Would you ever think religion to be worthless? - if of course you're not an Atheist.  Well, James, the half-brother of Jesus seems to think it can be which should make us wanna scratch our heads and wonder how our faith in Jesus, i.e. our religion can be of no value.  

In today's episode, I'm going to address the book of James 1:19-27 and unpack various areas where he says we're deceiving ourselves thinking we're undefiled Christians in the eyes of the Lord.  He does this by prompting us to do a self-evaluation to see if we're hearing the Word only, or actually doing what we heard to prove ourselves as disciples of Jesus, which is what will tell us if our religion is indeed worthless or not.  

Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel lead by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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When it comes to our eternal destination, most people usually talk more about heaven than they do about hell.  Why?  Because more and more people claim to not believe in it, or water it down for a number of reasons, therefore brush it off.

In today's episode, I'm going to expand off one verse from Romans 6:23 that refers to the very topic that can make us cringe which is hell.  And the reason we get all sensitive to it, is simply because it's not about rainbows and butterflies and/or anything that gives us that welcomed warm-and-fuzzy feeling.  However, take note that this message is not to fear-monger anyone as there's unfortunately plenty of that already wrongly going around.  Rather this is just purely informative to perhaps give anyone not so sure about it more insight.

Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel lead by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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I think we can agree that living in today's society, there's plenty to keep us busy, in which generally speaking is a good thing as it can keep us mentally stimulated, even healthier, if we're not chained to a desk.  But there is such thing as being too busy, even if it's being busy for Jesus.  

In today's episode, I'm going to talk about a story from Luke's Gospel 10:38-42.  Even though it's only 4 verses long, it heavily emphasizes how we get easily distracted, focusing on our busyness to the point we've become blinded to the more important things in life literally right in front of us.  This is all because we're falling for how Satan tries to manipulate our priorities that not only affects the way we serve, but moreover, how it hinders our relationship with Jesus.  And if our relationship with Jesus isn't so hot, then it should be no surprise why our relationships with family or our fellowshipping feels like they're in the tank .  Overall, if we don't address what Jesus made clear in this story, it only brings on more problems than we already thought we were in.

Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel lead by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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Wouldn't you agree that mannerisms are important?  Particularly please and thank-you's, yes?  Although we acknowledge they're not required, it's just that if someone goes out of the way to demonstrate them, we want, or at least hope  they'd be sincere, especially if we went out of the way to do something super thoughtful.  However, we can usually tell when their gratitude is superficial, which sadly and ultimately makes us feel unappreciated.  And I'm just gonna take a wild guess, but I'm pretty sure no one likes to feel unappreciated since it could bring about a sense of being undervalued.  

In today's message, I'm going to point out how Jesus felt the same in the Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 where He was met by 10 lepers and ultimately was left feeling unappreciated and undervalued.  This story is to get us to think about our mannerisms and how we more often than not give Him our superficial thanks, especially for how thoughtful He is being that He loves us so much.  

Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel lead by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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As we read the Word of God, we see or hear things that may seem contradictory leaving us feeling spiritually insecure.  One of those things that many lack their security and confidence in, is retaining their salvation.  Due to the different beliefs/interpretations, I wanted to dig deep into scripture, expanding off of the Gospel of John 10:22-30.  This is to show you what the Bible tells us plainly so that you can ultimately feel more confident in the promise that you were sealed in the day you fully received and accepted the gospel of your salvation.  
  
Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel lead by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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Wouldn't you agree that everyone wants to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?  And for good reason too!  Yet they're super-skeptical believing it when they hear it.  I can understand why given we live in a world with too much information, especially with today's technology being able to conjure up just about anything to make it come across as believable, or better yet, as the truth.  

That being said, makes sense how/why it's difficult for non-believers to distinguish truth from trash, thus is why some people have come to bizarre conclusions that even include something like, "the truth is, there is no truth."  But if you think about it, a statement like that is contradicting given they just said "the truth is..."  So you see, there is truth, but it only comes from one source, a source that came into the world to show us what that is, or really who He is that's sadly often dismissed or even laughed at, that being the truth of Jesus Christ, all because people would rather believe the world's truth instead.

In today's episode, I'm going to highlight a single verse from the gospel of John 14:6.  The reason for the single verse is because it really speaks for itself.  But nonetheless, I feel it's necessary to expand off of it by pointing out various lies that are designed to come off as the truth - all devised by the devil so that those who are so desperately searching for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, are bewitched.  Why?  So people would remain ignorant and vulnerable to his plots and schemes.  That being said leads to the question, do you know the difference between the world's truth and God's truth?

Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages all believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to do so. 

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The fact that God gave us various emotions to express ourselves is amazing, especially when word's don't suffice.  However, clinging onto a specific emotion is not healthy, particularly anger.  

In today's episode, I'm going to read and break down the entire book of Jonah to show you how even a man of God can succumb to the things that tempt us, which in his case was anger.  And as you'll see, it was all. the. time.  Moreover, his reason for being angry was greatly fogging his perspective that was also keeping his heart hardened.  

All that to say, it's a good thing that God doesn't condemn our anger, but He's not gonna sit there and condone it either, especially if our reasons for being angry in the first place are unacceptable, thus is why He presents not just Jonah, but us as well, the question “is it right for you to be angry?”  This of course is to not only provoke thought, but also an opportunity to repent. 

Please note that this is according to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages all believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to do so. 

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Health and wellness has crossed everyone's mind at some point - as it should.  While some are more serious about it than others, many are unfortunately exhausting themselves trying every trending diet invented in order to quickly melt away that stubborn belly fat, in which recent years the ancient "Daniel-diet" has grown very popular for its reputation to practically morph into a whole new physique - in a jiff too.

In today's episode, I wanted to address the book of Daniel 1:8-16 and talk about why this diet came about along with its purpose, so that anyone attempting the next "quick-fix" will walk away having better discernment when it comes to deciding if this option truly will be successful or not.

Please note that this is according to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages all believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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The Israelites/Jewish people have a long history of various groups of people attempting to utterly destroy the entire race, as that's nothing new today.  However, the book of Esther is one such time that also shows us a number of events unfolding to display God's sovereignty as well as His divine deliverance.  In this episode, I begin by recapping parts 1 and 2, but then I pick up where I left off at chapter 6 and complete the story which goes through chapter 10.  

During this time, Queen Esther exposes Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews, his desperate attempt to have his life spared, to then ultimately being hung on the very device/gallow he specifically made for Mordecai.  When the day of doom arrived for the Jews to be exterminated, it turned into a day of gladness, for they had been allowed to defend themselves against any army/person who still desired/planned on carrying out the initial edict to destroy them, in which they took out 75K of those who hated them.  Shortly after, Mordecai had been elevated to second-in-command in all the land of the Medo-Persian empire and is also when he and Queen Esther inaugurated the holiday 'Purim' to be commemorated throughout all generations.

- End of season one, season two begins in September - 

Please note that this is according to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages all believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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The Israelites/Jewish people have a long history of various groups of people attempting to utterly destroy the entire race, as that's nothing new today.  However, the book of Esther is one such time that also shows us a number of events unfolding to display God's sovereignty as well as His divine deliverance.  In this episode, I pick up where I left off in part one at chapter 3 and read through chapter 5.  

These three chapters displays several events that can almost leave your head spinning from all the fear and suspense.  It starts off how/when the Jews learn of their day of future execution, to then Mordecai and Esther having an in an intense back-and-forth conversation via Hatach the messenger commanding her tell the king about this plot for genocide.  Esther finally agrees, and so after 3 days of fasting/prayer, she prepares a private-banquet to expose Haman's plot, but never ended up going through with it.  Lastly, Haman leaves the party being on cloud-9 given all this "special attention," however encounters Mordecai on the way home and is filled with fury.  So much so that he quickly fashions a 75-foot gallow to have him hung in the morning.  If you think that's crazy, just wait, because part 3, which will be the last episode in this story, will blow your mind with numerous twists and turns along with the rising and falling between two main characters.  

Please note that this is according to the best of my current knowledge and understanding.  I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages all believers to do so.  There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to do so.

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