WPEL On Demand

Join Chip as he discusses why better things in life don’t always make life better.

Resources

• Message Notes
• Special Offers

Connect

• 888-333-6003
• Website
• Chip Ingram App
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube

Partner With Us

• Donate Online
• 888-333-6003

Cynthia Yanof talks about letting go of some parental worries and control to calm life's chaos.

Listen to today's broadcast

Get "Life is Messy, God is Good" free with your gift.

Explore more episode resources 

If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family Minute, please give us your feedback.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. No one else saw him. The disciples saw only a theological case study. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  They didn’t see a human being. They saw a topic of discussion.

Jesus, by contrast, saw a man who was blind from birth. A man who had never seen a sunrise, who couldn’t distinguish purple from pink. He dwelled in a dark world. Others had reason to hope. He had reason to despair.  But then Jesus saw him and he sees you.

The first lesson of this miracle is a welcome one. You and I aren’t invisible. We aren’t overlooked. Jesus spots us on the side of the road and he makes the first move. Remember my friend, you are never alone.

Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

When we've wandered far, coming back to God can feel harder than it should. Naomi returns home empty, sure God has dealt bitterly with her. In this message, Pastor Philip Miller shows a God who never actually left. Discover the one thing keeping us from the love waiting to receive us.

This is part three of the sermon, "Running To Reality."

This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://livinghopeoffer.net or call us at 1-800-215-5001.

00:03 – Self-Reliance Self-Destructs: Why going it alone always fails.
02:27 – The Way That Seems Right: The path that ends in ruin.
05:00 – God on the Move: Bread returns to Bethlehem.
07:31 – She Returned: Naomi turns back toward home and hope.
10:01 – Met Where You Are: God comes to us before we're cleaned up.
12:31 – Our Deepest Reality: When God becomes more precious than the loss.
16:52 – Making It Personal: The grace that pulls us back in.
19:58 – Pride Keeps Us Away: The one thing to lay down to receive love.

Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Living Hope" and "Moody Church Hour," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.

Dr. Philip Miller is the 17th Senior Pastor of The Moody Church. He is the featured speaker on "Living Hope" and "Moody Church Hour," with programs broadcasting on 700 outlets in the U.S. He and his wife Krista live in Chicago with their four children. Pastor Philip is passionate about proclaiming God's Word, cultivating healthy ministry, and investing in future leaders.

SUPPORT:

Tax Deductible Support: https://www.moodymedia.org/donate/

Become an Endurance Partner: https://endurancepartners.org/

SUBSCRIBE:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoodyChurchMedia

Daily Devotional and Weekly Digest: https://www.moodymedia.org/newsletters/subscription/

I used to be at Moody Bible Institute several times a year to do some radio programs, and I was usually there on a weekend. Now, Moody is right in the heart of Chicago. If you are in the heart of any big city, you’ve got to think about security, especially on the weekend when a lot of things are closed and there's no one working. You don’t want people just wandering around your buildings then.

The studios at Moody Bible Institute are located on the eighth and the tenth floor in a building which houses most of the administrative offices. Like I said, there’s not many people there on the weekend, so they need to make sure that they shut off the floors they don’t want just anyone to have access to. They keep the library open for the students and some things like that, but most of the floors are shut down as far as the elevator is concerned.

I can’t get to the eighth floor or the tenth floor where I need to get to do radio programs unless the security man specifically turns on the elevator to stop at those floors. Well, guess where he is? He’s downstairs in the lobby. If I’m in the eighth floor studios and I need to go to the tenth floor, can I just get on the elevator on 8 and push the button to 10? Nope! It wouldn’t be that easy. No, no, no. I have to go down to the lobby, get the man to open up 10, and then I ride back up to the top floor. I got a lot of elevator rides on weekends there. You may be getting a few right now.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Down Is Your Way Up.”

Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Peter 5:6. It happens to be in a passage about young men who are moving into, or want to move into spiritual leadership. It says, “Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time.” Okay, Hutchcraft translation: “The way up is down” like my friendly weekend elevator.

You may be an ambitious person, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve got goals, you’ve got dreams, and you’ve got a desire to get ahead. I hope you’ve got a desire to make a mark for Jesus. You’ve probably pushed the “up” button on your life’s elevator, but you know what? God takes us up through the most unusual route. He insists you go down first. Maybe that’s what’s going on in your life right now. He says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand.” You’ve got to do that first.

Right now God might just be saying to you, “Will you quit pushing for yourself? Would you quit trying to get out in front? Don’t promote yourself. Don’t defend yourself. Don’t position yourself. I do the promoting.” God’s asking you to release all that self-pushing, and self-promoting and leave it at His feet; to surrender your ego; to surrender those ambitions, surrender those goals. As long as you really want that spot, you really want to get out in front, you really need to be as it says here “lifted up,” you can’t be trusted with it. You’ll make an idol out of it if God gives it to you. It will ruin you.

Instead, it’s time to say, “Lord, all I am is your humble servant. I lay aside all my rights as You did when You came here. I expect no preferred treatment. I expect no recognition. I yield my need to You, my need to be noticed, and to be successful, to get stroked, to get the credit. Anything goes, Lord, whether it’s little or big. I’m here for Your purposes, not mine. I’m here for Your glory, not mine. Take me, I’m yours.” The Bible says then is when He can lift you up.

Get your fingerprints off your future. Let God promote you “in due time” when He knows you’re ready. If you want to go up, hit the down button and let God run your elevator.

For centuries, Jews have prayed at the Wailing Wall, longing for a temple that no longer stands. Jesus foretold the temple's fall, and Scripture points to a third one yet to come. In this message, Pastor Lutzer reveals God's judgment, faithfulness, and jealous love. What if the Holy of Holies is closer to us than we ever imagined?

This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Running To Win," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.

Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as Senior Pastor for 36 years. He is a prolific author of over seventy books. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on "Running To Win" and "Songs In The Night," with programs broadcasting on over a thousand outlets in the U.S. and across more than fifty countries in seven languages. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

SUPPORT:

Tax Deductible Support: https://www.moodymedia.org/donate/

Become an Endurance Partner: https://endurancepartners.org/

SUBSCRIBE:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoodyChurchMedia

Daily Devotional and Weekly Digest: https://www.moodymedia.org/newsletters/subscription/

Think your story is over?  God may just be getting started.  Today on BOLD STEPS, Mark Jobe concludes his message on the raising of Lazarus.  We’ll discover why a disappointing finish doesn’t mean the final chapter has been written, and how Jesus invites us to participate in the miraculous.  Trust God to bring resurrection power to your situation ... listen to Bold Steps with Pastor Mark Jobe.

Bold Steps Gift: The Church In Babylon: Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness - Erwin Lutzer and Ed Stetzer

Visit or watch Mark Jobe at New Life Community Church

Become a Bold Partner: https://www.moodyradio.org/donateto/boldsteps

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every generation longs for a world where nations finally stop making war. The Scriptures foresee a day when swords become plows and Christ reigns from Jerusalem. In this message, Pastor Lutzer describes Christ's thousand-year reign and final judgment. Why will rich and the poor, the moral and the monstrous, stand side by side?

This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at https://offerrtw.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001.

Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Running To Win," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.

Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as Senior Pastor for 36 years. He is a prolific author of over seventy books. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on "Running To Win" and "Songs In The Night," with programs broadcasting on over a thousand outlets in the U.S. and across more than fifty countries in seven languages. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

SUPPORT:

Tax Deductible Support: https://www.moodymedia.org/donate/

Become an Endurance Partner: https://endurancepartners.org/

SUBSCRIBE:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoodyChurchMedia

Daily Devotional and Weekly Digest: https://www.moodymedia.org/newsletters/subscription/

One day, their five-year-old was part of Christmas plans. The next day ... she was gone. How do you trust God after unspeakable loss—when you're grieving the only thing you begged Him not to take? Pastor and author Levi Lusko and his wife, Jennie, join Dave and Ann Wilson on FamilyLife Today to tell the story of losing their daughter Lenya—and wrestling with God when faith and heartbreak occupy the same room.

• Show Notes and Resources

  • Through the Eyes of a Lion.
  • Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
  • Follow us on all social platforms: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
  • Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
  • Download FamilyLife's app!
  • Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
  • Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the FamilyLife Podcast Network.

See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy