What a celebration then.
As you will hear in this PODCAST, what a celebration now.
A beautiful promise, indeed. The most beautiful of all of God’s promises.
Thank you for listening, and for sharing this message!!!
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 richly as you listen.
Just the fact that you are choosing to listen to this PODCAST is proof-positive that you haven’t yet given up.
We have one most-compelling reason never to give up.
Hear what that reason is right here.
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 richly as you listen.
HAPPY EASTER!!! Or perhaps there’s something better—far more meaningful, way more picturesque—by which this day should be known.
Listen to this PODCAST, and hear it for yourself. An Easter message overflowing with bright optimism—for your future and mine.
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 richly as you listen.
As you will hear in this PODCAST, how ironic that Peter should invoke this image, and we discuss it, on the evening of the Winter Solstice, 2019.
As we bring the lovely little letter called 1 Peter to a close, you are in for copious amounts of much-needed encouragement.
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 richly as you listen.
Hate is a horrible thing.
Hate unbridled and unchecked is a murderous thing.
Hate in name of God is terrifying and terrorizing thing.
And as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, hate in the name of God is indeed a terrorizing thing because such religious hatred is actually viewed by the hater as a righteous thing.
Just ask a certain Pharisee—emphasis upon that lofty religious title, Pharisee, since it goes to the very heart of this story—named Saul. Yes! Saul was a Pharisee.
On the night before He was executed, as Jesus and His now-eleven disciples were slinking through the dark alleys of Jerusalem, literally one step ahead of His betraying-disciple Judas, the Temple guards, and the Roman cohort that Judas was leading to arrest and ultimately to crucify Jesus, Jesus made this chilling statement which should have given His disciples pause, assuming that in that desperate hour they had presence of mind to pause.
It’s found in John 16:2, where Jesus said this:
“The time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.”
A prediction, a prophecy that has historically come to pass in our day—the bitter result of religious extremism—far too many times to count. Bloodshed in the name of God. Be that blood shed at the hands of the Christian Crusaders, Muslim suicide bombers, or a now-ranking member of Sanhedrin—keep that label in mind; it too goes to heart of this story—Saul.
From where did Saul’s unbridled fury, his murderous hatred for Jesus and all things Jesus-related come?
Tonight, we will consider together much of what is often overlooked in any discussion about Saul-to-become-Paul’s background.
All of which will expose the degree to which God went when preparing His “Apostle to the Gentiles.”
Indeed, Paul will write in wonder in Galatians 2:8,
“For by God’s power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles.”
That power was clearly at work in Paul’s/Saul’s past. And as you are about to hear, that power was equally at work in Saul’s present here in Acts 9.
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 richly as you listen.
This week, I have been reading a fascinating book of historical fiction entitled, The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas.
As you will hear in this PODCAST, in the book Douglas records a conversation between Marcellus, son of a Roman Senator who has fallen out of favor with Emperor Tiberias, and Marcellus’ slave, Demetrius.
The conversation goes like this:
‘Demetrius’—Marcellus swept the sky with an all-inclusive arm—’do you ever believe in the gods?’
‘If it is my master’s wish, I do,’ replied Demetrius, perfunctorily.
‘No, no,’ said Marcellus, testily, ‘be honest. Never mind what I believe. Tell me what you think about the gods. Do you ever pray to them?’
‘When I was a small boy, sir,’ complied Demetrius, ‘my mother taught us to invoke the gods. She was quite religious. There was a pretty statue of Priapus in our flower garden. I can still remember my mother kneeling there, on a fine spring day, with a little trowel in one hand and a basket of plants in the other. She believed that Priapus made things grow…. And my mother prayed to Athene every morning when my brothers and I followed the teacher into our schoolroom.’ He was silent for a while; and then, prodded by an encouraging nod from Marcellus, he continued: ‘My father offered libations to the gods on their feast-days, but I think that was to please my mother.’
‘This is most interesting—and touching, too,’ observed Marcellus. ‘But you haven’t quite answered my question, Demetrius. Do you believe in the gods—now?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Do you mean that you don’t believe they render any service to men? Or do you doubt that the gods exist, at all?’
‘I think it better for the mind, sir, to disbelieve in their existence. The last time I prayed—it was on the day that our home was broken up. As my father was led away in chains, I knelt by my mother and we prayed to Zeus—the Father of gods and men—to protect his life. But Zeus either did not hear us; or, hearing us, had no power to aid us; or, having power to aid us, refused to do so. It is better, I think, to believe that he did not hear us than to believe that he was unable or unwilling to give aid. … That afternoon my mother went away—upon her own invitation—because she could bear no more sorrow…. I have not prayed to the gods since that day, sir. I have cursed and reviled them, on occasions; but with very little hope that they might resent my blasphemies. Cursing the gods is foolish and futile, I think.’
Well, you could reason, of course Zeus did not hear Demetrius’ prayers. There was no Zeus to hear him.
And of course, you could also argue, there was no answer to his prayer because there was no Zeus who promised Demetrius what Jesus promised to us:
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Yet, how many of us have had a crisis of faith equal to that of Demetrius precisely because we prayed to our God in a time of crisis, in Jesus’ name, the same Jesus who did indeed make to us this promise:
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened…”
…and yet, nothing happened.
What exactly did Jesus mean by those words, His prayer promise to us?
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 richly as you listen.
We are going to begin this week’s PODCAST precisely from where we left off in last week’s podcast.
We left off last week by considering together this most enigmatic verse (Hebrews 5:8):
Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.
If you are at all uncomfortable with that, then the rest of this story will make no sense, and will leave you with an even greater discomfort.
But if you are willing to allow for the fact that “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered,” then you are in for this great big blessing: The grand and glorious realization that Jesus, just like you and just like me, learned in real time what it means to live a life of obedience to God the Father.
We stressed last week, and I will ever-so-briefly remind you now, that Jesus was fully human, just like us. Last week we discussed some of the implications of Hebrews 4:15, where the writer emphatically affirms this ever-so-comforting reality:
Jesus understands all of our human weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings and temptations we do, yet He did not sin.
Jesus experienced every human emotion, felt keenly every human feeling — including our feelings of fear, insecurity, uncertainty, abandonment, betrayal.
I mean, you just wait until we get to the Garden of Gethsemane, at which time there will be no doubt that in Jesus 100% deity meets 100% humanity, with all that that word humanity implies.
As we saw so vividly last week, life threw at Jesus unexpected challenges, unanticipated conflicts, undeserved difficulties, uninvited troubles… Just like life throws at us.
Jesus learned, just as so many of us are now learning, that sometimes, perhaps even most times, our richest life lessons can be taught only in the crucible of calamity.
By the reading of books our minds become broad. But it is only as we walk the pathway of pain that our souls become deep.
Something that Jesus learned.
Something that we are each learning.
Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.
Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed it might take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.
God bless you as you listen.
Whenever I talk about Satan, demons, spiritual warfare, or anything remotely related, the numbers of distractions in the room increase exponentially.
This is a pattern I have documented over 40 years of ministry. Regardless of time of day, day of week, season of year, or venue in which I teach, it’s as if the devil himself does not want anyone (including you) to hear what the Bible teaches about our (and God’s) archenemy.
That was certainly true at Safe Haven when I recorded this PODCAST.
Coincidence? Don’t know for sure.
What I do know for sure… What I can say without fear of contradiction is that the principles you will learn in this message from the life and ministry of Jesus to a demon-possessed man, Satan does NOT want you to hear.
Don’t be surprised at the numbers of distractions that you will face when you try to hear this.
Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it might take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.
God bless you as you listen. And PLEASE share a link to this podcast with your family and friends.
The Via Dolorosa!
What images are conjured up in your head when you hear these words? What are its sights? How about its sounds? What’s it like to walk the path that Jesus walked on His final journey to the cross?
My friends, get ready to grow some goosebumps as you listen to this PODCAST.
Consider this your very own personalized tour, with me as your humble tour guide, as together we travel the storied streets of the Via Dolorosa. A short walk riddled with “Ah Ha” moments, too many to count! Enjoy.
Please note that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.
Thank you for listening. God bless you as you do!
At the Safe Haven, we are having a glorious time working our way through the Lord’s Prayer, little by little, phrase by majestic phrase.
Think of the Lord’s Prayer as the Son of God teaching you and me how to pray to God. Amazing.
And it all starts with the enigmatic little phrase:
Hallowed be Your name.
Which means, as is commonly and correctly taught, to treat God’s name as holy.
But what exactly does that mean? To treat God’s name as holy? Not to cuss? Not to joke about God? What does treating God’s name as holy truly mean?
Let me approach it like this: It is THE bedrock declaration of the entire Bible, the foundation upon which our Judeo-Christian heritage rests. I am referring, of course, to Deuteronomy 6:4.
Our Jewish friends call it the Shema, which means “to hear.” The first word of this magnificent verse, Deuteronomy 6:4. As in “Hear O Israel…” As if God Himself is shouting, “HEAR THIS, my people. DON’T MISS THIS! LISTEN!!!”
Deuteronomy 6:4. An absolutely revolutionary statement proclaimed to a people — God’s people — living in a land polluted with (Are you ready?) polytheism, the worship of many gods.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is the declaration of monotheism, our belief in one God:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
Now watch this: “Hallowed be Your Name” does indeed mean to treat God’s name as holy. As uncommon. A God unlike any other god. A different God. A God set apart, unique from every other god.
When the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, it was a land awash in gods, filled to overflowing with pagan gods. Gods of the rain, gods of the harvest, gods of the storms, gods of the sea, gods of fertility/prosperity.
Put them all together and you can basically divide these many gods into two categories: gods of nature; gods of the economy. Or to put that a little more crassly: gods of Health and gods of Wealth.
The pagans in the land (those who worshipped these gods) prayed constantly to these gods, begging them for two things: a problem-free life (no droughts, no diseases), and a prosperously-full life (bountiful harvests, robust herds of sheep or goats).
They prayed constantly to their nature gods for happiness and health. They prayed constantly to the economy gods for prosperity and wealth.
In short, they babbled off their prayers to their gods, begging them to send fewer problems and more money.
The point of which is this: Along came the one true God of the Bible.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
The one true God who is not the god of the sea, not the god of the rain, not the god of the harvest, not the god of fertility, not the god of prosperity, not the god of the storms, No!.
Our God, the God of the Bible, the God of the Israelites, the God of Jesus, OUR GOD created the Universe. He transcends the sea, rain, harvest, fertility, prosperity, and storms.
In fact, here’s a news bulletin for you. Our God sometimes sends the storms.
God uses the sea, rain, harvest, fertility, prosperity (or lack thereof), storms — nature and the economy — to accomplish His purposes.
Now, here comes the key to this entire discussion. Are you ready? Because once you hear and embrace this, you will never view prayer the same way again.
The pagans of Jesus’ day prayed to their gods to make their lives more comfortable and prosperous. Did you get that? The pagans prayed to their gods to make their lives more comfortable and prosperous. Sound familiar? It should. Their “babbling” (Jesus’ word, not mine) sounded like this:
Gimme, gimme, gimme…
I want, I want, I want…
Please, please, please…
They even made bargains with their gods.
If you’ll do this, then I’ll do this…
If you’ll give me this, then I’ll give you this…
You talk about treating gods as common!
Their gods to them were nothing more than good luck charms. Like a sanctified rabbit’s foot. Like genies in bottles whose sole purpose was to grant to them their wishes. Wishes for lives that were comfortable and prosperous, healthy and wealthy.
Now for the punchline to this entire discussion:
We don’t treat our God that way.
We don’t treat our God as a common pagan god!
We do not worship God because we hope that He will give us a life that is comfortable and prosperous. We don’t beg God for stuff. We don’t make bargains with our God. We don’t try to manipulate Him, or to force His hand into giving us anything.
That’s what the pagans of Jesus’ day did. That’s what the pagans of our day do.
Do you see it? The people on the hillside that day sure should have seen it. Listen to what Jesus said:
Matthew 6:7-9 (NIV) — And when you pray, do not keep on BABBLING LIKE PAGANS, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
How do pagans pray? They babble on and on to their gods du jour to give them this and that… STUFF. Stuff that will make their lives comfortable and prosperous. Stuff that will make them healthy and wealthy. Stuff that will make them happy.
We don’t. We don’t pray to God to get stuff. We worship God for one, and only one reason: Because He is God.
We don’t have to tell God our needs; He knows our needs. He has already promised to meet our needs.
We don’t beg God to still the storms; God promises to go with us through life’s storms.
We don’t treat our God as a common pagan god to give us stuff — only to get ticked off and bitter, only to have our faith falter or fail — when He doesn’t give us our stuff.
We are not like spoiled children constantly nagging their parents for stuff.
You heard what Jesus said:
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
We don’t even have to ask.
We don’t pray to God to get stuff, stuff that will make us happy, healthy, or wealthy.
We pray for one reason and only one reason: Because He is God. The very fact that we are allowed access into His presence is enough.
Did you read that carefully? It bears repeating:
The very fact that we are allowed access into His presence is enough.
Or at least it ought to be.
We don’t beg our God to solve all our problems or still all our storms; we trust God to use our problems and our storms for our good and His glory.
Do you see it? We don’t treat God as a common good luck charm — with a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude.
When we shut the door and are alone with God, what’s the first thing we pray? The very first thing we pray?
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
May I keep Your name holy.
May I treat You today, O God, as utterly uncommon.
Want to hear more? Click HERE.
Dewey Bertolini’s Podcast
The Latest News from Jerusalem
Please note: Your gift through Ash Tree Meadows Media (my PayPal account), while much needed and GREATLY APPRECIATED, is not tax-deductible.
Dewey Bertolini 