Hi, friend. I sure hope you’re doing well.

Today’s episode zeroes in on one of my favorite words in John 3:16: “whoever.” Whoever believes in him. Such a wonderful promise. The gift of salvation and the hope of heaven is available to whoever believes. And who isn’t a “whoever”?

Hello, friend. I hope you’re well today.

No one is immune to the anxiety in our world. Global concerns—wars, catastrophic weather events, a worldwide pandemic still fresh in our memories. Personal concerns—mental health issues, relationship challenges, financial concerns.

The bottom line is this: it’s not a good time to be at odds with God. A heart right with God can survive in a world gone wrong. But when the heart is alienated from God, there is no way for life to be right. My prayer for you today is that you have a very clear answer to that question: “Am I right with God?”

Hi, my friend. I hope you’re doing well today. For the next few weeks on the podcast, leading up to Easter, I’ll be sharing from one of my favorite verses.

I’ve been asked what I would choose if I could only preach one topic or one passage for the rest of my life. I think this is it—John 3:16. The Hope Diamond of the Bible. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Our topic for this episode is God's greatest gift to us, grace. I've preached a lot of sermons on grace, I've written a few books on grace, but I never get tired of talking about this gift of being made right with God through his grace. As perfectly summarized in 1 Corinthians 5:18-21, "All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him. God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace. So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God."

This week on the podcast we’re turning our attention to a favorite passage of mine found in Matthew chapter 6: “Give us this day our daily bread.” No prayer better summarizes our relationship with God than this expression of trust. God’s treatment of fear has always been trust. These are fear-filled days, aren’t they? We see it in newscasts and on our neighbors’ faces. We’re anxious. So, I can’t think of a more appropriate phrase to focus on than this simple, profound prayer of trust.