Best podcast Episodes 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, I hope you’ll take some time to reflect on your spiritual growth and progress over the last 12 months. Find some time to express gratitude for all the spiritual victories and lessons learned during the year. And enjoy this week’s episode, which is clips from the most listened-to solo episodes of the podcast this year. Enjoy the best podcast episodes, 2024.
To listen to an entire episode of any of the selections below, just click on the title.
232 – You Don’t Need Someone Else’s Permission to Do what God Has Called You to Do
It wasn’t the pride of youth that impelled David to fight Goliath. He felt called by God, and even explained to Saul how God had prepared him for this very task. He had killed, with his soon to be famous sling, a lion and a bear when they tried to attack his sheep.
David knew God would help him in his confrontation with Goliath and told this to Saul.
Here’s the point I want to make. David was so sure of what God had called him to do, he didn’t run home to ask his father, Jesse, for permission if he could do it. And just to put this in context, David is most likely a teenager at this time. You had to be 20 years old to fight in the army (see Numbers 1:3 NIV You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army.).
David didn’t ask permission
David did not ask permission from his three oldest brothers either, who were soldiers in the army. In fact, his oldest brother Eliab, said some pretty derogatory things about his youngest brother, even before he said he would fight Goliath.
And David didn’t really ask Saul for permission either. It was more that he told Saul what he was going to do and why he was so certain God would help him succeed. Saul gave his consent, you could say, but the more I read this story, I get the idea David probably would have gone ahead with his plan regardless of what the king said.
And when David went to meet Goliath, he acknowledged that God, who had called him to this moment, would help him.
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands,” 1 Samuel 17:45, 46 NIV
That’s a good lesson for us. When God calls you to do something, it’s really important to acknowledge God is there to help you do what He has called you to do.
And just as with David, God will prepare you, or has already prepared you, for what He’s calling you to do.
There are so many more examples in the Old Testament of people God calls to a particular mission, but I want to jump right to the New Testament and look at Jesus and how he approached his ministry. Jesus is the supreme example for us in anything and everything we do, especially the way we respond to God’s call on our lives.
Jesus didn’t ask permission
Just think of how Jesus approached his purpose as the Messiah. He didn’t ask anyone for permission to preach the gospel of the kingdom. He just started doing it when God told him to. He didn’t ask anyone’s permission to travel around the countryside teaching in various synagogues. He just did it.
He didn’t ask permission to heal people. He just did, even on the Sabbath. Can you picture Jesus looking over at a group of Pharisees asking if it were okay for him to heal on the Sabbath, only planning to do it if they gave their permission? Of course not. He didn’t ask permission because he didn’t need permission. He had his marching orders directly from God.
And you know what the Pharisees’ response would have been if Jesus had asked their permission to forgive the lame man’s sins. They didn’t approve even after he did forgive the man.
Now think about Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. He didn’t get permission or approval from a committee at a local synagogue or from the Sanhedrin for what to say or not say. He said what God told him to say.
I guess you could say the only one Jesus got permission from was God. And that’s the way it should be for us as well.
235 – How to Be Filled with the Fullness of God
I’ve been thinking lately about a prayer at the end of Ephesians, Chapter 3. Paul cuts right to the heart of his desire for the Christians in Ephesus, and in a sense, for you and me as well.
I pray that out of his [God’s] glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:16-21 NIV
Paul acknowledges in his prayer that when we have this unlimited sense of Christ’s love, the result is that we’re “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
If your church got that letter…
Now just imagine for a minute you are a member of the Church in Ephesus and you’re there when the letter is read to the congregation. Let’s say you have just recently become part of this church because someone told you about Jesus of Nazareth, that he was the Son of God, had been crucified, and then rose from the dead.
You were curious and the more you heard about Jesus, the more your heart yearned to know more about the love he taught and lived. You realized the gods and idols you used to worship were pretty much a façade. And so you had left behind your previous approach to worship and with it, your materialistic view of and approach to life. You were discovering a more spiritual way to live.
Before Paul’s letter arrived at your church, you’d been trying out this new way of praying to an invisible God and you’d actually seen some answers to your prayers. That had never happened when you prayed to those stone idols.
But your prayers had mostly been about how to navigate daily life and its challenges. When you prayed, you pretty much focused on how to solve your own problems.
But when you hear the prayer in Paul’s letter, which I read earlier, you realize there’s much more to being a follower of Christ than you had ever imagined.
Feeling the love
To feel the infinite love of Christ. Wow! That’s incredible. You’ve had a little taste of this love and you yearn for more.
But then Paul says that you and all your fellow church members can be filled with all the fullness of God. You look around the room where everyone is gathered. You see the light shining in their eyes. You see their tears of joy as you wipe away your own tears.
And you feel something you’ve never experienced before: the most amazing sense of being loved in a deep, deep spiritual way. And you realize this is what it means to be filled with all the fullness of God.
Nothing else matters at that moment. You don’t even remember the problems you came to church with just an hour ago. They’ve totally dissolved. You feel free. You feel seen and known and loved by God.
The bigger picture
But Paul’s prayer is not over. He acknowledges that God is able to do more than you could possibly imagine and that God is at work in your life, and not just in you, but in everyone at church. And when he sums up by giving God all honor and glory, you’re right there with him.
But what’s this about the glory of God being throughout all generations? You suddenly realize this Jesus thing is much bigger than you had realized. This is something not just for your time for every generation to come.
239 – God Is Always with You, No Matter What
God is always with you, no matter what.
Paul explains this so clearly at the end of Romans, Chapter 8.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons [or heavenly rulers], neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38, 39 NIV
Paul gives us a pretty broad view of things that might seem to separate us from God but can’t.
Death can’t separate you from God
Death, for example. Anyone’s death, the death of a loved one, a beloved pet, a relationship, or even the death or termination of a job or career cannot separate you from God.
You may experience a huge loss, but it cannot separate you from God.
And this is true for you personally too. If you’re afraid of what might happen to you after death because of things you’ve done, please take to heart Paul’s promise that death cannot separate you from God.
Life can’t separate you from God either
Now, some people believe it is only after they die that they actually will be with God. Many Christians believe they will only truly be with God when they die and go to heaven. But Paul makes it clear that life, being alive, cannot separate you from God either.
Jesus never said death was the doorway to heaven or that heaven was just way off in the future, accessible only after you die. He promised
… the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 KJV
If God’s kingdom is at hand, that means God is at hand. Being alive can never separate us from God. Being alive is actually proof that God is with you, whether you realize it or not.
Paul goes on to explain all the other things that can’t separate you from God. It may seem like people in high places of power in church, at work, in the government, or wherever, can make life pretty hard with certain policies and demands that make you feel separated from God, either accidentally or on purpose.
God is always with you
But whatever the situation is, even if it is a direct attempt to keep God out of things, it doesn’t mean God went away. No person, policy, or procedure has the power to make God disappear. Nothing can separate you from God. Nothing can separate God from you.
Paul continues by pointing out that nothing going on right now and nothing in the future can separate you from God. That covers pretty much everything. And I would add that nothing in the past can separate you from God either.
Well, because I was reading Romans 8:38, 39 recently, I’ve been praying to know that nothing can ever separate me from God. I thought about all the things going on in my life that would tempt me to believe, sometimes even for a moment, that I’m separated from God.
Here are some of the things I came up with. So, I’ll sort of rewrite Paul’s promise with some of these modern day things we have to deal with.
I am persuaded that neither egotism, whether in the form of pride or self-depreciation, nor the mistakes we’ve made, nor the worst sins we’ve committed, can separate us from the love of God.
How much education you have or don’t have cannot separate you from God. Neither financial lack or abundance, family history or culture, social status, ethnic origin, nor geographical location can separate you from God.
No material situation, event, or circumstance, nor your personal opinions and preconceptions can separate you from God.
No limiting beliefs you’ve accepted about yourself, or someone else, nor lack of spiritual progress can separate you from God.
Nothing can separate you from God
You may feel separated from God because of these things but you are not.
Neither disease nor health can separate you from God. “Now, wait a minute James,” you might be thinking. “I see how disease might make me separated from God, but how could health make me think God isn’t with me?”
Well, if you’re in good health and don’t need healing from God, you might feel you don’t need God at all in your life. But you will always need God and He is always with you.
No condition caused by heredity or upbringing can separate you from God or His love. You may think someone else inherited better health or circumstances than you did, but that doesn’t mean they are closer to God than you. Whatever the situation is, God is with you.
Your own or someone else’s lack of faith or ignorance of God cannot separate you from God. If someone is an agnostic or atheist and doubts or is convinced there is no God, this cannot separate you or them from God.
Even if you are a flagrant atheist this doesn’t mean God is not present with you. You’re just not aware of it yet.
Now I’ve gone on and on here a little bit, and I’m sure you could probably add lots more to this list of things that seem to make us feel separated from God, but you get the idea.
The point is, as Paul says, nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39 NIV)
243 – The Secret to Spiritual Restoration
Have you ever seen a video of someone cleaning an old painting? It’s amazing how they can clean off so much dirt and grime, and all the darkened varnish. It’s a very gentle and delicate process. They use some cleaning solvents and usually a tiny cotton swab.
So I’ve been thinking about this process of cleaning a painting and getting down to the original colors underneath as a metaphor for the way God removes the dirt and grime of sin in our lives, and dissolves the old cracked varnish of past hurts.
How God restores us
When God heals and restores us, it’s just that, a restoration to the original condition of how He created us in His image and likeness.
Have you ever felt like one of those old paintings that’s covered with years of dirt, grime, and varnish that’s darkened over time and is full of tiny little cracks? You can still see the painting underneath, but you can’t see the vibrancy of the original color. Sometimes it’s even so bad you can barely see the shapes and forms at all.
Sometimes, in the way we see and think about ourselves, we let things from the past like hurts and fears, sins we’ve committed and bad choices we’ve made, pride or self-depreciation, or whatever, cover up the way God originally created us.
So how do we start this restoration process for ourselves? How do we even know we need to be restored? Sometimes we get so used to the accumulated layers of stuff from the past, we’ve forgotten the original vibrancy God created us with and don’t realize it has become dimmed.
Discomfort turns us to God for help
It often takes us getting uncomfortable in a situation like this before we realize we need help. And once you realize you actually need help, that you need to rediscover the way God created you and live accordingly, it becomes a matter of humbly asking God to show you what you need to do, and be aware of what God is doing.
When you turn to God and begin, in a fresh way, to follow Christ in your daily life, this begins the process of cleaning away the materialistic, sinful, self-focused attitudes that may have shaped your life.
Let’s come back to the metaphor of a person restoring a piece of art. When an expert hand gently rubs an old dirty painting with a cotton swab dipped in the appropriate cleaning solvent, the dirt and the discolored varnish are slowly removed, which reveals the original work of art underneath.
Spiritual restoration
In a way, this is how we are restored spiritually. Christ washes away, bit by bit, everything that is not like the way God originally created you, in His image and likeness.
Some churches teach a theology that insists mankind, and therefore every single person ever on earth, was, is, and will be born into a state of sin. They are convinced that your original nature, since birth, is inherently sinful and can only be redeemed by Christ.
Well, I agree with the redeemed by Christ part, but if sinfulness is our original nature, who would want to be restored to that? God’s will is just the opposite of this. God wants us to be free from sin, because it is not part of our original nature or identity.
Your true identity
The Bible makes it clear that our true identity and original nature is how God created us in the very beginning, in His image and likeness.
If your starting point of how you see yourself is as a sinner and/or a victim, it’s going to be a lot harder to let go of those thoughts about yourself, because that’s who you think you are at your core being.
The secret to spiritual restoration is not that God turns a sinner into a saint. He removes the sin, the hurts, the fears, whatever it is that’s covered up God’s original creation, because these things are not part of the original way God created you.
245 – How To Be Joyful No Matter What Happens
Have you ever had one of those days where everything is going really well, and even better than you could hope for: you’re happy; you feel on top of the world; you feel God smiling on you? And then, out of nowhere, something happens, you get bad news, or someone says or does something that turns everything upside down. The joy, the inspiration, and closeness to God you felt just evaporated and suddenly it feels like you’re in a pit of quick sand.
The question I ask myself is: How can I hold onto my joy when these negative situations come up?
Well, probably what we first have to talk about is what joy actually is.
What is joy?
Joy is not the kind of happiness which comes because you got a new job, you did well on a test at school, or someone gave you a wonderful surprise. It goes much deeper than that.
The thing about joy is that it wells up from within, because of something that is innate within us, something that is already part of us, for example, our relationship or covenant with God.
Here’s one of my favorite verses about joy:
You [God] will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:11 NLT
Feeling God’s presence
I love that phrase, “the joy of your presence.” Take a moment and ponder what that means. You are in God’s presence right now. You’re always in God’s presence. There’s no place you can be where God is not present.
You may not always be aware of or feel God’s presence, but He is with you this and every moment, in every situation.
And that’s another reason we can experience joy, even when circumstances are challenging or threatening, because right in the midst of whatever negative is going on, God is present with you.
This is how David puts it in Psalm 139
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10 NIV
“What if I don’t feel God’s presence?”
Now you may be thinking: Hey James, this sounds great but when I’m in the middle of a tough situation, I don’t always remember God is with me. I get so absorbed in the problem, I don’t always think about God until later.
Well, the good news is that God is present, is with you, whether you remember it or not. His presence doesn’t depend on you being aware of it.
If you have trouble remembering God is present when a calamity knocks at your door, be proactive. You can pray right now to acknowledge that God is with you, whatever situation may come up in the future. For example you could pray something like: Thank you God for being present with me if a challenging situation comes up. I know You will be with me, even if I don’t feel it at the time. Please help me to feel the joy of Your presence in every situation.
The more you practice feeling God’s presence in your everyday life, the more you’ll experience God’s presence when challenges pop up. And back to this idea of joy, when you are truly aware of God’s presence, you will automatically be full of joy. They go hand in hand.
Joy is not a weather vane
This joy of being with God, and being aware of His love for you and your relationship with Him, is not a weather vane that is happy one minute and sad the next, based on circumstances. Joy is an internal quality and condition of who you are as a child of God.
The more you feel this deep spiritual connection with God, the less you’ll be influenced when terrible things happen or you get bad news.
Nothing can take away your true joy, your connection with God.
248 – That’s Not the Jesus I Believe In
Have you ever heard someone talk about Jesus in a way that just didn’t quite fit with what was in the Bible? Or maybe you read a book or saw a movie or a play about Jesus that either fell short of capturing the true essence of Jesus or it kind of stretched the truth and over-exaggerated things?
More recently, and I hope you’ve been watching, a new, much more involved story of Jesus is available and is being seen all around the world. It’s called, The Chosen.
Watching The Chosen
Some of the scenes showing Jesus healing and teaching are so thoughtfully done and often very inspiring. Watching The Chosen, I have laughed and cried as Jesus, his disciples, those listening to him, and even the Pharisees, come to life.
But the reason for this podcast episode is to simply say, as I mentioned earlier, when you’re watching The Chosen, or any retelling of the story of Jesus, it’s really important to remember this is just a product of the writers’ and director’s perspective. They have created certain scenes and narratives that are not in the Bible. And they look at Jesus through the lens of their own theological persuasions, however objective they try to be.
Back to the Bible
The point is, I encourage you always to go back to the Bible to see how it depicts Jesus, who he is, and what he does.
That said, I simply have to say, as much as I love The Chosen, have been inspired by it, and recommend you watch it if you haven’t already, there are a few scenes that, to me, seem completely out of character to the Jesus I know from the Bible.
The first one is when the character called Little James, or James, the son of Alphaeus, one of the twelve disciples, who has a limp in the show, comes to Jesus. This is in Season 3, Episode 2. Jesus has just informed the disciples they will all receive power to go out preaching and healing. Little James asks Jesus how he could heal when Jesus hasn’t healed him of his own disability.
In the scene, Jesus explains he could heal Little James, but won’t right now and gives a reason that may or may not sound reasonable to you, depending on your own perspective of how God and Jesus operate in our lives. Here’s the scene on YouTube if you want to watch it for yourself.
Jesus always healed those who asked him
There is nothing I find in any of the Gospels, or the rest of the New Testament, that justifies this sort of mindset toward healing. Jesus never told someone it wasn’t their time to be healed. He never declined to heal someone when they asked him. He never said it wasn’t God’s will for them to be healed. But in The Chosen, Jesus chooses not to heal Little James.
That is not the Jesus I believe in or follow.
What does this refusal to heal say about who and what Jesus is? Or maybe the question really is, What does this say about the people producing The Chosen and their theological perspectives on Jesus?
In the Bible, as I said, Jesus never refused to heal someone when asked. He was always willing and able to heal. Now, of course, I could be wrong. I was not there 2,000 years ago watching every single thing Jesus said and did. So I can only go by what the Bible tells me, everything the Bible tells me about Jesus.
Find Jesus in the Bible
The thing I want to leave you with is, no matter what others say about who Jesus is or what he does, always come back to the Bible to find him. Don’t take The Chosen’s version of Jesus. Don’t accept a preacher’s version of Jesus. Don’t take the Church’s traditionalized view of Jesus without coming back to the Bible.
Jesus said we would find him in the Scriptures.
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, John 5:39 NIV
When you find Jesus in the Bible, you will find the Jesus you can follow and believe in.
254 – God Already Knows what You Need
Have you ever been praying for something that you really, really wanted and you never got it or it never happened?
And then, sometime later, you realized that what you had been praying for was really not the right thing for you to get or do?
The Bible is full of situations where God gave people what they needed.
God fills you with goodness
And this verse from Psalms really sums up what God gives us because it’s what we really need way down deep.
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:9 NKJV
Think of your hungry soul being filled with goodness. All the material things the world says we need to be successful or happy will never give us the satisfaction that comes from God filling us with His goodness.
Think of everything this includes. God gives us what we need way down deep at a fundamental level, satisfying our longing and hunger for goodness and worth. And it always comes from God, not from ourselves or any external situation or object.
Jesus knew what we needed
Jesus was in such close communication with God, he was crystal clear as to what the people he ministered to needed.
And what people needed then is pretty much the same that you and I need today.
Jesus knew people, then and now, needed a spiritual shepherd, someone to guide us.
Jesus knew we all need to be encouraged and comforted, healed and forgiven, and sometimes rebuked and reformed. He knew we needed to love each other and ourselves.
Jesus knew the people of his day needed to see concrete proofs of God’s love for them and convincing evidence that he was the Son of God, the Messiah. We need all these things today as well.
Difference between wants and needs
Jesus didn’t come to make sure someone got a new wagon, a bigger house, or an important position in the Temple in Jerusalem or the local synagogue. All too often, people then and now, think that’s what they need. We get what we need mixed up with what we want.
And speaking of Jesus being the Son of God, the Jewish people were full of expectations and anticipation of the coming Messiah. They wanted the Messiah to come. And yes, they needed the Messiah, but their preconceptions of how the Messiah would come spoke more of what they wanted than what they really needed.
When it comes right down to it, they wanted and expected a Messiah who would come in earthly power to defeat the Romans occupying their land. They wanted the kingdom of Israel to be reestablished as a geopolitical kingdom as in the time of David and Solomon.
But their preconceptions of what they wanted were not the Messiah or the kingdom they needed. They needed a Messiah who would resist the temptations of Satan instead of being influenced by the ways of the world.
The real occupying force in Israel at that time was not the Roman Empire. It was the world’s materialistic and sinful way of thinking and living. It was self-righteousness and the pride of power. That’s the kingdom Jesus came to deliver people from. The kingdom he came to establish, which is what the people actually needed, was a spiritual kingdom of God and His righteousness that was invisible to the five material senses and the human intellect.
Most of all, we need the kingdom
Jesus said as clearly as he possibly could in the Sermon on the Mount,
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NKJV
That was good advice 2,000 years ago and it’s good advice today.
The fact that Jesus told us to prioritize seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, implies that’s what we need the most. It may not at first seem like what we want the most. But it is absolutely what we need the most. And the more we realize it’s what we need, it becomes what we want as well.
256 – The Biblical Cure for Loneliness
I’ve been thinking about what the Bible has to offer as a cure for loneliness.
The first verse that comes to mind is
God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; Psalm 68:6 NIV
When you feel really lonely, it can feel like being in prison, separated from life itself.
I love the sense of hope in this verse. If you’re praying for yourself or someone else who’s lonely, this is a powerful promise that God will find a place for you to belong.
Elijah felt alone, but he wasn’t
Think about Elijah, the prophet, who, right after he called down fire from heaven to burn up the evening sacrifice, which was an incredible display of God’s supreme authority, he had to flee for his life from Jezebel, who had threatened to kill him.
Have you ever felt like that?
Here’s one of the most amazing prophets in the Old Testament, and who later is translated into heaven without passing through death, and he feels all alone and sees himself as somewhat of a failure.
In fact, he has a little conversation with God, who asked him,
What are you doing here, Elijah?
I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. 1 Kings 19:9, 10 NIV
I hope you have never felt all alone in the world and just didn’t see the point of living any longer like Elijah did. But some people do feel that way at times.
What will God ask you when you feel alone?
So what should you do if you feel this way? Or how can you help someone who feels this way?
It’s interesting that God asks him the second time, “What are you doing here Elijah?” And Elijah repeats the exact thing he just said, as if God didn’t hear him the first time. Have you ever prayed like that?
“I am the only one left.” Do you hear the lonely cry in Elijah’s heart? Here he was trying to do what was right, trying to obedient to God and encourage other to do the same, but he felt so alone.
But God tells him, apparently much to his surprise, that there are
seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal [a false god] and whose mouths have not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:18 NIV
Then God tells him where to go and what to do. One of these things is to anoint Elisha as a prophet to follow in his footsteps.
So, how can this story help you if you’re feeling lonely, isolated, unsuccessful in life, or persecuted by those who oppose God?
Talk to God
Well, first off, be honest with God. He is your closest friend and confidant. You can tell God anything about how you feel.
But the next step is you also have to listen to what God says to you. He may start with a simple question like He did with Elijah, “Why are you here?” Why are you feeling this way?
Have a conversation with God and do whatever He tells you. There may not be 7,000 people who will be there to support you, as there were with Elijah, but there may be one or two people God wants you to meet. But He may require you to do something, go somewhere, talk to someone. Whatever it is, follow God’s lead.
He knows what you need better than you do. Trust that. What God tells you may not make sense, but you’ll eventually see how everything works together.
What to do if you’re lonely
There’s so much more I could say about how the Bible offers a cure for loneliness. If you or someone else you know is feeling lonely, there’s no perfect little formula but I have a couple of suggestions that might be helpful. First, think about the kinds of qualities you would want in a companion. Then do everything you can to be like that. If you met someone exactly like you are right now, would you want to be friends with that person? Work to be the kind of person you want to be friends with. Something to think about.
The second idea is to read through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5 – 7. Think about how the ideas in it apply to taking away the feeling of loneliness. One of the most powerful ideas in that sermon is the practice of forgiveness. Start there and forgive all those who have excluded you, consciously or unconsciously. Forgive yourself. And see where that leads you. God will take you each step of the way.
261 – The Best Motive for Prayer that Heals
Jesus warns us in the Sermon on the Mount about the importance of our motives when we pray.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Matthew 6:5-7 NIV
Nothing can ruin a good prayer like trying to impress others with what you say (or write) in your prayer. Jesus wants us to have an honest and private conversation with God. And he wants us to keep it simple and not try to impress God with our long-winded prayers.
Glorifying God
Jesus starts the Lord’s Prayer by praising God’s holy nature, and acknowledging His kingdom and supremacy in heaven and earth.
In a nutshell, this is the highest motive for prayer: to glorify God.
How many times when you’re praying for healing or anything else, do you jump right in and pray to get your problem solved? We ask God to change something, fix something, heal something, but that’s not how Jesus wants us to start our prayers. Our first thoughts should be to acknowledge God’s glory. And that’s the way the Lord’s Prayer ends as well.
There are lots of reasons you might be praying for healing, for yourself or someone else, a church or community problem, or a national or global issue.
You may be moved with compassion, as Jesus was, and want to bring healing to people and situations. Love for mankind is a wonderful motive for prayer.
You may want to bless someone and help them discover God’s healing presence for themselves. This also is a wonderful reason to pray for healing.
But the absolute most powerful motive when you pray for healing is for God to be glorified.
Prayer for healing
If you’re praying for healing, for a solution to a problem, for the resolution of a conflict, or whatever you’re praying about, and the situation hasn’t been resolved or healed yet, it might be time to quit praying so specifically for the problem to be solved, and instead pray wholeheartedly that God will be glorified.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healed or to have your problems solved. But let’s face it, that can be a bit of a self-focused prayer if it’s just for your own personal benefit and well being.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting be healed, but a little broader motive would be to pray for healing so you wouldn’t be a burden to others who may be caring for you, or so you can contribute to the greater good in your family, your job, your community, or your church.
But the most powerful and all-encompassing motive is to pray that God will be glorified when others see the healing or the solution.
True motives
When your ultimate motive in prayer is to glorify God, you rise far above any self-centered or self-focused desires. It gives you a broader perspective of how God is working in the whole world, instead of how you want Him to work in your little world.
Jesus prayed that people would believe in him not just because they were healed. His deep heartfelt desire was that people would know God had sent him.
If Jesus prayed that way, then you and I can follow his example in our prayers.
It is a righteous prayer for us to pray for healing or solutions so the whole world may know that God can and does heal today just as in Jesus’s day.
Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re praying for, it’s always the perfect time to pray that God will be glorified.
262 – Redeeming and Healing the Past
Have you ever felt that because of things that happened to you in the past, either mistakes you made or things other people did to you, you haven’t been able to live your life the way you wanted to or be as successful as you could be?
Not very often, but every once in a while it can be healthy, I look back at some of the poor choices I’ve made over the years, or times when someone did me harm, or situations that had a very negative impact on my life.
I try to take an honest look at these experiences from the past, not to dwell on them or get bogged down in a pity party. But I look back at them to see if, in any way, my attitude about what happened is keeping me from going forward and making progress in my life.
Don’t get absorbed in the past
But sometimes when people try to find healing from their past, they get so absorbed in all the negative stuff, it’s overwhelming and too painful. To face the past and deal with those hurts and mistakes, you need to have some kind of spiritual guide post, a spiritual perspective, or spiritual compass to keep you on the right track.
Without this spiritual perspective, it’s kind of like going into a dark closet to clean it out but not turning on the light so you can see what you’re doing and know what to keep and what to get rid of.
When you can look at your past by shining the light of Christ on it, you can see clearly what needs to be kept or let go of in your thinking, what needs to be forgiven, what can be repaired, and what new perspectives you need to adopt.
Can the past be healed?
Is it possible to redeem the past? Is it possible to heal the past?
For years, I’ve heard so many people say “You can’t change the past. You just have to live with the consequences of what happened. It’s part of your life and you can’t escape the pain or the mistakes.”
I have always rebelled against that idea. I know what they mean, but I still don’t like the finality with which they say it.
I do agree to a point. You can’t literally change something that happened in the past. But you can change how you react to it. You can change the way it tries to define you. And you can change the way it influences you going forward.
If you’re absorbed in the sins you have committed and have a hard time forgiving yourself and accepting God’s forgiveness, or you have a hard time forgiving those who have sinned against you, maybe it’s time to shift your focus from these sins to Jesus’s victory over sin in his resurrection. Rejoice in his resurrection, in his victory over death and sin. Be in awe of the resurrection. Let it fill your mind.
How to redeem the past
Recently I was thinking of how to accept and experience more of God’s love and forgiveness for what happened in the past. I was remembering that popular saying that you can’t change the past and just have to live with the consequences.
A friend and I were talking about how God is always communicating with us, but that we don’t always listen or obey what we hear. I realized that every time I made a mistake, was being hurt by others, or was in a dangerous situation and was so scared I didn’t know what to do, right in that moment, God was, nevertheless, talking to me, even though I didn’t hear it at the time.
So, I have revisited some of those situations from the past, and asked God what He was telling me at the time and that I didn’t hear. This has been such an amazing revelation to me. And God has been so gentle in reassuring me of what He was telling me at the time, but that I didn’t hear.
Prayer exercise
I encourage you to try this little prayer exercise. If there’s something from your past, whatever it might be, troubles you, be still for a moment and ask God what He was telling you at the time that you didn’t hear. And write it down in your journal, if you keep one.
There’s no way for you to take any guilt or shame with you into heaven. You can’t take any memories of your mistakes or sins either. If God doesn’t remember them, you won’t either. And you can’t take resentment over how someone or some circumstance may have harmed you.
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This means we don’t have to wait to begin to experience being in the presence of heaven. That also means that to the degree you are aware that heaven is at hand, you can let go of these things from the past right now. The love and forgiveness of God can reach back into what you call the past and bring redemption and healing.
264 – Finding Peace During Political Turmoil
Politics can be so divisive.
So today, we’re going to talk about finding peace during all this political turmoil.
My question for you is: If your peace comes from some event or person or circumstance, is it really peace?
Where gives you peace of mind?
Does your peace of mind come, or not come, depending on who wins the election? If you can only find peace if your candidate wins, then what you call peace is actually dependent on something besides God and is a very fragile sense of what peace is and a limited faith in God’s supremacy. It can dissolve at any moment, or never appear in the first place, depending on events or personalities.
True peace comes from God; it’s spiritual, and cannot be taken away from you. It’s about your relationship with God.
So, here’s the first step to finding peace before and after the election, whether your candidate wins or not.
Focus on your relationship with God and obey His commandments: Love God. Love others. Love yourself.
Absorbed in the drama…
But sometimes we get so absorbed in what’s going on in the news on the political scene, the divisiveness, the lies, and the name calling, we don’t feel any sense of peace at all. Jesus warned us about such a time as this, when there would be
…upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: Luke 21:25, 26 KJV
Jesus makes it clear as day what causes distress, the unease, the lack of peace in tumultuous times. When you look “after those things which are coming on the earth,” when you focus on all these things that are happening, you will not find peace but distress.
Focus on what’s going on in heaven
The obvious solution is to quit being so absorbed in what’s going on on earth, and remember instead Jesus’s promise that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and within us.
This was the primary focus of Jesus’s whole ministry, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It was the lens he looked through. It was the truth he bore witness to. It’s how he could walk untouched through the crowd that was about to stone him.
The peace Jesus felt wasn’t dependent on material circumstances.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NIV
Finding peace in Christ
There it is plain and simple, we find our peace in Christ. In this material world, there’s going to be trouble. But the reason we can find peace is because Jesus has overcome the world. It’s fascinating to me that he said that before his victory over death in the resurrection. Spiritually, he had already overcome the world, he was already victorious. And he proved this victory by his resurrection.
The more I’ve thought about the deep sense of peace, the shalom, which Jesus had, even in the midst of misrepresentation of his character and purpose by those who wanted to have him killed, the more I’m convinced this peace came from, what I mentioned earlier, his focus and awareness of the presence of heaven.
When you claim your citizenship in God’s kingdom, you have access to spiritual resources unavailable to human governments. You are not limited by or dependent on a human, man-made government. When you are consciously aware of your citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, which is at hand, you cannot ultimately be harmed or hindered by what a human government does.
In God’s kingdom
The more you think the solutions to your problems come from the government, the less you’ll be aware that God has a much better solution. In God’s kingdom, everyone’s needs are met without taking away from anyone else having what they need.
What if human governments followed that model?
The more you realize the only real solution can come from God’s government, God’s kingdom, not man’s, and the more you look for solutions in God’s kingdom, the more your needs will be met, along with the needs of everyone.
265 – Trusting God No Matter what Happens
Have you ever felt like your life goes from one challenge to another, or one crisis to another? Or maybe your life is going pretty smoothly right now but things at work, at church, or in your community are not always so smooth.
And just look at the national scene. There’s always some problem or problems coming up, either as a result of human actions or sometimes the weather. And just as soon as one political battle comes to an end another one starts. On the world stage, it seems like there’s one war after another, sometimes several wars going on at once.
How do you keep your peace in all these situations? It’s not always easy.
Really trusting God
But you know, the thing that’s been the most helpful for me, is something really pretty basic. It’s having the kind of relationship with God that you know you can trust Him. It’s trusting God no matter what happens.
One of the all-time favorite Bible verses of people I’ve talked to over many years applies to almost any situation you’ll ever be in, whether it’s something you’re dealing with personally all by yourself, or all the way up to a world conflict that’s on the other side of the globe.
Before I read this verse—and you know it well—take just a moment to think of something you’re concerned about going on right now in your life, your church, your job, your community, your country, your world. And as I read these two verses, think about how they apply to the particular situation you’re thinking about.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5, 6 NIV
Quit relying on yourself or others
I’m sure you’ve had lots of experiences where you had to quit relying on yourself or someone else and had to trust completely in God for an answer or a solution. Sometimes I have tried everything I can think of to solve a problem but get absolutely nowhere. Every time I have finally admitted I didn’t know what to do and quit trying to solve the problem myself, and turned completely to God, He has provided and answer or a solution.
Who and what do you put your trust in? How smart you are, how much money you have, your job, the education system, politicians, government policies and programs? What do you put your trust in? The list could go on and on.
Trusting God for the little stuff
Sometimes it’s a matter of trusting God on the little details of everyday life. A friend of mine said to me one time: Oh I don’t bother God with all the little stuff. He’s too busy for that.
Honestly, that’s a pretty limited sense of God’s ability to help and provide for you.
Jesus said, and in the process set an example for us,
Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, I can do nothing on my own. John 5:19, 30 NLT
Think about that for a minute. Down to the tiniest detail of everything he did, Jesus freely admitted that he couldn’t do anything without God’s help. He trusted God in even the smallest situation.
Of course, he trusted God in the big things as well.
You and I can do this as well. We can trust God to protect us, whatever the situation is, big or small.
Trusting God to guide your purpose
When God puts a call on your life to preach or teach or minister to the needs of others in the name of Christ, sometimes a religious organization will try to stop you, or slow you down with red tape.
But if God has truly called you, you don’t need permission from human beings, or a human institution, or the government to do fulfill that calling. You can trust God for everything you need to go forward, just as the Apostles did.
Regardless of what was going on in Roman politics, regardless of what policies and theological perspectives the Pharisees and Sadducees came up with, Jesus and the Apostles kept trusting in God for everything. They didn’t let any situation, person, or institution keep them from doing what God called them to do.
You may not be able to change what’s going on in the world, but you can always be a ray of light, love, and hope to those around you.
Again I’ll ask: Who or what are you trusting?
All the best blessings for the New Year!
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life. Contact him here.
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Bible References
1 Samuel 17:45, 46 NIV
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands,
Ephesians 3:16-21 NIV
16 I pray that out of his [God’s] glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Romans 8:38, 39 NIV
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons [or heavenly rulers], neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 4:17 KJV
17 … the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Psalm 16:11 NLT
11 You [God] will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Psalm 139:7-10 NIV
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
John 5:39 NIV
39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
Psalm 107:9 NKJV
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Matthew 6:33 NKJV
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Psalm 68:6 NIV
6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing;
1 Kings 19:9, 10 NIV
9 What are you doing here, Elijah?
10 I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.
1 Kings 19:18 NIV
18 seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal [a false god] and whose mouths have not kissed him.
Matthew 6:5-7 NIV
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Luke 21:25, 26 KJV
25 …upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity…
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
John 16:33 NIV
33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Proverbs 3:5, 6 NIV
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
John 5:19, 30 NLT
19 Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing,
30 I can do nothing on my own.
