Why are we lonely? Is it wrong to be lonely? When we feel alone, what can we do about it? In this episode I share with you my experience with loneliness in several dimensions, and encourage you with the lessons I’ve learned on how to deal with it and recover my joy. It’s exciting!

Philippians 4:11-13

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Each of us knows what it’s like to reap the dissatisfying consequences of our poor choices. We often repeat our mistakes because we go along with our hearts and our misguided desires. God has such higher ideals for us, and He is able to help us live a better way. All we have to do is ask Him to live within us and bring us into harmony with Him. No one can deny the authenticity of our spiritual experience when they compare who we were with who He’s made us to be now.

Jeremiah 31:33

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Sometimes we care more about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Come on, now! Under what most of us would consider extreme duress, having been jailed for breaking the rules that forbade them from preaching the good news of Jesus’ love, Peter said to the assembly of his enemies:

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19, 20) Then he said to them in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

My challenge for you today is to esteem the praise of God higher than the approval of any other. Let your heart be in tune with God’s by obeying His commandments and living a life of surrender and commitment to His Word. It is more satisfying than all the likes, comments, and followers you could ever amass in this life, and more rewarding than immeasurable fame or popularity could ever be to you. Do you want the praise of your Creator, who is eternal, or that of seriously flawed people whose allegiance is selfish and fleeting, and whose superficial, egocentric opinions will die soon with them? The former seems like a nobler pursuit to me. Jesus wants you to know Him. Seek Him now.

If you’re feeling worn down for any reason, I can relate. The Bible is full of encouragement for us, and this episode has some special passages to lift you up!

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Sometimes life’s timing seems fine, but other times it seems genuinely messed up and unnecessarily difficult. At times it seems confusing, or apathetic. 2020 has definitely seemed this way for many of us. Regardless, God has hope for us in the Bible, if we will only take the time to look for it. I promise you it is there for you, if you will only seek out the blessings already waiting for you.

Zechariah 1:1- God remembers, God always blesses, at the right time.

The Australian church I mentioned is Kingscliff Church. This is the link to the sermon: https://youtu.be/TNWXl2bLDBI

One of the biggest questions we have as Christians is, “What does God want me to do?” Another way to say that is, “What is God’s will for my life?”

If you’re wrestling with making a decision, this episode is for you! In it I share some wisdom from the Book of Proverbs to give you principles to make safe, noble decisions that will fill your life with joy and fulfillment. I share some examples from my own life of how I’ve failed and succeeded at implementing these principles for better or for worse.

Proverbs 16:3- Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.

Sometimes we get to a point where we realize we need a hard reset in life. Stress gets to us; we’re overwhelmed by the notifications from our devices; we struggle to calm our racing minds. God invites us to set aside special time with Him each week so we can empty ourselves of the stresses we take on, and thereby fill ourselves with Him. If you need a stronger sense of a quiet, abiding trust in God, this episode is for you.

Sometimes we struggle with feelings of insufficiency. Our insecurities make us withdraw from those who would encourage us. Our setbacks convince us we’ll never succeed. Looking at what others have achieved makes us feel comparatively unaccomplished.

“And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV)

Look to God for joy, peace, and hope that will outdo your greatest pain, doubt and despair. No matter what we go through, God goes through it ahead of us and with us, so we are not alone.

The enemy tailors his assaults to us based on the season of life we’re in. Right now, he seeks to sap our souls of confidence, peace, and joy by surrounding us with negativity, doubt, and despair.

Choose instead to be bold no matter what you face, because you know in whom you have believed, and you are redeemed. The unknown loses its ominousness when we remember God knows what He’s leading us through.

Romans 8:24, 25

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

2 Timothy 1:7, 12

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day.

More often than we like, we find that our faith and spirituality are boring, passive, and powerless. We wish we would be excited about God, but it’s difficult when we don’t see Him doing anything in our lives. The issue lies with us! God is ready and willing to act, but we often don’t ask Him to do anything interesting. Sometimes we really do ask for something big, but we don’t ask with belief in His ability to fulfill that request. Cast off your arbitrary limits of what you think God can and wants to do in your life, and you will see the Holy Spirit do things you couldn’t have anticipated!