As you are about to hear, my fragile faith was in a total free-fall. Not something I’m proud of, I assure you.
Leave it to Jesus to know exactly what to say and how to say it to bring me back.
What did He say? And what does it mean to you?
You are in for a treat. And so is anyone with whom you share this podcast. A totally biblical, radical, and (May I say?) a thoroughly refreshing view of exactly who Jesus REALLY is. From His lips to your heart.
While I am away speaking at one of my all-time favorite places on Earth (Hartland Christian Camp), the topic of this encore PODCAST is one of those subjects that touches us all, deeply and profoundly.
The ripples of any divorce, every divorce spread their concentric circles far and wide.
Which compels us to take a sober look at exactly what Jesus DID SAY HERE in Matthew 5:31-32, as well as — and perhaps especially — what Jesus DID NOT SAY HERE.
Because once again, this is one of those passages which, when lifted out of its context — both Scriptural and Cultural — is so often and so tragically made to say something other than what Jesus intended for it to say. Heaping truck loads of unnecessary grief and guilt upon poor precious people who are just trying by God’s grace to rebuild their broken lives.
Trust me! Over the years, having dealt up close and personal with many, many people, I have heard some of the most atrocious applications of this passage. This to the point where emotionally and spiritually fragile individuals, whose lives have just been rocked by their own tragic divorces, now have whatever fragments they have left of their broken lives crushed by well-meaning, but grossly misinformed, Christians errantly and judgmentally spouting this passage. And then in fine Pharisee-esque style, walk away from them, leaving untold wreckage in their wakes.
Not here. Not in this PODCAST. No way!
Jesus doesn’t do that.
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God bless you as you listen.
And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share this podcast with your friends.
Sometimes things really are as simple as they seem.
This will certainly be true in this PODCAST, as we discuss together one of Jesus’ most remarkable statements.
We could use a whole series of words to describe what Jesus said, all of which begin with the letter “S.” His message was surprising, as Jesus will say something that sounds totally out of character for Him. His message was sobering, as His words contain a warning that, as you will hear, went completely unnoticed. His message was simple; in fact, you could boil down all that He said in this powerful passage to one simple word. One word that truly is the Gospel in miniature.
Leave it to Jesus to take what we make so complicated and turn it into something so simple.
Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.
From my heart to yours, HAPPY LISTENING!!!
For reasons that I won’t go into now, not that long ago I suffered a crisis of faith. I don’t say those words lightly. There is absolutely nothing clichéd about them. Not when they come from my heart to yours.
To state it simply: I DESPERATELY need to rediscover who Jesus was, who Jesus is.
So, with a close group of friends surrounding me (lovingly known as my Safe Haven family), I embarked on what has proven to be an incredible journey of discovery of the Jesus of the Bible — beginning with His birth (to last week where, ironically, Jesus tenderly and lovingly restored John the Baptizer’s faith after he suffered a faith-crisis of his own).
What we have been discovering is that the Jesus of the New Testament is nothing like the Jesus that I thought I knew. The portrait painted of Jesus in the Bible is nothing like the depictions of Jesus I had heard for so many years in church or Sunday school.
Most importantly, the Jesus of the Scriptures is nothing like the distortions of Jesus that are too often demonstrated to the world through the lives of so many of His so-called followers.
The fruit of this study? My faith has literally come roaring back. My love for Jesus is sweeter, deeper, richer than it has been in years.
So I humbly invite you to join the journey with us. Every message (to date, 80 of them) is recorded and posted online. You can jump in anywhere (though I’d recommend starting at the beginning). You can travel this trail at your own pace. I simply ask that like me, you come without any preconceived ideas of whom you think Jesus is. Together, we’ll let the Gospel writers paint the portrait for us.
HERE’S THE LINK to the entire (and growing by the week!) archive of every study, free downloads each.
And if iTunes is your thing, HERE’S THE LINK to that too.
I would LOVE to have you join this incredible journey with us, and maybe — just maybe — fall deeper in love with Him too.
When we last left our old friend, John the Baptizer, his faith was in a free-fall.
He was here last week, sort of, to tell you his scintillating story in his own words. (If you have not heard that PODCAST, may I respectfully request that you listen? A story that I promise you, you will never forget.)
Think of it. John… The man whose coming was predicted by the prophets… Whose birth was foretold by an angel… Who identified and introduced Jesus to the world…
John the Baptizer didn’t believe in Jesus any more.
His situation was dire, languishing as he was in Antipas’ Dead-Sea-Side prison (on Eastern side of Dead Sea), his life literally dangling by a thread. The madman Antipas holding in his bloodstained hands the frayed ends of that thread…
Tormented, no doubt John was, by the unobstructed view he had of his boyhood home, directly across the Dead Sea on its Western shore, adopted and raised as John was by Essenes of Qumran…
John had to have THE answer to his doubt-fueled, double-edged question, and only Jesus was the only one who could provide the answer that he (and sometimes we) sought.
Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for your podcast to begin to play. HAPPY LISTENING.
Dewey Bertolini’s Podcast
The Latest News from Jerusalem
Dewey Bertolini 