Grace or Grit

Once again, Patrick suggested our topic for today.   To be exact, the suggestion was for us to discuss “God’s providence and specifically how it relates to evil,” which is to answer the question, “Is God responsible for evil?”

The verse that comes to my mind in answer to this question is Isaiah 45:7 where God said, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”  (See all of the verses 1-7 here)

Of course, that’s the AV (KJV) wording and other English translations use words like calamity and disaster instead of evil, but ultimately, the answer is still the same, in my opinion.  Evil (as in the deadly result of evil) is inextricably connected to evil as moral depravity.

It's not a conversation for the timid, but let's dive in.

Who wants to listen to a podcast on demonology?

Well, like it or not, this is something we need to address.

Today I asked ChatGTP the following question: "Where in the Bible is it recorded that Jesus triumphed over all the forces of evil when He died on the cross?"

This was the AI's answer:

"The Bible records Jesus' triumph over the forces of evil in several passages, but one of the most well-known is found in Colossians 2:13-15:

'When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.'

This passage emphasizes that through his death on the cross, Jesus not only forgave our sins but also disarmed and triumphed over the powers and authorities of evil."

Now, I already knew what the substance of the answer would likely be, namely that Jesus disarmed the powers of evil, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

But, what should we do now as a result of what Jesus has already done? Perhaps we should focus especially on identifying demons and how they are involved in our lives and then in the power of the Spirit declare deliverance over them repeatedly. Or, perhaps not! But, there are some who are going about it in precisely that way.

Listen as Dave and Patrick (and a little bit of Tonya) address "Deliverance Ministries" and their particular brand of charismatic continuationism.

There are a few links mentioned in the podcast which you might want to explore. Here they are:

What should we be doing with surplus or disposable income?  Should we be saving/investing for our future; specifically for retirement?  Or, should we instead give our disposable income away?  Perhaps there is a happy medium or golden mean where we properly balance saving and giving?

The main focus of this podcast is to focus on what God has to say about giving.  For sure, there are some universal principles that apply.  We must give in faith, generously, cheerfully, proportionally, and as the Spirit leads us.  But there are many related questions that are worth unpacking a little further.  Listen as Dave and Patrick give this issue their best treatment.

Sometimes I wish I could be like Joshua and lengthen my days at will.  For sure, there are days that include more items on my to-do list than can be done in 24 hours.

Last week I asked for some advice from a couple of men in our church. One of them, Matt Taylor, has been a guest on the podcast before.  I asked him and another godly man for suggestions for podcast topics.  The results were not disappointing.  One of the topics Matt mentioned was about living a balanced life. Specifically, he proposed that we talk about “A biblical work life balance for men and women.”  I thought, "That would be a good topic for me to think about, talk through, and hopefully improve on (in my own habits and routines).

Hopefully, for some of our listeners, this will also be a blessing.  I think that trying to give the proper amount of time, energy, effort, focus, and investment to our work responsibilities in proportion with other parts of life is a relevant and important topic for discussion.

Let's think of life as a pie chart or like a big pizza.  How big is each slice?  How big should each slice be?  And you can think of these as slices of time or of each slice as a different priority in life.  We have to rest, we have to eat, we have to spend some time on basic hygiene for our own body, we should spend time in strictly spiritual pursuits (such as Bible study, prayer, evangelism, worship, fellowship), we have responsibilities in relation to our family, our friends, our civil duties as citizens, & our health.

Then for affluent societies, there are usually slices that could be labeled hobbies and leisure.  There are also slices that need to go because it’s either a straightforward vice (some sin) or at least it a distraction of some sort that takes away from the purpose and productivity of our lives.

So let’s think of life in terms of time (although that’s not the only way to look at it).  We are told in the Bible to “Redeem the time, because the days are evil.”  How much rest is appropriate?  How much time eating?  How much time working to “make a living” to take care of myself, my financial obligations, and my family? How much time with my wife or husband?  How much time doing necessary tasks like grocery shopping, planning, paying bills, cleaning house, and repairing broken things?  How much time in time alone with God, etc?  If we are generous and give 8 hours for sleep and 8 hours for work, how should the other 8 hours be spent?  How much work is too much?  It would seem that 16 hours a day “at work” is likely an imbalanced ratio.  Some days do demand that kind of stamina, or maybe even more, but it’s not sustainable, and even if it is, it’s not likely to be healthy or holy.

Then we have to ask questions like, what if you can’t leave work at work?  What if you “can’t afford” to work less?  What if your “work” is ministry, does that change things?  Are there hybrid models where (for example) if you work with your wife and children in a family business, that significantly changes the dynamic of how much time can be wisely spent in your “occupation?”  How about scheduling margin into our lives in anticipation of mishaps and surprises?

How about the “work 6 days” commandment and principle? Is it ok to sacrifice some slices temporarily in the name of fulfilling my obligations “at work” - (sort of the "ox-in-a-ditch" exception)?  What about evaluating our standard of living and learning to “live within our means” instead of striving perpetually to make more, earn more, have more, do more, be more, achieve more, & leave more?

Listen as Dave & Patrick take an honest stab at this important issue.

This is a wonderful interview with Pastor Said Usuf of the Omega Church in THE GAMBIA.  You will be greatly blessed by his testimony concerning how he came to faith in Christ and how God moved him into the gospel ministry.  

Hopefully you will pick up on some of the great things that we share in common with Pastor Said, as well as a few of the unique challenges that he and his people face in their service to our King.

Or wives... if you consider Israel as one and Judah as one.  Did God divorce His wives?

It's a relevant question for reasons that we don't even get into in this episode, but it's relevant also because divorce among humans is a topic addressed repeatedly in the Bible.  And, it's a major problem in our society.  The statistics are indeed grim.  

It's not our goal to beat anybody up with this episode, nor do we want to excuse anybody's sin.  We want to humbly and honestly address a relevant topic.  And, that is always beneficial.

I (Dave) do have a quote in the episode that I failed to accurately credit the proper person for, so I will do that here.  The quote goes like this, "Sinners leap into sin and love it.  Saints lapse into sin and loath it."  The author of that quote was Dr. Fred Moritz.  Perhaps he got it from someone else, I don't know - but he is the one I heard say it more than once.

Anyway, listen to this episode and let us know what you think.  

Send feedback to [email protected] anytime night or day.

What is a miracle?  Is it "a conspicuous show of power outside of the common course of nature"?  Or, is it something else?

What does it mean when we say that God works providentially behind the scenes?  According to Dave, it means that God is constantly providing for & preparing for His desired outcomes through the common course of nature.

But consider this: Patrick claims that miracles fall properly under the heading of providence.

It's a discussion worth having, especially since it could be said that we make fools of ourselves if we call natural occurrences "miracles."

Listen as Dave and Patrick try to hammer out some clarity concerning this important and interesting issue.

In this episode, Dave and Patrick attempt to answer these (and some additional) questions concerning fasting, lent, and penance.

Listen now and be blessed!