The Third Option

Today's very special guest is Al Jennings, Senior Pastor Pastor/CEO of Summit Church in Indiana. He is a speaker and accomplished author of books like, "God is Not Mad at You", "God Wants You Healed", and "The Father's Love" devotional. He has been married to his bride, Carla, for 40 years and has been blessed with 5 children and 3 grandchildren. 

We are grateful to have had this conversation with Al, and we hope it blesses you as much as it blessed us. 

Website: Summitonline.church

Today we have a listener's question from our friend Jamie in New Zealand. After listening to our episode on health and healing, he reached out to share that he was very encouraged by Katie's story and the fact that she is still rejoicing regardless of her physical condition. He asks the question, "I think what you are emphasizing is that God's grace is always sufficient for us to keep rejoicing, but what are some practical steps to keep rejoicing even while living with emotional or physical instability?"

We invited Katie Roof back to talk about some of the practical things she has incorporated into her healing journey that keep her focused on the joy within. Joy is a fruit of the spirit and manifests naturally because Christ is in us. Katie brought out that there are "facts" and there is "Truth". We all deal with facts in this natural world, some facts are wonderful and some are extremely challenging. But Truth will always triumph over facts. Rejoicing is an expression of that supernatural joy within us. We really loved our conversation with her and hope it will encourage you too.

Nichole Marbach is a mother of 3 who resides in Illinois with her husband and three rescue dogs. She is an author, speaker, teacher, an ordained minister under Andrew Wommack Ministries who feels called to spread the extreme love and grace of God around the world.

Nichole's amazing testimony of overcoming bipolar disorder, PTSD, suicide attempts, panic attacks, alcoholism, self-injury, and other addictions, has given her a passion to minister to hurting people. She loves to teach people that Jesus paid the price for their healing and encourage them to never give up hope on the promises of God.

Nichole has ministered throughout the U.S. and internationally as a conference speaker and teacher. She has also ministered at recovery groups, prisons, business settings, churches, and more. Her miraculous "Healing Journey" has aired on Andrew Wommack's The Gospel Truth TV program and CBN's The 700 Club. Nichole is thrilled to get the word out to different audiences that mental illness in not incurable and nothing is impossible with God.

Nichole is the founder of Nichole Marbach Ministries (nicholemarbach.org).

Today we have a special guest with us to talk about health and healing with the love and grace of God. Our friend Katie Roof, has walked through a difficult diagnosis of an auto-immune disease, almost dying more than once. She approaches her healing with the Lord as her primary care physician and with God’s grace continues to live a fulfilling and overcoming lifestyle.

Sandra McCollom joins Rick and Judi on this week’s episode for a discussion about boundaries. After the recent series on Love Your Enemies and Pray For Those Who Spitefully Use You, we felt it was the perfect time to explore this important topic. Should Christians even make boundaries? If so, when do we make them and how? This is one of Sandra’s favorite topics and we enjoyed hearing her share real life examples of setting boundaries and even not setting a boundary.

Sandra is the daughter of Joyce Meyers. She and her husband, Steve, have founded Freedom Living Ministries. She is an author, blogger, and public speaker and she loves pointing people to Jesus. We mention her book in this episode, “I Tried Until I Almost Died: From Anxiety and Frustration to Rest and Relaxation”. You can purchase it on her website at sandramccollom.com as well as check out her blog and speaking schedule.

We love Sandra and her family and we know you will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

In this episode, Rick and Judi discuss how earnest prayer is the only  way to navigate situations where others are insulting, slandering, and  falsely accusing you. It can be difficult to pray for someone who is  actively and intentionally hurting you, but it is the way of the  Kingdom, and it brings His life and His perspective into the situation.

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." ~Matthew 5:44

Easier said than done... The Natural Man gravitates toward negativity and can quickly identify what is wrong, but Jesus calls us to see the good in others, bless them, and desire prosperity for them. This isn't the status quo and is considered very unusual in the world around us, but Jesus in us gives us everything we need to actively bless those who others would say do not deserve it. THIS kind of love is possible only with God!

It feels pretty natural to love your friends and hate your enemies,  right? Loving our enemies feels very counterintuitive, and yet, God has  given us the power and authority to do just that. The Holy Spirit within  us equips us to do what we can't do in our own strength. In this  episode, Rick and Judi discuss the difference between the natural man  and the believer when it comes to showing love to our enemies. Take a listen!

Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:22 to forgive 77x, but this can be hard when our sense of justice kicks in or we have been deeply hurt by someone. With Jesus, the impossible becomes possible and we are able to extend forgiveness BEFORE the other person changes, apologizes, or admits they are wrong. In this episode, Rick and Judi talk about the freedom they experienced when they embraced their new nature in Christ and offered forgiveness to those around them.

Rick and Judi have a conversation with Cody Coulter, founder of The Love Movement, co-pastor at Grace Family Outreach in Missouri, and lead musician in the Christian rock band, Holding Ground. Cody's story includes drug addiction, multiple suicide attempts, prison time and then, in prison, he experienced a unique encounter with the overwhelming love of God. While still in prison, God gave Cody a vision of "The Love Movement" and now he is dedicated to holding space for people like himself where they can be accepted, respected and loved, particularly those who have experienced great pain and do not see the value in life except to escape it. From addiction to freedom, from self-destruction to self-value, from atheism to a deep convincing of the undeniable presence of a God who loved him regardless of all he had done, Cody shares the impact God's love has had on his life. We hope you will enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.