called to speak the truth, but to speak it with love. Sometimes the truth doesn't seem very loving, and even our best efforts to do so may not be taken that way from the person receiving it.  Our confidence in ourselves to balance this should be weak, because in ourselves we will struggle to juggle the two. But the Holy Spirit has equipped us to build up the body of Christ, so our confidence should be in Him to guide us through the challenges. When we don't know what to do, the answer is simple: Rely on Him!

There are a lot of things about Christianity that I believe are subtly misunderstood, even sometimes amongst well meaning believers. And that's OK; God's ways are not our ways, so it's understandable that we might not "get it" sometimes.  But one of those that I really missed for a long time was the idea that the men of great faith must have lived very righteous lives. I didn't know David had his mistress' husband killed to cover his sin. I didn't know Paul murdered the first Christians and was still the chief of sinners years after his conversion. I didn't know Peter struggled accepting Jesus' plans. And I didn't know John was so competitive! Neither David, Paul, Peter or John had a thing to do with saving me. But misunderstanding them caused me to misunderstand Jesus. I thought having a strong faith would keep me from making mistakes. But honestly, I think my stronger faith might have even made me more prone to them at times.  I didn't know Jesus was OK with His followers making mistakes. Sure, I knew He forgave all past sins, as long as you didn't make any more. Go and sin no more, right?!  But I've learned that while Jesus gives you the option and the desire to not make mistakes, He knows we won't always do it. But I've also learned that He already forgave those too, and has been working them together for good from the start.   

I confess that I have a habit of focusing on the events of Good Friday on Easter weekend. The sacrifice that Jesus paid for us is unimaginable. It's too painful to really even try to comprehend. But this morning I felt like the Lord pointed out that I shouldn't fixate on the pain He suffered. Yes, remember and acknowledge it, certainly appreciate it. But also remember that it isn't the end of the story.  Through His suffering, Jesus displayed His love for us, and made way for His power to be displayed in the resurrection. That's why He came, to demonstrate His power and His love definitively. The Cross was the means to this end, but it wasn't the central theme. I pray that His power and love are demonstrated this weekend as well! Happy Easter!  

The Christian walk can feel like it's across a balance beam, sometimes blindfolded. Seeking righteousness, we lean a little too far to the legalist side. We steady ourselves with grace, maybe a little too much, and stumble toward sin.  Compare this to Jesus' own words: "I am gentle and humble in heart". "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light". Does that sound like He wants us to balance like an Olympic gymnist?  We struggle to balance when we try to walk by ourselves. Jesus doesn't want us to learn how to balance. He just wants us to hold His hand. 

All Christians have done some regrettable things in our lives. Some years ago, some yesterday, but there are plenty of opportunities for us to look back at things we know we should have done differently. But should we hang on to them? I can argue that remembering how prone we are to mistakes can be a healthy reminder to seek God's direction in every action. We rarely see a mistake coming before it happens (although to be fair, I probably have). We often think we are doing the right thing at the time we make the mistake. It's only after the fact that we realize we missed it. Anytime we act without God the risk of mistakes skyrockets. On the other hand, we can spend so much time remembering the things we messed up that we only see ourselves for our failures. But that isn't how God sees us. But God's love is in both. I think it's OK to remember your mistakes as long as they serve as a reminder of how much God loves us, flawed as we are, and how forgiving and gracious He is. But He also loves us enough to offer His Spirit and His Word as a guide, so we don't have to make those mistakes. Best of all, God's power is displayed in what He is able to do with our mistakes. He did some incredible things with some sketchy people and continues to today. We just have to trust and follow Him.

It's easy to have faith when we like the way we see God working in our lives. But when we don't like His answers (or He just isn't offering them), those are the times we see our true faith.  After Jesus' fed 4,000 people, Peter said He was the Christ. But when Jesus told them He would be killed, Peter argued with Him and Jesus called Him Satan. Peter flip flopped so fast he got two new names in five verses! Believing in God's past goodness isn't faith. That's observation. Faith is believing God is good even if the next phase of His plan is scarier than we could have imagined. It's remembering He is good when the scary part is actually happening. And it's relying on His grace to comfort us for as long as He allows the pain to last.  It's not easy. Not at all. When things really got hard, Peter tripled down on denying he even knew Jesus. And this is the man Jesus tasked with building the church.  I think He understands how difficult it is for us. But it's pleasing to Him. And that's all the reason real faith needs. 

Paul didn't include "argumentative" in his list of the fruits of the Spirit, but Christians seem to add it from time to time, especially when it comes to non-believers. We are called to be the peacemakers, not conflict seekers. Whether we are confronting sin, discussing interpretations of Scripture, or even the existence of God at all, we can get so fired up defending our stance that conversations turn into arguments. And in doing so, we misrepresent the very thing we are so passionately defending. God has done plenty to prove His existence and has all the power to convict others of their sins and theological misunderstandings. He doesn't need our help. He asks us to show patience and kindness to others. This is how we represent the one thing He commanded repeatedly: His love.

Christians can be the some of the worst representatives of what we believe sometimes. Grace, forgiveness, mercy, love, humility, these are the qualities Jesus commanded us to show as His disciples. When we treat others as we think they deserve to be treated, celebrate and applaud our own righteousness, and act like we know the one and only correct answer in every scenario, we represent the complete opposite qualities of Jesus. We judge non-believers for not accepting the faith that we fail to demonstrate. What do you think Jesus would have to say about that?

Sometimes it's hard to trust that God's process is good. Sometimes it's hard to believe He even has one at all. But He has known everything that was going to happen from the beginning, and knows exactly what is going to happen next, and further down the road. When things don't make sense, trusting that He knows exactly what He is doing and that His way will ultimately be perfect, helps us to find peace in the storms. He wants us to stay focused on HIM, instead of the situations we don't understand.

A couple thousand years ago, we received the greatest miracle of all. God Himself was among us, in the flesh, experiencing everything we experience, yet without sin. As ancient as the story may seem, His presence is with us as much today as it was then, and it's every bit as miraculous today. A holy God loves us and wants us to know Him, wants to be with us every day of our lives. It's incredible. Merry Christmas!!

The Christmas season brings a lot of traditions along with it. Santa, movies, songs, gifts, trees, decorations, concerts and funny sweaters. But the whole season, the whole story, it's all about God and His love for us. It's easy to get swept up in the chaos this time of year and forget why we are doing all these things in the first place. But what Christmas celebrates is so much more important than how it is celebrated.

The perception of Christianity, even sometimes from within Christianity, is that Christians are supposed to be perfect, righteous people. We equate God's ability to love and use us to our ability to perform at or close to His expectations. Maybe that part isn't entirely untrue. The lie might be in what we think His expectations actually are. God knows everything, so He most certainly knows we are nowhere close to perfect. He is aware of, and prepared for, all of our flaws. And He loves us anyway. And will gladly use us for His kingdom if we are willing. Ironically, perhaps the only people God can't (or at least won't) use, are the ones who think they are perfect and righteous.

Living out the Christian life is really what the first 99 episodes have been about, so it was a fitting title for the 100th.  Reading scripture, prayer, church, these are all great things that we need in our lives to grow closer to the Lord. But what we learn and how we grow should spill over into how we live our lives as well. If it doesn't, how much did we really grow?  We should also remember God is the source of our growth; we certainly couldn't do it on our own. Don't forget to thank Him for that along the way. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

It's easy to think Jesus didn't need faith. If He was God, He knew everything and didn't have to worry right? But without faith it is impossible to please God, and God Himself said He was well pleased with Jesus. So He must have had to rely on some faith in His time here.  When Jesus was on earth, He voluntarily surrendered some of His God-like attributes, coming down to our level in some ways. This makes His faithfulness to the Father all the more incredible! We can't use the excuse "well, yeah, but He was Jesus" when we can't find the ability to live the way He told us to live. He lived by example, struggling with temptation without surrendering to it.  When we can't find the power to do this on our own, God reminds us that "on our own" was never His plan. 

Worshiping Jesus isn't an hour a week church service, a 15-minute daily devotion, or a nightly prayer. It is a way of life. For a Christian, it is the way of life.  It is welcoming Jesus along for the minute by minute ride. The ride with the crazy drivers, difficult people, and less than ideal circumstances. He wants to be a part of it all. Church and quiet time are the easy times to follow Christ. It's the rest of life we struggle with. And that's where He wants to be.  When we invite Christ into unrestricted 24/7 access to our hearts, our entire lives become about glorifying Him, and He is able to do so much with the little things along the way.  Chapters (00:00:02) - Wonders of the World(00:01:24) - Jesus' patience with the she-devil(00:06:10) - Pondering the Humility of Christ(00:10:11) - Humility in the Word(00:14:50) - Jesus Was Tempted 3 Times(00:18:27) - Did They Know The Messiah Was the Messiah?(00:23:50) - Jesus and the Old Covenant(00:24:26) - Christianity and Nicodemus(00:26:42) - John 3: The Contrast Between John 2 and 3(00:31:33) - Why Was Christ So Humiliated?(00:35:46) - say yes to everything(00:40:06) - Wonders of the World(00:44:38) - Thanksgiving and Being thankful(00:47:19) - Rusty Earnhardt In The NASCAR Hall of Fame(00:49:33) - Tallahassee Motor Speedway(00:51:59) - Carl Lewis on Jimmy Kimmel's Hall of Fame Moment(00:54:47) - Things That God Can't Do For You(00:56:58) - Homework For Kids

Why are we doing what we are doing? Better yet, Who is directing us? It's so easy to take control and do what we want or do what we know we should for the wrong reasons. But if we are being led by God, our hearts align with our motives, to serve Him in gratitude, and direct others to Jesus! Chapters (00:00:02) - It Takes Courage to Love Self(00:01:05) - My Son's First Step To 100(00:04:21) - Kenny on His Backup Plan(00:05:41) - Pray for Your Enemies(00:10:14) - Praying in the Spirit(00:15:07) - Blessings Follow Obedience(00:17:04) - James 5: The Prayer of a righteous Man(00:21:32) - What, What Was It That I Would Love to Be?(00:21:46) - Reveal: Self-Control(00:26:19) - How to Deal with a Hardheaded Child(00:29:05) - Who Comes First? The Test of Discipleship(00:31:53) - Mental preparation for God(00:33:22) - How to Do a Three-Part Sermon(00:36:33) - The Cross and God's Love(00:39:59) - An atheist on God and His Love(00:42:38) - Jesus on Self-Love(00:45:28) - Check Your Motions(00:47:49) - Closing with the Book of Jude(00:49:17) - Responsibilities of Others and God

If we aren't careful, our inner legalist can twist our motivation to obey God. We either do it so appear righteous to others, make ourselves feel better about ourselves, or even to earn God's favor so He will give us what we desire.  Not only are those the wrong reasons to obey God, they are sinful! Self-righteousness, pride, & greed square off directly in the face of what God desires in our hearts. So are we not to obey? As Paul would say, God forbid!  We shouldn't see blessings and obedience as a divine currency exchanged between us and God. If it were, we'd be bankrupt!  A unique characteristic of love is that it causes you to find joy in the joy of the person you love. When I do something for my kids that makes them happy, I don't do it to make myself feel like a good dad. I do it because seeing them happy brings me joy! But bringing myself joy isn't the motivation for doing it, but it goes hand in hand with bringing them joy.  When we pursue the things that make God happy out of our love for Him, blessings follow, because our obedience to Him is the blessings itself!   

God can do anything He wants. Literally anything. We can't even comprehend His power, let alone match it. But when it comes to the things most important to us, for some reason we try to limit His power. Yes, He can create the universe, raise the dead, multiply fish and bread, but what is that to us?! We think this one thing in our life is the one thing God can't handle. We trust ourselves to step up and handle a problem that we think is too big for Almighty God. It really is comically stupid. Chapters (00:00:02) - God's Love for Us(00:00:55) - Jack's Jams and Jellies(00:03:38) - Keep Your Testimony(00:06:43) - Jesus' Mercy for Mary(00:09:41) - Sub-Points of the Bible(00:14:02) - Jesus on the Crucifixion(00:17:35) - Wonders of the World(00:21:10) - How Much Wine Would Have Been Needed for the Disciples?(00:24:04) - Wonders of the World(00:26:25) - God's Will for You(00:29:41) - Burden of Eternal Trust(00:33:44) - Blessed People: How Dependent Are They on God?(00:38:00) - How to Be Less Prideful(00:40:27) - How to Fight PRIDE(00:43:12) - "My Mother in Law Is a Blackey Blank"(00:43:52) - It's Just Too Important to Let God Handle(00:46:44) - Real Prayers For The Lord(00:49:33) - Gabe's Love Letter To His Parents(00:52:46) - Gabe's Attempt to Earn 17 Million GTA Points(00:55:38) - Mariah Carey on Smartphones(00:59:40) - Amelia in the Amber Alert(01:01:51) - Moses and Aaron in the Desert(01:05:13) - Jesus at the End of His Own Life(01:06:20) - Why Did God Tell Moses To assemble the congregation and speak to the(01:07:36) - PODCAST: Chick Fil-A

We are naturally bent towards comparing ourselves to others. How skilled are we at certain tasks? How kind are we towards others? How much have we been blessed? Looking only at ourselves doesn't tell us much. We need to know the answers to these questions for other people to know how we measure up. Very little can come out of this. We either find ways to be jealous of others or find ways to feel superior to them. But when we compare ourselves to Jesus, there's no room for either. He holds all the power, all the glory, all the knowledge, and all the love. We will never "out know" Him, or be able to "out power" Him, and we most certainly will never be able to "out love" Him. He is the only standard worth chasing. Chapters (00:00:02) - How to Build a Personal Pride(00:00:48) - How to Prepare for a Hurricane in New York(00:04:52) - Hurricane Florence's path through the mountains(00:07:49) - Hurricane Florence: Taking a boat to the beach(00:09:18) - Chick Fil A In The Elevator(00:11:36) - "Oh, That's Pretty!"(00:12:03) - Christian Karma(00:16:38) - Getting It Out of the Cash(00:17:17) - Karma and the consequences of actions(00:20:12) - Respondent: Consequences of Our Actions(00:23:31) - Consequence and Result(00:25:53) - Can Christians Still Live in Sin?(00:26:15) - Will Christians Sin?(00:30:02) - How to Deal with Homeless People(00:30:09) - What About the Sins That You're Still Doing?(00:33:04) - Can I Do X and Be a Christian?(00:37:02) - 7 Deadly Sins of the Christian People(00:41:12) - Sin begins in the mind(00:44:19) - Can I Do This and Be a Christian?(00:47:07) - The standard is Christ(00:48:37) - John 2:1 Through 10(00:50:54) - Eternal Heaven and New Earth(00:53:49) - Isaac on the New Heaven and New Earth(00:57:44) - Hurricanes and the Rotation(00:59:19) - God Isn't a Cosmic Killjoy(01:03:16) - In the Elevator With Dr. Phil(01:03:57) - There Are 8 Million Stories in A Naked City

Sometimes we give our best effort, and things don't work out. Other times they don't work out because we don't give them our best effort. I've honestly never known which was harder to deal with. On one hand, you have to deal with regret when you know you could have tried harder. But on the other, when your best wasn't good enough, it's a downright humiliating thing to have to accept. Both are hard to live with, but neither can outrun God's grace. God's grace far exceeds our best efforts or our failures. More than our effort, God desires our hearts, to put our faith in Him and know that His best efforts always work out.

There's a scene from an old baseball movie called Moneyball. In the scene, a player hits a ball deep into the outfield and immediately runs as fast as he can towards first base with no regard for the ball. As he rounds first, he trips over the bag into an embarrassing 15-foot barrel roll. Crawling frantically back towards first base, he looks up to opposing players and his own coaches' playful laughter at his expense. More embarrassing than his fall, was that he hadn't even realized that he'd hit the ball 60 feet over the fence.  It's easy to get so caught up in our search for God's will that we forget that, by accepting His salvation, His will for our life is already fulfilled, and we've received His ultimate gift. Our search should now be for how we respond to the grace He has shown us.  Contentment isn't about being satisfied with what God has given us. It's about realizing that He has already given us the only thing that matters. The more we wrap our hearts around this concept, the less we see value in anything but Him and Him alone, and the more we rest in Him calling the shots from here. 

What did Paul mean when he said "to live is Christ"? Charlie Kirk knew. Very few people exemplify Christlikeness as well as Charlie did. He spoke the truth with more grace and love than most can manage these days. He stood firm teaching the word of God courageously, never alarmed by the many opponents to his purpose. He worked fearlessly, and patiently, to try to unify a crooked and perverse generation. He didn’t lay down his life voluntarily, but he was obedient to the point of death.   We lost a bright light in a dark world yesterday, but his life didn’t end. Charlie’s life was eternal from the moment he surrendered it to Jesus. Our loss was his ultimate gain, and I am grateful for his faithful service to the Gospel. Chapters (00:00:02) - Living on a Privete(00:02:44) - I Didn't Read The Flashpoint(00:03:54) - How Do We Live As Christ?(00:07:20) - Corinthians, Galatians and Ephesians(00:09:28) - Too Good to Be True(00:12:25) - Tongues tied in the seminary(00:14:12) - Reverend Kenny on Communion(00:16:32) - When You Can't Plan Your Life(00:18:53) - What's Your Lesson for Today?(00:20:59) - The Too Good to Be True(00:24:02) - Jesus on Personal Responsibility(00:26:21) - John 11:1-2(00:31:14) - Bradley on God and the Creationist(00:38:10) - God's Truth in One Verse(00:40:29) - The Man Who Missed Ben's Sermon(00:43:38) - Good Samaritans on Facebook(00:47:36) - If God Were One of Us(00:51:51) - Paul's attitude toward Philippians 2(00:52:31) - Being Nice to Non-Believers(00:54:40) - John 8: Don't Forget How Much He Loves You(00:57:42) - There's Still Plenty of God's Beauty in Your Neighborhood(00:59:27) - A Lesson on the Nones(01:05:05) - Deception of the Good News(01:08:46) - How Much of the Country attends Church on a Regular basis(01:12:50) - Creeper Creep in Southern Baptist Church(01:18:38) - Protecting the Fabric(01:20:23) - Contentment in Psalm 18:1-3(01:23:24) - In the Elevator With Grading Homework

There's a subtle, but huge difference, between knowing about God, and having a personal relationship with Him. You can know that God is all powerful and all knowing, without experiencing the peace that comes from trusting Him.  You can know that God forgives sin, without experiencing the grace of His forgiveness for the worst thing you've ever done.  You can know that God wants you to have joy, without experiencing the patience He shows while you fight His plans to provide it.  You can know that Jesus paid for your access to this relationship, without feeling the love that compelled Him to pay such a price. Knowing God, vs. knowing about God, is a distinction that makes all the difference.    Chapters (00:00:02) - Swimming in the Pool(00:03:08) - TRAVEL: Adventures along the Mississippi(00:04:11) - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord(00:05:09) - Lost Phone(00:06:02) - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord(00:12:01) - Trusting God(00:16:18) - Heavenly Wait: Praying For Changes(00:19:45) - How to Strengthen Our Souls in the Lord(00:26:24) - Part 3 of Humility(00:31:57) - Knowing About God and Knowing God(00:36:37) - Getting Away From the World(00:41:45) - Quiet Time on Vacation(00:46:08) - Pray Without Ceasing for the Lord(00:48:16) - Another homework assignment for Philippians(00:48:33) - Philippians 1:21: To Live Is Christ(00:52:16) - Andy Griffith on His Face

As I grow closer to the Lord, the more I am marveled by His creation around us. I love to point out nice sunsets to the kids, or find a good place to go for a walk away from the man made stuff.  But it can be easy to forget that of all of God's creation, we are His most precious. He created the world around us to show us His power, but He created us to show us His love.  How can we be a light that points others to His love the same way the sun points us to His power?  Chapters (00:00:02) - Hong Kong Phooey(00:03:23) - Dukes of Hazzard(00:05:41) - Andy Griffith on His Color Episodes(00:08:52) - Southern People Driving On Highway 401(00:11:43) - God Seeing Me As Righteous(00:15:31) - God Isn't Here for Me, but I Am(00:20:29) - How Can a Holy God Love Me?(00:23:31) - John 1: Truth in Our Hearts(00:28:44) - Labor Day is the earliest it can be(00:33:07) - Does Flood Insurance Work?(00:34:51) - Prayer: To glorify God(00:40:00) - Blowhard on His Condition(00:41:14) - Brain Task: Judas Never Had a Spiritual Interest in Jesus(00:46:37) - Separation of Judas and Jesus(00:50:17) - Pride is the Biggest Sin(00:53:14) - David at his lowest point(00:57:03) - Judea on Judas in the Bible(01:01:09) - Saved From Other People's Sins(01:04:46) - North Carolina History

Serving God isn't an obligation. It's a priviledge, one given by Him and Him alone. God doesn't take church attendance. He doesn't count Hail Mary's. We aren't credited with righteousness based on mission trips or Sunday school. We are credited by grace alone, through faith alone.  We are natually born scorekeepers. We appreciate that Jesus wiped out the bad that we've done. But we still want Him to credit us for the good He's done through us.  He doesn't need us. He can do anything, any way He chooses. And He chooses, above all else, to have a relationship with us.  He paid all He possibly could to offer us this gift, and we expect a pat on the back for accepting it.   Chapters (00:00:02) - Benjamin on Confessions(00:00:57) - Daniel Had A Funeral(00:03:35) - Sausage in the City(00:06:05) - Birthday Gifts for Kids(00:09:09) - Swimmer's Swim Cap(00:12:31) - A Good Guy's Gift(00:14:03) - Brandon Gets A Birthday Gift(00:15:28) - Ben's 55th Birthday(00:18:05) - Kenny Westbrook on His Birthday Present(00:18:29) - God's Love For Crazies(00:22:03) - Don't Worry About Relationships at 25(00:25:37) - Don't Worry About Tomorrow(00:29:39) - God's Love for Us(00:34:11) - Walking by the Spirit(00:37:18) - Golf Lessons For Amateur Swimmers(00:39:15) - God's Weight on Us(00:42:07) - Daniel 9: In Jesus Name(00:45:17) - The Lord's Prayer(00:49:31) - He Uses The Sip Club at Panera(00:52:39) - How To Get Out of a Racket(00:54:14) - Daniel 9: The End of Man in One(00:57:49) - Patriotism in the South(01:03:24) - Understanding the Infinite Love of God(01:05:39) - How to Love Your Mother(01:08:40) - How to Pray for Your Own Life(01:12:18) - Ben's Car Gets Passed Inspection(01:14:12) - The 6 P's of Bible Study(01:18:43) - Reasons We Had A Pool

Have you ever gone out to eat and filled up so much on the bread that you didn't have room for the entree? How frustrating is that!? Load up so much on the free bread that you only have room for 3 bites of the main course. Worst of all, the bread only lasts about 2 hours. Then you're hungry again and settling for a $40 microwaved steak.  The same thing can happen in our spiritual lives. In our haste to be satisfied, we fill up on the carb loaded junk, leaving no room for God to truly satisfy us.  More often than I want to admit, I'm asking how I can seek God so He will give me what I think I need, forgetting that seeking God is all that I need.  Chapters (00:00:02) - Biblical Questions for the Week(00:03:09) - Ticket to Heaven(00:06:06) - Easter Crosses on a Bank Sign(00:08:07) - God's Help For Hair!(00:10:17) - Mark 5: Legion and the Message(00:12:01) - MacArthur Study Bible: The Miracles of Jesus(00:16:27) - Luke 11: The Spiritual Healing(00:20:51) - Life is Not Equally Fair(00:26:26) - What She's Got and Don't Compare(00:27:05) - Ecclesiastes 9: The Prosperity Gospel(00:27:57) - The Secret to Living a Rich Life(00:31:03) - Scott Scheffler on Renewing His Mind(00:35:09) - PGA Champion Brandon Lee on the Trophy(00:38:50) - God's Love Is Not Promised(00:41:21) - How to Write a Good Sermon(00:44:32) - Pastor's Prayer for Saturday Night(00:48:07) - Colossians 3: The Most Important Part for Teens(00:52:49) - Demon Possession in the Gospel(00:57:20) - Pierce on the Spiritual Stuff(01:01:32) - Non-Baptists and Islam(01:07:22) - How to Convert a Muslim(01:10:25) - Are All The Religions Anti-Christ?(01:12:54) - Starting the Series on John 1(01:14:12) - God's Plan for Luke 12(01:17:28) - Pl polo

I'm the world's worst for keeping my car on empty. My theory is that I get better gas milage by keeping my fuel load light. $10 bucks at a time, every day or so, that's my game plan.  But apparently the shelf life on a 4-runner's fuel sensor is about 213,000 miles. So I recently started playing the old odometer game. Fill up, reset the odometer, and keep the odometer below 400. Now I'm not quite so confident in my splash-and-go stategy. I check the odometer more often than I check my mirrors, and if it hits triple digits I start second guessing if I remembered to reset it. We can do the same thing with our spiritual tank. If we're not careful, we start relying on the fuel light to tell us when we're getting low. But God didn't create us to run on fumes. His desire is to fill us with the Spirit so we can fully enjoy the fellowship with Him!  Chapters (00:00:02) - Prayer: Taking the scenic route(00:00:47) - Who Really Owns the Church?(00:03:27) - Seniors Get Confused By Birthday Texts(00:06:12) - Happy Birthday!(00:08:55) - How to grow a fig tree(00:11:31) - Big vines grow wild in Montana(00:11:48) - Israel Was Scattered For 2,000 Years(00:17:57) - Separation of Jew and Christian(00:23:07) - Adam Levine on Jews and Christianity(00:28:47) - Biblical parallels between today and the Bible(00:33:49) - How do you prove God is real?(00:36:50) - Is Doubt Just as Serious as Idolatry?(00:41:17) - Doubt in the Life of God(00:45:54) - Daniel the Man of Prayer(00:49:32) - Moses and the Prayers(00:54:06) - Praying for a Distressed Person(00:57:02) - Prayer for the World(01:03:25) - Reclaiming the Promises of God(01:08:16) - Taking the Longer Route(01:13:56) - Deacon's List

Awesome to have Brandon Goss join us this week. This was a lot of fun and we hope he'll come back whenever he can. (And the Monster diet does seem to work, by the way.) How much fear, worry, and doubt to we carry around with us? These aren't fun, and they aren't what God intends or wants for our life. He wants us to trust in Him completely.  When we follow Him with our whole heart, there's nothing to fear, because we know He is with us. There is nothing to worry about, because we know He holds the future. And there's nothing to doubt, because we know He is faithful.  It's simple math: fear, worry and doubt show us the part of our heart the Lord doesn't have.    Chapters (00:00:02) - How to Lose Weight on a Challenge(00:02:54) - Softball Coach(00:04:57) - Fat Kenny on 'This Morning'(00:07:36) - Brandon on The Fishing Podcast(00:08:46) - Kenny on Cutting My Grass(00:11:36) - How Real Is Podcast Analytics?(00:14:35) - Gardener Takes Over the Yard(00:15:55) - Eminem's "Use This Gospel"(00:20:16) - DJ Khaled on Eminem's 'All In'(00:23:56) - Josh Hamilton(00:30:10) - Josh Hamilton on Social Media and His Christian Calling(00:34:42) - Pastor: Do We Judge Others?(00:40:32) - Kenny on Judgeing People(00:42:26) - Another example of this is with Gabe(00:45:26) - Does God Allow His Anger to Last?(00:48:35) - Daniel the Book of Suffering(00:52:55) - When You Can't Get Down on Your Kids(00:53:25) - North Carolina drivers on the road: Too judgmental(00:57:32) - The Best Places to Live in North Carolina(01:01:13) - Malcolm Phelps on His Training(01:04:14) - Bob Phelps swims for fun(01:05:56) - Getting the Numbers this Week(01:06:24) - Joshua and Caleb: What Set Them Apart?(01:10:18) - Outcasts in Society(01:13:53) - How To Survive In the Heat

God desires truth in our inner most parts. That sure is inconvenient isn't it? None of us want to admit our struggles, maybe even to ourselves.  Kenny said people might be shocked to know who I really am, and you might be. So, brace yourself... I cuss a lot. Not as much as I used to, and I'm working on it. But I say a lot of things I'm glad y'all don't hear. I also like Miller Lite more than I probably should. And I'm about two cute blondes in yoga pants away from actually gouging my eyes out. And the pride, oh, the pride.  To be fair, I don't say the Lord's name in vain, I'm rarely actually intoxicated, and I've never committed adultery. I mean, technically, according to Romans, well and Matthew....look, I've never cheated, alright?!  This leaves me just enough wiggle room to also struggle with self-righteousness. I'm basically the worst parts of the Old Testament masked as a Pharisee.  Why admit this? Because in the hidden parts, God shows us wisdom. It's only by admitting the truth that we allow God to start changing it. 

I've had a lot of opportunities on this podcast to say some things I'd later regret. But of all of them, I think the line I regret the most came from the very first episode. I said "As long as I know I'm where God wants me, I don't care what the purpose of that is." I don't regret it because it was wrong. Honestly, it sounds pretty righteous to me. I regret it because it turns out it was a lie. To my pastor. In chruch. God reminds me of this pretty much every time I question Him.  Sometimes we feel like we're running on a treadmill. No matter how hard we try, nothing we do seems to move us where we are trying to go. Other times, we feel like dust in the wind, blown all over the place with no control at all over where we are heading.  But sometimes God wants us to stay put for a while, so He sends us a treadmill to keep us busy. Other times, He knows that we can't get where He wants us on our own, so He sends a gust of wind to help us get there.  There's a lot of peace to be found in what I said in the first episode. If you mean it. 

Sometimes life happens. This episode was recorded just before Christmas. Also 2 days before my computer crashed taking all of my files down with it. Fortunately, the recording was already uploaded to YouTube, so I was able to get my hands back on it. It comes in handy to have some extra episodes laying around when vacations and life keeps us from recording as often. I hope you enjoy the irony, considering we’re about as far away on the calendar from Christmas as we could possibly be. But Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving the whole year!

Every hour of every day, we face the decision of doing things our way, or God’s way. With so many opportunities to make the wrong decision, we are inevitably going to miss a few steps. But the more we practice walking with the Lord, the more instinctive it is to choose His way over ours. His Word teaches us, His Spirit guides us, and when we forget to rely on those, His Grace sustains us.

There’s a great quote from one of my favorite movies: “Good judgement is the result of experience, and a lot of experience comes from bad judgement.”Certainly, God wants us to develop good judgement. But we get frustrated that He allows us to have bad judgement along the way. Free will isn’t always convenient, but it is part of His plan. When we make mistakes, or things just don’t work out the way we hoped, we have a choice in how we can handle it. It’s so easy to fall into blame, regret, and guilt. But when we remember God’s patience, grace, mercy and faithfulness, we can find joy and gratitude in how God will use them for growth.

Jesus bought our freedom with His blood. Before the Cross, we were bound by our sin, but now we have a choice. But it still our choice. We decide how to use this freedom. Unfortunately, part of having freedom is being free to make the wrong choices, too. But we are not free from the earthly consequences of sin. And freedom shouldn’t be mistaken for God's apathy toward our sins. He will still love us, but He will hate our decisions. And out of His love for us, don't be surprised if He goes out of His way to redirect and correct them if they become habits in our lives. When we see our kids in danger, we tend to throw tactful out the window. Sometimes God has to do the same with us. But as His children, we shouldn’t lose sight of the love that He is showing us, even in the harsh corrections.

One of the threats to our walk with God is becoming so hard-headed and rigid that we forget there are two sides of every coin. Work needs to be done, but we also need rest. We show patience and grace to others, but there’s a time for discipline and hard truth. The joy of God’s love should never leave us, but neither should the fear and awe of His power. Sometimes we try so hard to figure out God’s magic formula for our lives that we forget He created all of these concepts and intended for us to have a healthy blend of them. It’s Ecclesiastes 3 in motion. But how do we decide where the line is and exactly how much of each we need, and when? Simple, we don’t. The solution to the magical God formula comes from accepting that He is the only One who knows it. Being humble enough to submit to His will when you don’t know what His will is, that’s peace. Because He doesn’t usually give us the answers the way we want them. He tells us it’s time to rest by taking away our job unexpectedly. He tells us we need to be more patient by sending us people to test it. And if He decides you need a little more humility, well, I’ll be praying for you. But the only way He can truly teach us how to stop leaning on our own understanding is to send us situations beyond our comprehension. That’s how He develops the one thing we can never have too much of: Trust in Him.

We tend to use the fruits of the Spirit as a guide for our own behavior and actions, but they also give us insight into God’s character. His power and perfection can make it easy for us to paint Him as a tyrant in our minds. But if God’s Spirit is manifested by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, then I think it’s a safe bet that those could be used to describe Him. My kids love steak, and I cook a pretty good one. But if they asked me to cook it in the toaster, I’d slap them upside the head with a sirloin and tell them to get out of my kitchen. Our plans probably sound even more insane to God, so He has to lovingly redirect us a lot. But we shouldn’t lose sight of His love and joyful nature through these corrections. We should be grateful that He cares for us enough to not let us settle for our own plans. The Lord has all the power in the world, literally, but He uses it to show us those fruits of His Spirit. I imagine that God is pretty happy and upbeat, probably quick to draw a laugh or smile, and somehow maintains that even when we test His patience and self-control. He doesn’t boss us around to feed His ego. He just loves us too much to want us to do things the wrong way.

It’s easy to forget that God can hear the subtext of our prayers. We can pray “not my will but Yours be done” until we are blue in the face, but if we really mean “God, I think this would be great so please give it to me”, He hears that part too. So, it does us no good to say the “right prayers” that we don’t really mean (I wouldn’t suggest praying “God, I don’t care what You want, I know what’s best for my life” to the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of all things either). Every hour of every day is a constant choice to choose our path or God’s path. Both will involve heartache, disappointment and struggles. But God’s path uses those struggles to grow us closer to Him, and our path uses them to compound our problems and distance ourselves from His love. But when we ask for His will and mean it, our anxiety fades into peace, because we know His ways are better than ours anyway. We don’t even have to worry about what that means. We can just live in gratitude for what He’s given us, and is giving us, even when we don’t yet know what that is.

The W.W.J.D. bracelets give us some words to live by, but I agree with Ben’s take on this; it is a tough question to try to answer. The fact is, we are not Jesus, and we cannot possibly expect to know how He would handle every situation we encounter in our lives. For one, we create scenarios He didn’t face because we sin, He didn’t. A more important question we can answer is what DID He do? It won’t give us the answer to every situation we face, but before we even begin to try to guess what He would have done if He had faced a situation we are in, we should at least do our homework and use His actions as a reference to build on. But we often skip, or forget that step. What was important to Him? How did He encounter sinners? Who did He challenge the most to change their ways of thinking? What were His commands? Jesus didn’t tell us to know what He would do. He told us to do what He told us to do. But when our pride tells us to take on more responsibility than He asked of us, we may find ourselves breaking His commandments in the process.

When we think about the guidance the Bible offers us, it can be really easy for me to focus on the judgement of God. “Do this, or else” might be the way of thinking about it. And if you are defiant, yeah, it can get pretty ugly. But I don’t think that’s God’s preferred message. He guides us, developing us to be more like Jesus, who was perfect. And it’s not just so we’ll be better people and make Him happier. It makes our lives better too! He knows it’s best for us. That’s why He tells us to do it!Honor and treasure your spouse, and you’ll be more likely to avoid an expensive painful divorce and enjoy a happy marriage. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and you’ll spend less time fighting and probably have more friends. Don’t stay out drinking until 2:00 in the morning and you’ll feel better the next day and not have to ask your friends to fill you in on what happened. Some of God’s plans to develop us aren’t quite so obvious to understand. That’s where we have to trust Him and remember He knows a lot more than we do, and whether we see it yet or not, He’s right.

A couple of weeks ago I had my first physical in about 10 years. I hate going to the doctor. Most of all, I hate having blood drawn. Judge me all you want, but I hate it. I don’t mind shots, but I can’t stand them taking blood. I started to dread it, and after a day or so I realized that the process that would take 3 minutes was another week away, and it was stupid to turn 3 minutes of misery into 168 hours. I tried not to think about it too much, and when the time came, I held my breath and survived the 180 seconds of horror. That was dread. I knew it was going to happen. I just dreaded it. Worry is an even dumber emotion. When we worry, we don’t even know the thing we are worrying about is going to happen. But we still let the possibility of something bad happening rob us of days, weeks and months of the joy and peace that God intended for us to have. Maybe that’s why he told us not to do it. We dread bad things we know will happen and worry about bad things we think might happen. But if we believe in who God says He is, we should be able to remember that God already has the future covered and He didn’t forget about us in His preparations for them. If the bad happens, He’ll give us peace to get through it and ultimately use it for His good. We can believe that and enjoy His peace or trade our joy in for the pain and fear that accompany doubting God. It’s a simple choice. It’s just not always easy.

One of my favorite Episode titles that we’ve had is “He Loves You the Way You Are, But He Refuses to Let You Stay That Way”. I liked the line at the time, but it has grown to mean more and more to me over time. As a non-believer or maybe even a new believer, I think the first half of that line is important to remember. God doesn’t expect us to clean ourselves up. He loves us as we are and that’s how He wants us to come to Him. But make no mistake, He wants us to come as we are, so we don’t have to stay that way. I loved Ben’s analogy about giving his dog a bath. The image that came to mind was Simba fighting his momma trying to give him a bath in The Lion King. We don’t always realize that we need a bath, and most of us probably fought them when we were young. Christian often asks me to smell under his arms in protest of the process. But God knows we need it. And like our kids, the process isn’t usually worth the fight we put up to prevent it. Yeah, some soap might get in our eyes once in a while, and a little water might go up our nose. But more often than not, God uses “gentle correction” to steer us toward the path of righteousness. It’s having to correct your nine-year-old for doing exactly what your eighth-grade basketball coach ripped your hair out for, but you still do every day. Or your 12-year old’s Bible test being on your favorite verse, the one about not worrying, when all you’ve done for a month is worry. God has His ways. As we grow in Christ, the second half of that line starts to become more important to remember. We already know He loves us the way we are. Why wouldn’t He?! But no matter how much we think we’ve grown, He still sees work to do. As “mature Christians” we’re awfully grateful for the work God has done in us, as long as we think He’s finished. But when He breaks the soap back out, there we are, asking Him to smell our arms in protest.

It’s so easy to overcomplicate spiritual matters, and yes, I realize I’m the extreme example. But I don’t believe that’s God’s intention. God went to great lengths to drive home the simple truths He wanted us to anchor to in our lives. The 66 books of the Bible tell a lot of stories and provide a lot of wisdom in a lot of areas. But the common themes seem to keep repeating. God loves us. God is perfect. God is there for us. God is patient and forgiving. Far from an exhaustive list, but when we remember these things, the minor details of our lives fade in significance. When we cling our hope to things of this world, we will be hurt. Money can be lost. People can hurt us. We can get sick. There’s no limit of things that can go wrong in our lives that may be out of our control. God knows that when our joy is determined by these things, our lives will be emotional roller coasters. But His love never leaves us, and His power never fades. He knows that the only true peace and joy are found in our relationship with Him, which is why He gave so much to prove His love and provide us a path to it. It’s up to us each day to decide which path we are going to walk.

Followers of Christ are called to follow His example, showing His love to others to encourage them to follow Him as well. But it doesn’t work as well when we forget to follow His example. The world has a lot of misconceptions about Jesus and what Christians really believe today, and the enemy loves confusion. But our countermove in this battle is simply to be more like Jesus and let His Spirit and God’s word guide us.

We tend to give ourselves more credit than we deserve for the things we do in life. When you woke up this morning, what was your contribution to the process? Setting an alarm, and getting out of the bed when you heard it? What was God’s part? While you rested, God kept your heart beating, brain functioning, lungs working, with oxygen in the room at a comfortable temperature and made sure no asteroids fell on your head (and helped your ears hear the alarm clock when it went off).Our growth with God is the same way. We read the Bible, we go to church, we pray. But it’s His Spirit that enables us to understand and actually grow in Him. Otherwise, we are just going through the motions. You can know the Father and know the Son, but if you don’t know the Spirit you’re really missing out. That’s how the stuff you hear and read about starts to come to life. I’ve always known that God could do anything. I think the big difference for me has been realizing I can’t do anything without God. It’s all Him, simple as that.

We can be awfully entitled in this country, and that includes, maybe even especially Christians. We start off knowing that we need God. Then we seek Him, we find Him, and His love changes us. We start walking by the Spirit and seeing Its fruits. Then something bad happens and we start wondering what we did to deserve the misfortune. Here’s a question: what did we do to not deserve it? Christians aren’t somehow exempt from suffering. But it’s so easy to slip into thinking we are owed some cosmic and divine favor thanks to our faithfulness to our Creator. But here’s the thing: God doesn’t owe us anything; He’s already given us everything. Our relationship with God does provide us with one advantage over non-believers. God provides His children with His comfort and peace in our struggles, and it surpasses all understanding, far sufficient to get us through them. But our complaining fills up the room with enough of our own hot air to fog our view of Him, getting in His way of providing this peace. We’re going to have bad days, struggles, failures and heartbreaks. And sometimes God’s love may feel like the only thing we have going for us. But if we’re not careful, we can get so wrapped up in our own feelings that we block our only source of comfort. What a waste that must feel like to the One who paid for our privilege.

Nick Saban has won 7 National Championships, more than any other college football coach in history. How successful would his career have been if he let every player pick their own position, let them play their way, patted them on the back after every play, and helped them blame others for their failures? How many titles would his teams have won? How many of those players would have gone on to professional careers in football, or any other endeavor for that matter? How much more knowledgeable, righteous, and loving is God than Nick Saban? It’s easy to shy away from God’s instruction. Sometimes His lessons are difficult. Sometimes they make us uncomfortable. Sometimes they make us recognize our imperfections. But they are always intended to grow us and draw us closer to Him. In order to accept His instruction, we have to first admit that we need it. And that can be a lot harder than it sounds like it should be. We seem to naturally think that we know best and think we have to rely on ourselves to grow, even in our relationship with God. We forget that that’s His job. Our job is to admit that we need Him and then listen to (and obey) His instruction. That’s all. He doesn’t need us to figure out the plan. He just needs us to follow it. Nick Saban won 7 championships, but he also failed to win 21 times. But God doesn’t fail. Ever. He just needs us to remember it.

It’s easy to attach our own limitations to God. His knowledge, power, and love are so far beyond our human capabilities to comprehend even individually, so how can we expect to understand the effects of all three? It takes understanding all three and how they work together to be able to truly find the peace and trust in His will.For example, what good is God if He is all loving and all knowing, but limited in power to do anything to help us? This places Him as an empathetic bystander, knowing what has happened and will happen, but unable to step in and help.If God were all loving and fully capable of anything, but limited in knowledge, how can we trust Him to use those powers for good, even with the best intentions? And worst of all, a god who can do anything and knows everything, but lacks compassion, sounds more like a really dangerous super villain than someone we can trust.These three attributes of God do not just add to each other, they compound His power. He knows everything, has the power to do anything, and how does He use these unlimited abilities? He devotes it all to demonstrating His unlimited love for us.Jesus demonstrated this perfectly on the Cross and in His resurrection. He showed His knowledge in His teachings and predictions of His own death, and His power in His resurrection. But why did He do it? So we would all come to fear the wrath of the Father and finally start obeying His commands? No. To free us from our inability to obey and to prove, once and for all, that He loves us and can, and will, do anything to prove that.When we face challenges and uncertainties, it’s easy to doubt God. But when we do, we can ask ourselves which part we are doubting. Do we think our circumstances surprised Him? Do we think He can’t do anything about it? Or do we think He doesn’t love us enough to help? Knowing that all three are false leaves us with only one option. To trust Him and enjoy the blessing of knowing that how He handles it will be best.

Knowledge by itself isn’t really worth a lot. I know a lot about football. But I never played past JV and my coaching career stalled out at Pop Warner. There’s a big difference between knowing a lot about something and having the ability to apply what you know. If you read a recipe for French Souffle’, then you will know how to make French Souffle’. But that doesn’t mean you can do it. In order to do it, you will have to do the steps in the recipe. You only really learn from doing the steps. Reading the recipe will tell you the right way to do it, but doing it wrong a few times will teach you why that’s the right way. My first steak in college was a charbroiled leather nightmare, but now I understand the importance of meat selection, and that no matter what your buddy says, A1 and Miller Lite is not a good marinade. I can read the recipe in Matthew (5:44) and have the knowledge that Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But when I put it into practice, I start to sound a lot like the Pharisee in Luke 18, thanking God for making me better than them. Apparently, I missed a step in the recipe. Let’s try again. After failing at it enough, I’m starting to realize it might just be easier to try not to have as many enemies in the first place. Growth comes from trusting the Lord with all of our heart and leaning on His understanding instead of our own, in all of our ways. I trust the Lord, I lean on His understanding instead of my own. Sometimes. The rest of the time I spend learning why I should have.

I’m constantly trying to figure God out. He must find it amusing. Or annoying. It could go either way, I guess. But I want to know what God is doing. I can drive myself crazy asking ‘why is He doing this’ or ‘what is He going to do with that?’But we don’t need to worry about what God is doing. God’s handling what God needs to do, and He’s doing it just fine. What we need to be worrying about is what God wants us to do. Simple little impossibly hard things like obeying His commands, loving each other, caring, encouraging, that kind of thing. And trusting that He knows what is right, has the power to do it, and is faithful to His promises, because He loves us.