God never asks us to surrender anything unless He has something greater in store, either in this life or the one to come.

This simple principle of surrender is proven over and over again in Scripture.

We see it in Hannah surrendering her son, to see God turn him into a priest before the king and in God giving her sons and daughters.

We see it in Jesus, surrendering His life for the salvation of the lives of the whole world.

And we will see it in our own lives, as He says, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30).

Join me as we explore how God gives greater, today on Rinse and Repeat.

(RAR2024EP51)

What are we willing to do in our surrender to Christ?

Will we sacrifice time? Talents? Money? Relationships? Comfort?

Jesus commanded that all who would come after him would need to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Today, we examine what a life of that kind of surrender looks like, which one young missionary described as a life with "No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets."

(RAR2024EP50)

Today, we embark on a brand new series here on Rinse and Repeat, a series exploring what it means to live fully surrendered to Christ.

So often, I am asked, "I don't feel anything in my Christian life. I don't feel what I once felt in my walk with the Lord." The Christian life is so often NOT about what we feel, but rather about a life of deep, abiding surrender.

In this first message in the series, I explore the various stages of our surrender, drawn from the life of Peter and his interactions with Jesus in Luke 5. Turn there with me now, as we learn how to “Trust the One You Believe In.”

(RAR2024EP49)

For all who are hard on yourselves...

For all who are over-achievers or perfectionists...

A word on Biblical self-care and above all, mercy!!

(RAR2024EP48)

The Bible refers to us as MORE than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

Have you ever wondered what makes us MORE than conquerors?

In today's episode, we conclude the book of Esther, as we see the Hebrew people MORE than conquering their enemies within the Persian empire. The Hebrews defeat their enemies with the means their enemies had devised for the Jews' destruction! That is just one example of being MORE than a conqueror!

Join me today as we explore how we are more than conquerors, no matter how daunting our circumstances appear today!

(RAR2024EP47)

Sometimes, we can experience a traumatic event that we fear will change the course of our lives forever - moments that will mar us in unforgettable ways.

All hope can seem lost - but not so with God. In a moment, God can turn things around. He can restore lives, He can revive hope, He can raise the dead to new life.

Today, we see the Jews facing a law that spells their death, and yet, God hands them a supernatural reversal when all hope is lost. Turn with me to Esther 8 for hope when we need it most, today on Rinse and Repeat!

(RAR2024EP46)

Today's episode zeroes in on not one, but TWO women filled with God's remarkable Spirit of wisdom (Ephesians 1:17).

As we turn to Esther 7, we will see the wisdom that God gave Esther not to blurt out everything she needed to say, as though she was giving the king "a piece of her mind." Instead, she exercised wisdom in WHAT she said and HOW she said it.

Likewise, we look at Abigail in 1 Samuel 25. and how she, too, was "one smart cookie" in what she said and how she said it.

Lessons on how to speak and conduct ourselves with godly wisdom, up next on Rinse and Repeat!

(RAR2024EP45)

You pray and pray and PRAY over something, and nothing seems to happen.

You are desperate for a situation to change but matters only worsen the more you plead with God about them.

Today on Rinse and Repeat, we see a night when at first, nothing seems to be happening at all. A king, in his chambers, has insomnia and calls for a boring history book to be read to him, that he might fall back to sleep. And yet, though nothing seems to be happening at all, that very history book, on that very night, is the answer to all the prayers of all God's people!

Today's message in Esther 6 is about us walking by faith and not by sight when it seems nothing is happening. I have entitled the message "Even When I Don't See It," because even when we can't see it or feel it, we can rest assured, God is working.

Turn to Esther, chapter 6 for today's episode of Rinse and Repeat!

(RAR2024EP44)

Stand on a chair.

Is it easier to pull people up to you or for you to be pulled down to them?

The illustration serves. It is much easier for us to be pulled down into all sorts of things, so who we choose to be with is ever so important.

Haman’s friends prove the point perfectly, as we see in Esther 5.

That, and so much more, today on Rinse and Repeat.

When faced with something serious, we can agonize (become anxious, panic, sorrowful), we can avoid (numb things, deny how bad it is), or we can appeal to God for real help for real trouble.

In Esther Chapter 4, we see examples of each reaction - agonizing, avoiding, and appealing - and we stand to learn how to appeal to God when faced with difficulty.

So many practical lessons in this historical book of Esther!

(RAR2024EP42)