Podcast - The Greg Lancaster Show, Live from the Glory Zone.

The Blinding Nature of PRIDE!

John and Pat discuss the blinding nature of pride. They further discuss a television program based upon a concept that revolves around struggling restaurant owners and a top chef that comes in to save the day with his expertise not only in the kitchen but his ability to see what is wrong with all aspects of the business and providing the necessary solutions for its success. They continue to discuss one episode in which the owner/operator of the restaurant was very prideful and did not agree with many of the chef’s evaluations and subsequent recommendations. The owner would not simply accept that his food quality was poor and the chef went to great lengths to show him where he was wrong. The owner would eventually humble himself and acknowledge and accept what the chef was telling him. Everyone around the owner; his family members and employees could see the error of his prideful way except him until he humbled himself. They continue to discuss the parallel between so many who walk in pride like the owner did. When we lend ourselves to pride and allow it to infiltrate our heart we are on a slippery slope that results in blindness and then deception. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:18 that “Pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit before a fall.” God instructs us to humble ourselves and he will lift us up, 1 Peter4:5. The truth is that if we do God’s job and we lift ourselves up then He has to do our job and bring us down. The only place for us to be is lower still.

If we are not Grateful Now We Definitely will be Grateful Later

John and Pat discuss how if we are not grateful now we will definitely be grateful later. They continue to discuss how important it is to embrace an attitude of gratitude and not take for granted all of the wonderful blessings the Lord has provided for us. Many in the United States don’t express their gratitude because they feel entitled to things. America is such a blessed land that many eat until their hearts are content without ever taking a moment to truly and sincerely take time to thank God and be grateful and appreciative for the food they eat. They further discuss how it is reported that 1 in 6 Americans go to bed hungry every night as well as nearly 1 billion people around the world. Lord, forgive us for an entitlement mentality and grace us with the revelation of being grateful for what we have.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

Son of God Movie

John and Pat discuss new movie, “Son of God” to be released in theaters on February 28, 2014. The movie is produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnet the same producers that produced the successful Bible Series. The movie is based on Jesus life. They continue to discuss how excellent the movie trailer portrays what the movie will be about. They also discuss another biblical movie, “Noah” which is scheduled to be in theatres on March 28, 2014.

Is Russia Using the Olympics to Set the Stage?

John and Pat discuss if Russia using the Olympics to set the stage. They continue to discuss how the Sochi Winter Olympics has had heightened security as a result of terror threats. They further discuss how important it is for a city and country to play host for the Olympics. There are huge benefits in terms of economy but also as well as exposure. The host country literally gets free advertising on the world stage for as long as the Olympics are covered. However, beyond the money and the marketing benefits politicians and governments have used the Olympics as a way to show the strength and supremacy of their country. This has been true in times past especially in the case of Germany when Hitler hosted the 1936 Olympics. Great lengths were taken to display a powerful Germany to the rest of the world. Hitler had an 110,000 seat coliseum built with special seating for the Nazi Party. Every bit of anti-Semitic signage was removed from plain sight and the Jews were treated fairly as long as the world watched. They continue to ask the question if Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is trying to do the same. ESPN is reporting that the Russian hockey team is under insurmountable pressure to win gold. They further discussed how the increase pressure for Russia to show they are on top especially since the U.S. Hockey in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid NY, pulled off an upset by beating the Russians then. They further discuss how the stage is being set for Russia in particularly because of their rise especially within the last couple of years. We have seen Russian President Putin, supporting Syria’s President Assad, Russia welcoming NSA leaker Snowden, as well as “Forbes” recognizing President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful man in the world. They encourage us to watch and to pray.

Celebrating Black History Month: Booker T. Washington; Educator, Author, and Orator

John and Pat discuss celebrating Black History Month as they discuss the life and contributions of Booker T. Washington. They discussed how Booker T. Washington was born into slavery and how from the age of 9 years old worked in the salt mines. His parents would later allow him to quit working at the age of 16 so he could pursue his education where he would travel 200 miles to pursue. Mr. Washington saw his life calling to prepare free slaves not to be dependent on the government but instead to learn and prepare themselves. He founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. His vision and faithfulness to his work not only attracted great faculty like the great inventor George Washington Carver but many students as well. Today there is a host of distinguished Tuskegee Alumni like Tom Joyner, Lionel Richie, and Pensacola’s very own first African American four star General Daniel Chappie James.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

John and Pat discuss new movie, “Son of God” to be released in theaters on February 28, 2014. The movie is produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnet the same producers that produced the successful Bible Series. The movie is based on Jesus life. They continue to discuss how excellent the movie trailer portrays what the movie will be about. They also discuss another biblical movie, “Noah” which is scheduled to be in theatres on March 28, 2014.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

John and Pat discuss if Russia using the Olympics to set the stage. They continue to discuss how the Sochi Winter Olympics has had heightened security as a result of terror threats. They further discuss how important it is for a city and country to play host for the Olympics. There are huge benefits in terms of economy but also as well as exposure. The host country literally gets free advertising on the world stage for as long as the Olympics are covered. However, beyond the money and the marketing benefits politicians and governments have used the Olympics as a way to show the strength and supremacy of their country. This has been true in times past especially in the case of Germany when Hitler hosted the 1936 Olympics. Great lengths were taken to display a powerful Germany to the rest of the world. Hitler had an 110,000 seat coliseum built with special seating for the Nazi Party. Every bit of anti-Semitic signage was removed from plain sight and the Jews were treated fairly as long as the world watched. They continue to ask the question if Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is trying to do the same. ESPN is reporting that the Russian hockey team is under insurmountable pressure to win gold. They further discussed how the increase pressure for Russia to show they are on top especially since the U.S. Hockey in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid NY, pulled off an upset by beating the Russians then. They further discuss how the stage is being set for Russia in particularly because of their rise especially within the last couple of years. We have seen Russian President Putin, supporting Syria’s President Assad, Russia welcoming NSA leaker Snowden, as well as “Forbes” recognizing President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful man in the world. They encourage us to watch and to pray.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

Celebrating Black History Month: Booker T. Washington; Educator, Author, and Orator

John and Pat discuss celebrating Black History Month as they discuss the life and contributions of Booker T. Washington. They discussed how Booker T. Washington was born into slavery and how from the age of 9 years old worked in the salt mines. His parents would later allow him to quit working at the age of 16 so he could pursue his education where he would travel 200 miles to pursue. Mr. Washington saw his life calling to prepare free slaves not to be dependent on the government but instead to learn and prepare themselves. He founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. His vision and faithfulness to his work not only attracted great faculty like the great inventor George Washington Carver but many students as well. Today there is a host of distinguished Tuskegee Alumni like Tom Joyner, Lionel Richie, and Pensacola’s very own first African American four star General Daniel Chappie James.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

John and Pat discuss the blinding nature of pride. They further discuss a television program based upon a concept that revolves around struggling restaurant owners and a top chef that comes in to save the day with his expertise not only in the kitchen but his ability to see what is wrong with all aspects of the business and providing the necessary solutions for its success. They continue to discuss one episode in which the owner/operator of the restaurant was very prideful and did not agree with many of the chef’s evaluations and subsequent recommendations. The owner would not simply accept that his food quality was poor and the chef went to great lengths to show him where he was wrong. The owner would eventually humble himself and acknowledge and accept what the chef was telling him. Everyone around the owner; his family members and employees could see the error of his prideful way except him until he humbled himself. They continue to discuss the parallel between so many who walk in pride like the owner did. When we lend ourselves to pride and allow it to infiltrate our heart we are on a slippery slope that results in blindness and then deception. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:18 that “Pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit before a fall.” God instructs us to humble ourselves and he will lift us up, 1 Peter4:5. The truth is that if we do God’s job and we lift ourselves up then He has to do our job and bring us down. The only place for us to be is lower still.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

John and Pat discuss how if we are not grateful now we will definitely be grateful later. They continue to discuss how important it is to embrace an attitude of gratitude and not take for granted all of the wonderful blessings the Lord has provided for us. Many in the United States don’t express their gratitude because they feel entitled to things. America is such a blessed land that many eat until their hearts are content without ever taking a moment to truly and sincerely take time to thank God and be grateful and appreciative for the food they eat. They further discuss how it is reported that 1 in 6 Americans go to bed hungry every night as well as nearly 1 billion people around the world. Lord, forgive us for an entitlement mentality and grace us with the revelation of being grateful for what we have.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

Don’t conform to your Situation, Let your Situation Conform to the Word of God

John and Pat discuss the importance of not conforming to our situation but instead allowing our situation to conform to God’s Word, They continue to discuss a situation that unfolded when the disciples found themselves, in Matthew 14, in a boat and saw Jesus walking on the water headed towards them. They were of course terrified and experience a whole range of emotions because they were having a hard time believing what they was not a ghost. Who can blame them because right before their eyes they were seeing Jesus do something that totally was opposite of what was normal and against natural law. Peter had enough courage to call out to Jesus and asked him if indeed it was him for him to call Peter to himself and Jesus did. If it wasn’t remarkable enough that Jesus was walking on water we now see that Peter too began to walk on water and do just as Jesus was doing. However, the minute that Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and put it on the wind he became afraid and began to sink and Jesus reached out his hand to rescue him and said you of little faith. They continue to discuss that Jesus was so full of faith and full of the heavenly realm that he didn’t allow natural law to affect him but instead he affected the natural law and caused it to conform to him. So many times because of fear and suffering loss we fail to trust God and His truth and cause God’s truth to submit to the situation. We see that this was not the case with Jesus. If someone was sick he healed them, if they needed to walk he said pick up your mat, if they needed an eye he just created one out of mud. Since God made us in His image we can gather that the Lord wants us to operate just as He did and to understand that we are first a spirit that is contained in a body not the other way around. We need to be so full of God and his truth that our first inclination to any situation should not be to conform to our situations but to cause the natural situations in our life to conform to the supernatural. All things are possible for those who believe.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com

Pat and John discuss the dangers of having an unguarded heart. They continue to discuss the how the Bible is filled with wisdom to guide us. They further discuss how Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”, meaning that everything in life flows from your heart. They continue to discuss how God allows us to see more of what is in our hearts while on a fast. The fast affords us the opportunity to shut everything else around us down and allows us to be more sensitive to the voice of the Lord and more receptive to things he wants to show us. They continue to discuss Jesus words in Mark 7:18-24 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus response to the religious leaders was how that they honored him with their lips but that their hearts were far from him and that their worship was in vain. Talk is cheap if our heart is somewhere else. If we don’t guard our hearts then our hearts become hardened and progression is being full of pride and pride leads to spiritual blindness and spiritual blindness leads to deception. The only thing that can penetrate a hard heart is truth. They further discuss the process the prodigal son went through from a hard heart to a soft and broken heart. When his heart was right he got right. They encourage us to give the Lord all of our heart and not to resist the truth which hardens the heart.

Find out more on the VFN Torch at VFNtv.com