The Message of the Twelve | Where Is My Honor? - Episode 45
When God's people act out of duty versus devotion, they're always going to do the bare minimum. This was the state of the nation of Israel in Malachi's day. God was not being honored. He was not even receiving the base levels of honor that were willingly given to men. The small amount God was given was a weariness to the nation. The fact that the pathetic gifts were a weariness was actually the bigger problem. God wasn't just concerned about the gift, but He was also concerned about the attitude of giver.
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Response-Able | Do It Now - Episode 44
We are response-able. We have the ability to effect, with our response, the outcome of many situations in our lives. There is a difference between those who act on what they are supposed to do and those who don't.
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The Apocalypse | The Adversary - Episode 43
The Bible teaches that pride always goes before destruction and a fall. The greatest and most consequential of these falls was and is the fall of Satan. He went from spectacular and exalted to enemy of God and adversary of men. He is full of animosity toward God and every part of his kingdom, including us. We have a spiritual adversary who targets us with his vitriol and hatred. A lack of awareness and caution leaves us extremely vulnerable. Our thinking and philosophies must be grounded in Truth. If Satan can get you to believe a lie, he has, in some measure, won.
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The Message of the Twelve | God's Love - Episode 42
At this point in Israel’s history, the nation of Israel was still under the power of Persia, and they were discontent. They felt that God hadn’t really come through for them. They wanted to move on as a nation as God had said they would. Instead of serving God in the midst of their unfavorable circumstances, they became very apathetic. God in turn sends messengers to address the nation’s condition. God, in His first message, reminds the nation of His love. When God chooses you, you’re chosen. That choice does not change. He loves His children because He chose them. Those who are God’s choice never stop being the objects of His love.
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Response-Able | Closing the Gap - Episode 41
Blame and excuse are as old as man. From the beginning, mankind has had a tendency to make excuses and blame others for failure. All too often, we sit and rot in a prison that only we have a key to. As long as we continue to blame others for our captivity, we will continue to rot there. We cannot always choose what will happen to us, but there will always be a range of options when choosing how we respond to what happens to us.
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The Apocalypse | Two Kingdoms - Episode 40
We are either a part of the Kingdom of God, or we are a part of the kingdom of this world. Those are the only two options, and they are mutually exclusive. We're taught that this absolutism is not legitimate. We are told to reject anything that is absolutist. If we are not careful, in an effort to embrace this ideology, we may swear fealty to the kingdom of this word, one of the two. Christianity isn't a choice among many valid choices. Christianity is a Truth.
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The Message of the Twelve | The End - Episode 39
God will return when He intends to return. God is concerned with how we live in the interim. We ought to live in such a way that we can be blessed. We're waiting for a return, but we have to make a decision: how are we going to wait? We can waste the days of waiting, or we can be part of God's plan. Live in light of the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Response-Able | Own The Challenge - Episode 38
God wants us to own the responsibility the responsibility of getting necessary things done. The tendency of humanity is to make excuses. We ought to ask in each and every situation, "What can I do to be a help?" All too often, we ask, "Why isn't any one doing anything about this?" We need to own it.
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The Apocalypse | The Two Witnesses - Episode 37
God has always sent messengers to the world to call men to repentance. Mankind's response has always been the same: they harken not. God will send witnesses, as He always has, at the end of time. The vast majority of men will not respond. However, despite this fact, there will always be a remnant of people who love God, and His purposes will still be accomplished.
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The Message of the Twelve | The Way God Works - Episode 36
The idea that beauty comes through pain is found throughout the New Testament. It was true for the nation of Israel, it's presented as truth throughout the New Testament, and it's true for us. We are saved through the pain and suffering of Jesus Christ. After Salvation, we are to be refined by suffering. The fact that so few Christians embrace this is fact is the reason we see so few Christians that look like silver and gold. Elementary Christianity is the ability to endure suffering with a joyful, right spirit. We often forfeit the deepest joys in life because we refuse to give up a life of ease and comfort.
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Response-Able | Why? - Episode 35
Asking the right questions in life leads to right action. Perhaps the most dangerous incorrect question we ask in life is "why?" It creeps into our thinking and makes us feel sorry for ourselves. When we think and act like victims, no one benefits. The best way to eliminate the victim mentality in our world is to eliminate it in ourselves.
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The Apocalypse | Bitter Sweet - Episode 34
Serving God understands that He is in control. Every day of our lives is under His omnipotent supervision. Our God is in control. The earth is being ripped apart from above and below, and God is in control in the midst of it.
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The Message of the Twelve | Hope for the Future - Episode 33
Zachariah was trying to tell the people of Israel in chapter 12 that a better day was coming. Zechariah said that there would come a day when they realized just how good God had been to them, and realizing this, they would weep because they had neglected Him. The Creator God of the universe is in control of your present circumstances. The goodness of God should always lead his children to repentance. We may look back one day and realize the One Who was pierced for us was worthy of more of our devotion.
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Response-Able | What Shall I Do? - Episode 32
Action follows thought. What we end up doing originates in our minds. If you want to change your actions, you have to change your thinking. We need to learn to take personal responsibility and think the right way.
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The Apocalypse | Demonic Invasion - Episode 31
The fifth and sixth trumpet represent the greatest judgments the world has ever seen. Demons rise up from below the earth to torment men. They unleash horror and pain. They turn against those who have worshiped them. Sin and darkness always turn against those who serve them. In all of this, men do not repent of the priorities they have given their lives to. Humanity, in its fallenness, gives itself to that which wounds, kills, and destroys. As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
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The Message of the Twelve | Getting What We Deserve - Episode 30
If we're not careful, we'll persist is pushing for what we want, and we may get it. But in doing so, we may lose what we had. In time, people often get the king they deserve. It is only when we do things God's way that we can experience God's blessing.
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The Apocalypse | When the Trumpets Blow - Episode 29
The trumpets bring about staggering apocalyptic events as God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. The judgment described in chapter 8 is both sobering and unimaginable. The judgment reveals the hardness of men’s hearts as they refuse to repent, even in the face of awesome displays of power and wrath. Sin has a callousing effect on the human heart. We would be prudent to check the condition of our own hearts.
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The Message of the Twelve | Removing the Obstacles - Episode 28
Worldly-wisdom, pragmatism, and self-reliance may get you somewhere, but they wont get you where God can get you. Yet, worldly-wisdom, pragmatism, and self-reliance are a huge temptation for us. Trusting things other than God for life's successes and rewards is tempting, but we should not place faith in the world to meet our needs.
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Relationships in the Church - Episode 27
Sin perverts the goodness we are supposed to show to one another. It disrupts our relationships. That is why Paul said "crucify the Flesh." Our flesh is dead, and we are made alive in the Spirit. Since our life is in the Spirit, we ought to act like it. This should improve our relationships
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Mercy and Martyrs - Episode 26
Mercy is not getting what we deserve. We become the recipients of mercy by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In chapter 7, 144,000 redeemed people sing and rejoice because of this reality.
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