We spend so much time and effort (and rage) defending the nation. Do we ever expend such energy and passion in defending or promoting the Kingdom of God? What does that say about our faith? I know I am consistently disappointed with the balance between nation and kingdom in my life. I thought, maybe we just don't understand the Kingdom. So, in this episode I look to the Bible to answer some big questions. What is the Kingdom of God? How do we gain citizenship to this Kingdom? Once we are citizens, what is expected of us? When will all of this happen? After dealing with all of that I debunk some secular claims about citizens of the Kingdom, or maybe I agree with them...to a point. I take their shallow accusations that we are intolerant, judgmental and exclusive and I go deeper to find the truth in them. 

References    

The Bible (Various versions) 

We all have things in common and things that make us different. One thing we all share, despite our denial, is a sin nature. We don't have to be taught to be mean, selfish, manipulative, or prideful. We do however need to be taught, and re-taught to be kind, generous, giving and selfless. It is not our natural state. Humanity hasn't changed in the entirety of history. From creation to grave we remain lost but aimless, curious but never satisfied. The world however, changes constantly, bending to the wills of loudest, the most prideful, rarely the kindest. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Christianity has changed too. The Reformation, the Enlightenment, Fundamentalism, the Social Gospel, Revival, Purity Culture, the Prosperity Gospel, Progressive Christianity, Christian Nationalism and so many more beliefs have had their say and taken their toll on Christians and non-Christians alike. This episode I ask, how can Christianity continue to be relevant in a world and culture that keeps changing? The answer I come up with may surprise you.

References

Craig, William Lane; “YouTube Apologists React!”; Reasonable Faith Podcast

Reasonable Faith Podcast - YouTube Apologists React! (google.com)

Reasonable Faith Podcast - Jordan Peterson's Message to the Christian Church (google.com)

Donnelly, Marisa; “9 Things That Are Holding You Back From A Deeper Relationship

With God” Thought Catalog; https://thoughtcatalog.com/marisa-donnelly/2017/11/9-things-that-are-holding-you-back-from-a-deeper-relationship-with-god/

Sproul, RC; “God’s Law is a Mirror” Ultimately Podcast

Ultimately with R.C. Sproul - God’s Law as a Mirror (google.com)

The day-to-day life of a follower of Christ is not easy in today's world. We are mocked for our belief in one true God and His word, the Bible. We are persecuted for choosing to live by his standards in defiance of the world's religion of self. We are vilified for the sins of our brethren of the past but given no credit for the great societal accomplishments of other Christians. Jesus said that to find the Father we would have to take the narrow gate which few would choose. Did we really think there would be no opposition? As the world chooses the wide gate to destruction it demands that we abandon our faith and follow them promising us peace and tolerance and success along the way. The truth is that everything this world has to offer is temporal, ending when we shuffle off this mortal coil. What Jesus offers us, through his sacrifice on the cross, is eternal. All we have to do is repent and accept him. Once we do that, we have chosen the narrow gate but that is not the end of the story. Once through the narrow gate there is a fork in the road. This 2nd Anniversary, 50th Episode of Rise Up! discusses getting through the narrow gate and the difference between the two paths to the judgment seat.   

References

"Eight Reasons Why Rome Fell" A&E Entertainment.

8 Reasons Why Rome Fell (exploros.com)

Life is full of temptations. The ones we give in to become strongholds that grow and separate us from our relationship with God. Detachment form the things that cause those temptations to grow can be healthy and necessary in our lives. We can install guard rails in our lives that protect us when we are weak, tied, or distracted, but it takes effort and discipline. In this episode I discuss the cost of such an effort as well as the benefit to our daily lives.

REFERENCES

Ahlberg Calhoun, Adele; Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 105–108.

Valloton, Kris, “8 Things to do When Spiritual Warfare Gets Real” krisvalloton.com

https://www.krisvallotton.com/8-things-spiritual-warfare-gets-real

It is one of the many fun and happy sounding slogans that the world uses to demand that we consider horrific acts acceptable. To them "No Justice, No Peace" means that they won't stop screaming, burning, rioting, and threatening until they get their way. For followers of Christ "No Justice, No Peace" means that we will never find peace and rest in our lives until we accept God's objective justice. In this episode I delve into what justice is, what it is not, and what it should be according to the Bible. I also premier a new segment called "Awake, But Not Woke" in which I will expose the unscientific, unbalanced, senseless claims and policies of elites, leaders, and politicians. Their "rules for thee, but not for me" attitudes show their true goal, control without recourse. 

REFERENCES

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 218–220.

International Justice Mission

https://www.ijm.org/

Noyes, Penny, “10 Roles of the Holy Spirit in the Life of Christians,” Christianity.com

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/10-roles-of-the-holy-spirit-in-christian-life.html

Unnamed Author, “World Report 2022” Human Rights Watch.

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/united-states

Walensky, Rochelle P. “Racism is a Serious Threat to the Public’s Health”

https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/racism-disparities/index.html

The 50 year walk through the valley of the shadow of death is over, but not before it cost us over 63 million lives. Lives that could have resulted in political change, scientific innovation, or spiritual leadership gone because they were inconvenient to the people who created them. Despite political rhetoric and angry vitriol, abortion was never a right outlined or even intended by the Constitution. The 1973 Supreme Court created legislation through activist jurisprudence. The 2022 Supreme Court corrected the gross overreach of their predecessors putting the decision back into the hands of the states. That battle will continue on the battleground of the voting booths in each state. This podcast is focused on what we Pro-Life Christians and Non-Christians should be doing now. Our mandate since the first century has been to care for the "least of these." Whether ours or someone else's, we have a responsibility to help where we can. Learning how to parent through trauma is a good start. 

REFERENCES

Alia E. Dastagir, “Rape and incest account for hardly any abortions. So why are they now a focus?” USA Today. May 24, 2019.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/24/rape-and-incest-account-few-abortions-so-why-all-attention/1211175001/

Fleming, Jenna, “TBRI Empowering Principles”, Child & Family Counseling

http://www.jennaflemingcounseling.com/blog-post/tbri-empowering-principles/#:~:text=Empowering%20principles%20is%20a%20term,important%20skills%20like%20self%2Dregulation.

Fleming, Jenna, “TBRI Connecting Principles”, Child & Family Counseling

http://www.jennaflemingcounseling.com/blog-post/tbri-connecting-principles/

NCTSN Parents and Caregivers Website

https://www.nctsn.org/audiences/families-and-caregivers

Purvis, K. B., Cross, D. R., & Sunshine, W. L. The Connected Child: Bringing hope and

healing to your adoptive family. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 2007.

Purvis, Dr. Karyn, Trust Based Relational Intervention, TCU College of Science and Engineering,

https://child.tcu.edu/about-us/tbri/#sthash.aGLhe8oS.dpbs

Secretariat of Pro Life Activities “Abortion is not Health Care”

https://www.usccb.org/resources/Abortion%20is%20Not%20Healthcare%20final.pdf 

After all of the turmoil of my last podcast "What is a Woman (in the Eyes of God)?" I needed a mental and spiritual reset. I didn't expect a method for doing just that to come from a 16th century Spanish Catholic. Ignatius of Loyola outlined a simple prayer process to connect with God throughout the day. If you are struggling to find sense in the modern world the Examen can help you to connect with God and seek intervention through prayer. If your goal is to grow spiritually, seek truth, and spread the Gospel you will need this type of connection with God to keep you mentally, physically, and spiritually strong. 

John 10:10 exposes Satan's plan, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." 

Psalm 56:2 warns of the many who will serve the enemy, "My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me."

Psalm 119:157 encourages us to be steadfast, "Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies."

Deuteronomy 20:1 reminds us why we have nothing to fear, “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you."

Join me as I delve into Ignatius's Examen.

RESOURCES ON EXAMEN

The Ignatian Adventure: Experiencing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Daily Life

by Kevin O’Brien

Journey with Jesus: Discovering the Exercises of Saint Ignatius by Larry Warner

Sleeping with Bread by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn

REFERENCES ON EXAMEN

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 58–61.

Today's society, culture itself, claims that they can't define what it means to be a woman. Yet, they encourage kids to deny their gender, identify as the other gender (or some infinite number of "gender identities"), or transition to the opposite gender entirely. This is not tolerant, inclusive or selfless. It is horrifying that society would encourage you to do permanent damage to your bodies just because your interests and desires don't align with their long-held gender roles. The same people who claim God is a misogynist, and Christians are bigots can't accept that a boy may play with dolls, or a girl might not. True followers of Christ should accept the sinner and reject the sin, even while the world attacks everyone with values other than their own. Sisters in Christ, Who does God say you are? In this podcast the Bible answers that question!

REFERENCES

Feminism, Encyclopedia Brittanica

feminism - The suffrage movement | Britannica

Arcade; “The Fourth and Fifth Waves”

The Fourth and Fifth Waves | Literature, the Humanities, & the World (stanford.edu)

Congress.gov “Equality Act (H.R. 5)”

Text - H.R.5 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Equality Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Florida CS/CS/HB 1557: Parental Rights in Education

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557

Mary, “12 Characteristics of a Godly Woman (how to become a TRUE woman of God!)”  Health Christian Home

12 Characteristics of a Godly Woman (how to be a TRUE woman of God!) (healthychristianhome.com)

Meads, Tim, “Congrats Man! Five Biological Men Who Won Women-Only Contests,” The Daily Wire,

Congrats, Man! Five Biological Dudes Who Won Women-Only Contests | The Daily Wire

Walsh, Matt; “What is a Woman?” The Daily Wire.

Watch | The Daily Wire, or Subscribe Today Two | The Daily Wire   

Praying alone is critical in the lives of the followers of Christ. It connects us to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the relationship that the whole Bible story made possible. Adam and Eve brought sin and death into the world, but God knew they would. His plan accounted for that. It accounted for generations of failure, gnashing of teeth, idolatry, and other sin. It provided a solution in the form of Jesus, fully man and fully God. Jesus raised up disciples who would carry the message forward then he sacrificed himself to reconcile us with the Father. Today, we must live out that gift by sharing the story with others. This podcast offers a suggestion to do it in groups. Take up the full armor of God, gather your squad, and get to work. The person next to you may need you.

RESOURCES ON PRAYER PARTNERS

Listen In: Building Faith and Friendships Through Conversations That Matter by Rachael

Crabb, Sonya Reeder and Diana Calvin

Moms in Prayer International, www.momsinprayer.org

REFERENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

The Bible (Choose your version) Mine is the ESV for many reasons English Standard Version - Read Online (biblestudytools.com)

Ahlberg Calhoun, Adele; Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

          Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 275–277.

Operation World https://operationworld.org/

No one thought David would win against Goliath. It makes you wonder why they allowed him to fight the winner take all battle. As much as was stacked against David in this fight he knew he had the one thing he needed, the anointing of God. We have principalities and powers lined up against us too. Do we rally behind the cross knowing that Jesus already won the battle? No, we bicker amongst ourselves on the stage of social media. We claim God's glory for mundane accomplishments. Don't we have enough stacked against us fighting the forces of the enemy in the new Babel? We should know the enemy, accept the help of our allies, and fight the only fight worth winning, the fight to spread the gospel.

REFERENCES

Agfundernews.com

https://agfundernews.com/gates-if-not-for-climate-then-why-is-bill-buying-up-so-much-farmland

World Economic Forum

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/archive/davos-agenda-2022/

Heat Action Platform;

https://onebillionresilient.org/heat-action-platform/

Merck Code of Digital Ethics https://www.emdgroup.com/company/responsibility/us/products-businesses/CoDE-Code_of_Digital_Ethics.pdf

“FDA approves pill with sensor that digitally tracks if patients have ingested their medication”; FDA.com

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-pill-sensor-digitally-tracks-if-patients-have-ingested-their-medication#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Food%20and%20Drug,that%20the%20medication%20was%20taken.

Viktor Orban (PM of Hungary) “12 Point Action Plan for Christian Conservative Success”

https://abouthungary.hu/blog/pm-orban-at-cpac-heres-hungarys-12-point-recipe-for-christian-conservative-success