By Saso Mendez & Ben Arellano
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The podcast currently has 61 episodes available.
In this powerful episode, we dive into the topic of hopelessness—what it truly means, how it manifests in our lives, and where we can find lasting hope.
Our key verse, Romans 15:13, reminds us that God is the source of true hope, joy, and peace. Without Him, all other sources of hope will fail. For unbelievers, hopelessness can feel inescapable, but even believers can find themselves wrestling with discontentment when they lose sight of God's promises.
We explore alarming statistics about the rise of hopelessness, particularly among American teenage girls, and the tragic reality of suicide. According to the CDC, 3 in 5 teenage girls report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Suicide remains a leading cause of death, especially among men. But these stats don’t have to define anyone's future.
Through Scripture and personal stories, including the tragic loss of a dear friend, we discuss how discontentment leads to fear, anger, and ultimately despair. But there is hope—a hope found in Christ that is not wishful thinking but a confident assurance anchored in His promises.
Join us as we reflect on verses like John 16:33, Hebrews 6:19, and Titus 2:13, which assure us of the living hope that comes through Jesus. No matter where you are or what you’re going through, there is a hope that can save your soul.
Listen now to be encouraged and reminded that true hope starts with Jesus.
📖 Key Scripture: Romans 15:13
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Webster’s 1828 - UNCLEAN - Not clean; foul; dirty; filthy. In the Jewish law, ceremonially impure; not cleansed by ritual practices.
Key Verse - Luke 5:8 - When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. ”
Peter had been with Jesus but then he realized who Jesus actually was. He called Him, “Master” but then in verse 8 he recognized his sinful condition as he saw who God was.
We often view God through our own lens and lower Him to our level instead of seeing Him as Peter saw Him when he performed this miracle
Isaiah 6:1-5 - In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
When we are in the presence of God, we see ourselves as unclean. We have no choice but to see the stark contrast between man and God, and we cannot fully understand the great divide as we can only see it through our human eyes.
God is Holy
Lesson 1 of the Exchange, God cannot look upon sin
Habakkuk 1:13 - You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong (iniquity, sin, wickedness)
Exodus 33:17-23 - And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son
Matthew 17:1-2 - And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
John 3:30 - He must increase, but I must decrease.
We must all come to this realization in order to come to Christ. There are two religions in this world: Works based and faith based. Works based in grounded in us increasing and He decreasing whereas faith based is holding Him in His proper view of Him increased and us decreased.
The fall of man was predicated on the elevation of self (Lucifer) and it is the downfall of man that sends him to hell when he is not accepting of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
John 9:24-25 - Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
We were all blind before coming to Christ, and when we put Him in His rightful place, He opens our eyes to the truth.
Praise God for what He is doing in the lives of people!
I’ve had the privilege to play a small part in two young me coming to Christ recently.
Have you put God in His rightful place or are you like King Festus?
Acts 26:24-28 - And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
What about you Christian? Are you seeing God through your lens or are you seeing Him as Peter saw Him on that day? “For I am a sinful man, O Lord. ”
There are many instances in the Bible where people repented (changed their mind) and thus, changed their lives.
Will you decrease Christian and let Him Increase? Will you give of your life to Him? Will you serve the Almighty God who is able to change your life like no one else? What are you living for today? Self? The pursuit of this world? Work? Money? Prestige?
Maybe you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior. Maybe you are depending on your own good works (self). Will you open your blind eyes to the truth? Will you surrender yourself to His kingship in your life?
Peter was spiritually naked before God and saw his sinful state!
Will you surrender lordship over your life and surrender to Him today?
Romans 14:11 - For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
He will always have the preeminence, so you decide if you will surrender or will you be forced to bow the knee?
Abundant Life Episode 58 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the topic of selfishness and how it is very destructive.
Selfish – Regarding one’s own interest chiefly or soley; influenced in actions by a view to private advantage.
Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Selfish ambition – Another word for selfishness which means motivation to elevate oneself or to put one’s own interests before another’s.
Conceit – This simply means pride.
In other words don’t to anything out of selfishness and pride. Selfishness and pride work hand in hand.
The Fall of Man
Selfishness can be traced back to the fall of man. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden there was a selfishness and pride.
Genesis 3:6 – So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Satan appealed to Adam and Eve’s pride and their selfish desire to be wise like God.
Thelema Religion
Selfism Religion
The idea is self-worship. You are your own god. Quote from The Gospel Coalition – Philosophies of selfism:
Satanism
The Solution
Abundant Life Episode 57 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the profound love of God for us and why Jesus had to die.
Romans 5:7-8 – For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God loved us even when we were in sin and when we were what the Bible calls ungodly.
Jeremiah 1:5
Nothing and no-one can separate us from God’s love.
https://youtu.be/myP9Mvs1sOk?si=c58TP_waGFOxNxQo
Abundant Life Episode 56 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about starting off 2024 on the right foot by shedding the weight of sin in order to run the race of life.
Weight – The quantity of a body, ascertained by the balance; in a philosophical sense, that quality of bodies by which they tend towards the center of the earth in a line perpendicular to its surface. In short, weight is gravity, and the weight of a particular body is the amount of its gravity, or of the force with which it tends to the center. The weight of a body is in direct proportion to its quantity of matter. A ponderous mass; something heavy. – Websters 1828
Hebrews 12:1
Abundant Life Episode 55 In this episode Saso and Ben talk about one of the awesome names of Jesus, Immanuel, God with Us.
The Shekinah Glory – In the old testament this was a term coined by the Jewish rabbis which is a Hebrew word that literally means “he caused to dwell,” meaning that it was a divine visitation of the presence or dwelling of the Lord God on this earth.
Exodus 40:34-35
The plan from eternity past was for Jesus to come save us from our sin. He not only saves us, Hebrews tells us that Jesus sympathizes with us, although He does not excuse our sin.
Matthew 1:20
This is a miraculous conception!
Galatians 4:4
According to BibleRef, The word translated as “redeem” is from the Greek root word exagorazo. This is the same word used to buy a slave out of bondage.
Romans 8:38-39
There is nothing we can do to merit more or less love from God. He loves us and it is this love that caused God to send His Son down to us.
Matthew 11:28
Jesus is the only one that can give us peace and rest!
This life is filled with adversity, trials and testing, but in all that God is with us. We must remain faithful and steadfast through the storms knowing that God is with us.
Matthew 16:24
We must be obedient as we walk with God. When we sin, we essentially drift away from God, but God never goes anywhere.
Matthew 17:27
God is not only with us, He provides for our every need.
Revelation 2:3-4
We must repent and confess our sin and come back to our first love.
Psalm 139:4-10
As a Christian, there is nowhere we can go that God will abandon us.
1 Timothy 3:16
For now we have the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, but Jesus is coming back soon!
Abundant Life Episode 54
In this episode Saso and Ben talk about all the tings they are thankful for in 2023
Keyword
Thanksgiving – The act of rendering thanks or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.The act of rendering thanks or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies. – Websters 1828
Key Verse – Psalm 100:4-5
Things we are thankful for…
Abundant Life Episode 53
In this episode Saso and Ben talk about the death of a good friend who struggled with addiction and is now with the Lord
Do you struggle with temptation or a besetting sin? If you are a child of God, you have a way of escape. You have the power by the Holy Spirit to say NO to sin. In this episode we talk about the way of escape.
Key Verse – 1 Corinthians 10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
As a believer there is ALWAYS an option NOT to sin.
Don’t be enticed by the love of the world! 1 John 2:15-16
Avoid temptation and RUN from sin!
Don’t exchange your soul for the things of this world! Matthew 16:26
Don’t give the devil a foot hold. Ephesians 4:27
The Christian life is a spiritual battle. Fight the good fight! 1 Timothy 6:12
Resist the devil at all costs! James 4:7
Be alert, on guard, and pray!
As a Christian we must grow to become more like Christ. We must grow in our relationship with God. By doing so we are taking steps to make our way of escape easier in the day of temptation. 2 Peter 3:17-18
God is ALWAYS with you! Deuteronomy 31:8
Abundant Life Episode 52
In this episode Saso and Ben bring Heather Gapen back on the show to discuss sanctification.
From the time we are born again, we begin to grow as a Christian with the ultimate goal of being like Jesus. This process lasts a lifetime and we as Christians should take an active role in this process.
Websters 1828
Sanctification – The act of making holy. (Holy means set apart)
Key Verse
2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
1 Peter 1:5-7 – For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
Hebrews 12:10 – For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Acts 26:18 – To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Philippians 3:12-14 – Not that I have already attained,or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Acts 2:42 – And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Philippians 2:12 – Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
The podcast currently has 61 episodes available.