About Day #7 of Victoria’s hospital stay I read to her out of the book of James…

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2 NIV)

That scripture is constantly taught incorrectly, as if God is a mean (and wicked teacher!). It does not mean…

* “I am so joyful I have cancer!”

* “I am so joyful I was raped!”

* “I am so joyful my child was killed in a car accident!”

Read in context, this verse means to consider, in the biggest of pictures, it pure joy, that IN SPITE OF the enemy’s best efforts, there is something good to be found in it and because of it.

“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can.” (James 1:2 TPT)

Now, that is quite simplified but I always feel like I have to punch that nonsensical teaching in the face when I use James!

Okay, Onward! I read that verse to Victoria and we chatted about it. Her response, “That is hard!” Yep. Extremely hard AND the truth we need when we are in hard places.

In this podcast we explore whether or not healings and miracles are the same or not (I do not believe the are!). I share a few things I learned during this time about the differences, what God showed me about Sloppy Gratitude and how we might be able to apply this idea of the differences between Miracles and Healings to our Finances.

Yes, to our Finances!

And, just in case you are only interested in a part of this Exploration I have given a summary below so you can easily skip to the parts you want to hear.

Thanks for reading The Journey Life with Les Herron! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Podcast Outline

00:00 to 02:21 Intro

02:22 to 04:17 Personal Update

04:18 to 13:33 Was Victoria’s Healing a Miracle?

13:34 to 19:22 The Sloppy Gratitude Dilemma

19:23 to 21:06 The “How Can You?” Principle

21:07 to 26:16 Sloppy Language around the supernatural does NOT help

26:17 to 32:46 The Biblical & Practical definition of Miracle

32:47 to 38:36 Stop Praying for a Financial Miracle and start the Healing

38:37 to END Our Story of Healing & Miracles in our Finances

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I have been in ministry for over 30 years and for almost 20 of those I have preached on Sunday mornings.

I ‘retired’ from pulpit ministry 3 years ago and I have learned a lot about how to bring ‘something’ when I am not preaching or leading.

This podcast is about 13-minutes and in it I share some of what I am going through these last few years when it comes to attending church.

I think it might help you think through what you want to Bring to church when you gather with the saints.

You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking below…

The Christian life is WAY MORE spiritual than most of us realize.

We get the doctrine and the theology.

We understand the morals.

Yet we so often leave out the deeply spiritual and mystical parts of our Faith.

It is like we have an intellectual agreement with Christianity but without much Experience with our Spirit connecting with God’s Spirit.

In this podcast I use some really simply definitions and terminology that is not religious at all. I do that in an attempt to help myself understand more and more of how to engage with Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as well as to help you come along with me.

This podcast is in this order:

* Introduction + Travel Update

* What is Permission?

* What is Invitation?

* How are they Different?

* 3 Practical Illustrations

* Conclusion

Thanks for reading and for listening! If you like this content then please LIKE, Share, and Comment.

Thanks!

(You can find all my podcasts on iTunes by clicking below)

If you prefer watching to listening then click the link below for the video…

In this podcast we take a look at Psalm 57:8 which says “Awake my soul”. I take a look at what other word choices we have for “Soul” in this scripture, as well as why in the world is the first phrase followed by ‘Awake, harp and lyre!’?

“Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre!” (Psalm 57:8 NIV)

About 1/2 of this podcast is me giving 4 practical strategies that will help you wake up your soul. They are…

* Accountability: it is much more about vulnerability then we have taught it to be!

* “Bangs on Door”: set high goals that rattle you from your slumber, like my Dad banging on my door to wake me up.

* Systems: strategically plan and intentionally implement systems that keep you awake and help you become more and more vibrant.

* Design: get clear on how God made you AND start doing the hard but right work of believing it. If you were designed to hear God, to glorify God and to thrive, then how hard should it really be?

As always, you can find me on Spotify and iTunes The Journey Life with Les Herron

You can also watch this episode on YouTube, found by clicking on the picture below…

You absolutely must listen to #1 in order to be able to appreciate this episode.

In this episode we dive into your Testimony, stumbling blocks, being offended and judging others…

* Dig into one more scripture we use to say Christians should not swear and we explore what it really means about how we choose our words

* Decide if swearing ruins my testimony

* Explore if swearing causes others to “Stumble”

* Are “They” stumbling on my words or choosing offense?

* A few reasons why we struggle with loving the shallow parts of scripture and fear to tread into the deep waters of what God really wants from us

* Should you stop swearing?

As a side note, please let me know if you are getting PAID Subscriber notices on any of these emails. I may go paid one day but right now everything is accessible for free.

If you want to watch #1 from last week then here it is on YouTube…

Two things prompted me to dig into swearing (VS cursing!).

One, preacher, pastor, podcaster and all around cool guy Tim Ross swore on a podcast a few weeks ago. I did not hear it but I was told about it. Interestingly, those who thought it okay and those who thought it wrong were pretty divided by their age.

Two, earlier this year one of my absolute favorite preachers commented from the stage that God had told him he needed to stop swearing. I was floored! This guy has spiritually motivated tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people around the world and he swears? I cracked up and started laughing about how much freedom this minister/speaker just showed.

Most of the conversation I hear around Swearing is full of personal preference and lacking in scriptural depth.

In these podcasts I attempt to add that scriptural depth! It started out as one session but it quickly became two longer podcasts.

The reason is plain and simple: The more I dug into the scriptures that most of us would use to say “Christians should not swear!” the more I realized that I had been missing the main point.

The main point throughout this episode and the next episode is that we struggle viewing scripture in such shallow ways that we miss the deepness of what the scripture really wants to share with us.

When we demand that Christians should not swear BUT ignore that we are to use our words for thanksgiving, for prophecy, for edifying and blessing one another, well, that is a great example of us splashing around in the shallow end while ignoring the deep end.

I am headed to Crete, Greece later this afternoon with my son, daughter-in-law and her Dad for a week on the island and then 3 days in Malta but I would definitely love some feedback on this podcast and the next.

Of course, the feedback I am looking for is not a stale old personal opinion but something that you thought that is connected to something said on the podcast!

Does that sound harsh? Well, in this podcast I think you will see how I am challenged by what I have studied. In fact, in #2 I share a few areas where I struggle with adhering to the standards of what I saw in these scriptures!

As always, thanks for sharing, liking and commenting!

Scripture is full of Identity Statements for Christians…

* You are a co-worker of God (1 Corinthians 3:8-9)

* You are a light (Matthew 5:14-16) ...

* You are a masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10) ...

* You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) ...

* A temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

…yet most of us still Identity with the “Old Man”, AKA “The Flesh”.

I loved this conversation with Tim because of the fresh awareness he received about Identity as he was preparing a series of messages for his church.

Here are some of the questions I asked Tim…

* How would you describe Identity? 

* In one sentence, give me a definition of Identity.

* What do you think is the biggest challenge to a Christ centered or cross-centered Identity for Believers?  

* Why do we struggle so much with the fact that we are unique?  That we are fearfully and wonderfully made? 

* Why do Us Christians seem to keep putting our focus on Physical Identity rather than our Spiritual Identity?  Or on Religious, Political, Moral Identity? 

* What has been your biggest struggle in regards to your own identity? 

* I heard a message you spoke earlier this year where you said, “God already made an image of Himself and it is YOU”  Wow!  Go ahead and unpack that for a minute. 

* What are a few of the main benefits of having a Strong, Healthy Identity in Christ? 

* What are 3 ways we increase the healthiness of our Identity in Christ?

My prayer is for you to increase your sense of Identity in Christ in such a way that it would manifest in and through all you do and say.

And if you prefer watching your podcasts then please click below and it will take you right to the video on YouTube.

In this podcast I explore 3 more reasons why we struggle with believing in demons even though they are quite common throughout scripture.

While the focus here is on demons and the demonic I think that the concepts of why we struggle with believing in the demonic can easily be applied to some of the more mystical and scandalous things of scripture.

While I hope you listen to the entire podcast I wanted to give you a chance to go to a specific point in the podcast just in case you were extra curious about one area. Here you go…

4:00 Theological Interpretations

15:45 Psychological or Emotional Factors

26:45 Intellectual Factors

35:30 Demons in The New Testament Scripture

You can subscribe to The Journey Life on iTunes by clicking below!

Did you know that 46% of Americans, about 4 in 10, believe in ghosts, demons or other supernatural beings. 

When that is broken down into just believing in Demons, 22% say Demons absolutely exist and 24% say that they probably exist. 

When it comes to Ghosts specifically, not demons with ill intent, about 45% of people believe in them. 

For Christians the belief in demonic spirits can be a complex and deeply personal matter, and the reason people may struggle with this concept can come from a variety of sources.

In this podcast, Podcast Episode #21, I take a look at 3 reasons why people may struggle to believe in something that is so common in scripture.

* A Scientific Worldview, not limited to science alone but connected to our desire to appear intellect, as well as our need to be logical and reasonable in the eyes of others.

* Our Cultural Influences, including and maybe most importantly, the culture of religion.

* Our Personal Experiences, whereas we have not experienced the “demonic” so struggle to believe that is it true (even though it is fairly common throughout the New Testament).

Next week I will share a few more reasons why we struggle with what is common in scripture but I would love to know…

WHAT Do you struggle with believing that you read in scripture?

Please COMMENT below…

You can also find my conversation with Jim Sim about Spiritual Warfare on iTunes by clicking below. And be sure to follow me on iTunes or Spotify and get notified in your favorite APP when a podcast is released.

If you prefer watching YouTube then you can catch this podcast and all of The Journey Life Podcasts there.

This is a first for The Journey Life Podcast.

I have a guest with me today. His name is Jim Sim. Jim and I have ministered together for over 20 years, traveling/speaking in Scotland, England, and Panama. We have also traveled together to Spain, Costa Rica and a few road trips in the good old United States.

Jim is the leader of The LifeChurch7 School of Supernatural Ministry in Richland, Washington. LSSM is a Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry school that is discipling and equipping the local church to be soulfully healthy and whole, spiritually engaged, and practically minded.

Pastor Wes Lisbeth is the Senior pastor at LifeChurch7 and he has partnered with God to create a very special church in the 7-city areas of Washington.

Jim was actually teaching on Spiritual Warfare while I was writing and sharing about God Encounters and then belief in the demonic.

You can watch my him speak on this spiritual life and spiritual battle by clicking HERE.

Spiritual Warfare

Here are some of the questions we cover in this podcast…

* How would you describe the nature of spiritual warfare? Are we, as believers, always in a spiritual battle?

* What authority do believers have in Christ when confronting spiritual warfare?

* How crucial is prayer in spiritual warfare, and how can believers effectively employ prayer as a weapon in their battle strategy?  If it is crucial, Why is it?

* Does engaging in praise and worship, as highlighted in Psalm 22:3, create an atmosphere where God's presence dwells and the enemy's plans are thwarted?  If so, How?

* Does seeking and abiding in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11) strengthen us against the attacks of the enemy? If so, How?

* What is the role of the local church in equipping believers for spiritual warfare, and how can congregations be more intentional about this?