In this second episode in their three part series on the life of King Manasseh, Craig and LaDonna Smith take us to 2 Chronicles 33 and 2 Kings 21 to look at the life and times of this king who was described in Scripture as the wickedest king who ever reigned over Israel or Judah.  It's clear from the Word, this king's actions were dictated by a mind that was given over to total depravity.  It brought severe judgement on not only the king, but the king's followers, the divided kingdom of Judah, as God allowed the Assyrians to take them captive into Babylon as part of their punishment.  The Smiths utilize the process of comparative passages in God's Word to give listeners the full story.  2 Chronicles shares part of Manasseh's story, while 2 Kings offers further clarification and new insights that help give the full picture, modeling for the listener how this kind of comparative process can help aide the student of God's Word in a deeper and more fuller understanding of what the Scriptures are trying to say.  While a hard and painful story to dig into, it's important to see what God's Word has to say about this human ruler, and what consequences there are for not only the leader, but for those who follow.  Very important truths as we enter a hostile political season in America in the months to come.  Let's learn the importance of considering leaders from a biblical perspective and not from a political one, and let that perspective guide us as we go into the voting booths and cast votes for those who desire to lead us, be it local, tribal, regional, or even national elections.  It's true, we do have a say in choosing leaders and we must do so well, and in keeping with God's timeless truths!

Today is an exciting day for the Indigenous Faith Podcast.  You'll want to listen to Craig and LaDonna and their breaking news about the new Indigenous Faith 2.0 Video Teaching Series that is now available for download and viewing at their tribalrescue.com website!  That's right, all the content from their August 2022 Indigenous Faith International Leader's Conference is now accessible online so you can use it in your local community, church, small group, etc.!  After hearing about this brand new piece of the Indigenous Faith puzzle, the Smiths launch headway into their new sessions on King Manasseh, the son of King Hezekiah.  While Hezekiah was known as one of the most godly leaders ever, his son Manasseh became known as one of the most evil of all human leaders that ever existed.  Unfortunately, he led with this wickedness over the southern Kingdom of Judah in a fifty-five year reign.  As Craig and LaDonna launch into 2 Chronicles 33 and later on into 2 Kings in a parallel passage, it soon will become clear as to what defined Manasseh's wicked reign, which couldn't get any worse than what it was.  The Smiths seek to contrast godly leaders from wicked leaders because their behaviors were all about syncretistic and demonic behaviors, or, the cleaning up of those kinds of behaviors once a new and more godly leader took to the throne.  Yes, syncretism has always been around, and is manifesting itself today in modern evangelicalism, masquerading as contextualization of the gospel.  These next few episodes will be brutal to endure reading and listening to, but necessary to understand the heart of God in these important matters.  So please come with an open mind, and maybe keep a barf bucket handy just in case you need it as the Smiths launch into this series they've titled, Manassah, the Wicked Son of King Hezekiah...

In today's final episode on the life of King Hezekiah, Craig and LaDonna Smith once again let the Word of God tell the story right from the pages of the Scriptures.  What an incredible life and reign of this great King of Judah during his almost thirty years of being on the throne.  For the most part, Hezekiah was honored by the Lord for his faithfulness to lead by the principles and orders of what God had given to His people in terms of their worship, devotion, and commitment to Him as the ultimate Sovereign in their lives.   This earthly king was at his best when he postured himself  as a servant of the most High God in his leadership over God's Covenant people.   Oh, to have this kind of leader over us today!  Our nation, our tribes, and our people would be experiencing the favor of God instead of His judgements when we follow godly leadership.  And let's remember, when we evaluate the successfulness of those who lead us in our national governmental systems, we are called by God to use the Scriptures as the template of success.  Whether that be in national government roles, or as leaders in the Body of Christ.  Because it's possible for those called to lead followers of Christ to go off the tracks of obedience and take God's people down a road to dark things like syncretism, which never brought the favor of God, only His judgement.  May the Lord encourage your heart, dear friend, to live a biblically healthy life in the context of your culture and traditions, enabling us to be both salt and light in and to our communities!

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna continue to expand on the life and times of King Hezekiah, noted as one of the most godly kings over God's Chosen People, the Children of Israel.  In ways that mirror today's challenges for Israel, they had to go to war against the Assyrian's, and their brash and prideful leaders, Sennacherib.  Before Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib entered into an agreement with his father, King Ahaz, and now Sennacherib demands Hezekiah fulfill that agreement, which was not going to happen under Hezekiah's reign.  This enemy of God taunted Hezekiah and the people of Judah by proclaiming his might and power over even the God of Judah.  Well, we know how that kind of statement turns out, right?  Yes, Hezekiah and God's people prevailed and Sennacherib's demise was swift and certain.  It's then when some of the shine comes off of Hezekiah's strong heart for the Lord when he became deathly ill.  Yet God intervened, promised him fifteen more years, brought healing to his body, and confirmed it all with an amazing turning back the clock and shadow for the King.  There's more to the story, but this window into Hezekiah's life is one of the Bible's most interesting and amazing stories.  Oh, to have godly leaders today over our nation and tribes.  We can and must pray for righteousness and justice to rule and reign, and see God at work as He orchestrates world affairs leading up to the soon return of Christ Jesus in His Second Coming!  Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

As we continue looking at the godly life of King Hezekiah, we're taken into the restored Temple of God as the celebration continues by the people of God when God honoring worship was restored by the King.  It was one of the high points of Hezekiah's life and reign and is powerfully recorded for us in 2 Chronicles, chapters 29-32.  Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to unpackage the biblical truths about what God's perspective is of the human leaders raised up to serve mankind in the kingdoms, countries, and within our nationwide tribal borders.  Hezekiah was truly honored by the Lord because he turned his people away from the syncretistic practices instituted by his wicked father, King Ahaz and turned the people towards the kind of worship and living God had already laid out for his Covenant people to follow.  The Smiths include discussion on the topic of biblical stewardship as well, as the passages depicting Hezekiah's life include the tithing of the people of God in faithful obedience and worship.  And that's something important for Indigenous followers of Christ to remember.  Even if we have little, God expects us to give Him the first fruits of those limited resources, not to make us live with even less, but to enable us to be placed in a blessable position, as one of the Smith's ministry colleagues noted, and receive miraculous provisions from the Lord.  All important lessons for us all as we seek to build biblically healthy Indigenous people in the context of our cultures and communities.  Thank God for His timeless truths!

In part two of Craig and LaDonna's journey into the life and times of King Hezekiah, we continue to see how this amazing and godly king earned such great favor with God and the people he led.  He turned the heart of God's people back to the Lord and after destroying all the places and artifacts of his syncretistic father, King Ahaz, brought God's Chosen People back into not only the sacrificial system ordained by God for them, but while doing so, the musicians, singers, and worshippers sang at the top of their voices in celebration to the Lord.  All this is found in 2 Chronicles 29, and spills into chapters 30 - 32.  You can just feel the joy that came back to God's people when they worshipped the Lord in the right manner that God had instructed them to worship Him in.  So too, the Smiths surmise, would be the case today if the syncretizing church in Native North America would only rise up and  reject the teachings of those who choose to go beyond contextualization of the gospel into syncretistic practices.  It clear to the Smiths that when we do it God's way, it not only brings His blessing and favor on us, but is great cause for celebration as well.  Let's let the Word of God continue to show us how to get it right!

Today begins a multi-episode journey into the life and times of King Hezekiah, who was know as one of the most godly kings of the Children of Israel in all of their recorded history.  This series begins a larger journey into the lives and times of a number of Israel's human leaders and covers both those who were regarded as good and godly leaders and those who failed miserably in the eyes of God.  The good ones were committed to the authority of the Scriptures in their lives and led their people away from syncretistic practices while the failed leaders would bring God's people into syncretistic practices.  Hezekiah, we'll soon learn, restored true worship in the house of the Lord, destroyed all the sacred objects that his wicked father, King Ahaz brought into  Israel's life, and did many other things that brought God's favor.  Join Craig and LaDonna as they take us into the life of this man of God in this brand new series they are launching today.  Leadership mattered back then and it matters today.  May we learn from the Word how we are to judge those who serve among us today, whether that be in government or in the church.  Come with an open heart and an open Bible!

In today's final episode in this introduction to God and His ways in human leadership and leaders, Craig and LaDonna finish their journey into Romans 13:1-7.  Picking up where they left off last week, the Smiths continue to explain the reality that God has ordained all human leaders on all human levels to serve as rewarders of them who do good and punishers of those who do evil.  The Smiths remind us about the four levels of human leadership that He has instituted throughout the world.  First are political leaders who serve over national, regional, tribal, and local levels of society.  Second, is the Church of the Risen Christ over all believers in Christ. Third is the role of parents over children in family life, and the fourth is the role of "masters" or, employers over employees in the world of business affairs.  But how is the Indigenous follower of Christ (or all followers of Christ for that matter) to respond when it's the leaders who are the corrupt ones, or the ones who lead their followers down paths of disobedience to God's Word?  Well, as the Smiths reminded us in the previous episode, it is then and only then when God allows civic disobedience to the leaders when we are taken down roads of disobedience to God's Holy Word and ordinances by those in authority over us.    This introductory look into governmental affairs is especially important for us in America today as we are only a year or so away from an election that will have huge impact on the future direction of our nation.  We need to get this right not only today, but also as the Smiths turn our attention in podcasts to come to their important case studies of political leaders of God's Old Testament Chosen people, Israel, in their historic journey of faith.  As we'll soon see, God's evaluation of these leaders is articulated in Scripture as either evil or good, based upon how they led their people.  As we'll soon be seeing, all too often when they were listed as evil, it was because they led God's people into syncretistic behaviors much like what we are seeing today in evangelical Native ministry.  This makes this series crucially important to us as we seek to live out a biblically healthy Indigenous Faith in the context of our cultures and communities.

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna continue to present character studies on biblical characters who did good, and who did evil in the sight of God.  Their focus turns to the political realm as they begin presenting biblical truth about Old Testament kings and rulers over the Children of Israel.  But before they do, the present this important series as an introduction to this new focus.  They've titled this multi-episode series, Human Leaders and Leadership - an Introduction to God and His involvement in Human Affairs.  Taking their listeners to Paul's letter to the Romans, they focus on the first seven verses in chapter 13, which is all about how God's people are to act and react to the political and civic leaders who serve as God's agents in this world.  Are believers to at all times obey what the governmental authorities dictate, or are there times when God expects His people to rebel against such leaders and the edits and laws they enact?  An interesting concept that the Smiths unpackage from the ultimate authority of God's Holy Word.  Having these truths as foundational to understand what the Scriptures say about the many kings and leaders who led Israel through their history, we will know how to evaluate our own governmental leaders in our modern day.  All with the intent of helping Indigenous believers in Christ know how to honor God in this important aspect of our lives.  We are citizens of both heaven and earth, and as such, have clear biblical guidance on how to live in both worlds.  Come to today's episode with an open mind, heart, and soul, and most importantly, an open Bible!  You won't want to miss it!

In today's final episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith bring this interesting study in the lives of Judas and Peter to a close as they walk through the biblical account of Peter's restoration by the Lord around a breakfast of grilled fish on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Perhaps somewhere near where Peter was originally called by Christ to follow him and become a fisher of men, He now lovingly prepares a wonderful meal for His dear friend.  When Peter saw Christ on the shore from a distance and recognized it was Him, Peter jumped out of the boat and ran as fast as he could to the shoreline to embrace the risen Christ.  From there, with three of the same questions, perhaps countering the three times Peter denied Christ only days ago,  He brings himself back to a right relationship which enables him to be used mightily on the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, when through his Spirit empowered preaching, 3,000 people come to faith in Christ and the Church of the Living Christ is born!  He goes on to pen two of the New Testament Epistles, and die a martyr for his faith.  Quite a difference from his weak denials of Christ as He was making His way up the lonely road to Golgatha!  Now that's falling forward, my friend, into a God honoring finish of his life and ministry.  May the same be said of us as we live a biblically healthy life in the context of our cultures and communities!  Fall forward, my friend, but never fall out!