Foundational Podcast

It must have been as confusing to Nick as it might be in many churches today. Nicodemus had come to Jesus for more information about Him and His ministry. He was certain Jesus was sent by God and the works of Jesus and His teaching had to be from God. However, the response of Jesus confused him, “You must be born again.” “What are you talking about,” He asked. Jesus explained further, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” Either the look on Nick’s face or his body language asked, “Why is that?” "Because",  Jesus went on to say, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Let’s unpack what Jesus was saying to this “good man.” The physical birth of a human being can only bring forth carnal living. A person lives by the desires and appetites of their physical nature, the five senses of the human body; sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. A person’s thoughts, emotions, and volition are animated by selfish desires

The first and greatest command of Scripture is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Yet, the word love has, in many ways, lost depth. We don't (or shouldn't) love our wives the same way we love our Ford pickup, and we shouldn't love God the way we love football. The question is, how can love truly love the Lord with all our heart in a day when that expression is overused and tired? Jesus was in conversation with a spiritual leader of Israel explaining the concept of being born again. The spiritual leader understood keeping a set of rules; obeying the law; and religious behavior. He just was not understanding that receiving a new heart and a new life comes through spiritual new birth. Jesus explained new birth is a miracle that happens in the heart of a person by the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Just as the when the natural wind blows and one see the effects of the wind but you don’t see the wind. You can see the transformation in the life of a person but you don’t see Holy Spirit. When on

Jesus told his disciples that they must wait for the power from on high. Here is the Hebrew word for wait and what it means for the Church today.

In Luke chapter 14:25-33 Jesus outlines what it takes to be His disciple. First thing He says is, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” What? The multitude that was following Him must have been incredulous! How could Jesus say such a thing? Isn’t He a God of love? Now He’s talking about hating the very closest relationships we have on this earth? He’s even saying we must hate our own life? Jesus was known for saying some outlandish things but this takes the cake! So, what was Jesus saying to these people? What is Jesus saying to you and me? Could it be that He is trying to communicate the unique relationship He wants to have with those who truly follow Him? Are You a Disciple or Just a Believer? I think He’s letting those who really want to be His disciples know that it is a relationship like no other on this earth. He wants complete devotion and obedience. Count the cost If we are satisf

Not long ago I was at the coffee shop and someone came up to me and said, "Do you ever frown? You're always smiling!" I was thankful that they thought that about me, because wherever I go I want my face, my life and my spirit to communicate that there is Someone greater living in me. Faith. When we get up on Monday morning and go to work, our workplace needs us to have life-giving faith. If our churches are truly going to win their cities for Christ, they must have life-giving faith. It has to be alive and real, so people experience that faith. It can't be just a statement, it has to be reality, and if it's going to be reality in our church, faith has to be growing in our heart. We can't afford to have weak faith if we want to win our cities for Christ. There is Only One God Every Christian should continually looking for those who are searching. Once we've found them, we need to help them move from searcher to inquirer. This happens when the searcher meets someone whose life is filled with faith. It's not w

If you've been a Christian for very long, you know about Romans 12:2. You've heard sermons about renewing the mind, and yet many Christians continue to live out of their old mindset. It is so easy as a believer to default back to our old mind, but if we truly wish to stop living like a victim and live like a victor; if we truly desire to be more like Jesus we must lose our old minds and start living our lives with a renewed mind. The Bible has a lot to say about renewing the mind Take a moment and jot these verses down. They are great for your war room, to help you remember to live everyday with a renewed mind in Jesus Christ! I understand that you can’t expect a sinner to behave in any other way than how sinners behave. When those who claim to have experienced new birth through faith in Jesus Christ are behaving in the same way, I have some serious questions. I know how the argument goes: “I am not perfect, just forgiven.” “I am just a sinner, saved by grace.” “You may be born again but you sin a little bit

On June 2015, I wrote a blog entitled, Does God Ever Say "Maybe" to Homosexuality Among Christians? I was expressing concern over the softening position of major Evangelical leaders regarding same-sex marriages. It seems since then to have become a widening horizon. Any position that would emphasize holiness and purity of life is likely met with harsh judgment, accusations of being unloving, and one with a diminished capacity for grace. There will be theologians and spiritual leaders rise to dogmatically defend the oft-used statement, “We are not perfect, just forgiven.” They continue by explaining that Jesus forgives our sin and understands our frailty. We spend a lifetime, after all, struggling with sinful desires, human failings, and we often give in to temptations. Modern day theologians, Bible scholars, and preachers have mastered the art of weaving a softened positioned of grace that no longer requires holiness of the born again child of God. Should one dare take a firm position that holiness is expect

There is a reason why the New Testament commands us to renew our minds. A renewed mind restructures the way we think, which in turn completely changes how we behave. But in order to begin this journey, we must change the way we think. "What was I thinking?" Have you been there? No doubt, more times than you like to think! You are on the flip side, looking back at your behavior. You have just given someone a piece of your mind that you can ill afford to give away or maybe you have endured a movie you shouldn't have watched. Leaving with embarrassment, you ask, “What was I thinking?” Exactly!! What were you thinking? Do you remember the warning of Solomon? Be careful when you are visiting with a cunning and angry person. He will encourage you to eat your fill and enjoy his tasty meal, but in his heart he is hoping you will only take a small bite. “As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:6-7). Our mind has great power over our actions. 4 Powerful Ways a Renewed Mind Can Change Your Life 1. Our thinkin

79% of children raised in a Christian home and in church at the age of 10 leave church by age 20. A recent report states that in 2017 70,000 Americans lost their lives to opiate overdose. In 2018 68,000 more Americans lost their lives to opiate overdose. In 24 months, 138,000 Americans died of opiate overdose! What Is the Church Doing to Make a Difference? If the church is going to make a difference in our culture and in a generation that is quickly being lost to immorality, debauchery, deception, and addiction, she must do these things: 1. Draw near to God "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8 This is more than just attending church 2-3 times a month. It is a day-to-day walk with Him. 2. Move from being religious to being a child of God who actively seeks the Lord with all of your heart "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart," Psalm 24:3-4 The difference in church then and now is that the church in past knew

Have you come to the place where you have too much month at the end of the money, and you're worried to death? Have you gotten word that your company is downsizing and you're worried that you're going to lose your job, and you're wondering what you're going to do now? Jesus is asking this question, "Have you added one inch of growth to your body or one dollar to your bank account by worrying?" When a man came to Jesus about his son who had convulsions for years, he said to Jesus, "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus reply to him was amazing! “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” How to Grow Your Faith The man's reply to Jesus is so similar to our response today. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” The boy had battled these convulsions for so many years that the father was having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that he really could be healed. And this is like how many of us are today! Just like the disciples, how many of us are worried

God wants us to be a light in a dark world. You may be the only light that shines where He has placed you right now. That is why Jesus said we are the salt of the earth and the light of world. How is your light shining? Is it hidden or is it shining bright? What kind of flavor do I bring to the places I go to on a regular basis? Do they taste God's mercy and grace or do they get a sour taste in their mouth from my life? We've been given a personal responsibility to be salt and light in the world, but we have to have faith in what God's Word says about who God is and who we are. This is What Real Faith Looks Like Faith is: great confidence in full reliance upon absolute trust in the nature, unchanging character of Almighty God believing that God is exactly who Scripture says He is believing that human beings who scripture says they are believing in a real heaven believing in real hell and lake of fire believing that God is love "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a d

How did we get the Holy Bible - all 66 books? The 66 books that make up what we know as The Holy Bible is called Cannon - which means measuring. It's like a ruler. These 66 books have been measured, evaluated, and have been found to be the accurate word of God; and are the measuring of what someone says is from God. If someone claims to have a teaching from the Word of God, a prophetic word, or a message in tongues with an accompanying interpretation, you measure it by the Cannon. How Do We Know The Bible Is God's Word Part 3 The Old Testament was the first to be established as Cannon Around 450-500 B.C. the Old Testament Cannon was established Daniel referred to the book of Jeremiah as Scripture and was studying it. The New Testament was completely written by 90 A.D. 55-60 years after Jesus was crucified The New Testament affirms it is Scripture 1 Timothy 5:18 quotes Luke 10:7 Paul calls the book of Luke Scripture "For the Scripture says...'The laborer is worthy of his wages.' 1 Timothy 5:18 (Emp

Can we trust the Holy Scriptures? Is Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Savior that the Holy Scriptures talk about? Is our faith and salvation that of the Holy Scriptures, or that of a different faith recorded in a different set of gospels? Is the church of Jesus Christ the church of the Holy Scriptures, or is it the church of the Sacred Feminine as Gnosticism and modern-day Christianity-rewritten wants us to believe? In today's podcast I take time to answer these questions. How Do We Know The Bible Is God's Word Part 2? We must answer four significant questions Were there really more than 80 gospels written and considered for the Holy Cannon? What are the Gnostic gospels? Are they really older than the Holy Scriptures? Do they contain the true gospel of Jesus Christ? How did we get our current Cannon - the Holy Bible that we have today? Is it reliable? Was the Emperor Constantine behind its selection God commanded men to write His Words "So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord a

How did we get the Bible? How did the authors of the Bible get the words that they wrote? How do we know that they are really God's words spoken to us for millennia? Those are the questions I want to address in this 3-part podcast that I pray will help to build faith in your heart about the authenticity and the inerrancy of the Bible. The accompanying videos to these podcasts are also in the bottom of each post below the show notes. How Do We Know The Bible Is God's Word Part 1? "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.` For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day da

How can we know God's Word is true? King David’s heart was grieved by the idolatrous practices around him and was longing for the worship of the Living God. This may have been during the time he was living among the Philistines, when King Saul was trying to kill him. He passionately wrote, “I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. (Psalm 138:1-3 NKJV). Even though the majority of people were worshiping false deities, in the very presence of those idols, David lifted His voice with all his heart and sang praises to the living God. His soul longed for the tabernacle in Shiloh. He declared without shame or embarrassment the goodness and majesty of Almighty God and the truth of His Word. It was through this steadfast dedication t

What do we do when trials come to test our faith? Do we trust God enough to leave the outcome in His hand, or do we grow anxious and try to seize control of the situation? Is God our first source of provision or our last-ditch effort at finding an answer? God tests our faith to produce patience and character; to cause our faith to grow even stronger in Him. Once while we were pastoring a small congregation, we had hired an individual to oversee our child care center. This person came with very high recommendations but it soon became apparent that there were some serious issues with integrity. How to Respond When God Tests Your Faith To make a long story short this person embezzled thousands of dollars, some of which were state and federal funds.   We became aware of the situation when the manager of our bank pulled my husband aside one day as he was making a personal deposit to ask why he was not returning his calls. We were completely unaware of his repeated attempts to contact the church office since all c

God wants to reveal to you the secret plans of the enemy before he carries them out. "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Matthew 6:13 "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.'" Psalm 91:1-2 "Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." Psalm 31:19-20 Get a Strategy for Spiritual Warfare in God's Secret Place 2 Kings 6:8-23 The only one who stayed in a face-to-face relationship with God was Moses and Joshua Children of Israel thought it was too frightening They backed off Everyone else had to go through special rituals God's presence dwelt in the Holy Place It

This world offers a  lot of pain, but Jesus wants to give us a truly incredible life! Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:1-4 We Need an Accurate View of Jesus Christ Show Notes His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life As a disciple of Jesus Christ, you do not live in lack defeat rubble of life victimization How do we access this divine power? "...through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue..." W

Living the incomparable life is inseparably linked to loving the truth Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:1-4 How To Have a Love For the Truth Show Notes Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God is having correct information is having personal experience, not hearsay We have been given exceedingly great and precious promises Promises which are highly valuable Promises that are firmly established "For all the promises o

Have you ever asked yourself this important question: "What would I do differently if I knew Jesus was coming today?" What would happen if every believer let that question determine their actions and decisions? What kind of difference would that make in Christian families and in the church? Jesus had been teaching and fellowshipping with His disciples forty days after His resurrection. The final day, He walked with them to the top of the Mount of Olives sharing with them, suddenly He began to ascend into heaven. The disciples stood looking up at what was happening before their very eyes and two angels appeared and spoke to them. “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus which was taken up from you into Heaven, will so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into Heaven” (Acts 1:11). Why were they starring into the sky? I know why they were staring into the sky. How many times in your life do you see someone ascend off the earth into Heaven? Complete amazement, that is why t