In second Peter 1:9, Peter talks about people who have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their past sins. What happens when you forget God's forgiveness? He says that goes along with being nearsighted and blind, ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of Christ, and lacking in virtues. Remembering your forgiveness is so absolutely crucial. I hope today's podcast will help you do that.

He didn't do it often, but there were some times when Jesus spent a whole night in prayer. There were times he traveled long distances on foot before sunrise just to get to an ideal place for prayer. Do you believe it would be worth what it would cost you for you to follow his example?

Of all Jesus' miracles, which one is the most boring? The least celebrated? I'd say the healing of Peter's mother-in-law would have to be in the running. So why did the Holy Spirit repeat the record of it three times in his Word when other more celebrated miracles are only mentioned once?

We usually think of freedom in terms of being out from under authority. When no one is telling me what to do and I am free to do whatever I want—that's freedom. But is it? What would you rather have—the freedom to do as you please, or to be under the authority of someone who would lead you to a far better place than you would lead yourself?

Usually, I conclude each podcast with an application for how to put the principles from that day's message into practice in practical ways. I'm not going to do that today. Today's episode is just a description of one of the attributes of Christ—his awesome authority as presented by the gospel of Mark. The way to listen to this one is to just sit back, listen, and worship.

If God wants us to believe, and he wants us to have rock solid confidence in his Word, then why doesn't he reveal himself in more obvious ways? Why not just appear in the sky and speak to us audibly? If he wants us to believe, why make it hard to believe?

Have you ever felt like God banished you to the desert—a dry and weary existence without any thriving or renewal? In times like that, you read in the Bible that God loves you, but you're tempted to say, "If this is love, who needs enemies?" If you've felt that, you're not alone. God once drove his own Son out into the desert.

Over and over the Bible says, "God loves you." Every Christians knows that, but what do you do about those times when what you are receiving from God feels like the opposite of love?

When the other Gospels describe Jesus baptism, they say the heavens opened. When Mark describes it he says the heavens were ripped open. And that word for being ripped or torn is loaded with meaning.

Did you know that today you could do something that the greatest man who ever lived up to his time longed to do but couldn't because he was unworthy?