Spiritual Haul

What if you had a friend that was only willing to hear your happy stories, but not willing to listen to you speak about the hard things in your life that shaped you, changed you? What if they loved celebrating with you when good things were happening, but never wanted to be with you when you were in pain? Would you consider that person a true friend? Probably not, but this is what many of us do with God. We like to hear some bible stories, but not others. We like to think about all the happy things about God and not think about the things about God that make us uncomfortable; His wrath, His sorrow, some of those stories in the bible that make us say, "Whaaaaat?"  This week is about one of those stories, and its an invitation to look deeper into the Heart of God, to empathize with the hardest thing God ever had to do. 

If you could go to Heaven, and everyone you know and love is there. The place is paradise. There is no hunger or sickness or pain. It's magnificent and exciting. If you could go to this Heaven, but the one catch is, Jesus isn't there. Would you still want to go? | Episode 2 dives into the questions of what we really want and what we really need. It confronts disappointment and explores the provision of God. 

Sometimes for a vessel to sail properly, the crew has to jettison everything unnecessary in order to preserve that which is essential. In other words, you lighten the load to save the ship. Life has a way of bogging us down, not just with situations but with ideas. Sometimes our faith and view of God can be weighted down too. I hope this episode inspires you to lighten the load and enjoy the adventure of diving into the character of God. Man looks at the outer appearance, but God looks at the heart. Jettison is an introduction to Spiritual Haul Season 2 where together we are going to let go of what we think we know about God, and lean into the wonder and awe of His character through the stories in His Word. I hope that this season encourages you to throw some things overboard for the sake of knowing Him. 

"What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet?" The quote is a famous line from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," but is the lovestruck 13 year old Juliet right in her assessment? Certainly, insofar as a name shouldn't be the cause of the unwarranted prejudice as we see that it is in that play.  However names do have power, as words do, and they can call forth something new in us. So what happens when God gives someone a new name?  What does that mean? What does that mean for us today? Most importantly, what does the act of changing someone's name tell us about the nature of God? 

"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." -Martin Luther King Jr. 

This episode deep dives into the second most famous biblical character of all time, and explores the word "faith." Faith is usually something we can't see, right? Well that's what most people think, but Uncharted Waters is about faith that we can see, faith that changes the world, faith that changes your world, faith that changes generations. 

12 Dares of Christmas to prepare your heart to receive the healing that the main character of Christmas wants to bring us all. Some of the dares seem simple others very difficult, but they will all change your life this year. You don't really have to "walk the plank" if you don't do the dares, but I don't want you to miss out on the blessings and freedom you're meant to carry into this next season. Jesus is coming back soon!

How can we heal from the divides and setbacks of the year 2020? How should we approach the Holidays this year? Celebration is a powerful weapon. "Celebration Over Mutiny" is a special Thanksgiving episode. It's a call for a return to joy, a return to praise, and a return to Thanksgiving. This message is a special call to action for the Church. 

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" -Jesus

What do you do when death seems easier than life? When life feels like it's too much and pain hits you wave upon wave? When life is unfair?  In this episode we listen to Job in his own words. His words are personal to me. The way he describes his pain is so similar to how I would've described mine. Job never gets an answer to his question of "why God why?" However his cries of pain are heard. In Foggy Part 2, we compare Job's words with Jesus' on the cross. We learn  prayers never expire, and pain never goes unnoticed.

Did God really hedge a bet with Satan over the events of a man's life? Does God care about our pain? If God is good, why is life unfair? The most controversial and difficult book in the Bible is the topic of this podcast. Foggy Part 1 gives us an introduction into the topics and framework of Job. 

Why is it easier to say "the Universe" instead of calling God, God? We as people desire greatness and a connection with the divine, but do we all desire a connection to a God who has a name? God who has a will, emotions, and expectations? This episode dives into some deep personal topics for me. I feel vulnerable releasing it. Some of the topics include; ambition, image, social media, fame, and trying to make a name for ourselves. It dives into the motives of mankind and leaves us with the question, do we really want to walk with God or do we want to try to be our own gods?