Digging Deeper LIVE with Andi and Brian Hale

The community is lucky to have those unsung heroes that seem to show up when no one else can. One of those groups of unsung heroes is the Nebraska Panhandle Vehicle Recovery group on facebook, managed by a friend and partner of our Scotts Bluff County Scanner, Jonathan Anderson. We are happy to bring you this recent interview. This group could save you or your loved ones someday, so LISTEN IN! We speak from personal experience!

Prayer That Changes History

Once James had been murdered, Herod’s religious Jewish contingent was thrilled with his initiative and applauded him. Suddenly he saw an easy way to gain favor with a party that had always given him such opposition. Acts 12:3 says, “When he [Herod] saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also” (AMP). This time things would be very different. Though Peter was ultimately set free through a miracle, the Scripture is careful to preface the story of his deliverance with the following statement, “prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5 KJV).

This statement is very significant because the writer of Acts is trying to show us that the miraculous deliverance to follow would be a direct result of those fervent and persistent prayers that were offered up by the believers. The tragedy of James’ death had shaken believers to the core and there was nothing complacent about their response. It was time to fervently pray!Oh, my friends, if we had any idea of the incredible power that is available to us through prayer, I think we would find it so easy to heed Paul’s prompting to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Intercession is a privilege that belongs exclusively to man. No angel can intercede on our behalf nor can the angels intervene in earthy affairs according to their own will.

However, as long as the enemy can keep the people of God convinced that they are powerless against the circumstances that they face, their impact on the earth will be anemic and of little influence. But that is not what God has in mind for His people. There’s much, much more. Our prayers are one vehicle through which God has chosen to impact the world. God has given man not only the authority but also the responsibility to influence events on the earth for His glory. So let us shake off complacency and pray prayers that change history!

Powerful Prayer Begins Where Complacency Ends

Someone once said, “Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. The first symptom is satisfaction with things as they are. The second is rejection of things as they might be. ‘Good enough’ becomes today’s watchword and tomorrow’s standard. Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new. Like water, complacent people follow the easiest course — downhill. They draw false strength from looking back” (Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, page 15).

In Amos 6:1 (AMP) the prophet declares, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those on the mountain of Samaria who are careless and feel secure.” The children of Israel had grown apathetic in their prosperity and comfort. They had lost their sense of urgency and were not concerned about the things of God. But their perceived security was a myth. The mercy of God that held back disaster was stretched to the limit, and in Verse 7, God says the party is over! “Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, and the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away” (NASB). Only after disaster had struck and the nation found itself in the chains of captivity did it turn to the Lord again.

God forbid that we should have to be shaken out of our complacency by tragedy or disaster. How much better it would be if we would remain vigilant in prayer, recognizing that even in the good times, “…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8 KJV). Powerful prayer begins where complacency ends.

Disturb Us, Lord!


The Urgency of Revival

I am an evangelist who works on the front lines of the battle for souls in some of the most difficult, dangerous, and remote locations on earth. For us, prayer is not a luxury or an accessory – it is a matter of survival. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of a dreadful day that is fast approaching when multitudes of lost souls will declare with eternal regret, “The harvest is over, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” As the clock counts down the final hours before the end of the age, it is the heart of God that none should perish, but all should come to repentance that motivates us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (see 2 Peter 3:9).

Everybody seems to want “revival,” thinking it is a pleasant and enjoyable experience. But to be revived is to be shaken out of a state of slumber, to be jolted out of apathetic complacency, to be alarmed, awakened, and startled. Too many churches that are praying for revival have a “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging on the door. However, a revival that fits neatly into a comfortable cradle is not revival at all. There is an increased urgency in my spirit and a growing awareness that God desires to raise up a mighty army of intercessors on the earth in these last days to spark a prayer revolution that will touch the world.

These will be those who pray as Jesus did, not out of religious duty, but out of a relationship with the Father. Let’s be like the disciples and cry out for Jesus to teach us how to pray, “Teach us to touch heaven and to impact the earth. Teach us to be fervent and effectual, to move mountains, to break chains, to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to impact cities and nations, to change the course of history and bring heaven to earth. Teach us to really, really, really pray!”

Local emergency management expert Bob Hessler joins us on Bluff Talk to discuss emergency preparedness both on the road and at home. LISTEN IN!

Utter Dependence
I must have prayed for weeks before I preached my first sermon at 14 years of age. I pleaded for God’s help and blessing, knowing that without it I would be a miserable failure. Today, I often preach more than twelve times in a single week. I no longer feel nervous, even when preaching to crowds of hundreds of thousands, and therein lies the danger. Although I feel comfortable and confident behind the pulpit, I must continually remind myself that my sense of security is just an illusion. I could preach the most articulate sermon with the most extraordinary delivery, but I would still be a miserable failure without the blessing of the Lord.

We must not take God’s mercy and faithfulness for granted in the good times and confuse presumption for faith. In nations, individuals, families, and businesses, complacency has the same effect; it is the enemy of victory and the ally of defeat. In no other area is complacency so lethal as in the prayer life — especially when everything is going well. I find that the more secure we feel, the more danger we are in, because it is in comfort that we can so easily forget our utter need for God. That’s why, before I get up to preach, I pray the prayer that used to be said in the classrooms of America before prosperity made her apathetic towards the very One who had so blessed her: “Almighty God, I acknowledge my utter dependence upon You and beg for Your blessing.” It is this awareness of our complete dependence upon God that will make us diligent in prayer. If you lack this consciousness in your life, chances are you are sleepwalking through the perilous wilds of complacency.

Complacency: A Lethal Enemy
The pounding at the door rattled the entire house just before the foot of an impatient Roman soldier kicked it from its hinges. Peter was still in bed when the guards grabbed him and hauled him into the dusty Jerusalem streets where a prison wagon was waiting. The high priest had exercised his political power and commanded that the disciples of Jesus be rounded up like ordinary criminals to be incarcerated in a common prison. But with the evening would come to an extraordinary miracle. Acts 5:19 says, “But the angel of Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth.” What a glorious deliverance and testimony! God had demonstrated His power once again, and these early followers of Jesus must have felt invincible.

I think what happened next is typical of human nature. It would appear that in the midst of great victories, a cloud of complacency had dulled some of the believers’ spiritual senses. In Acts 12 we read that the persecution against the church continued. But this time it was Herod who had initiated the arrest and instead of seizing all the apostles at once, he started with James, the brother of John. Everyone assumed that James would be fine. After all, God had delivered the apostles from prison once before, and surely, He would do it again… or would He? We read of no prayer meetings, no vigils, and no intercession. All was well and no one was concerned until the church was devastated by the dreadful news: James was executed at the hands of the wicked ruler. Complacency is among the most dangerous enemies of the believer because it is so easy to fall into and very difficult to detect in our own lives before we are rudely awakened.

It's time for BluffTalk, a special segment from Digging Deeper Radio featuring local folks in the community doing great things. Brad Conklin of Complete Construction and Handyman Services has a great concept in how to treat people needing the smaller, less popular jobs done right. Serving the Panhandle including a radius of 100 miles of Scottsbluff. LISTEN IN!

DIGGING DEEPER WITHIN - an original podcast by Lisa Betz-Marquez. Hosted and Produced by Andi and Brian Hale.

Early this morning, I had an interesting dream. In this dream a friend was with me, though I could not see the friend. When this happens, I assume it is my guide, the energy that stays with me throughout my life, guiding, helping, making sure I hear songs on the radio, notice snippets in books, and other such seeming coincidences I need to experience.

We were headed into a studio space, much like a yoga/healing center, where there were many others gathered. I noticed some were wearing masks, and so I reluctantly put one on. We entered a larger room, and noticed no one was wearing a mask, and so I took mine off. To my surprise, there was another, and another, and another mask, like those Russian dolls that have more and more inside themselves.

Finally, I took the last one off and felt such relief. I had felt hot and suffocated, then finally free after removing the last one.

I woke up.

Today, I’ll be recording a conversation for a radio show with my friends Brian and Andrea Hale, for a monthly appearance on their Digging Deeper series, called, Digging Deeper Within.

The Hales and I are longtime friends. I knew Andrea in school and always liked her. In the third month of the Gering Citizen’s existence, Brian and Andi entered the newspaper offices and asked to talk with Jim and I. They said they had been watching the Gering Citizen, loved what we were doing, and wanted to help. They offered to host a website for us, and over time, our relationship grew to the point where we collaborated on a from scratch newspaper website that was built according to my creative needs as publisher. Our website was really astounding, with a custom front end and a hidden back end that was so easy to work with.

At one point, the Hales operated Hale Multimedia out of the Citizen offices, and they also became part-time staffers. Andrea built advertising, managed the eEdition, and uploaded the website. Brian covered sports and wrote whatever stories he was assigned.

On the day we lost our server and everything on it on the day before deadline day, they stayed up all night helping me to put the paper together without delay.

Everyone should have dedicated friends like Brian and Andi Hale, who always have my back, and I mean, ALWAYS have my back. There have been countless times over the years when Brian responded to my detractors and those of the newspaper with incredible elan, supporting me as a friend and business partner while I learned my way in the newspaper publishing business.

The Hales are enterprising, and I love that about them. I’ve watched as they have created quite an empire for themselves, with a Scotts Bluff County Scanner page that allows the public to follow the activities of police and emergency crews, as well as various radio shows and broadcasting outlets.

They are fearless!

One of the hallmarks of our friendship has always surprised us all, and that is how seemingly different our religious/spiritual beliefs are, yet how able we are to communicate with each other. We are able to have deep conversations of exploration, and though I’m always thinking I’m going to say something that causes Brian to throw his hands up and say, no more, Lisa, you’re nuts, it never happens. In fact, we often find parity, harmony between us in the very act of listening to each other. We know each other’s hearts.

The act of working to understand friends who have different views, especially with the effort to truly understand, not “win” the conversation, has enriched us all.

We met recently to discuss a radio show, but our catching up conversation was so delightful, we decided to have a radio show conversation with each other to explore a variety of topics.

I’m so excited about this. I’m a...