YOU Podcast

The average American holds a debt balance of $96,371.2 That total comes from a variety of different sources including credit cards, car loans, student loans, and mortgages. And while some sources of debt are more destructive than others, most every adult knows what it is to live life owing someone something every month.

While we become accustomed to the idea, it is still refreshing to think about what life would be like to be free and clear from all debts. And yet the removal of debt only happens through discipline and effort.

We all owe—the debt of sin, accumulated over a lifetime of rebellious choices made against a holy God.”

But this debt is only a shadow of the greater debt we all owe—the debt of sin, accumulated over a lifetime of rebellious choices made against a holy God. But unlike the rest of our debts, the debt of sin can never be cleared in our own effort. It must be paid. The question is, who is going to make that payment for us?

We come in contact, both in person and online, with hundreds – if not thousands – of people every day. As we do, we tend to subconsciously divide these people into a series of concentric circles. These circles represent our relationship to those people, moving from simply being in their vicinity, to being an acquaintance, and eventually to our inner circle of those closest to us. In general, the further out a person is in our concentric circles, the less we have to concern ourselves with them. If a person is on the outer ring, they do not have to be “dealt” with; we can simply encounter them and then move on about our day.

We come in contact, both in person and online, with hundreds – if not thousands – of people every day. We can simply encounter them and then move on about our day.”

Jesus breaks this mold. He is the only person in history who must be dealt with. His identify demands this and our identity is shaped by how we respond to him. Much as a person might try to keep Jesus in that outer circle, He demands to be dealt with. The question, in fact, is not whether every human being will deal with the identity of Jesus; it’s a question of when and how they will deal with the identity of Jesus.

Unless you live in a home that’s been newly built, there are likely imperfections everywhere you look. Paint gets chipped; walls get dented and dinged; floors get scratched. Further, as a home ages, it also settles, and with that settling generally comes some minor cracking. You might turn around one day and find that the doors don’t close as smoothly as they once did, or that there are some hairline cracks in the corners of rooms.

While that’s generally nothing to worry about, occasionally these types of things are symptoms of something much more serious happening in the foundation of the home. In that case, you might try and patch the cracks or paint over the blemishes, but they will always return . . . and worse.

Unless you live in a home that’s been newly built, there are likely imperfections everywhere you look.”

In a similar way, it’s not hard to find “cracks” in the world today. We are daily bombarded with reports of violence, anger, disease, and a host of other issues. It’s important to note that as terrible as these issues are, they are symptoms of an even greater issue—one at the very foundation of who we are as human beings. The ministry of Jesus helps us to understand not only these surface-level issues, but it points us to the deeper issue at hand.

One day some soldiers found a little package in a clover field south of Frederick, Maryland, on September 13, 1862. It was a roll of paper wrapped around three cigars. Though they were initially excited to find the cigars, the real excitement came when they read the paper. It was a copy of Robert E. Lee’s Special Orders No. 191, and it detailed the general’s plan of attack to invade Maryland. The paper made its way through the chain of command and was instrumental in the Battle of Antietam, which ended Lee’s first invasion of the North. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!

Jesus did not come to simply stumble around looking for random lost individuals, but He came prepared to fulfill a perfectly orchestrated and intentional mission for God.”

Those soldiers demonstrated their faithfulness by putting away the cigars and reporting what they had found. However, the soldiers were fortunate. They had not been assigned the task of locating Lee’s plan of attack. A serendipitous circumstance is much different than a specific mission. The former is about chance; the latter is about intentionality. The former is a lucky confluence; the latter is about orchestrated design. When it comes to Jesus and His mission, we find someone more qualified to thwart the enemy’s plans. Jesus did not come to simply stumble around looking for random lost individuals, but He came prepared to fulfill a perfectly orchestrated and intentional mission for God.

One of the most nerve-racking parts of the parenting experience happens around year fifteen or sixteen. The parents move to the passenger seat, and the son or daughter steps behind the wheel. Lord, have mercy!

You forget how many moving parts there are in this process of learning to drive–signs, lane changes, lights, gas pedals, brakes, merging, yielding, and most of all, stopping. You’ve been doing it for decades, and now you’re tasked with the job of teaching your child something that’s second nature to you.

In Luke 17, Jesus is preparing to hand over the keys to a fledgling group of disciples. He’s pressing them toward a mature faith. ”

We find ourselves exclaiming, “Go! Go! Go!” “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” “Now!” “Don’t drift!” My son’s favorite: “Watchawatchawatcha!” They still tease me about that one. In Luke 17, Jesus is preparing to hand over the keys to a fledgling group of disciples. He’s pressing them toward a mature faith. We get to listen in and learn what mature faith is all about.

There is a new word in my vocabulary, “Catastrophizing.” I picked it up when I told a friend that my back felt weird, and I might have cancer because I looked the symptom up on WebMD. He said, “You’re catastrophizing again.” He’s right; I was. The back problem disappeared after a few days, and I finally had a name for that pesky little thought process that sneaks into the back of my mind when little things begin to crop up. How quickly I can get stuck in worry!

If we have no faith, we can find plenty of things about which to worry: retirement, riots, laser surgery, MTV, warts, Democrats, Republicans, tax reform, school lunches, artery health, guns, grandchildren, tennis elbow, depression, computer viruses, hair loss, terrorism, ransomware, and eczema. If your heart rate increased after reading this laundry list, maybe you need a little faith.

Confident faith is a worry-killer.”

Confident faith is a worry-killer. It quiets our minds at midnight as He sings us to sleep. The lyrics are directed through the ages. They are in words we can grasp. It’s not rocket science. He whispers to our souls, “Fear not.” If you stop long enough, you can hear His voice: “Fear not. Fear not. Fear not.”

Since the pandemic, we have sharpened a peculiar set of skills all under the umbrella of watching. In fact, many research studies have concluded that Americans spend more time in media (TV, streaming services, social media, messaging, and gaming) than they sleep. Binge watching has become a national pastime. I have to admit that I’m disappointed when I watch a series that makes me wait a whole week to find out if the guy in the series will discover that his wife is a Russian spy.

Most believers don’t set aside time to pray each day. Only 31% of believers claim that they set aside time for prayer.”

Yet, binge praying never really caught on. If it did, some amazing things would happen. Most believers don’t set aside time to pray each day. Only 31% of believers claim that they set aside time for prayer. What’s wrong with this picture? Throughout the Gospels, we read that Jesus spent large blocks of his time praying. If the Son of God needed prayer that much, we too must pray in faith.

What makes great fiction? I think we’d all agree that having last-minute rescues and unexpected twists make for a great page-turner. We love to read stories of flawed heroes who swoop in to save the day and vanquish the enemy. Something in our soul longs for those stories, but the thing about the Gospel is this: it’s a true story of the perfect Hero that goes even further than fiction.

We read stories where the last-minute passes, however, there are no last minutes with Jesus.”

We read stories where the last-minute passes, however, there are no last minutes with Jesus. His timing is perfect even when it seems like He steps in too late. These are the stories that bolster our faith during difficult seasons. It gives us hope even in the darkest nights that the story isn’t over. Jesus isn’t done with the story, including yours. In fact, He’s just warming up the victory band! This week’s story provides a perfect example of expectant faith. All we see is a final period; Jesus transforms it into a semi-colon.

Frank David Bennett was no more than 5’5” tall and well into his 70’s when I came to Louisiana College as a theater major. It was his last year of teaching and my first year on campus. I had received the only theater scholarship in the department, and I was also working in the theater set shop.

He was a small man, but with one stroke of the pen, he could have ended my scholarship and my job in the theater. I could have been relegated to working in the cafeteria, which would have been the worst-case scenario for me as an 18-year-old freshman. His authority was paramount that year as a freshman. He knew it and I knew it.

The strongest police officer can’t literally stop a car, but with the one hand, he or she can command the brakes of law-abiding citizens. Why? Because we yield to authority. Jesus seemed like an unusual authority figure to many people he encountered, but surprisingly, a centurion recognized his authority and received a great reward.”

That’s the thing about authority. The strongest police officer can’t literally stop a car, but with the one hand, he or she can command the brakes of law-abiding citizens. Why? Because we yield to authority. Jesus seemed like an unusual authority figure to many people he encountered, but surprisingly, a centurion recognized his authority and received a great reward.

There’s constant debate about when life begins. Does it begin at the time when the egg and sperm meet, before the child is born, or after the child is born? As Christians, we know that life is a precious gift from God. There’s something significant about the period of time when no one can tell that a woman is pregnant. Only God knows this tiny little human He has breathed life into even exists. When that mom goes in for her first doctor’s appointment, it’s all about the heartbeat. Hearing a baby’s heartbeat for the first time is one of the most significant moments in the life of an expectant mom.

God’s desire is that every life would be treasured.”

God’s desire is that every life would be treasured, even those who can’t speak for themselves. Believers should stand up against the brokenness in our world. Psalm 10 gives us direction on how we should respond to this significant call on our lives.