Far too many of us carry heavy baggage from years of mistakes, guilt, failure, hurt, pain, and bad choices. Jesus addresses this in our teaching today.  It's time to learn how to unpack all the worthless weight we have been packing and learn how to live free. Text John 8 Pod 196

Inner tension isn’t necessarily a sign your doing something wrong. Jesus teaches that living in this world will cause us tension. It will feel like a pull to go in the very direction you try to avoid. This hidden, unseen inner battle is a part of living in this world. It's not something we can escape from, and it shows us our loyalty is to something more than what we can see here on this earth. Pod 195 Matthew 22

Don't make excuses for yourselves, Jesus taught. Don't be too easy on yourself. If you make up stories about why you neglect the most essential things in your life, treat it as a wake-up call, and don't let yourself off the hook. Why settle for less? The Parable of the Banquet  Luke 14 and Matthew 22. Pod194

Do you know how to refresh and restore yourself? It's emotional/spiritual health, lesson 1. The students of Jesus didn't pick up on the cues their bodies were giving them, and they are headed for disaster unless they can turn this around. Sometimes, it's the simple things that trip us up because, as easy as it sounds, refreshment and restoration are hard to come by unless we learn how to listen to what our body is telling us. Text Mark 6. Pod 193

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

It can appear to others that we have everything we need, but deep down, we know we lack. We know something is missing. Jesus, in today's teaching, shows us we can become attached to the wrong things. We might think our ways of coping are harmless and only affect us, but before we know it, we have lost our freedom. We are left with a restless longing. Text Mark 10 and Matthew 19 Pod 192

An Unfulfilling Pursuit- If I Could Have…

Comparing ourselves to others can create a cycle of discontent. Jesus recognizes this tendency within us and addresses the mind that likes to compare and all its false promises. Pod 191 Text Matthew 20

Let's make sure we are on the same page. God has a plan for us. If we were a house, the project would be a complete tear-down and renovation, including the foundation. God is not making a few cosmetic changes here and there. This explains why our spiritual/emotional life feels overwhelming at times. God is making radical changes in us to help us become the people we were created to be. Matthew 18 Pod 190

If we continually think about a conflict in the past, it's a sure sign that we have unfinished business to attend to. Hurts have a persistent way of reappearing, grabbing our attention and demanding we listen. In today's teaching, Jesus gives us wisdom, freeing us from past conflicts with people/events/circumstances that have hurt us. Text Matthew 18 Pod 189

Unmet expectations can cause us a lot of disappointment. Expectations are acceptable if they harmonize with God's purpose for our lives. If we are not on the same page, we end up struggling against the reality of our lives, which never goes well for us. God isn't primarily leading us into more of what we think we need. Jesus taught us that we are being positioned for inner freedom, and that's a whole different purpose in our lives. Matthew 16:21-28 Pod 188

"Who do you say I Am?" is a question everyone grapples with after hearing Jesus' teachings. Can Jesus be trusted?  Like Peter, we can be ambivalent and second-guess our choices when life gets overly challenging. Following Jesus is about being led beyond our frail personalities. Matthew 16