revivanary

Have you ever noticed how much some people love to expose the mistakes, wrongs, failures, weaknesses, and flaws of others? It is as if they feel it is their duty to make sure and sniff out and reveal every inadequacy they can possibly find in someone. When this attitude and activity finds it's way into the Church it has devastating consequences, both inside and outside of the Church. Jesus commanded us, the Church, to love one another as He loved us, not to try and condemn one another. He also taught us to love the world, the lost around us, like He loved them, coming to Earth to give Himself as a sacrifice for them and not to condemn them. When we set out to uncover every sin we can for the purpose of disqualifying everyone from being worthy of our "love", we inadvertently disqualify ourselves from fellowship with Him because He came to cover sin, not to condemn the sinner. Let Him be the judge. We must be His people, living and loving like Him, and existing to do as Peter says in 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins". 

How many times have you heard Galatians 5:13 used to warn Christians to not think they can go about sinning because of grace? A simple reading of the whole verse tells us that the meaning is in reference to how believers treat other believers. Why are we so eager to find fault in others? Why do we gleefully listen to gossip and secretly hope it is true? Jesus specifically said He did not come to condemn but rather to save. Why do His "people" so often seek the opposite? Could it be because they are not His people? If you do not do what Jesus said, then that reveals your lack of relationship with Him. Jesus gave us permission in the form of a command, a license if you will, to love everyone, even our enemies. He modeled that for us in every possible way. Do you use that license, that freedom, to reveal Jesus' love to the world or are you too busy looking for something to criticize? I am sure to some it is very strange to hear someone speak with conviction about loving instead of judging...but is that not what Jesus taught us and commanded us to do?

On today's podcast, Braden Howard joins us to discuss the topic of allowing the Lord to "plant" us, to let the Lord place us where He wants us and to permit Him to use us according to His will. Many times in life we will find ourselves in places we would not have chosen for ourselves because of discomfort caused by the situation or circumstances. If we walk away from those moments prematurely, deciding what we think is best for ourselves, or letting fear dictate our decisions, we may inadvertently rob ourselves of a great blessing, not to mention our disobedience causing us to run afoul of the Lord. When it comes to living and walking by faith, we do not get to determine our steps. We take each one of them trusting that Jesus knows what He is doing and that the Holy Spirit is in charge of ordering our steps to accomplish the will of God.  

On today's episode we have special guest Ellie Anderson joining us to have an open and honest discussion about her struggles with anxiety. Ellie is a 17 year old senior in high school. Her story is a very powerful testimony about the reality of mental health and the wonderful progress she made in dealing with it. She credits her faith, family, and therapy for all working together to help her make great strides in her effort to heal. Ellie is very brave and it was an honor to get to hear her story first hand. I know you will be blessed by it. 

Do you tell the truth? What I mean by that is do you as a believer share the truth of God's love with others or do you tell them another story: do you share the love of God or do you seek to bring condemnation and assign guilt and shame? Jesus told a group of Pharisees and scribes one day that they were children of the devil, whom he called a liar and murderer from the beginning. They were lying to the people about the Lord. Instead of sharing the grace of God by celebrating the forgiveness of sin found in the offering of a sacrifice, they were seeking to execute people for violating the law. Do we do the same today?

Of all people, believers should exude happiness. Why is it then that many see believers as miserable, unhappy people? On today's episode we dive into the discussion of why this perception is held, the evidence for why it is believed, and the root cause of the unhappiness. We will discuss the biblical reasons for why the believer should be the happiest of all people, and attempt to uncover the dark deception that has led many in the church to believe that happiness in the Christian must be some sort of sin and a weakness. 

As believers we must always be on watch, vigilant to protect our minds from thoughts that run contrary to the will of God. It is so easy for us to fall into the trap of negativity. We become so consumed with what the enemy brings into our minds. We begin to believe the lies that he tells us about ourselves and others. The only hope we have is to remain firmly planted on the only true and sure foundation in this world, the Word of God. We must remain "stayed", firmly rested, in the Word of God alone. 

What "nations" is Paul referring to in Romans 15? Is there no desire from God for His people to reach the lost because of the place where they were born? Do we as believers get to become the sole arbiters of God's sovereign will in regards to who gets to be redeemed and who doesn't based off of whether or not we "like" or "agree" with them? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in today's podcast. 

Today's podcast is a difficult one. My wife, Jennifer Warren, shares her story of being abused and how that affected her life. So many people in our world have been hurt in so many ways. Far too often we turn away from them because their behavior is off putting or they are difficult to deal with, never realizing the trauma they have endured that has caused them to be the way they are. I hope that today's podcast will help believers to understand that ugly, horrible, awful things have been endured by people that we may not be aware has occurred. Sometimes all someone needs is to know that someone else cares and is understanding. Broken people are often avoided like lepers... but Jesus went to the lepers. He touched them. As believers we should not abandon the broken. Through us Jesus is able to touch them. We should go to them, show compassion, be willing to assist, and make sure they know they are loved. From the beginning of the healing process and all the way through to the end. 

Statistics report that many young people have begun to abandon the church. Part of that is cultural, parents have made church an option instead of a priority therefor their children do not see church life as necessary. Another aspect is equally as troubling; many churches have been derelict in the duty of embracing and developing the young men and women in their church. I suppose it's a case of "those kids are not my responsibility"...(oh how selfish independence is crippling the church in America). The core tenet of Christianity is discipleship, and if we think Jesus will give us a pass on rebelling against His command to do so we are woefully incorrect. On today's podcast special guest Braden Howard joins us to discuss this issue and how the church should respond.