Bert Sorin is the president and co-founder of Sorin Exercise Equipment, as well as an athlete, hunter, and advocate for the health and wellness of veterans. www.sorinex.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we hear from Taylor A. about how she and her family use hospitality as a way to reach out to the nations right here in Spokane. Featured recipe: Taylor's Coconut Chicken Tandoori with Oven Baked Rice and NaanView Recipe

In this episode Dan and Nathan discuss the basics of the Gospel as presented through "Two Ways to Live". After an overview they focus in on boxes five and six: 5. Jesus, the risen ruler and savior. 6. Two ways to live—our way or God's new way.View Two Ways to Live

In this episode Dan and Nathan discuss the basics of the Gospel as presented through "Two Ways to Live". After an overview they focus in on boxes one and two: 1. God, the good ruler and creator. 2. Our rebellion against God. Plus they give some helpful ways to connect every day life and conversation to the gospel.View Two Ways to Live

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale A devotional from Uncommen entitled Soil on Youversion They persecuted Jesus. They will persecute us. We should expect it. In fact, Matthew 5:10 says it’s a blessing.

Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale Fight Disappointment Getting Unstuck by Meredith Schafer on Youversion When we are stuck, not only do we have to be vigilant to guard against discouragement, but we also have to fight disappointment that can feel like a cold, soggy blanket thrown over our lives. Disappointment can make us ruminate on the decision that cost us, the hurt that came to us through no fault of our own, or the dry bones of our dreams that we can’t bear to look at anymore. Disappointment is a destiny-killer. But it doesn’t have to be. Disappointment is a tool the enemy likes to use to keep us stuck, to make us unable to move forward. But when we believe God’s promise that no weapon formed against us will prosper, as Isaiah 54:17 reminds us, we take ground for our dreams. Put Your Dreams on Notice To get unstuck, we have to take part in the fight against disappointment by taking back our destinies. If you have ever felt like your dreams were no longer attainable, if you have ever wanted to do or be something other than you are right now, if you feel so stuck in a rut that you’re starting to pick out paint colors, take heart! Even dry bones that hear the word of the Lord must rise again. Ezekiel 37:4-5 paints a picture that translates to the dry bones of our dreams: Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” Ezekiel prophesied the word of the Lord to dead things, and they became alive! Putting your dreams on notice is prophesying to them that God’s not finished yet, and you have the faith to keep going until they come to fruition. Create New VisionSometimes we get disappointed because our vision for our destiny has gotten cloudy or dusty in that stuck place, and we can’t see as clearly as we need to to keep going. This is a great place to ask God for a new vision. When he gives you the new vision, the next steps, the way out of that rut, get excited, friend! The dry bones of your dreams can no longer be dusty and lifeless when activated by the word and hand of God. Keep fighting disappointment, knowing that the Lord has your back. Whatever he has put in motion cannot be stopped, even by getting stuck. Action: Speak Ezekiel 37:4-5 over your dreams. You might feel awkward or weird at first but speaking the word of the Lord is the most powerful thing you can do.Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. Ezekiel 37:4‭-‬5 "no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 54:17 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8 Prayer: God–I need you to help me fight against disappointment. Help me put my dreams on notice that I will no longer be stuck in this place. Please show me what new vision you have for my life, and then give me the courage to implement it. Thank you for making dead things come to life! In Jesus’ precious and mighty name, amen.

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is chapter 22, the 144,000. In the depths of the Tribulation horrors, the world will witness the greatest spiritual awakening ever to occur on planet earth. Our loving and creative God continually surprises us with methods He devises to care for His people in their darkest hours. During this time, His care will rise through the agency of 144,000 specially-chosen Jewish evangelists. The Tribulation period will wreak devastation like the earth has never seen. But those who turn to God will experience this new beginning, which will be more glorious than the mind can imagine. God's raising up, sealing, and rewarding His dear 144,000 Jewish evangelists gives evidence that regardless of the depths the world may sink into, God remains sovereign. His plan for ultimate victory will not be thwarted. Because we who trust Him understand that, in our darkest hours we can sing praises to Him with great joy!

Faith Matters Podcast with Andi and Brian Hale Seek Christ, Seek Wisdom, a 5 day devotional from Vance Jackson “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ According to Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word for “Trust” is, ‘batach’ (H982) which means, “To have confidence.” Have confidence in Christ. Trust Him. Trust in His Way of doing things. Seek His Will in all that you do. Seek His Will and He’ll show you what path to take. His Word is His Will. His Word is His Counsel. Let His Word light your path. ‬‬ “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”Psalms‬ ‭119:105‬ ‭NLT Let His Word light the course of your destiny. Seek His Way. Seek His Counsel. Seek His Wisdom. Seek to follow and obey the Principles and Precepts of Christ. Let His Word shape the framework of your family. Let His Word shape the framework of your heart. Let His Word shape the framework of your career. Let His Word shape the framework of your house. His Word is more powerful than any weapon of the enemy. Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭AMPC‬‬ declares,“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” Let His Word sift, shift, and transform your heart. Place your trust in Christ. Put your trust in His Word.

Sue Kesey is the co-founder of Nancy's Probiotic Foods in Eugene, OR and Sheryl Kesey-Thompson is a second generation co-owner. They join us to discuss how the creamery got its start, their passion for making yogurt and other cultured dairy products, struggling through the hard times of a growing business and the unique ideas they had to get through. This episode is sponsored by SoilBiotics and Byron Seeds.

DAY 1: The Battle Against Evil When I got saved, I thought I’d spend my life walking beside still waters and lying down in green pastures. I had no idea embracing Jesus as the captain of my salvation meant I was enlisting as a soldier in the army of God. I’ve since learned that believers are soldiers and Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword. I’ve discovered that I’m more than a conqueror in Christ, which also tells me ungodly and unseen forces are trying to conquer me. Keep this truth in mind: the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Every demon has the same mission. How they go about it—their strategies and tactics—are different. A spirit of fear attacks your faith, for example, while a spirit of rejection attacks your identity. Satan is strategic. His army is highly organized, and he is sending specific spirits against believers to derail them from their kingdom purpose. My prayer is that you will gain discernment to identify spirits opposing your life—and the lives of those you love—and develop spiritual skills to battle back. Spiritual bondage can manifest in many ways, but the good news is that victory can be ours. By walking in our God-given authority, we can effectively do battle and win in warfare.

Born to Lead Day 5 We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. —Ephesians 2:10 With one targeted drop of a piece of an upper millstone from the top of a strong tower, the woman of  Thebez saved the lives of all the inhabitants of her city. Their adversary, the heartless, power-hungry King Abimelech was about to set fire to the door of the tower—just as he had recently done in the city of Shechem, where he’d burned 1,000 men and women alive as they sought refuge in a temple. This woman had no delegated authority, and she had no time to seek permission or approval from higher-ups for her proposed actions. She used her resourcefulness and threw down the millstone piece that crushed Abimelech’s skull (Judges 9:53). Resourcefulness is the ability to find creative ways to solve problems. When faced with challenges, look outside the box for solutions. Confront adverse circumstances with ingenuity and passion. See what others do not and know how to connect the dots to embrace new opportunities. One benefit of resourcefulness that may be surprising is that it enhances self-development, self-improvement, and self-worth. As you lead, resourcefulness helps you reflect on your current skills and determine if there are any you need to strengthen or develop. All these involve the resolve and resilience of the human spirit. In the book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, legendary basketball coach John Wooden says, "Resourcefulness is using our wits, proper judgment and common sense to solve problems and meet challenges. It is using initiative in difficult situations and involves inventing, creating, imagining, synthesizing, evaluating, classifying, observing and analyzing solutions to overcome the trials that life throws at us. Resourcefulness is dreaming up ways to meet our goals." John Wooden had to be resourceful when he lived in a fraternity house at Purdue University. He had trouble studying because there was always so much noise, so he decided to start getting up at 3 a.m. to accomplish the task in peace and quiet. When he needed money, he had to put his resourcefulness to use again, selling food at football games and selling basketball programs during the basketball season. He says that most people would call this an entrepreneurial spirit, but he just saw it as being resourceful. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to ensure you are making the most of every situation: • Is there another way to get what I want? If your current plan does not work, prepare a plan B. • Is my desired outcome really what’s best? You may be going down a wrong path and need to course correct. • Who else has the information I need? You may not have all the answers, but there is always someone who does. Find that person. Resourcefulness is a mindset, and to be successful, you must embody characteristics such as discipline, dedication, hard work, confidence, and willingness. If you don’t know the answer, you must find out how to get it. As Ernest Hemingway said, “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” In the Bible, we can look to the Proverbs 31 woman as the epitome of resourcefulness. She is described as a woman of excellence in whom her family can place their full confidence. She is a hard-working woman who takes initiative and possesses great strength and courage. She is resourceful with whatever is placed in her hand, skilled in using wool and flax to make clothing for her household. She is a woman of influence, managing her household, servants, money, and land well. The Proverbs 31 woman is both a shrewd seller and a shrewd buyer, and she plans to avoid unforeseen calamities. Most importantly, she fears the Lord, and the text says such a woman is more valuable than rubies. Resourceful leaders find a way to achieve their goals. They are skilled in thinking creatively, generating ideas, and identifying alternative ways of accomplishing any given activity. Resourceful people are imaginative and can visualize how to achieve the seemingly impossible. Determination enables them to stay the course and emerge victorious.

What God Wants Us to Hear the Most You aren’t the mistakes you’ve made. You aren’t the labels that have been put on you. And you aren’t the lies the Enemy has tried to sell you. You are who God says you are. You are a child of God. You are the apple of God’s eye. You are sought after. You are more than a conqueror. You are a new creation in Christ. You are the righteousness of Christ. All our identity issues are fundamental misunderstandings of who God is. Guilt issues are a misunderstanding of God’s grace. Control issues are a misunderstanding of God’s sovereignty. Anger issues are a misunderstanding of God’s mercy. Pride issues are a misunderstanding of God’s greatness. Trust issues are a misunderstanding of God’s goodness. If you struggle with any of those issues, it’s time to let God be the loudest voice in your life! God doesn’t love us because of who we are. God loves us because of who He is. When we succeed, God says, “I love you.” When we fail, God says, “I love you.” When we have faith, God says, “I love you.” When we doubt, God says, “I love you.” Love is His answer to everything. Why? Because He is love. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you any more or any less. God loves you perfectly. He loves you eternally. God wants us to hear what He’s saying, and we must heed His voice. But much more than that, He wants us to hear His heart. So He whispers softer and softer so that we have to get closer and closer. And when we finally get close enough, He envelops us in His arms and tells us that He loves us. We’ve been deafened by the voice of conformity, the voice of criticism, and the voice of condemnation, and the side effects include loneliness, shame, and anxiety. The good news? You not only bear God’s image but you know His voice. It’s His voice that knit you together in your mother’s womb. It’s His voice that ordained all your days before one of them came to be. It’s His voice that began a good work and His voice that will carry it to completion. Where is God leading you? How is God talking to you? If you can’t hear His voice, consider spending more time in His Word on a regular basis

We talk to Bimal Rai, pastor over our Nepali ministry, about his story, how the Nepali-speaking congregation is growing, and what the future holds for them.

If normal dads want to do what’s best for their kids, how much more should we expect the perfect, heavenly Father to always do what’s best for his kids? Jesus made this point to another audience filled with good folks like you and me. He said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus starts his teaching on prayer by clarifying how he wants his listeners to view the God to whom they are speaking. Because your view of God will determine your practice of prayer. And your practice of prayer will reveal your view of God. But Jesus doesn’t just tell us that we are talking to a God who is “Father,” so we know he is willing to help. He also tells us that we are talking to a God who is “in heaven,” so we know that he is able to help. “In heaven” isn’t meant to communicate distance; it’s meant to communicate competence. Because God is “in heaven,” he is unstoppable. Jesus is connecting the identity of the one we are speaking to in prayer with the God who “is in heaven and does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115:3 CSB); the one for whom “all things are possible” (Mark 10:27); the one who easily brought about every miracle we find in Scripture. His power is unmatched and unending. And he never needs a break when he does more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime. Jesus wants us to know from the very beginning that we are speaking to a God who is endlessly capable and eagerly willing to do what’s best for his kids. He wants us to have so high a view of God’s power that we really believe he can make a difference in our inner thought life, health, relationships, finances, work life, and more, and a high enough view of God’s love that we really believe he is eagerly working to do what’s best in our lives. Do you view God like this? How do you know what your heart really thinks about God’s ability or willingness to help you with your problems and plans? Look at your prayer life. If you are daily asking God for help, you have a heart that believes in God’s ability and love. If you aren’t asking, you don’t. When we say that we’re too busy to pray, our lives are saying, “It is more productive for me to get to work than to ask God to help me with my work.” That shows that we aren’t seeing who God is and what he can do rightly. Jesus designed our prayer life to change our perspective. And at the heart of this change is a change about how we view God, from thinking he is unable or unwilling to help to knowing he is able and willing.

Work Work is a good thing that God has given all of us. Children work at school and do chores at home. Teenagers train in sports, while others get their first job. Adults work at raising kids, serving others, and running companies. Some of us go to work away from our homes, and some of us don’t. Some of us get paid to work, and some of us don’t. And some of us love our work, and some of us don’t. No matter what we do or how we work, God has given us this gift to provide for our families as well as to make a difference in the world. While our work is a gift from God, sometimes we can develop an unhealthy relationship with it (just like with money). For example, some people overwork themselves to the point of burnout, which may lead to serious health issues. Other times, we may struggle with underworking, whether by choice or due to circumstances out of our control. Working hard and resting well are both incredibly valuable, but ultimately, we must find a better than normal viewpoint and work ethic when it comes to how much we produce. Let’s take a look at the difference between what normal and better than normal can look like in our work lives: Normal finds its identity in a job, while better than normal knows who we are in Christ. Normal chooses workaholism, while better than normal knows when to say “no.” Normal accepts exhaustion, while better than normal values rest. Normal looks for ways to avoid difficult work, while better than normal perseveres. Normal sees what we do, while better than normal sees purpose in how we work. Normal does the bare minimum, while better than normal works with integrity. The people who live on this planet are unique and diverse. Regardless of how we work, the point is that we choose to work hard at whatever we do. The best way to do this is to see ourselves working for God. In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. (Colossians 3:23 NCV) No matter what our work schedules and tasks look like, let’s consider Jesus to be our employer. Yes, we should work hard to do our jobs well and honor our earthly employers. But placing Jesus at the forefront of our minds is even better because we can then honor Him by working hard and resting well. In what ways do you feel healthy, and in what ways should you make changes? Spend some time thinking through your work life.

What's Your Ambition? Selfish ambition is a sneaky little beast; one that is easy to fall prey to, even for a sincere-hearted Kingdom driven entrepreneur. After all, the world of business looks favorably upon ambition and drive to be the best and achieve more. Shouldn't you want more for your business? Won't greater influence, profits, and prominence mean a greater impact for the Kingdom of God? According to the scriptures, not necessarily. Being ambitious is not inherently a bad thing, but if it is selfish ambition rather than ambition that is honoring and surrendered to God, it can lead down a path of destruction. Before I had a heart revelation that I could truly trust God and know that He had my best interests in mind, my ambition as an entrepreneur was not submitted to nor focused on Him. While I was still a generous giver and not treating others poorly, I was always looking to the future rather than appreciating what God was doing in the present. So much of my identity was wrapped up in how much I was achieving in my business or other areas of my life. That is part of the danger of selfish ambition. You can generally be operating with integrity, doing good work, making a difference in the lives of others, and not even realize that you're still missing the mark. I discovered that once I was able to give up my selfish ambition in exchange for experiencing business in partnership with Him: I found my value and security in Him, not how I performed I was at peace with allowing God to be my promoter and elevate me and my business as He saw fit I learned how to live in the daily sufficiency of God's grace I became motivated by loving God and loving others well I was no longer interested in good ideas and focused on ideas that were aligned with what God desired for me It is certainly a process, and we all have to consistently look to Jesus Christ in those moments when we miss it. Every past, present, and future good thing in your business is a result of God, and apart from Him you can do nothing. Allowing the deeds you do in your business to be done in humility will ultimately lead to God's best for you and those you are called to impact in the marketplace.

Lack Wisdom? Ask God. One of the most significant assets you have as a Kingdom driven entrepreneur is divine wisdom. Not only does God give you wisdom, but He does so without finding fault in you for asking Him! That is not a small thing, and too many entrepreneurs fail to tap in to His wisdom when faced with a problem that requires a solution. How many times have you failed to ask God for wisdom simply because you didn’t want to bother Him with such small details or what you consider to be minor matters? Or maybe you think you should already know the solution to your issue and feel shame for asking. Or perhaps you just asked God for wisdom 10 minutes ago about something else and now you don’t feel like you should ask Him for wisdom again on another matter so soon. If you lack wisdom (anytime, anywhere, and on any business matter), ask God and He will reveal His wisdom by His Spirit and through His word. The Holy Spirit may lead you to a specific scripture, may speak an answer to your heart, may make your path clear by removing blocks, or may lead you to a specific resource or person. The key is to not only ask, but to also: have a willing mind and heart to receive His wisdom fully commit to submitting to the wisdom you receive endure patiently and faithfully as you await His answer Unlike man, God doesn’t grow tired of you. Like the good Father He is, He is right there with you both able and willing to help you in any area of your life and business.

Write a Decree We have been commissioned by God to bring His heavenly purposes to the earth. Through humanity’s fall into sin, we lost our place of dominion, but Christ restored that severed authority to whomever receives Him as Savior and Lord. We have permission to speak and act “in His name” (see Matthew 28:18–20). In other words, we have Christ’s power of attorney—we represent Him throughout the earth. Jesus promised that heaven would back His people up in whatever they would bind or loose on earth based on His new covenant (see Matthew 16:19). In other words, we have power to settle on earth anything that has been accomplished through His finished work on the cross––with heaven’s backup. When you face situations that need God’s help, go into His presence to receive the applicable Word of promise. You will receive when you seek the Lord for His insight, wisdom and perspective (see Matthew 7:7). This is much better than figuring things out in your own mind. Comb through the Scriptures for God’s purpose, writing down specific promises that reveal His will. Search key words with a Bible tool such as a concordance or Bible dictionary. Discovering promises is a treasure hunt! As you receive many consistent promises for your area of desired breakthrough, you will understand God’s perspective regarding that area. Next, speak them out. Pray back to God what He has given you. Decree the Word into the need. The more you speak out the Word and the insights He has given you, the more confident you will become. Your words will hit their mark. It helps to write them down. Which promises excite your spirit? Which ones activate your faith? Those are the ones to decree. The Kingdom of God is voice-activated, so decrees need to be spoken. Just as God spoke the world into existence, so we can be His voice today, for He is still creating. He needs your voice. None of the promises in the Word will be activated unless they are given voice. Decree of Love: Absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord. Because I am so loved by God, I love others well. I love them as He has loved me. I am marked by love and for love.

That Settles It! I was in a very broken place prior to receiving the Lord as my personal Savior. The night I invited Him into my heart was a transformational turning point for me. I knew I was a different person, a new creation, and yet so much remained in upheaval. Then my life was forever changed when I heard Dr. Oral Roberts preach a powerful sermon in which he emphatically declared, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it!” Those faith-infused declarations entered my heart that day and produced a fiery passion for the life-giving Word of God that continues to burn in me today. Following this significant revelation, it became my practice to daily seek the Lord for insight concerning the life situations that I was facing. In prayer, I searched the Scriptures. I found that, consistently and faithfully, the Holy Spirit would reveal God’s will, perspective, and promises through His Word. Once I understood His will concerning something, I learned to commit myself to the truth of His Word and “settle it.” No matter what happened, I allowed the Word to be my plumb line. By faith, I commanded everything to come into alignment with the Word. And continuously, I began to witness answers to prayer, breakthroughs, and empowerments that yielded success in God-appointed endeavors. Faith grew in me as I determined to settle any issue in life according to His Word and its power to transform and create. Over the many years since, I have exercised scriptural decrees for life issues both large and small, watching God move faithfully in response to the command of His own Word. Decreeing His Word has brought peace, love, wisdom, healing, freedom, and prosperity. God’s Word is always true whether people believe it or not, but without faith, the Word will not be activated. Every blessing and promise in the Word belongs to every believer but many do not see these promises manifest in their lives because they fail to access them by faith. God desires all His people to live in His divine order and blessings. Decreeing His Word establishes His will and purpose in and through our lives. You and I were created to decree His Word. Remember the simple statement: God said it. I believe it. That settles it! Decree Divine Character: Through Jesus, God’s divine power has granted me everything that pertains to life and to godliness.

“I can’t get no . . . satisfaction.” More than 50 years ago Mick Jagger and the Stones made this line famous . . . and more than 50 years later, we’re still singing right along with them. Not because it’s catchy, but because it’s true. Satisfaction is one of the most elusive things in life. How do we find it? While the Bible doesn’t have much to say about satisfaction, it does have a great deal to say about joy. Joy is like satisfaction, only better. When you finish a good meal, you feel satisfied. When you watch a good movie or listen to a favorite song, you are satisfied. Sounds great, right? Except for the fact that a few hours later you are hungry again. Or the novelty of the new movie has worn off, or you’re tired of that song that’s been overplayed on the radio. The problem with satisfaction is that it is usually fleeting. Not so with joy. Joy is built around something more permanent, more lasting, something that can’t be overplayed or consumed. It is built to last. So what exactly is it? Over the next few days, we’ll talk more about what joy is and what it is not. More importantly, we’ll talk about how to have joy in your life so that, even when you can’t “get no satisfaction”, you can still have something deeper and more meaningful. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, keep reading. But before you do, check out the attached verses – they’ll lay the foundation for all that we’ll be talking about over the next few days. A Prayer for Joy Lord, in a world that provides only fleeting happiness and satisfaction, help me to look to you to find true lasting joy. Help me to understand what this looks like and how to have joy in my life. Thank you for being a God who brings joy, even amid life's challenging circumstances. Amen.

The Everlasting Love Of God Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV) “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” The children of Israel repeatedly sinned against God. Even after many warnings, they failed to repent. But our God is a gracious God. Despite their stubbornness, He still initiated restoration. In Jeremiah 31, we read how God reached out to His people with kindness birthed out of a deep sense of everlasting love for them. This love is anchored in eternity past and it extends to eternity future. God is the source of this love. He is not motivated by what He sees or what has happened. It is simply who He is, His nature. There is nothing we can do to earn His love nor remove His love for us. And with His unfailing kindness, He patiently and lovingly draws us to Him. This is the extent of the magnanimity of His love, that God would wait for us to respond to Him. Come to think of it, who are we that God would do such a thing for us? I believe this only shows us who He really is. With the assurance of His love for us, it is important that we are secure. We are to love Him and serve others out of a place of safety. Let’s not get caught up in the acts of “doing” to gain God’s love, but rather allow ourselves to work from a place that we are already at. A place of love. Then we are not doing all these works to gain more of His love, but rather out of our love, in response to His. We do not live our lives as orphans, constantly striving for acceptance, but as children of God, we live in peace in the courtyard of our Father in Heaven. Reflection: Now that you know you are loved forevermore, how will it affect the way you live, love and serve?

in 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul says our spiritual weapons can destroy Satan’s fortresses. Weapons such as prayer, reading the Word, obedience, meditation on Scripture, fasting, and service can blow up the devil’s strongholds. And that’s what we must do. These fortresses don’t need to be remodeled. God doesn’t tell us to capture them, change the locks, and use them for Him. Satan’s fortresses must be torn down. We also need to pull down those lofty partitions (v. 5). These include "speculations," those rebel thoughts that take us far away from the knowledge of God. Friend, you are not responsible for every thought that flashes into your mind. Satan can plant thoughts in our minds. But you are responsible for what you do with them once they are there. Our job is to recognize and dismiss evil thoughts. That’s the idea behind Paul’s statement about “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). This is war language. When the enemy sends us one of his thoughts, we need to grab that thought and take it hostage. We can do this by telling ourselves, “This thought is not like God’s thoughts. It is against God and His revealed will. No matter how good this thought makes me feel, or no matter how anxious it makes me feel—no matter how much I may want to act on it or worry about it—it’s a thought out of hell, sent from the enemy. In Christ’s authority, I am going to make it my captive and dismiss it.” When we can do this successfully day in and day out, we are going to start winning some serious spiritual battles. Whoever controls the mind controls the war. When you take those roaming thoughts captive, Satan loses his control over you. And while not all anxiety people struggle with is purely a spiritual matter, for some it is based on imbalanced chemicals in the body or rooted in past traumas which produce triggers, this approach toward overcoming anxious thoughts can help to reduce it. It may not remove it entirely if a person struggles with physical-based symptoms, but it can provide a way to manage it. But in order to do so, you have to take each thought captive to Christ. No army can afford to have enemy troops running around loose behind its lines, wreaking havoc and sabotaging its weapons and defenses. You may be thinking, Tony, this sounds too easy. If you have been a spiritual POW for very long, you may think Satan’s strongholds are too hard to conquer. You may think the battle is hopeless, the problems too great. But this is one reason we have so many problems. We make the Christian life harder than God makes it. Yes, there are difficult problems. I don’t want to minimize that. But many of the problems we’re facing are not as difficult as we make them, because we approach them with a defeatist attitude. What is the difference between a person God delivers in twenty-four hours and one who takes twenty-four years? In most cases, I believe the difference is in the mind. When the thinking changes, the actions change. And then the fortresses come down. Let me give you an example of how this works. Joshua and the army of Israel came to the city of Jericho, which was surrounded by a high wall (Joshua 6). It looked impregnable. It was a fortress. God told Israel to march around the city for six days and then march around it seven times on the seventh day. Then the priests were to blow the trumpets, the people were to shout, and the wall would fall down. Imagine Joshua saying, “Excuse me, Lord, but this is a war. These people are the enemy. They are strong. Would You please give me my military instructions?” Joshua didn’t do that, of course. He obeyed God, and when the priests blew the trumpets and the people shouted, that wall crashed down instantly. The wall fell because the people tore it down God’s way. If they had used human methods, they would have been defeated. This is the question we always face: Are we going to use human or divine methods? It saves a lot of time and grief to use God’s method. Trust God for your battle plans, obey His Word, take your thoughts captive under His authority - and you will win victory after victory in spiritual warfare.

Ben and Ione discuss Ben's rainbow scarf during Pride month, the Michigan Womyn's Festival, the bisexual 90s, merch, tea towels, Klaus Voormann, Ronnie Wood's sofa and Goldie gives us an update on 6th grade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pretty bold statement, let's dig into what Pastor Shane Russell of Lubbock, TX has written. ========================= I know it’s comforting to say that God is in control normally, but that doesn’t explain what happened this week. So let’s be slow with our words and know sometimes it causes more confusion than help. If God is in control, there is no way this tragedy could’ve happened…. BUT God is in control of the outcome. Free will doesn’t allow God to control choices as Evil or as Good as they are. He won’t force us to Love Him. So yes, God is good. Those babies are in His arms because again… He isn’t in control BUT He is in control of the outcome. Who is in control? We are. Jesus gave us the ability to go in and change the atmosphere on this earth OR leave it the way it is. Go realize your ability to influence others. Be kind. See people. Don’t get too fixated on yourself. You never know what an encouraging word can do for someone. The teen who did this pure evil had a level of evil in his heart that we can’t even comprehend. This leads me to a bunch of what if’s… There is a lot that we don’t know but… What if he wasn’t raised by his grandmother? What if he had parents who loved him? What if he had students who saw him? What if he had an adult who saw him and cared for him? What if he was connected to a church who pour identity into him instead of judgement? I’m not defending him at all. I’m just turning the eyes inward so we can do better and be better. Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him and Jesus still washed his feet. Let’s love others like He loves us. Pastor Shane Russell of Lubbock, TX ========================= So, what do you think? Let us know in the comments below! * cover image from Jason Clark's God is Not in Control available at https://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Control-Whole-Better/dp/1946503088

Prior to Christ, the only object of Wilberforce’s work was his own glory. But upon his conversion, Wilberforce began asking questions about what God was up to in the world and how he might leverage his vocation to join in his Savior’s mission. But where was Wilberforce to start? Britain had so many wrongs that needed to be righted: prolific prostitution, the orphan crisis, poverty, and of course the slave trade, which Wilberforce described as “that hideous traffic, so disgraceful to the British character.” Wilberforce knew that he needed to focus intensely on one or two causes in Parliament in order to make the most of the life the Lord had given him to steward. But he was far less clear about what that cause should be. So, he took more than a year to explore his options. As one of his biographers wrote, “[Wilberforce] wasn’t about to be bullied or badgered into a decision on how to spend the rest of his life….He would need to know God’s mind, as he would put it…Wilberforce was not about to leap into the fray thoughtlessly; he would first ‘count the cost.’” After he counted the cost and identified the object the Lord was leading him to focus on (the abolition of slavery), Wilberforce recognized that he needed to go all-in and focus singularly on that “Great Object.” And quickly, too. As his dear friend and prime minister William Pitt told him as Wilberforce was close to committing to the cause of abolition, “Do not lose time or the ground will be occupied by another.” Wilberforce knew that if “God Himself was calling him to this task and he shrank from it, God too could find another to do it, and surely would.” In this, Wilberforce demonstrated remarkable humility in choosing his vocational path. He knew that if God wanted slavery abolished, He would find the right person to work through to that end. God didn’t need Wilberforce specifically to accomplish His plans. I imagine Wilberforce meditating on Proverbs 19:21 at this critical juncture of his career: “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.” The Lord’s purpose would have prevailed with or without Wilberforce. But Wilberforce wanted the privilege of being a part of fighting evil on behalf of his Savior. And so, Wilberforce committed to the “Great Object” of his career from that moment forward: He would be God’s instrument for ending slavery throughout Great Britain.

The Life of William Wilberforce 5PxMkrs19SiayEDz02uS

If our toddler is throwing a fit in the grocery store, we correct him, redirect him—yet we have allowed our minds to have outright meltdowns with zero correction. We walk around acting as if we have no power over what we think about. Paul tells us that when we take captive our thoughts, we can wield our power for good and for God, slaying strongholds left and right. What incredible power is available to us every moment of every day! In Romans 8:5, Paul said that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” and that “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (ESV). I have read and reread this passage in the past few months, mulling over how life would be if I could truly have a mind that dwells on the Spirit. A mind that is full of life and peace. A mind that consistently thinks about God—who He is and what He wants for me. I so desperately want the “perfect peace” God promises when my mind is fixed on Him. As I’ve been practicing taking every thought captive, shifting my thoughts has become more disciplined. This is a daily battle! I may not be doing it perfectly, but I have seen significant improvement. Based on Paul’s writings long ago to the church in Rome, you and I can learn to mind our minds to the point that controlling our thoughts becomes reflexive—an automatic, intuitive response. I want to be so well versed in the patterns of thinking in line with the Spirit that my default is not to rely on the flesh but on the Spirit in everything. This is the goal of our deliberate interruptions: we abruptly stop the crazy spirals of our minds. As we practice the art of interruption, we’re shifting to a whole new mindset, and with each shift we will find ourselves growing more and more into the mind of Christ. Father, I set my mind on the things of the Spirit. I set my mind on your peace. I pray to grow more and more into the mind of Christ! Amen.

If You Say So The year was 1997. I'd just finished my homework and downed a peanut butter sandwich made with Eggo waffles, and the burning desire for milk kicked in. I hopped over the back of my sofa at the commercial break of Saved by the Bell, flung open the fridge and began gulping down cold milk straight out of the carton. I was satisfied for about 0.3 seconds until I realized...this milk had turned, this milk was not my friend. It wasn’t a day or two old, it was over a week old. Needless to say, I puked so hard I dislodged gum that had been in my small intestine since the second grade, and I learned on that day what Matthew speaks of in Matthew 15:10. (How’s that for a segue? TMI?) The gospel of Matthew tells us that there is something more dangerous than taking in something bad, and that is speaking out something that is bad. When God hears you speak about your meeting as terrible, your car as crappy, your kids as ungrateful, your husband as lazy, your town as small, your house as cramped...His response is: If you say so. You will feel how you speak and find what you seek. Likewise, there is power in speaking out something that is good. At creation, God spoke the world to life. At the incarnation, God spoke Jesus into our world. That tells you something about the weight of words. And it should humble you to know that God has given you the same power of speech. That is part of the terrible privilege of being made in His image. You have great power in your speech that can unleash a forceful fury that can create, tear down, build, heal, or hurt. One of my favorite stories in Scripture shows what I am trying to communicate. It is from Matthew 8, when a centurion came to Jesus for help because his servant was seriously ill. In response to this man’s plea, Jesus immediately agrees to come to the man’s home and treat the boy. This is where it gets really interesting. The centurion protests that there is no need for Jesus to enter his home. For one, it would be inconvenient for Jesus to have to travel, and secondly, if He entered the house of a Gentile He would be ceremonially defiled and have to go through a cleansing ritual before His daily life could continue. Translation: He would get Gentile cooties. He didn’t want Jesus to be put out while doing him a favor. When Jesus heard this He marveled, because the centurion’s faith was noteworthy. Jesus then turned and spoke 3 incredible words of wisdom that were original to Him long before they were sung by Paul McCartney and John Lennon: Let it be. Matthew 8:13 “as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” This is actually where we get our word AMEN. Amen translated directly into our language means “let it be.” When we say amen we are saying, “may what I have prayed come to pass.” But in light of the response of what happened in this interaction between the centurion and Jesus, our goal should be to pray such a gutsy prayer that with raised eyebrows God would say to you: Amen, let it be. It is up to you whether the self-fulfilling prophecies you articulate become a delight or a dungeon. God’s response to the way you speak is: If you say so. Questions to ask yourself: How do I speak to myself and others? In what way is my speech positive? In what ways do I have a hard time controlling my tongue? Think of an area of your life you tend to complain about or speak negatively of. Challenge yourself this week, every time you are tempted to complain, to find a way to thank God instead.

You Can Because He Did You can feel bad for orphans who live in shacks halfway around the world, but if it doesn’t move you enough to do something about it, you might be missing what God has called each of us to do. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Care for the widows. Defend the cause of the poor. Speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves. Help the weak. Rescue those who are oppressed. Be generous. Show mercy. These are all missions! I didn’t make them up. They are all found in Scripture. (See, for example, the Scripture readings for today.) As Jesus says in Matthew 25, “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me…. I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” You might think of excuses like, It’s too hard. I don’t know where to start. I’m sick/tired/broke/busy. The good news is that your mission is always possible when God is involved. Jesus defeated death. Because we serve a God who has rattled the gates of hell and trampled over death, you can fulfill whatever He has called you to do. As your relationship with God deepens, you will become more aware of His promptings, whether through the whispers in your heart or the principles that come alive in His Word. You will not only understand but truly believe you are God’s masterpiece, created to do good things He prepared beforehand for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). You will become more intentional in living a mission-possible life, using your gifts to further the greater purpose of serving God, not just yourself. You will impact people, and your efforts will affect eternity. God is in this with you. He is beside you. He is rooting for you, and he is fighting for you. Remember, with Him, all things are possible. What excuses are you most likely to make when God’s calling seems too big to you? Why would a deepening relationship with God help those excuses lose their power?

Your Life Does Matter If your spirit has faded recently, I want to ignite a new spark in your life. I want to show you that wherever you are and whatever you do, not only can you find meaning, but you can accomplish a mission that you have already been called to and equipped for. Jesus said Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). One of the greatest lies the devil ever told was that our lives don’t matter: You’ll never be good enough. You have too much baggage. What about that skeleton in your closet? It’s impossible to live mission possible when we don’t fully believe we are made in God’s image, hand-chosen by Him, and fully equipped to carry out works of eternal significance. You will never come to believe that your life counts if you think you are here by accident or you’re stuck in a space where you’re just going through the motions. Lean in a bit. If you have decided to trust in Jesus, you’re not just an average person who got slightly better. You were someone who was dead to sin who is now alive in Christ (Romans 6:11). Take a moment and read that again: you were dead, and now you are alive. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has brought each of us from: old to new, dead to alive, sin to righteousness, slave to son or daughter, bondage to freedom, darkness to light, lost to found. I hope that fires you up as much as it does me. When I reflect on this drastic exchange, it makes me feel so alive and empowered that I can’t help but feel driven to influence others. When you soak in the truth that you were created in the image of God, by love, in love, and for love, you see people in a new light. Your eyes open to hurt, and your heart bleeds for the hurting. Your priorities shift, and you realize it doesn’t matter how successful you are—significance matters more. And significance is found when you align your soul with what matters to God and move forward each day. What lies do you believe about what God thinks about you or what He can do through you? What truth can you believe this week to counter those lies?

Living a Mission-Possible Life Scripture gives us one shared, big-picture purpose: to glorify God. That means that as believers, we honor and serve God with our lives, our natural gifts, our resources, our bodies, our worship, and our decisions. Now, glorifying God doesn’t necessarily mean you have to become a missionary or plant yourself on the other side of the world. Nor does it mean you have to sing worship songs during every waking hour (though if you feel a tug on your heart to do that, go for it!). But it does mean your big-picture purpose is to bring glory to God wherever you are. Within that greater purpose of glorifying God, you find your purpose in what you do every day. Simply put, purpose is about being mission-driven in your ordinary life. Living a mission-possible life means executing the good works God has already prepared for you to do. This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). You can live a mission-possible life because of what Jesus did for you on the cross more than two thousand years ago. This kind of life is possible only because of the sacrifice He made and the power given to Him to trample over death. When you live mission possible, you live a life that counts because of what God has done and is doing through you. When you get tired or overwhelmed or uncertain, don’t forget the moment God changed your life. Don’t forget the moment He challenged you to join the fight. The moment He called you to show His love to the world as no one else can. If we truly believe in whose we are and know that people are hurting in a dark place, we must feel a sense of urgency to get to them and share with them faith, hope, and love. Does your life show a sense of urgency in what you believe? If not, what might look different if it did? What do Jesus’s death and resurrection have to do with your God-given mission today?

Creator God “In the beginning, God created.” You’ve heard that a thousand times, but let this truth sink in for just a moment. The first thing God reveals about Himself in Scripture is not that He is loving, holy, omnipotent, gracious, or just. No, the first thing God shows us at the genesis of time is that He is the Creator God! For the first six days, God revealed His creative spirit by speaking stars, animals, and oceans into existence. Then, on the sixth day, He created man “in His own image” and commanded him to “fill the earth and subdue it.” This is more than just a call to reproduction. This is an explicit call to create, an invitation for humankind to reflect the image of the Creator God to the world! A 2013 study by the Barna Group found that only one-third of American Christians “feel called to the work they currently do.” While few of us feel called to the jobs we’ve been given, almost all of us desire for our work to feel like a vocation. But how does that happen? How does our work become more than just a job—a true calling on our lives? It starts with careful study of God’s Word. Many Christians don’t feel called to their work because they’ve bought into the centuries-old myth that there is some sort of hierarchy of callings in which the work of a pastor or “full-time missionary” is somehow more eternally significant than that of the entrepreneur, artist, janitor, or salesperson. The Bible could not debunk this myth more clearly. In perfect Eden, we see God calling Adam to do the work of a gardener and branding agent, two jobs we might be tempted to view as “secular” today. But this is God-ordained work and is thus inherently good and meaningful. We worship a God who creates and who calls us to create as a means of glorifying Him. But even once we accept what the Bible has to say about the goodness and meaning of work, the fact remains that our work can only be a calling if Someone calls us to it and we work for their agenda rather than our own. What is our Caller’s agenda? Jesus summarized it so eloquently in Mark 12: Love God and love others. For the past couple of years, I’ve been on a quest to discover stories of Christian entrepreneurs and creatives who have loved God and others well through their work, studying how viewing their creating as a calling from God changed their relation to their work. It’s the stories of these 40+ men and women that make up my book, Called to Create. Over the next few days, you will read stories from four of these creators: Casper ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Arthur Guinness. I pray their stories, combined with the daily Scripture readings, will inspire you to embrace God’s call to create and encourage you on the path to creating for the glory of God and the good of others.