Believe it or not, there is in the Bible a grand total of (Are you ready?) 31,102 verses.
And, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, of these 31,102 verses, the one verse that best summarizes the state of my relationship with God is this one verse here in Mark 9.
In all honesty, this is right where I live.
And, were the truth to be told, I’d be willing to wager that most of us live here too.
The words you are about to hear, uttered by the desperate dad in this story, could well be my words, my plea, my prayer…
…Every day in every situation.
And I rather suspect they could be yours as well.
Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed it may take up to 60 seconds for the podcast to begin to play.
As you are about to hear in this week’s PODCAST, knowing God’s will for you life is far easier than you may have been led to believe — Far easier. Uncomplicated. Abundantly knowable. Readily understandable.
In a word, God WANTS you and me to know His will for our lives.
The reason for this discussion this week is the fact that last week I inadvertently created a vacuum. I made a point last week (not even the main point of the message, but a valid and timely point nonetheless). Last week we discussed the fact that we have come to a place in our day where far too many Christians rather cavalierly throw around the phrase,
“God told me…” “God spoke to me and said…” “God is telling me…”
or its equivalent. Does that ring a bell?
And we noted then that, Look, words mean things.
When we or others invoke such phrases as, “God told me…” “God spoke to me and said…” “God is telling me…” what are we really claiming? Did we hear an audible voice, such as the voice heard in our passage for this podcast?
And what is the person to whom we claim, “God told me…” supposed to do with that?
More to the point, if God does not reveal His will to us through an audible voice, how then does He reveal His will to us?
How am I supposed to know where God wants me to live? Where am I supposed to work? Do I go to college? Join the military? Get married and start a family?
How does God reveal His will for my life, and YOURS?
After you hear this, there will be no doubt as to the answers to those and many, many other questions. This really is a practical and straightforward as it gets.
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.
There aren’t many of these throughout the course of someone’s lifetime. But when they occur, as you will hear in this PODCAST, they are utterly unforgettable.
We are talking about game-changing moments; history-altering moments; LIFE-altering moments.
Rare snapshots of seminal events, frozen in time, after which your world will never be the same again.
Welcome to one such defining moment, courtesy of Jesus, after which the disciples — three of them — were never the same again.
And maybe, just maybe, after considering this spectacularly significant sequence of events, with all of its ramifications for our world today… Maybe, just maybe, we too won’t ever be the same. Let’s find out.
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.
The Bible is THE one and only Life-Giving Book. But how to approach it?
In this PODCAST, you will be given the answer to that question! Courtesy of Jesus, we will learn how to read it! With all of its 66 books, printed in minuscule font, with no pictures, strange names, weird customs, unfamiliar geography, violent history, where do we even start? What’s the first step?
More to the point, what is our connection to this great book?
My friends, the answer to that question is startlingly simple. Hear my approach to the Bible, one that has literally revolutionized by understanding of and love for God’s Word.
It may just revolutionize yours as well.
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. God bless you as you listen.
Jesus was a revolutionary on so many, many levels.
I am away at one of my all-time favorite places on earth — Hartland Christian Camp — speaking to the best High School students you’d ever want to meet. But don’t let that stop you from listening.
As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus was never afraid to break with convention and go with something that was totally counter-cultural to the times in which He lived, and to the religious tradition to which He belonged.
It is both my sincere hope and confident belief that you will find in this lesson much refreshment for your soul, especially if you are a female.
The time has come for us to — courtesy of Jesus — balance the books that have been so out of balance for so long in so much of our present-day Christian culture.
Please remember that depending upon your connection speed and web browser, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.God bless you as you listen. And PLEASE “Share” this with your family and friends if you do indeed find it to be an encouragement to your soul.
For all of you End Times enthusiasts, this one’s for you!
Welcome to an epic day in the lives of the disciples as a whole, and Peter in particular.
As you are about to hear in the PODCAST, Peter was a guy who in the blink of an eye rose to the dizzying heights of declaring the very words of God, only to plunge into the abyss of speaking the very words of Satan, and from there to receive from Jesus what could arguably be described as one of the most precious promises Peter or we could ever imagine.
All this in the space of just a few hours/minutes.
From all outward appearances, Jesus and the disciples were fighting a losing battle. By this time into Jesus’ ministry (2½ years into it, with only 7 months or so before the crucifixion), He and disciples were but a not-so-merry band of 13 men.
They were reeling from their resounding rejection at the hands it seemed of everyone. Jesus in particular was at this very moment both a political and religious refugee. The Romans under Antipas’ command were hunting Him; the religious leaders led by the Jerusalem rabbis were hounding Him.
All was lost, or so it seemed.
Just like it might seem that all is lost to us today. That our nation’s precipitous plunge into a moral abyss is now irreversible, dishearteningly so.
So to boost His disciples’ sagging spirits (and ours!), Jesus took His men on a most unlikely road-trip to a most unlikely place. A field trip that was carefully choreographed to fortify His disciples with the quiet confidence that when all the dust settles, they win; and so do we. A men’s retreat during which Jesus systematically laid out for His men a remarkable roadmap of His final months here on earth. A glimpse into His plan, one that directly impacted the lives of His 12 men; one that equally impacts our own lives today.
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.
When we last left our old friend, John the Baptizer, his faith was in a free-fall.
He was here last week, sort of, in my place (while I am away speaking at a High School Camp) 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.
While I am away speaking at a Middle School Camp on the East Coast, I have left you in wonderfully capable hands. Those of our old and dear friend, John the Baptizer.
John the Baptizer is, by his own admission, a walking contradiction. As you will hear in this PODCAST, he had a remarkable beginning, and yet a dismal crash and burn.
In a word, his faith in Jesus COLLAPSED, completely.
His is quite the story to tell. But as you will hear me say, it is John’s story to tell, not mine.
So, if you can employ a little sanctified imagination, I will do my best to be true to John’s story, and respectful of John’s memory, as I sort of try to “become” (if I can put it that way) John the Baptizer.
Please remember that depending upon your connection speed and web browser, it may take up to 60 seconds for the podcast to begin to play.
As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus knows it. He understandably recoils from it. But He must now prepare His disciples for it.
Here in Matthew 16, and its parallel passage in Mark 8, we have reached a crucial moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. Make no mistake about it. These words here in Matthew 16 are a game-changer…
One that reveals much to us about the character of Jesus and the strategy of Satan.
An intriguing story that raises our understanding of spiritual warfare to a whole new level.
One that will impact YOUR life just as it has my life, in a profoundly insightful way.
As always, we have much to talk about. And trust me, you will be encouraged as you and I study this watershed passage together.
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.
The disciples were never at their lowest. Yet our friend, Peter, was never at his finest.
As you will hear in this PODCAST, Peter made a declaration the reverberations of which have echoed down through the two thousand years of church history. This was HUGE.
What Peter said and where he said it are mind-blowing in their impact upon our world and in our lives.
This might just be my very favorite passage in all of the Gospels. Perhaps after hearing this, it will be yours too.
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.
Enjoy! And may God richly bless you as you listen.
Gifts of Gratitude: If interested in expressing your gratitude in this biblical, tangible way--by giving a gift directly to me, OR giving a gift to a friend or loved-one-in-need in my name--please click on the Gifts of Gratitude tab at the top of this page. Thank you!!!
Dewey Bertolini 