What if the goal today isn't to make your life extraordinary?

What if it's to learn how to see the extraordinary gift hidden inside the ordinary?

In this reflection on Psalm 104, John Ortberg explores how modern life has changed the way we see the world around us. We know more than ever about how nature works, yet we may have lost something along the way: our ability to experience creation as filled with meaning, wonder, and the presence of God.

Drawing on Charles Taylor and Dallas Willard, John invites us to recover the eyes of "saints, poets, and artists" and rediscover what Willard called "the well-kept secret of the ordinary."

Birds sing.

Trees grow.

Wild animals drink.

Leviathan frolics.

People go to work.

And apparently God really likes hyraxes.

Psalm 104 invites us to look again and recognize that ordinary creation is overflowing with the generosity, creativity, and goodness of God.

In this episode:

• Psalm 104 and the wonder of creation
• Charles Taylor and the "immanent frame"
• Recovering the enchantment of reality
• Dallas Willard and the secret of ordinary life
• Why God made the hyrax
• Seeing creation as more than something to use
• The love-letter analogy
• Receiving your life as a gift
• Finding God in everyday moments

Scriptures:

• Psalm 104
• Genesis 1:26–27

#Psalm104 #JohnOrtberg #DallasWillard #CharlesTaylor #Psalms #Creation #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Wonder

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00:00 Make It an Ordinary Day
 00:27 Recovering the Eyes of the Psalmist
 01:06 Psalm 104 Begins
 02:17 Charles Taylor & the Loss of Enchantment
 02:51 Dallas Willard's Secret of the Ordinary
 03:28 Listen to the Birds Sing
 03:51 Rediscovering an Ordinary Gift
 04:13 All Creatures Are God's Creatures
 04:56 Meet the Hyrax
 05:49 Why Did God Make Hyraxes?
 06:14 We've Forgotten How to See
 06:50 The Love Letter Illustration
 07:18 You're Missing the Words
 07:40 Creation Is Filled With Meaning
 08:06 Every Leaf Is Charged With God's Presence
 08:31 Go Outside and Actually Look
 08:42 Why Did God Make Leviathan?
 09:08 The Gratuitous Goodness of God
 09:54 God Rejoices in His Creation
 10:16 The Gift of Being Ordinary
 10:53 Receive Your Life as a Gift
 11:15 Give the Gift of Life to Others
 11:36 Make It an Ordinary Day

Which version of you shows up when you pray?

In this reflection on Psalm 55, John Ortberg explores a surprising truth about prayer: God doesn't want the cleaned-up, polished, "Disney version" of you. He wants the real you.
The Psalms aren't theological essays or collections of perfectly polished emotions. They're raw prayers from real human beings bringing fear, anger, anguish, confusion, and desire honestly before God.

John connects this idea to the original story of The Adventures of Pinocchio, which is much darker and more spiritually suggestive than the famous Disney adaptation. Pinocchio is lovingly created by his father, rebels against him, rejects his conscience, and longs for something he cannot accomplish on his own: to become real.
And that's where Pinocchio's story intersects with ours.
Transformation doesn't begin when we finally become the person we think God wants. It begins when the person we actually are becomes willing to stand honestly before Him.

In this episode:
Psalm 55 and honest prayer
Why every emotion in the Psalms isn't necessarily an instruction
Bringing our troubled thoughts before God
The surprising theology of Pinocchio
Conscience, rebellion, and the love of the Father
Biblical echoes of Jonah and the Prodigal Son
Moving from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh
Why transformation begins with getting real

Scriptures:
Psalm 55
2 Timothy 3:16–17
Hosea 11:3
Luke 15
Jonah 1–2
Matthew 12:38–40
Ezekiel 36:26

#Psalm55 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #Psalms #Pinocchio #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #HonestPrayer #Transformation

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00:00 Which Version of You Does God Want?
 00:39 Learning to Pray With the Psalms
 01:06 Are All the Psalms Supposed to Be "Right"?
 01:49 The Psalms Are Raw Journals
 02:15 Psalm 55 & Troubled Thoughts
 02:43 Fear, Trembling & Anguish
 03:31 Praying About Difficult People
 03:55 The Two Versions of You
 04:18 The Book John Never Wrote
 04:44 The Original Pinocchio
 05:14 Pinocchio Rebels Against His Father
 05:39 God Taught Israel to Walk
 06:17 Jiminy Cricket vs. the Original Story
 06:39 Pinocchio Kills His Conscience
 07:03 The Tragic Story of Jiminy Cricket's Voice
 07:59 Pinocchio Needs Help Beyond Himself
 08:50 The Prodigal Son & a Heart of Flesh
 09:21 Jonah, Resurrection & Becoming Real
 10:07 Transformation Begins With Reality
 10:28 Pour Out the Ugly Stuff
 10:56 Don't Bring God the Disney Version
 11:21 Bring the Real You, Splinters and All

What are you looking to for help today?

In this reflection on Psalm 121, John Ortberg explores two simple actions that can make today a blessed day:

God watches over us.
We lift our eyes toward Him.

But "I lift up my eyes to the hills" may mean something different than we often assume. In the ancient world, the hills weren't merely beautiful. They were places of idolatry, uncertainty, and danger. The psalmist looks directly toward them and asks: Where does my help really come from?

John explores what it means to live under God's watchful care, why Psalm 121 doesn't promise a life without suffering, and how this Psalm became deeply personal as he recited its final words at his father's deathbed.

Whatever hills you're facing today, your help comes from the One who made them.

In this episode:

Psalm 121 and God's watchful care
"I lift up my eyes to the hills"
The high places and ancient idolatry
What we're tempted to trust instead of God
Nicholas Wolterstorff and Lament for a Son
Why God's protection doesn't mean a pain-free life
Romans 8 and God's inseparable love
John Ortberg's final moments with his father

Scriptures:

Psalm 121
1 Kings 18
Romans 8:35–39

#Psalm121 #JohnOrtberg #Psalms #Prayer #TrustGod #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Faith #godspresence 

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Music Credits:
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00:00 Two Actions for a Really Good Day
00:21 John's Most Meaningful Psalm
00:43 I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills
01:30 God Is Watching Over Your Life
02:22 Living the Watched-Over Life
02:46 What Does "Lift Up My Eyes" Mean?
03:08 The Hills & Ancient Idolatry
03:29 What Are Your Idols?
04:13 The Hills We Have to Climb
04:55 "He Will Not Let Your Foot Slip"
05:17 Nicholas Wolterstorff & Lament for a Son
05:39 The Friend Who Put Psalm 121 to Music
06:04 The God Who Never Sleeps
06:34 Living in the Shade of God
07:16 The Moon, Madness & a Sound Mind
07:40 Harm Doesn't Mean No Hurt
08:05 Nothing Can Separate You From God's Love
08:31 Psalm 121 at My Father's Deathbed
09:26 Face Your Hills & Lift Your Eyes
09:48 My Help Comes From the Lord

Should you pray every line of every Psalm?

In this reflection on Psalm 109, John Ortberg tackles one of the most difficult passages in the Bible—and offers one of the most freeing insights of the entire Psalms series.

What do we do with prayers that sound angry, vengeful, or even shocking?

Drawing on the work of René Girard, John explains that the Psalms are not polished theological essays. They are honest prayers in process. They teach us how to bring our real emotions into God's presence without pretending, suppressing, or acting on them.

This episode explores:
- Psalm 109 and the imprecatory psalms
- Why the Bible gives voice to victims
- The difference between words and actions
- Internal processors vs. external processors
- Why prayer is a journey, not a performance
- How Jesus Himself prayed the Psalms

Scriptures:
- Psalm 109
- Psalms 113–118
- Matthew 5:43–48
- Matthew 26:30

#Psalm109 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #Psalms #RenéGirard #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #HonestPrayer #Jesus


📚 Today's Resources:
René Girard, I See Satan Fall Like Lightning 
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird  
Lewis Smedes, Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve 

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Music Credits:
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What does it really cost to follow Jesus?

In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Jesus' most misunderstood invitations: "Count the cost." Drawing from Dallas Willard's The Renovation of the Heart, he explains why discipleship is not an emotional decision but a thoughtful one. More importantly, he asks a question many of us rarely consider: What is the cost of not following Jesus?
Discover why surrender isn't the loss of life, but the pathway to the greatest treasure you'll ever find.

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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson, License #MB01LXS9AQLSJGH

This episode was originally released in January 2022.
Find all episodes from this series (Become New) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Egad-Un8UFQxspz4fgd8L6D3GUFridT


For more from Dallas Willard check out The Dallas Willard Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373226 

What if doing whatever you want doesn't actually make you free?

In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Dallas Willard's most profound ideas from The Renovation of the Heart: true freedom isn't the ability to satisfy every desire. It's becoming the kind of person who desires what is good and has the strength to live it out.

Discover why self-denial is not the enemy of freedom, how envy quietly steals our joy, and why the path Jesus offers leads to the deepest kind of human flourishing.

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson, License #MB01LXS9AQLSJGH

This episode was originally released in January 2022.
Find all episodes from this series (Become New) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Egad-Un8UFQxspz4fgd8L6D3GUFridT


For more from Dallas Willard check out The Dallas Willard Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373226

Is Christianity about becoming a better version of yourself?

In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Dallas Willard's most challenging and hope-filled ideas from The Renovation of the Heart: the ruined life isn't meant to be enhanced, but replaced. Discover why self-denial isn't about self-hatred, why Jesus calls us to lose our lives in order to find them, and how true transformation goes far beyond self-improvement.

If you've ever wondered what Jesus really meant by "deny yourself," this conversation offers a hopeful vision of the new life God desires to create in every believer.

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson, License #MB01LXS9AQLSJGH

This episode was originally released in January 2022.
Find all episodes from this series (Become New) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Egad-Un8UFQxspz4fgd8L6D3GUFridT


For more from Dallas Willard check out The Dallas Willard Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373226

What if the greatest obstacle to spiritual growth isn't what has happened to you, but what is happening within you?

In this episode, John Ortberg continues exploring Dallas Willard's The Renovation of the Heart by examining one of Christianity's most misunderstood ideas: remorse. Discover why the Bible distinguishes between the wounds we've suffered and the wrong we've committed, and why genuine remorse isn't meant to produce shame, but lasting transformation.

Healing begins when we stop hiding from the truth and discover the grace of God waiting on the other side.


🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

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TEXT us at 51504
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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson, License #MB01LXS9AQLSJGH

This episode was originally released in January 2022.
Find all episodes from this series (Become New) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Egad-Un8UFQxspz4fgd8L6D3GUFridT


For more from Dallas Willard check out The Dallas Willard Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373226

John explains what makes a soul lost and how the truth about ourselves is the beginning of being found.

In this episode (2022), John Ortberg continues exploring Dallas Willard's The Renovation of the Heart by examining one of the greatest barriers to spiritual growth: self-deception. Discover why the human heart naturally resists uncomfortable truths, what Jesus meant by "losing your soul," and how learning to love the truth becomes the starting point for genuine transformation.
God doesn't reveal the truth to shame us. He reveals it so He can heal us.

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson, License #MB01LXS9AQLSJGH

This episode was originally released in January 2022.
Find all episodes from this series (Become New) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Egad-Un8UFQxspz4fgd8L6D3GUFridT


For more from Dallas Willard check out The Dallas Willard Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373226

What if your irritation is trying to tell you something?

In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Dallas Willard's most practical insights from The Renovation of the Heart: the everyday emotions and reactions we often dismiss may actually be warning lights revealing the true condition of our souls.

Discover why denial is one of humanity's greatest spiritual obstacles, how God's grace exposes what needs healing, and why the path to transformation begins with honest self-awareness rather than self-condemnation.