What does it really mean when we pray, “In the Name of Jesus”? 

This is a very common term that we use in our Christian circles, and in our Christian life. We know that our prayers should end with “In the Name of Jesus.” 

We can become so used to using that phrase that we stop thinking about what it means. It can become like a sign off on a letter or a text similar to “sincerely” or “talk to you later.”

But what are we really saying when we pray “In the Name of Jesus?” …

In John 14:15-24, Jesus emphasizes the connection between love and obedience four times within just nine verses. Why did He repeat this message so often, and what deeper truth was He conveying to His followers? In this episode, we’ll explore this important topic, revealing an insight that might just surprise you.

God is sovereign. Let's make that really clear. Our will, our choices, does not ever make God unsovereign. And He has a will and a prophetic timeline that He has spoken, that irrelevant of what our choices are in that bigger picture, those things are gonna take place.

So, man will never have the ability to totally throw aside the will of God. There's so much Scripture on this, but let me just give you a couple. In Psalm 115, verse 3, we're told that our God is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases. Ephesians 1, 4 6 tells us that for He chooses us and Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love. He predestined us to be adopted into Sonship through Jesus Christ and in accordance with His pleasure and will, to praise His glorious grace. Which he has given us freely in the one, talking about Christ, that he loves. So we see that God, before the creation of the world, he put in place this plan of Jesus Christ to redeem all mankind.

His desire is for each one of us to step into that adoption, that sonship. That intimacy with him and with Christ and with the Holy Spirit, that is God's will. Now, some of that will not change the timeframe God has, the way God wants it to happen with us, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and submitting our lives to his Lordship.

Those are unchangeable things. So how does our will come into it? …

This is a special episode for me as I'm re-releasing an interview that I did three years ago with a good friend of mine, Lindsay DaCosta.

This interview was about me coming through treatment for stage four cancer and how God gave me the victory over it.

This week, I celebrated my fourth year of being cancer-free, and so I felt it was appropriate to give another shout out to the Lord and give Him testimony for His goodness.

But also, I believe that you're going to find it extremely encouraging if you are going through something and you just need to hold on to God's faithfulness.

So many times we think eternal life as being heaven. But the reality is heaven is not eternal life—heaven is a destination.

We are eternal already. We have eternal life already. We're either going to spend eternity in heaven or we're going to spend eternity in hell.

The question is: How does the Word of God define “eternal life?”

In the previous episode, I talked about the love of God and specifically referenced 1 John 3. Today I want to stay on the topic of the love of God.

We’re going to look at not just God's love for us, but the question of what do we do with that love?

Obviously, we're told to abide in his love, but how do we step into a maturity in being a child of God?

Today we’re looking at 1 John Chapter 3.

There is a need for everyone of us to EXPERIENCE God’s love on a personal level. It's a “game-changer” in our relationship with the Lord!

So join me in carefully pondering this message that is personal for every believer.

Today I want to talk about a controversial thing: Can a Christian have a demon?

Together we will dig into the word so that we all can have a shared foundational understanding of what the scripture says about deliverance.

Some may not know, but one third of Jesus's public ministry involved deliverance and healing.

What does the Bible say regarding a Christian having a demonic torment or demonic bondage in their life?

This podcast is called Raw Faith.  So Shelly gets "raw" with listeners and confesses "I have really been having a hard week. The Lord's putting his finger on some things."

Shelly feels like the Lord is saying that is just isn't her ...  this is part of every Believer's life as like it's not just me—this is part of walking out our RELATIONSHIP with the Lord.

 Welcome to Raw Faith, a podcast for believers who want to grow and mature in their authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.

This podcast will challenge listeners to become better doers of the word, not just hearers.

Raw Faith is hosted by  Shelly McWilliams of SOZO Restoration Ministries, which helps people to transform their lives through the healing, wholeness, and equipping of Jesus Christ.