Does the Holy Spirit work through people who don't even acknowledge God? In this episode of the Fire Up! podcast, hosts Rob Pine and Cynthia Michael dig into Lesson 3 of the study guide, "Unlikely Candidates," and meet three unexpected figures the Holy Spirit worked through in the Old Testament. There's Balaam, the pagan sorcerer-for-hire whose donkey talked more sense than he did, and who found he couldn't curse Israel no matter how much he was paid. There's Cyrus, the Persian king named by God through Isaiah more than a century before his birth, who freed the Israelites without ever truly acknowledging the God he served. And there's King Saul, whose story turns from promise to tragedy — anointed with a new heart by the Spirit, only to watch that Spirit depart as jealousy, disobedience, and a desperate visit to a medium at Endor unraveled his reign. Rob and Cynthia connect these ancient accounts to Jesus' words in John 16:8-11 about the Spirit's ongoing work of conviction in the world today, and Rob shares his own testimony of being convicted long before he ever called himself a Christian. A companion conversation to Lesson 3 of the Fire Up! study guide and video series.

Who really wrote the Bible? In this episode of the Fire Up! podcast, hosts Rob Pine and Cynthia Michael dig into one of Scripture's most fascinating questions: how one Book, written by roughly 40 different people over more than 1,500 years, in three languages and across three continents, still speaks with a single, unified voice. The answer, they discover, is the Holy Spirit himself — the same Spirit who gave Bezalel the skill to build the tabernacle now gave the biblical writers the words to build God's Word. From Moses and the prophets to Haggai's call to rebuild the temple to Peter's reminder that prophets "spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit," this episode traces the Spirit's hand across the Old and New Testaments. Rob and Cynthia also share personal stories of stepping into ministry roles they didn't feel qualified for — and trusting the Holy Spirit to supply the words. A companion conversation to Lesson 2 of the Fire Up! study guide and video series.

Welcome to the Fire Up! podcast series — a companion to Lifemark Ministries' 24-lesson study guide on the Holy Spirit, written by Mark Schubach and Jennifer Hicks. In this first episode, hosts Rob Pine and Cynthia Michael explore the striking oneness of Jesus and the Holy Spirit across the major events of God's plan of redemption.

They trace this thread from Jesus's conception in Luke 1:35 — where the Holy Spirit, the Most High, and the Son are all named in a single verse — through His baptism, where the Spirit descends "like a dove" and anoints Him for ministry. From there, the conversation turns to the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, His resurrection by the power of the Spirit (Romans 8), and the moment Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on His disciples after rising from the dead. The episode closes with a look at 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and the manifestation of spiritual gifts "for the common good."

Whether you're working through the Fire Up! study guide alongside this series or just listening in, this episode offers a rich, conversational look at how intimately the Holy Spirit has been involved in Jesus's life and ministry from the very beginning.

Get the full study guide and video series at LifeMarkMinistries.org, or find the podcast on your favorite streaming platform by searching "Life Journey."

Six prophecies. Five hundred years before they happened. Every single one fulfilled. In this episode of The Word of the Lord Came, Rob Pine explores "The Messiah Reigns" — Zechariah chapters 9-14 — and walks through six specific prophecies about Jesus written centuries before his birth: riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (9:9, fulfilled Matthew 21:1-5), redeeming his people through his death (10:8, fulfilled Mark 10:45), being betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (11:12, fulfilled Matthew 26:14-16), being pierced (12:10, fulfilled John 19:34), his disciples scattering when he was struck (13:7, fulfilled Matthew 26:56), and his second coming on the Mount of Olives (14:4, still to come).

Rob connects these fulfilled prophecies to the reliability of Scripture as a whole — over 300 Old Testament prophecies about Jesus' first coming, all fulfilled in detail — and asks what that means for our confidence in the prophecies of his return. Along the way, he touches on premillennialism and amillennialism, the two predominant views on the end times, promising a dedicated episode on that topic later.

Join Rob for the final lesson in the series next time, in the book of Malachi, for a discussion on the nature of God as revealed throughout the Minor Prophets.

For the companion study guide and video lessons, visit lifemarkministries.org/programs.

Six prophecies. Five hundred years before they happened. Every single one fulfilled. In this episode of The Word of the Lord Came, Rob Pine explores "The Messiah Reigns" — Zechariah chapters 9-14 — and walks through six specific prophecies about Jesus written centuries before his birth: riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (9:9, fulfilled Matthew 21:1-5), redeeming his people through his death (10:8, fulfilled Mark 10:45), being betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (11:12, fulfilled Matthew 26:14-16), being pierced (12:10, fulfilled John 19:34), his disciples scattering when he was struck (13:7, fulfilled Matthew 26:56), and his second coming on the Mount of Olives (14:4, still to come).

Rob connects these fulfilled prophecies to the reliability of Scripture as a whole — over 300 Old Testament prophecies about Jesus' first coming, all fulfilled in detail — and asks what that means for our confidence in the prophecies of his return. Along the way, he touches on premillennialism and amillennialism, the two predominant views on the end times, promising a dedicated episode on that topic later.

Join Rob for the final lesson in the series next time, in the book of Malachi, for a discussion on the nature of God as revealed throughout the Minor Prophets.

For the companion study guide and video lessons, visit lifemarkministries.org/programs.

What does God do when he wants his people to remember something important? He repeats it — again and again. In this episode of The Word of the Lord Came, Rob Pine takes us into Zechariah chapter 8, where the prophet uses the phrase "the word of the Lord Almighty came to me" and "this is what the Lord Almighty says" ten times in just twenty-three verses — a rhetorical drumbeat meant to help a discouraged remnant remember and act on God's promises.

Rob sets the scene: Zechariah and Haggai, prophets called from within the returning remnant, encourage a frustrated, opposition-weary people to finish rebuilding the temple after sixteen years of inactivity — a task completed in just four years. Chapter 8 becomes one of the most encouraging passages in Scripture, promising blessing, restoration, and a future where God dwells among his people and nations stream to Jerusalem to seek him.

From there, Rob turns to today: how does God encourage his people now? Through his word (2 Timothy 3:16), through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as paraclete — one who comes alongside (John 14:16), and through gathering together to spur one another on (Hebrews 10:24-25). Rob highlights Barnabas, the "son of encouragement," as a model for how ordinary generosity, faithfulness, and support can encourage others toward Christ.

Next time, Rob previews Lesson 12 — a look at the possible timeline of last-days events in Zechariah chapters 9-14.

For the companion study guide and video lessons, visit lifemarkministries.org/programs.

Lesson 9: Zephaniah — A Day of Judgment, A Day of Singing

"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth." That's not a metaphor — it's God's own words in Zephaniah 1:2-3, and it sets the scope for one of the most sobering prophecies in the Minor Prophets.

In this episode, Rob Pine walks through the book of Zephaniah and its central theme: the Day of the Lord, a coming judgment so broad in scope — that small word "all" again — that it reaches every nation, every person, every era, climaxing in an end-times event still ahead of us. Rob traces the nations God calls out in chapter 2, the near-term fulfillment in Judah's exile and the 536 BC return of the remnant, and the two sins that provoke God's wrath most: idolatry and complacency.

That second sin gets special attention. Zephaniah 1:12 describes God searching Jerusalem with lamps for people who are "stagnant in spirit" — content, self-satisfied, and indifferent toward him. Rob unpacks why complacency is just as dangerous as outright rebellion, both for individual believers and for churches, and what real repentance looks like in response.

But Zephaniah doesn't end in judgment. Chapter 3 closes with one of Scripture's most tender pictures of God: a King who rejoices over his people with singing. For the remnant that seeks the Lord, there's restoration, security, and delight.

Next week, we turn to the prophet Haggai to ask what it really means to fear God — and why that's actually good news.

Companion study guide available on Amazon. Visit lifemarkministries.org/resources for more.