Beyond Ourselves Podcast

Are you concerned about people’s shifting views about the Bible and Jesus? If so, remember that Jesus is who He says He is – the solid Rock, truth, and Savior. You are doing the right thing by building your life on Him and His Word. As a matter of fact, Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27 that you are wise.  “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall.” Today we are seeing the sad reprecussions of those who are not building their lives on Christ. What can we do? We can pray for them. We can be faithful to build our lives on the Word of God.

Lord Jesus, we worship and adore You, the ROCK of OUR SALVATION.  Thank You for the confidence we have in building our lives on You. 

Several years ago the world was sickened by the confirmation that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been confirmed dead after being tortured in a Saudi consulate.  Can you, would you, expect to see him walking around and eating with family and friends after his death was confirmated? No, of course not. Does that help us better grasp why people didn’t believe that Jesus was alive after they witnessed His torturous scourging and crucifixion? Matthew 28:6  gives the shocking angelic announcement to Mary as she stood outside Jesus’s empty tomb. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” In addition to Mary and the disciples seeing the resurrected Christ, more than  500 eyewitnesses saw Jesus after His resurrection. The grave couldn’t hold Jesus because He is life. He gives eternal life to everyone who acknowledges they are a sinner and asks forgiveness in His name. People are dying every day because of natural causes, disease, and senseless evil random shootings. None of us know when the life of our family, friends, and neighbors will end. It is time for us to be bold and lovingly ask those who are unsaved, “Do you know where you will be when you die? “Gentle Boldness” is the title of one of my chapters in Discovering His Passion. Prepare yourself to share Christ with others.

Jesus, we celebrate You – the giver of eternal life. Help us gently, but boldly share You with others. 

We all know what we mean when we say, “I don’t have it in me to….” Then we complete the thought. “I don’t have it in me to change.”  “I don’t have it in me to keep working this hard.” It’s important for us to recognize if we do or don’t have something in us. At the top of our checklist should be if we have the life of Christ in us. We either do or we don’t, and 2 Corinthians 13:5 advises every person to test themselves to see if they do. You see, going to church, enjoying nature, or being a nice person doesn’t make a person a Christian. A Christian is one who has Christ “in” them. ChristIaN. How do we get Christ in us? As we sow a seed into the ground so a plant can spring forth, we receive the seed of Christ’s Holy Spirit into our spirit. God does the work. He sows His seed into our spirit when we come to Jesus by faith and confess Him as Lord and Savior. Why would we come to Jesus? Because we don’t have it in us to be who God created us to be. If we want to go to heaven when we die,  then we need His Holy Spirit in us. If we want to live the life our heart desires, then we need His Holy Spirit in us. The question is, do we or don’t we have Christ (the Holy Spirit) in us? It’s a consideration that has consequences eternally and now. ChristINs have the power and ability to live above our circumstances. ChristINs have the power to overcome our addictions and habits. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t change if Christ is IN you. The truth is – Christ IN you means all things are possible.

I know, I know, I know. We sing about Jesus’s resurrection. But is it ever hard for you to get your mind around the fact He was raised from the dead?  Do you ever stop and ponder if you believe what you do because you’ve always been told that or if it is your own conviction?  When Jesus said, “‘I am the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies’” (John 11:25), He was talking to a woman who was saying with her mouth she believed but who wasn’t expecting Jesus to raise her deceased brother. Jesus is patient with us just like He was with Martha. If you’re struggling to believe or you have questions, Jesus is always present for you to talk to Him. Ask Him your questions. Listen quietly in His presence. Open your Bible and ask Him to guide you through it. Keep seeking. He’s a prayer away and able to lead us to deeper faith.

Lord, You are the RESURRECTION and the LIFE. We profess our faith with thanksgiving that You are ever present and able to lead us to deeper faith in You.

Do you ever feel like not another thing can be squeezed out of you? Do you feel you’ve given all you can give? We all know that you can’t get water out of dry rock, and perhaps that describes us at times – dry. If so, we can look to Christ, whom Isaiah 30:29 describes as the ROCK OF ISRAEL. Jesus provided water and life for the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus provides Himself as living water for believers. (John 7:37-38) Drink deeply from Him. He loves you so!

I spoke in New York shortly after September 11, 2001. Shortly after Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked three planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. Shortly after a fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing all on board after passengers and crew heroically attempted to take control from the hijackers. Shortly after evil reigned in the hands of the terrorists that day. But evil didn’t ultimately win then and evil will never ultimately win. Christ Jesus is victor! He overcame evil and sin and the sting of sin – death. All who place their faith in Christ will live eternally in His glorious presence. Today and continually, we remember with gratefulness our loved ones, friends, and the many we will never know until heaven – those who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Today we remember with utmost gratefulness the Lord Jesus who sacrificed His life for our souls. We must never forget either.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making PURIFICATION OF OUR SINS. We love and praise You for the ultimate sacrifice of Your life to make us pure as You are pure. 

“When He had made PURIFICATION of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Hebrews 1:3

Do you think God expects you to be a superman or superwoman? Here’s some good news. God doesn’t expect us to keep going and going and going without rest. God doesn’t expect us to be like an energizer bunny. He knows that we will become depleted and that we need restoration. Psalm 23:3 says, “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Sure,  Red bull and other caffeinated drinks may give a temporary kick or burst of energy. But, it’s the daily refreshment in God’s presence that provides ongoing restoration to our souls. When your battery is running low, find your Bible. You’ll experience the restoration for which you long in God’s presence.

Have you ever been in a “dark place”? Perhaps you are now. Everywhere you look, it’s dark and what’s worse – you don’t see a way out.  If you have been there or you are now, can you imagine what it would be like to be in darkness forever and to know that you’d never ever escape? God and Satan are powerful. They each have domains/kingdoms.  Satan’s domain is a place of evil and darkness. (Colossians 1:13)  First John 5:19 tells us the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  That is, you lie in the power of the evil one unless God has RESCUED YOU from the domain of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)  If you’re a Christian and in a dark place today because of circumstances beyond your control or even because of sin, run to your Savior.  Stand against the darkness by singing songs of praise to Jesus. Lift your hands and voice in praise to God for His A-Z character traits we daily study. Claim your place as a child of the kingdom of light.

Lord Jesus, You are our RESCUER! We love You! We thank You! We praise You that we are children of the Light! 

“He RESCUED US from the DOMAIN of DARKNESS, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Colossians 1:13

Do you ever think about pleasing God? Did you know that it’s possible to please God? Hebrews 11:5-6 states that Enoch was “pleasing to God” and that God is a REWARDER of THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.” I can’t think of a more admirable thing that could be said of a person than that they please God. I long to please God and I know you must, too. How can we please God? We can believe Him. We can take to Him whatever is overwhelming us, causing us to fear, or to doubt. We can ask Him to fill and equip us to handle whatever He permits in our life. We can know that, by faith, we’ll experience His glorious equipping and power to walk through our day.  We can serve God’s purposes. Today, we can please God in the little and big things, knowing that He is a REWARDER of THOSE WHO SEEK HIM.

“I’m tired! I’m tired of work. I’m tired of the tension in my life. I’m tired of struggling. I’m tired of taking care of….” How would you finish that sentence? God understands. Our body, mind, and soul need rest. The Bible says God rested on the seventh day. One of His Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath Day as a day of rest. Today, we often ignore the command to have a day of rest saying that it doesn’t apply to us. But isn’t that a little strange to decide which of God’s commands have value and which don’t? I agree that we are not bound to legalistically keep the Jewish Sabbath. I agree that Jesus’s work to obtain our salvation on the cross results in our NOT WORKING for salvation. And, I agree that God has provided a future eternal SABBATH REST. (Hebrews 4:9-10.) Until then, however, is there value in taking one day each week to rest our body and soul? I think there is, although I am admittedly late to learn the value. Rest. God modeled it.