Bill Vanderbush

The God who is a consuming fire is the same God who is Love. The wrath that abides on the disobedient is the same Love that abides on the believer, only experienced differently according to the disposition of the soul. The energies that judge are the energies that heal. The God who is impassible in essence is the God who weeps in Christ, who bleeds in Christ, who rises in Christ, and who now fills all things with His presence through the Spirit.

We've all seen waves of revival come and go. So why is does world is still seem so dark? What we need is not another spiritual high, but deep, lasting transformation by the living Jesus. In the New (Christic) Covenant, everything flows from relationship, not rule-keeping. The Holy Spirit doesn't just visit. He indwells. He doesn't command from a distance. He empowers from within. Holiness is no longer a heavy burden but the natural fruit of intimacy with Jesus.

A heart posture of mockery, cynicism, or hardened unbelief may cause the Lord to say, in effect, “Leave the room.” Not out of rejection, but because resurrection power flows where faith is present. Faith creates intimacy, mockery creates distance. Jesus is gentle and compassionate, but He is also holy and sovereign. When faith is required for a miracle, He creates an atmosphere where unbelief cannot remain.

Do not be pressed into the world’s mold. Instead, be metamorphosed by aligning your thinking with the Truth of the Word who is Christ. This produces discernment to “prove” God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will.

The revelation of holiness as identity and holiness as experience cuts to the very heart of the Gospel’s scandalous beauty and danger. It is not merely a theological nuance. It is the difference between freedom and subtle bondage, between resting in the grace of sonship and striving from thoughts that still whisper, “You are not yet enough.”

Holy Week is not a call to reenact or earn, but to behold and abide. In the Christic Covenant, every event shouts, "It is finished." You are not striving toward union; you are united with Christ. His entry, cleansing, supper, agony, death, burial, and rising are yours. Go forward in new life from this reality. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

When you accepted Jesus (assuming you did) when you said “yes” and gave your life to Christ, was it in response to an invitation born out of love for God and gratitude for what Christ did for you on the cross? Or was it driven primarily by a fear of hell?

That’s a big question.

Because I preach such a strong message of grace, I often get labeled as someone who doesn’t believe in hell. When people ask me, “Do you believe in hell?” my answer is simple: “Yes, I do.”

But then I like to turn the question back to them: “Tell me, what is hell?”

What usually follows is a flood of ideas (many of them dramatic, terrifying, or even grotesque) but far too often, those ideas aren’t grounded in the Bible at all.

And that’s a problem we need to address..

This replay from the old Reckless Grace Podcast is by request from listeners who asked that it be reposted. Over time I expect to release every old episode of the Reckless Grace Podcast so they will all be available to you.

King David was a poet and a prophet as well as a warrior king. So many of the words of the Psalms were prophecies pointing to what could only be fulfilled in Christ. In this podcast, Bill Vanderbush explores Psalm 103 and a parallel of the words of King David to the five aspects of the finished work of the cross.

The Kingdom is Christ Himself, the very life of God revealed in self-giving love (John 1:14; Philippians 2:5–11). It is not built or controlled by human ambition (John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world”), but received as a gift (Luke 12:32 “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”). It transform the heart first, then flows outward into relationships, communities, and into all creation.

Discerning the Times - Live at Bethel Austin by Bill Vanderbush