God's Love Revealed: Recent Episodes
Ely Caswell with Jeff Williamson
By integrating psychology and theology, allow God's biblical truth to engage your heart, mind, body and soul. Each week, join Ely Caswell along with Jeff Williamson as they give insight into what it means to live in complete psychological and spiritual freedom.
Rejecting the regimented reformed faith she was raised in, and adopting a Gospel, redemptive-centered view of Jesus, Ely has learned what it means to gain an eternal identity, leaving a temporal identity behind. She has gained freedom and understanding that the true cost of discipleship with Jesus IS our sanctification in Him (Luke 14:26-27). Leaning not on her own religious understanding, she has learned what it means to rely on Jesus alone, looking into His eyes like Peter coming out of the boat and onto the water, eyes fixed on Him.
Jeff has a MS in Marriage, Family and Child therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary, specializing in Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy. During Jeff’s many years of practice, God has taught him profound spiritual dynamics which have helped lead believers to a true freedom in Christ.
In order to be whole as an individual, we must go to the "basement" of ourselves - where our deepest fears and trauma reside. We give spiritual, psychological, and emotional explanations for why it is imperative as believers to be connected inwardly, in order to have a meaningful dynamic with Jesus and each other. Matthew 12:22-30 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Everykingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they willbe your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of Godhas come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is notwith me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Our Master is not "Christian Values" but identifying with our master. Paul demonstrates what it means to be a student of Christ and identified with our Savior. It is no longer I who live but Christ in me. 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
We see in the parable below how Jesus confronts the person with the power differential and commands they forgive the people their debts. Reconciliation is dependent on forgiveness, following genuine repentance. Matthew 18:21 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.
On today's episode, we explain the importance of being comfortable with our anger and pain and not cutting ourselves off from those emotions. Structurally, we can categorize the way we handle our anger and pain into three categories: A dormant volcano, an eruptive volcano and a Hawaiian volcano. The dormant volcano, surppresses it's feelings of anger and pain, an eruptive volcano is behaviorally reactive, and often lashes out, a Hawaiian volcano is constantly flowing, connected, aware of itself and tends to be productive. Ephesians 4:26 "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger."
Being up "on the mountain" with him, in his presence, is not righteous living, which is outward, but is evidenced by my eyes set on eternity and what is waiting for us there; which is an internal and eternal perspective. Who is your master? Your outward life and identity or your inward allegiance to following Christ? Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Philippians 1:21 For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."We hope this episode encourages you to ponder if Jesus has a place in your life or if He is your life. Would you be willing to stand alone in your conviction that He is your life, even if that means you stand alone.
Can we have true sincerity apart from Christ? In today's episode, we talk about how our sincerity as believers is crucial for true inward growth and true knowing of those who are closest to us. When we focus on this world and its obsessions, we lose sight of eternal hope and purpose in this life. Jesus Christ IS the epitome of internal sincerity and as believers, we should be like Him.
Today we look at what it means when the passage 1 Corinthians 13 states, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love." We see that in eternity there will no longer be a need for faith and hope, but only perfect love. The chapter that we mediate on gives us the truth we need for our life now, and we don't have to wait until heaven to experience the passing away of former things and know the completeness that is offered to us.
As we make the transition into our weekly conversational episodes, today we talk through what it means to take literally the passage that states, "Perfect love casts out all fear." And why you don't need to continue striving, but instead, see the simple yet profound truth of how abiding with the Holy Spirit leads to freedom to completely dwell with Christ. We also discuss how intellectual knowledge of who God is is not the same as knowing God through a relationship with Christ.
In our final foundations episode, we see through scripture that God's holiness and NOT his wrath is satisfied by Christ's death on the cross. God's wrath is being stored up for the unbelieving and at the final day, will be satisfied in full. John 11:49-52 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
We see the importance of how the Godhead dynamic reveals Christ headship to the Church, the last Adam to the submissive bride. Let US make them male and female in our image. The Hebrew word for Holy Spirit is a female pronoun which highlights the male-female, spiritual dynamic between The Father and His Spirit. Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image. in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Today we read the passage in Luke 14:16-34 which is the parable of the wedding feast and the cost of discipleship. This passage emphasizes that you cannot be a disciple of Christ if you do not first give up all that you have. We will also differentiate between being saved by the sovereign will of God, but are sanctified through active participation in our relationship with Christ and discipleship.
In today's episode, we highlight the passage in Mark 14:3-9, to show the importance of female in revealing the trinity, and more specifically, Mark 14:9 "And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."
In this third episode and third in our foundational series, we look at these two verses that show how God's plan from the begining is to reveal the mystery of Christ and his perfect sacrifice for His bride, the church. Jesus is the last Adam. Genesis 2:23-25 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mohter and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Ephesians 5:31-32 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
In this part two foundational episode, we exam what it means to follow Jesus "out onto the water" and leave the boat (this world) behind, so that we can find our eternal identity in Him. Phillipians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
On our first episode, we take an overview approach of what God's Love Revealed means. What is our emotional, psychological and spiritual response to Jesus Christ? 1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.