The God Journey

"President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire to cause Armageddon and mark his return to...

Wayne, Tobie, and Kyle continue their discussion about the release of Just Love: How One Mistranslation Distorted the Gospel. All...

"The Incarnation itself was an act of justice," says Tobie van der Westhuizen, co-author of Just Love: How One Mistranslated...

Perception is its own reality, false though it may be. The podcast begins with a brief conversation about the trajectory...

It's happened again. Another major ministry in the Charismatic world admits to hiding a false prophet who was also sexually abusive—for six years! Why does this keep happening? Sadly, many who claim to follow Christ can't tell the difference between someone filled with the life of the Spirit and those who only pretend to be for notoriety and influence. In the last few weeks, horrible revelations have come out of Bethel in Redding, and Wayne and Kyle wrestle with the questions that yet another scandal provokes. Until hearts turn to care for the victims of abuse and act to protect them, we will continue to see false leaders who would rather cover up abuse rather than warn the sheep when a wolf is among them.

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Where do you place your hope in the midst of difficult times? Kyle is finding that more and more people are turning to AI as a source of hope and direction because they don't have relationships that encourage and inspire them. Can AI be a spiritual advisor, or even a conduit to God? Or, is it becoming a golden calf for those who don't feel God's presence and wisdom aren't tangible enough? Wayne and Kyle talk about our substitutes for presence and community, as well as the addictive nature of AI's Positive Validation Feedback Loop that keeps people engaged by telling them what they want to hear. Authenticity can only be found in our connection to Jesus and in the community of fellow-travelers that he places around us.

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"To have faith is to trust love," which is where the bulk of Wayne and Kyle's conversation goes this week as they come through the mailbag. There are comments about relational community, how prayer changes as trust grows, and the McDonald's Toy Syndrome. They finish with one email that talks about the importance of trusting God's love and not knowledge alone. While human love can be weak and conditional, God's love is the strongest force in the universe and opens people to truth and reality. Those who desire love will recognize him when he comes; those who desire knowledge will see him as a threat.

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How do you view friendships around you, especially those that may be short-lived? Do you shy away, not wanting to get hurt, exploit them for what you can get, or engage them as an opportunity to share life, even if it won't last long? Wayne and Kyle discuss what a healthy mindset looks like as we engage others, whether it be short-term or long-term. Be true to your "yuck meter" so you won't be manipulated. Learn the power of active listening as a gift to give others by giving them your full attention, a curious mind, and a calm presence, while resisting the desire to make judgments or give advice. Of course, all of that begins in our growing trust in Father's love and realizing that anything that argues against our belovedness to him is a lie we need to walk away from.

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"The enemy's chief strategy is to make dead things look alive." And wow, does it ever work! In the backdrop of yet another revelation of moral failure on the part of a Christian celebrity, Kyle and Wayne discuss how the theology of love can fail us in our desperate moments. The question remains, however: Why doesn't love and faith transform even its most ardent advocates? How can people give lip service to love and grace for decades and yet remain so utterly untransformed by it? Unless we discover God's kind of love inside his presence with us, we will remain unchanged and still act in our own expedience rather than treating others around us justly. And in the aftermath of failure, how does love restore the victims who suffer because of it and the one who fell to temptation?

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"All healing involves discomfort—but so does refusing to heal." So writes Resmaa Menakem in his book, My Grandmother's Hands, which Wayne and Sara have just finished reading. The book is about healing from traumatic pain, especially around trauma related to race. Quotes from the book draw Wayne and Klye into a discussion about clean pain and dirty pain as they apply to emotional hurt and wounds. Our responses or reactions to our own pain can either put more hurt in the world, both for ourselves and others, or our responses to pain can promote healing. The difference is whether we come at healing from an agitated state or from a calm, settled body, which we can find in the peace and presence of Jesus. This also points out why our society cannot have a reasoned, healing conversation about race today—both sides come at it from agitation and frustration.

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