Rumination

We are bombarded with temptations every single day, and we so often struggle in our own power to resist those temptations and remain free from sin. Joseph is a great example of what it looks like to cut our losses and flee from sin. In today's episode, we will discuss what it looks like to be faced with temptation and remain faithful to God even in the face of the most difficult, persistent temptations.

In order to be "good," we must remove bad, yet many of us, just like the Israelites, remove bad without replacing it with what our souls really need. We all are created for the purpose of being in a relationship with God and glorifying God. With this in mind, it is important for us to understand that we must replace our sinfulness with godliness, or else we will find ourselves continuing to struggle with the same sins and sinful human nature until we finally do allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. In today's episode, we will look at a passage of scripture in which Jesus speaks of unclean spirits being cast out of people. Though it may seem strange to us as modern Americans, it is a perfect picture of the way we live as religious people.

Joseph is a bible character known for his dreams and interpretation of dreams. For New Testament Christians, dreams may be something that we are unsure about when we consider what it looks like to follow God's will as closely as possible. Dreams are an important part of our relationship with God and spiritual development. In today's episode, we will discuss this and take a look at what it means practically to dream big and dream righteously. 

Jesus, in a very striking statement to the people of Israel, says that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the city of Sodom than for the people of Israel. Why would Jesus make such an incredible claim? In today's episode, we will find out what it takes to have right standing with God, and take a close look at the differentiation Jesus makes between the wicked people of Sodom and the religious people of Israel.

Jacob wrestled with God and would not let go until God blessed Him. In our comfortable culture, we have forgotten how to wrestle with God, and this has had a dramatic impact on the way we view our relationship with God. In today's episode, we get a clearer picture of what it looks like to wrestle with God and why it is so important.

We tithe because that is what we are commanded by God to do. Tithing is such an important part of our daily Christian living, yet we see in Genesis 28 that Jacob decided to tithe, to give ten percent of his wealth back to God as a result of a revelation of the goodness of God and the promise of God to always provide for Jacob. How much different would our lives and our relationship with God be if we tithed as a response to the majesty and love of God?

Genesis 27 is a very familiar story of Jacob's deceitful behavior earning a quick, temporary gain in life. Isaac blesses Jacob instead of Esau as a result of the schemes of Rebekah and Jacob, yet this blessing does not protect Jacob from the consequences of his deceit later on in life. The two thoughts we discuss in this episode are the brevity of life and the fulfillment of life in God.

Writing, journaling, note-taking; however you call it, writing is a crucial spiritual discipline, and so many Christians fail to practice it. We hear sermons, read scriptures, and listen to podcasts, yet never write what we are learning, what questions we have, and where we are struggling to grow. Throughout scriptures, we can see commands and prompts to write down the wisdom and experiences we are gaining in our walk with God, and all of scripture is an example set for us for this spiritual discipline. If you do not take notes during church or during your personal Bible study, you are limiting your ability to grow, as well as your ability to help others grow. Today's episode is a challenge and an encouragement, as always, and I hope that it is a help to you in your spiritual maturity.

We all experience afflictions in this fleeting life, just as the psalmist did. But we must shift our focus, as we see in Psalm 102:11-12, from our afflictions to our eternal hope. Only when we do this are we able to understand just how light and momentary our afflictions are in comparison with our eternal hope in Christ!

It can be difficult to cry out for help, especially when we are crying out to someone we cannot see or touch. But the writer of Psalm 102 understood prayer correctly. He understood how prayer changed our relationship with God and the circumstances of the world. We can often struggle in our prayer life because we don't understand how prayer works for us, in us and through us. In today's episode, we will look at the first two verses of this chapter, and draw out three reasons why we should pray like the writer of Psalm 102, crying out to God for help when we are afflicted.

We don't associate laws with revival or commandments with rejoicing, but that is exactly what the psalmist writes about in this passage of scripture! Our values dictate our perception of obedience to God's laws, but our values, as humans, are almost always wrong. We over-value the things of the world and under-value the things of God, which causes us to respond differently to God's Word. In today's episode, we will take a look at how we can change our perception of God's laws and work to change our paradigm for valuing things in our lives. As of the publishing of this episode, Anchor has made some changes to the monthly listener support options available for me to make use of. Previously, the only option was to ask you, the listener, to consider giving any amount of money to the channel to support its growth. Now, however, there is a subscription option available that allows me to make some content only available by paying that subscription amount. We will continue to have two short-form devotional episodes every week that will not require a subscription, but we will also start offering two episodes a month that are longer, with more in-depth content, including some guests to discuss scripture, Christian world-views, and current event topics with. If you would like to support the channel by subscribing to those episodes, I would greatly appreciate it! However, if you would like a way to support the channel in general, get in touch with me via Twitter @AdamJr12, and I can help you with a way to support the channel. I appreciate your listening, as well as any other support you choose to give!

None of us has a perfect track record in our pursuit of righteousness and fellowship with God, but we can look back on our life and see that God has always kept our feet from slipping. Even when we stumble, He has continued to provide for us, whether that means helping us learn a hard lesson or moving us into a place of greater blessing. In today's episode, we look at how David experienced this in his life, and we apply that wisdom to our own lives.

So long as we live in a broken world, we will struggle with a broken understanding of what is good, godly, and desirable. We will fall into things that we thought would satisfy us, but actually only multiply our sorrows. In this episode, we look at the psalmist's dichotomy between finding fulfillment in the world and finding fulfillment in God.

The world is full of wicked people, as well as people who are suffering oppression and persecution. It is important for us, especially those of us who have freedom from persecution, to be mindful of the struggles of the Body of Christ around the world. The Lord's Word is perfectly pure, and He keeps His Word. He keeps His promises to us, no matter what is happening in the world around us. We have the testimony of the Bible to strengthen our faith, as well as the testimony of everyone throughout the world that is suffering yet trusting God. Their faithfulness is a testimony to us to also continue to be faithful. In today's episode, we are reminded of these truths and challenged in our perspective of the faithfulness of God to His people.

The psalms are filled with beautiful imagery and emotion not only to capture our attention but also to help us gain a greater understanding of the principles within the poetry. In this picture, the psalmist gives us an idea of what it looks like to be rooted and growing in the Lord, along with the reverse understanding of what it looks like when we are failing to walk in the righteous way. In today's episode, we will closely examine the details of what the psalmist is describing so that we can have a better standard against which to judge ourselves in our sanctification.

To be passive is to be unrighteous. For many people passivity is the norm, the most comfortable way of living. Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to become more like Christ if we allow ourselves to be passive. We cannot make ourselves more like Christ by our own effort, but we can choose to set ourselves apart from the wickedness of the world so that God is free to work in us to make us more like Him. In this chapter of Psalms, especially in these first two verses, the psalmist gives a clear picture of what it looks like to be set apart and to continually make a decision to walk with Christ rather than walk with the world.

We have been given the earth and all of creation as our home while we live within time, but we are not very good at stewarding it well. I believe that we fail to steward creation well because we diminish the significance of creation in light of eternity. God has given us time and creation, and even though time is the smallest portion of our eternal lives, we have a responsibility to take care of the things that we do have here within time. This message may frustrate some who feel that we should be more focused on "more spiritual" things, but stewardship of God's creation is an important part of leading people to Christ and helping them in their walk with God.

As we conclude our study of Psalm 23, we are reminded of an important truth about what it means to follow Christ, and we are encouraged with the truth that His mercy and goodness will always follow us, enabling us to continue in our spiritual growth until we reach the eternity with God that we are promised through salvation.

We know that God has perfect provision for us, but life can be distracting, whether because of trials or triumphs. These can both keep us from prioritizing our walk with God, even to the point of failing to partake in the blessings that God has for us. Let us bring our focus back onto God and the things of God so that we are able to take full advantage of the blessings that God has for us, and so that we are made able to live out our anointing from God in Christ Jesus.

Even as we walk with Jesus, we will experience valleys, struggles, and even discipline. This is something that can catch us off guard in light of the previous verses' mentions of abundance and peace in Christ, yet we know that in this imperfect world, we will inevitably experience hardships. Through all of this, we know that the Lord, our Good Shepherd is with us, and we do not have to fear whatever valley, shadow, or discipline we experience in life here on earth.