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Jan L. Burt - host of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show
What‘s more important than getting a life-changing handle on what God has promised you specifically? Expect this podcast to help you know who you are...REALLY & to help you live fully believing God‘s promises to you...REALLY.
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Psalm 91 - NLT
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
Hello and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast. Today we’ll be looking at a passage from the New Testament, in the book of Matthew chapter 14. Let’s jump right in.
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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, playing now on the Edifi app and on iHeart radio. This is episode # 209.
Matthew chapter 14 opens with the death of John the Baptist, which is a really messed up event. You read it and it is really disturbing, the way his death came about. It just is. It can’t be prettied up because it’s too raw and too ugly for that. It is what it is. And that’s how this chapter begins.
In the NLT, verse 13 reads: As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.
Jesus, the Son of Man, deity, being fully God and fully man, reacted this way upon hearing the news of John the Baptist’s death. He felt the pain and the grief of it, the weight of it. And He wanted to go somewhere remote in order to be alone. Does this comfort you in any way? This understanding that Jesus sat in His grief, as much as He was able to in a world that literally chased after Him continually. Do you need permission to sit in your grief right now? Have you felt almost guilty for wanting to step back, step away to a remote place (figuratively or literally), and be alone? Maybe you’ve been told that being alone in your grieving is not okay, that it’s unsafe or unwise or that your grieving and processing should happen in community. And maybe some of your journey through grief should be in some type of community… but as I read the text from Matthew 14, I am certain that Jesus sees you in this place and He is totally okay with you stepping back and retreating to some sort of remote-ness to be alone for a time. Look, we have no “remote” part of our lives if we post all the time, inviting anyone and everyone right into our lives in every season. And we can feel guilty about hitting pause. If you need to step away when you hear terrible news, you are in good company.
And most likely, you will actually succeed at getting a bit of time alone. Jesus did not get time alone, because the crowds heard where He was headed and followed on foot from many towns. (That’s the rest of verse 13.) Verse 14 says: Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. If Jesus, in His own grief, on His way to someplace remote in order to be alone, saw this huge crowd of people and had compassion on them, I want you to grab hold of the hope in this verse and know that He sees you and He has so much compassion for you. He is the same yesterday and today and forever, and you can depend fully on Him to have the compassion on you that you need at the exact moment you need it. These people traveled from their towns to where they figured out where He was going, and He did not take that and set it aside. You also won’t be set aside when you come to Him.
Now He was in a remote place, because that’s where He was headed earlier in the day. Late that evening the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place…” Yes, I am thinking He knew it was a remote place when He chose it as His destination. But they had all these people there, and the disciples did not have a way to feed them. They wanted Jesus to send them away so they could get food before it got much later. Jesus told them to feed the people. And this is the time when they had five loaves of bread and two fish. You probably know this story, maybe even learned about it on a flannelgraph back in the olden days. Jesus took the loaves and the fish (or the fishes, as it used to be said) and he blessed them, and started breaking the bread into pieces so the disciples could hand it out to the people. Everyone ate as much as they wanted and the leftovers were about twelve baskets full and 5000 men plus women and children were fed that day.
So you have the set up for what comes next, which is the focus of this episode of the podcast.
John the Baptist was killed and it was truly horrible, Jesus went away to be alone with the grief, huge crowds figured out where He was going and followed Him there, He had compassion on them and healed their sick, then the disciples wanted Jesus to send the people away to get food, but He miraculously fed them with the loaves and fishes.
Let’s pick up in verse 22 of Matthew chapter 14, from the NLT.
Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. (Jesus insisted, and the disciples did as He said to do. That’s called obedience, my friend, and it ought to be a mark of a disciple in 2025 just as much as it was the mark of a disciple of Jesus 2000 years ago. Obedience matters, and sometimes we forget that in the here and now when we’re living in the age of grace. But have we considered that we may be abusing God’s grace by excusing away our lack of obedience? Being a grace abuser is not worthy of a merit badge. Try not to forget to obey the Lord and please do remember that delayed obedience is actually disobedience, plain and simple. Had the disciples delayed in obeying the Lord, the next verses in this chapter would have played out differently. Our obedience matters! May we always only have hearts and minds and feet and hands that are quick to obey Jesus.) And Jesus Himself sent the people home. Another good word for us. When He says to go on home now, we need to heed Him. Sometimes heading home to get some rest and be with our family, our loved ones, is what He tells us to do. We lean toward the workaholic being the “hero” in American culture, but was that Jesus’ heart? If not, then it’s not the Jesus way. Even if our culture applauds workaholics, lauding them as modern day heroes, let’s bear this in mind: We are never the hero in our story, or really in anyone else’s story. Jesus is the sole hero of all time. So, set aside the workaholic ways and go home when Jesus sends you there.)
Verse 23: After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. Night fell while He was there alone.
So He did what He first set out to do when He left to go to a remote are to be alone. Sometimes well-meaning people (family, friends, Bible study group members, your pastor, and so on) - at times they may tell you that heading off to be alone is not God’s will for you. It is really, really easy to grab a verse from the Bible and use it to make their point. In Hebrews, for example, it says not to forsake the gathering together of the saints, and that verse could be utilized to persuade someone from not taking some time to be alone. (Also, I want to add that we’re never alone when we know the Lord, because He is always with us. And that is incredibly comforting.) Let this verse be a reminder to you that God always accomplishes what He sets out to accomplish. If He aims to get something done, He does not start it and then have the inability to finish it. He has no inabilities. And so every single thing He starts is every single thing you can count on Him completing. What’s He promised you? That’s what He is going to finish. Your job is to believe Him. Sometimes that act of choosing to believe, even when it flies in the face of all evidence and logic, sometimes that is harder to do than getting our hands dirty and trying to work something out by our own strength. But when you hold tightly on to belief, you simultaneously hold tightly on to hope. Hope is valuable. Hope is precious. The enemy tries to snatch it away from you because he know its worth. But if God has hope for you, then it is yours for the having. Hold on to your belief and hang on to your hope today.
He went up into the hills by Himself to pray.
When you have the time and opportunity to get away by yourself to pray, I hope you take it. It is never time wasted. It’s an investment, one that will pay dividends throughout eternity. Jesus got alone to pray. We also need to get alone to pray. Period. No excuses, no exceptions. This is a need, not a “eh, I can take it or leave it” optional Christian practice. You need to pray. And you need to have times when you are by yourself, nobody else with you, no phone with you, just you and the Lord and you spend that time in prayer.
Night fell while He was there, up in the hills by Himself praying.
It got dark, and the disciples were out on the lake in the boat, still far from land, caught fighting heavy waves and a strong wind. And Jesus came out to them, walking on the water (that’s verse 25). It was the middle of the night and they’d been at it for a long time, after a very long day, which began with the news of John the Baptist’s death. Do you know how heavy and exhausting and intense grief can be? They had had a DAY, and now they were fighting impossible weather. They were afraid when they saw Him walking on the water, but once Jesus told them not to be afraid, to take courage because He was there (which is a good word for all of us pretty much every single day, isn’t it? Is there any circumstance when you don’t want to know that Jesus is there and you don’t need to be afraid? I’ll take that all day long, no matter what comes my way!) Once Jesus told them not to be afraid but to take courage, then Peter called out to Him, “Lord, if it’s really You, tell me to come to You, walking on the water.” “Yes, come, “Jesus said. (verses 28-29).
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Verse 31 - Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
And finally, verse 32: When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped Him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
Anybody else shocked a little bit that Jesus in no way commended Peter for having the faith to ask such a bold thing, something never done by a human being, to walk on the water with Jesus? He initiated this whole thing with his request. Jesus was good with it, Peter climbed over the side of the boat and actually walked on the water.
None of that is mentioned by Jesus in His rebuke of Peter.
Isn’t that interesting?
Such a powerful reminder that our metrics are not His metrics, and what we look at may well be the thing He is not looking at.
Peter did what no other person has ever done - walked on top of water solely by faith that if he asked and Jesus said yes, it would be possible.
Yet Jesus said that Peter had, and I quote, “so little faith”.
Asking for the impossible, believing for it, and doing it was not enough to negate his problem of “so little faith” when he was terrified and started sinking as he saw and experienced outside the boat the strong wind and waves…the same strong wind and waves he’d been dealing with inside the boat. Nothing new to a seasoned fisherman. But seeing them in a new way, that undid Peter.
Where do you and I start well, with huge faith, see the Lord moving in might, doing the impossible, and then when we take another look and see things from our new perch, from a new angle, we just lose heart?
Do we give ourselves a pass because of the faith we HAD in the beginning, or do we look at things the way Jesus did in this situation with Peter?
And regarding Peter looking at the wind and waves, Jesus said that there was actually doubt in Peter. This is not recorded as Peter facing the facts, seeing things as they were, and so on (the kinds of things we often hear and often say in Christian circles). Jesus gives no quarter to “reality” in this passage. He just calls it doubt. Specifically, doubt in Him.
Looking at the wind and waves? That’s doubting the Lord. Isn’t this a bit of a tough pill to swallow, honestly. I do not want to doubt the Lord. I don’t want the reality of life to be linked to my doubting the Lord of everything.
But I don’t always evaluate myself rightly. And I hope this passage helps me to do a reset in this area, to look at things through the Lord’s eyes, seeking His perspective, and not only “facing reality”. Because sometimes, maybe oftentimes, too much of a focus on reality is like a slap in the face to the Lord, when it causes us to doubt Him.
I will end this episode with this prayer: Lord, give us truth faith in You, remove our doubts, and even when the “reality” of life is pressing in on us, help us to agree with you that our doubts and even our fears are often really doubt in You, doubting that You really will take care of us, doubting how things can possibly turn around, doubting that You are and will be Lord over everything concerning us…May that be far from us, may we be people of faith, specifically faith in You, and may we not sink into our circumstances due to doubt, but keep our eyes fixed on You, trusting You and maintaining the kind of faith that moves mountains and gives us feet to tread upon our circumstances. In Your Name I ask this, Amen.
Thanks for listening today, as always, I’m so thankful for you. And feel free to share prayer requests via the link in the show notes. I pray for every request I receive and every prayer need is strictly confidential. My Jotform to submit prayer requests should be right at the top of the show notes. Lord bless you, and I’ll be back next time. Bye bye.
Well hey there, hello to ya today. Welcome to this special episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, the podcast that takes God at His word, encourages listeners as they walk with the Lord, and boldly proclaims that all God’s promises prove true. This is something of a re-launch of the podcast, as I have not recorded a new episode in about five months.
A lot of varying reasons for the long break, but now the show is back. So, let’s jump right in!
We’re living in an era when believers need a whole lot of encouragement, and when those who are considering Christianity want an honest look at what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus. This episode is aimed at both of those goals. Followers and curious seekers alike. Let me read from the New Testament book of Luke, chapter 13, about four verses. Starting in verse 23, through verse 28. I’m reading from the Amplified Bible, so you can compare it to your preferred translation or read along in your Bible or in case you want to make note of different translations and versions and do some Bible study on this passage later on. All of those are really good things, by the way. Don’t just take someone’s word for it when it comes to what the Bible says, and of course that includes me. Read it for yourself anytime you want to, fact check me like crazy. Let God be true and every man, every woman, every person be a liar, Romans 3 verse 4 says. When it comes to teaching the Bible, we should be very comfortable having our sources checked. If anyone teaching God’s word is not comfortable with that, something is very, very wrong. And in those situations, you may want to … run. (Not really kidding around with that advice.)
Here’s what this passage says, verbatim, in the Amplified Bible:
Luke 13:23-27Amplified Bible, Classic Edition23 And someone asked Him, Lord, will only a few be saved (rescued, delivered from the penalties of the last judgment, and made partakers of the salvation by Christ)? And He said to them, 24 Strive to enter by the narrow door [force yourselves through it], for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door [again and again], saying, Lord, open to us! He will answer you, I do not know where [[a]what household—certainly not Mine] you come from. 26 Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets. 27 But He will say, I tell you, I do not know where [[b]what household—certainly not Mine] you come from; depart from Me, all you wrongdoers!Okay, so if you’re not familiar with the Amplified Bible, it is wordy. Because the Greek and the Hebrew of the New and Old Testaments often carry a depth of meaning in each word that is tricky to fully convey in the English language, different translations word things differently. The Amplified basically takes all the meanings of the text in the original language and adds them, usually in parentheses, which is why what I just read to you may have sounded choppy. Also, the Amplified capitalizes words like He, Him, Mine, etc. when it is talking about the Lord. And there are a few capitalized words in the text I just read.
Were I to leave out those extra words that are in parenthesis, it would read like this: And someone asked Him (that’s a capital, so someone asked Jesus this question.) Lord, will only a few be saved. And He said to them, Strive to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the Master (and that is capitalized, so it’s talking about the Lord) of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open up to us! He will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets. But He will say (again, He is capitalized, so the Lord will say), I tell you I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you wrongdoers!
This is weighty. This is no joke. Jesus’ answer to the question He was asked is heavy. This is serious stuff! “Will only a few be saved?” was the question. The ESV says, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Kind of a yes or no question. But Jesus was so good to expound upon this, to go beyond the short answer and give us all this important information as His answer. Now, back to studying the Amplified (and yes, it does require studying. Not sure when Bible “study”, in air quotes, began to not be studious. Study, the word tells us that it takes some effort, focus, and intention. If your Bible study group is not studying the Bible, you could be a person to kind of change that, to step off the merry-go-round of quick and easy answers, making a joke instead of really digging into the text, leading a group that goes through the Bible and studies it rather than maybe a small group that gets gossipy and talks about fashion and somewhat trashy shows on streaming. Y’all know what I’m talking about, and if you are new to Christianity and are shocked that I’m saying this, that’s okay. A faith that can’t hold up to some examination is, well, perhaps more cult-like than faith-in-Jesus like. Women’s small groups are notorious for not doing enough actual Bible studying. New believers, keep searching for groups that do real Bible study and if you can’t find a group, start a group.) So as we study this text in the Amplified, we find the Greek for the word saved in verse 23 has some depth to it. Lord, will only a few be saved? Rescued, delivered from the penalties of the last judgment, made partakers of the salvation by Christ. Yeah, a lot more depth there. This is about the very end of time, the last judgment. And that day, it’s coming for all of us. If we say we love Jesus but we live like we’re never going to stand before Him and have our lives examined, then we’re probably not living for Him in our everyday lives. And notice it says made partakers of THE salvation by Christ. That little three letter word T-H-E…there is only one salvation and it is by Christ. That is almost certainly the most important thing I will ever say on the podcast, honestly. When it says strive to enter by the narrow door, the Amplified gives added depth by saying force yourself through it. Force yourself through the narrow door, the doorway to eternal salvation. Force yourself through it! Maybe, just maybe, this concept of raising your hand from your seat during a mega-conference altar call and then never opening your Bible, spending time in prayer, following Jesus as His disciple, just maybe that is nothing like forcing yourself through the narrow door. You know, we live in the very era when Jesus’ return is at hand, and forcing ourselves through the narrow door that makes us partakers of THE salvation by Christ is the clarion call for this hour. Now is the time, my friend. This decision for Jesus should not be put off until another day. It shouldn’t be put off for another hour! This is the time!
In this passage, when Jesus describes them knocking at the door again and again, like they are trying to beat that door down, the same narrow door that they did not force themselves through when they had the opportunity, trying to gain entry by incessant pounding on that door…and what will He say on that day? How will He respond to their knocking again and again? He’ll say He does not know where they come from - from what household, because it’s certainly not His. That’s repeated twice, in verses 25 & 27. And in between, in verse 26, they implore Him by stating that they ate and drank in His presence…oh this is very convicting. How often are we “in His presence” and thinking that’s good enough? They’ll say, “You taught in our streets.” Is it going to get Him to open the door if you remind Him that He was taught about in your local church? Think about what this passage means for your own life. Are you ready for this day? Because it’s coming, ready or not. I’ve said before that we need to get ready, be ready, and stay ready. Force yourself through that narrow door. Be on the inside when He shuts that door tight.
Just a few more thought I’d like to share on Luke chapter 13.
Verse 23 makes it super clear that this is about where a person will spend eternity. How many people in the year 2025 never even give a single thought to their eternal destination? We’ve been so desensitized, so conditioned to only think about this life, the here and now, focus on immediate gains, quick fixes, the current struggle and how to make that struggle end, and our own selves and “living in the moment” that thinking about forever does not really happen for so many people. Are you living for the moment, or are you living for forever? Does anyone stand on their platform, or ask their loved ones, if they know for certain they will be rescued, delivered from the penalties of the last judgment, made partakers of the salvation by Christ? Do I do that? Lord, what do You want to change in my heart, mind and life so that my focus turns from the temporal to the eternal, and so that I speak life - eternal life - over others?
Jesus’ reply here, and He minces no words, as was His norm, is: “Strive to enter by the narrow door”. I’m hitting on this again to share something that is important. The definition of strive is to “make great efforts to achieve or obtain something” - “struggle or fight vigorously”. It implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort. Synonyms include “labor, toil, struggle, compete, exert oneself, and endeavor”.
Even a quick evaluation of those words reveals the heart behind Jesus’ answer to the critically important question asked by an unidentified person in the thirteenth chapter of Luke. The Lord is telling us that getting on and remaining on the narrow road is anything but easy-street. And yet, is that what American Christianity so often teaches? Don’t they make it seem as if a five-second prayer is all it takes in order to enter into eternal life with Jesus (think of those “Every head bowed and eye closed, and raise your hand and pray along with me if you want to be saved today” kinds of church moments…). But what if that’s not exactly true? What if that is, say, step one of a long walk on the narrow road? And if the door itself is narrow, and we must force ourselves through it, as the Amplified says in verse 24, is that happening for most of us? Are we being discipled, are we discipling anybody else, are we students of the Word of God, are we spending time in prayer and listening for what the Holy Spirit might say to us? Have we forced ourselves through that narrow door? Have we encouraged anyone else to force themselves through the narrow door? Do we know the signs of the times well enough to recognize that there are just a few grains of sand left in the hourglass of all time?
Let me read this to you: Luke 14:25-35
New Living Translation
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
34 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? 35 Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”
Have you thought of discipleship like this? That being Jesus’ disciple means you hate everyone else by comparison? This is serious stuff. Far more intense than is normally spoken about by pastors or preachers or speakers or the books down at the Better Book Room (Wichitans, you remember the BBR?) Do we hate our own life in contrast to being His disciple? Thinking about these words of Jesus’ is a good reset for me. Why am I so continually concerned about my issues, my fears, my life, my stuff? It’s just gross, and it is not fitting for a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Because if I don’t hate my own life by comparison to being His disciple, then I cannot be His disciple. Point blank frankness right there. And if I do not carry my own cross and follow Him, I cannot be His disciple. So, how am I doing at hating my own life by comparison to His discipleship and am I carrying my own cross and following Him? It’s a self test we all need to take every day.
Jesus says not to begin the path of being His disciple until we count the cost. Shouldn’t that be mentioned during the altar call? I don’t exactly know what this should look like, in every church or at every event, but I know enough to know that most of what takes place absolutely does not fit the model Jesus laid out for us here. We’re getting it all wrong! And if we tell people it’s all good, you raised your hand and never forced yourself through the narrow door, never counted the cost, never hated your life, never picked up your cross to follow Him…we are lying to them! He says we cannot become His disciple without giving up everything we own. I no longer have ownership rights over my life or my stuff or my health or my money or over people. Because I’ve giving all that up to become His disciple. Salt is good for seasoning, Jesus says. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? How salty are you? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil or the manure pile. Am I salty or am I not? Lord, give us ears to hear, so that we can listen and understand! Am I a student, a learner of Jesus? Do I understand that it’s more than a head nod, a hand raised decision to follow Him - it’s more than saying yes to His invitation. It’s picking up my cross and following Him after saying yes. It’s moving onward with Him, it is not standing still while He moves onward.
Think about carrying your cross. I think, maybe here in western culture, we don’t exactly get the implication. It’s difficult. It costs us something, every day that we carry it. But where are we carrying it to? Where is this carrying of my cross leading me? To a crucifixion, that’s the only logical end point. Am I crucifying my flesh? Am I dying to myself, daily, of my own willing choice and volition, of course depending on the Spirit of the Living God within me because no one can do that on their own, but am I willing, does it ever even cross my mind? Am I picking up my cross today, carrying the heavy and thing closer and closer to my own death to self? Or am I not? Anybody that ever said Jesus’ teachings were easy, well, they need to read the words in red again. Taking up our cross is a one-way journey. It’s forcing ourselves through that narrow door.
Jesus carried a cross, and so do His disciples, His followers.
What kind of follower am I?
Am I following but ready to peel off and go my own way when it gets uncomfortable for me personally? Have I counted the cost and decided that yes, I really can afford to follow Jesus?
In the following, the Lord does the fixing and the cleaning up of our lives. This is not Jesus saying we need to get it together before we follow Him. He says what He says, and it’s not that. He simply needs His followers to know it’s not the easy way out, the life of Christians. But He’ll do His work of making us new as we follow Him day by day. It’s costly either way, right? Follow Jesus? There’s a cost. Reject Jesus? Oh, there’s also a cost. That choice, well, it costs a pretty penny. Let Him become the owner of all we have. Our children, our finances, our health, all of it. It’s only safe with Him anyway, so it’s the best available choice, but we still need to make the choice consciously, weighing it out, understanding it. Let’s not be like slimy used car salesmen who get people to pick up what we’re laying down based on implications that this is the easy way to live out your days and then, wham, the bottom falls out and they feel like they got sold a lemon.
And if you say you follow Jesus, you profess to follow Him, but you lose your flavor somewhere along the way…you are no longer distinct enough to be clearly known as one of His disciples, well, that’s the time you’re fit for nothing but to be thrown out. A Christian should look like, think like, speak like, behave like, have the nature of Christ. Salt ought to be salty. A Christian ought to be like Christ Jesus.
The promise in Luke 13 and 14 is so worth it, though, isn’t it? It’s eternal life for now and forever. It’s being on the inside when the door is closed. It’s knowing that life, it’s going to be hard at times, especially as we get nearer to the return of Jesus, it’s going to get more intense, and following Him with saltiness may come with some costs that are not common to us here in America, but are becoming common at an astounding rate. But the hard life that ends in death without Jesus, that’s the wide road, the wide door. The road ends somewhere for all of us. It’s His promise that by picking up our cross, carrying it daily as we follow Him, staying salty all the way until the end, we get to go through the narrow door. Carry your cross today. Force yourself through the narrow door. Because He’ll keep all His promises, and what’s coming is going to knock your socks off. “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” Those are Jesus’ words to us in Matthew 24:13. Indeed, that’s a promise He’s going to keep.
Thanks for joining me for this re-launch episode. I’m so grateful to be back on the podcast, and if this encouraged you or challenged you, would you share it with someone today?
Lord bless you, and I’ll see ya back here next time. Bye bye.
Well, hello there! Hope you are doing well, growing in grace, enjoying the Lord’s love, spending time with Him daily, and living a Kingdom focused life. I’m thankful you’re listening today. This is episode number 207 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, featured on the Edifi app, iHeart radio, Spotify, Apple podcasts, and pretty much all the places. Let’s jump into today’s episode.
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional now available on Audible
If you were, say, looking at the last week of Jesus’ life, those days leading up to the crucifixion - if you were looking from the outside, those events leading would leave you with an entirely different impression than they do for us who know Jesus, who love Him and live for Him. In Him we live and move and have our being, it says in Acts 17:28. When you know that for yourself in a personal way, you look at the events between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday with thankfulness, gratitude, humility, awe, and hope for what comes next. When you look at it from the outside in, it probably doesn’t create those same emotions. It looks like a series of terribly unfortunate events from that perspective. Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion - those are gut wrenching moments in history and may be incredibly difficult to make sense out of for someone looking at the life of Jesus for the first time.
The week seems like it ended in utter hopelessness, like those three and a half years of the Lord’s life were all for naught. And that would be discouraging, if you only saw it from that perspective, from the outside looking in.
But when you are in Christ, you look at things from a heavenly perspective. You are seated with Him in the heavenly places, is says in Ephesians 2:6, and that means we don’t see things from the world’s point of view. We see everything in a different light, and not like the old Bangles song from the ‘80s (yes, I am Gen X and yes, the 1980’s produced a vast volume of songs, enough that there are references available for almost everything…and I wish the word of God was as easy to memorize as all those song lyrics from my teenage years were).
When we only see something in part, only have access or clarity on bits and pieces of a situation, it can easily feel pretty discouraging. Let me reiterate that: when we only see in part, we can easily become discouraged.
It makes sense that the last week of Jesus’ life could be discouraging to someone looking at the life of Jesus from the outside. But doesn’t it also make sense that you and I can also become discouraged about the things we can only see in part? And since we are not yet with the Lord, we do see in part. We don’t have the whole picture. But what we do have is actually far better; we have Jesus Himself, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we have the promise of heaven with Him, we are forgiven, we have access to the Father via prayer directly, at any time, because the veil was torn at Jesus death and thanks to His resurrection, death and hell are defeated for us.
I say all that to remind you that when you start feeling discouraged about something, I hope you can pause and remember that just because you can’t see it all with total clarity, that does not mean things are hopeless. Sunday is coming, and for the Christian, Sunday always, always comes, into every scenario and situation and problem and pitfall. Always.
How can I say that and be so certain that it is true, no matter what is happening in your life? Because when you know Jesus, when your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, in the end you get eternity with Him. And that is, for you, the joy of Resurrection morning, the empty tomb, the defeat of death for you, and eternal hope.
We who know the Lord understand that Jesus accomplished the Father’s will, and we know absolutely that the tomb is empty, there is no body of Jesus entombed in Israel. No grave holds Him. That tomb? It was empty 2000 years ago, it’s empty right now, and it will remain empty for time and all eternity. The deed is done. The goose is cooked. Satan truly is a defeated foe, as Revelation chapter 20 so powerfully and beautifully teaches.
The seeming series of unfortunate events was in actuality a series of events leading to the greatest moment to ever occur. There’s nothing else like it!
You and I know this to be true.
So, can we also trust that God is doing His will - His good and perfect and pleasing will - on behalf of His dearly loved children, even in the areas of our lives that are painful?
It takes some guts, some faith, and often some honest prayer sessions with the Lord to really believe this with every fiber of our being. And if you need to wrestle with God on a topic that’s especially raw and real, please do that. Wrestle in prayer with Him. Ask Him those hard questions. Cry if you need to. But don’t just cry to your small group, to your friends, to your spouse. Cry out to your ABBA Father, and be still before Him long enough to experience the love and encouragement and peace that He wants to give you right in the midst of your mess.
You are not alone. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you. So please don’t live like you’re alone, like you’ve been forsaken. God is not a liar. Do not allow your stress to lead you to a place where your faith is so nonexistent, your trust so shrunken, that you are basically accusing God of being a liar to you. Remember, it is impossible fo rGod to lie, it says that in Hebrews chapter 6, verse 18. Never live in a way that accuses God of something that it is impossible for Him to do. He has not and He will not and He is not in this moment right now today lying to you. He can’t and He won’t. Please do not forget that!
Let’s look at Mark, chapter 4. Verses 24 and 25. I’m going to read from the New Living Translation.
Then He added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given - and you will receive even more. To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”
How are you at listening? It’s not easy to be a good listener in our always on our phones day and age. It takes a whole lot more effort than it used to. But it’s important to train yourself to be a good listener. In say your marriage, your parenting, at work, and all the more so when it comes to what Jesus has said via the Bible.
Are you paying close attention to what He has said? Are you listening closely, so that you can understand and then be given even more? Are you listening to His teaching? Not just during a sermon once a week, but really listening when you open your Bible and read it for yourself? And are you doing that daily? If not, can you start reading your Bible every day? Not to be a legalist, because that is a dead-end road. But because you want to do what Jesus said to do here in Mark chapter 4 - reading your Bible because you want to pay close attention, to listen to Him closely, and to be given more understanding.
The inverse is that what little understanding you have will be taken away from you if you don’t pay close attention. That’s not a good thing. And so, let’s just not do things that way.
As we think about Resurrection Sunday, we almost certainly think about the fact that Jesus finished His work on the cross. It is a finished work. Nothing more needs to be done or added to it. It is finished, that’s what He said from the cross, and He meant what He said and said what He meant. Remember, Mark 4? We are paying close attention to what He tells us.
And so, we believe that it is finished, His work on the cross. And since we believe that, we also live without trying to add to the already finished work. The work we have to do is the work of believing according to John 6:29.
We can, and really I feel like we must, we must trust the Lord who paid it all to give us eternal life is the same Lord who is at work in our lives right here and now, today, completing the good work He began in us. Philippians 1:6 tells us to be confident that He will complete the good work He started in us. He is a finisher, our God is. Jesus finished it all on the cross and that sure doesn’t indicate that He’ll leave you flapping out in the wind, unfinished. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, it says in Hebrews 12:2. The Author, so He started it and He is also continuing to write it out for us, day by day, and He will finish it. Anything Jesus finishes is done to perfection. That’s how you need to look at your faith. Jesus authored it, He is still authoring it every single moment of every single day, and He will finish it to perfection. How do we know this is true? Because of the cross; His finished work on the cross proves that Jesus finishes everything He sets His hand to with perfection. Always. Every single time.
He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. Your life and times are in His hands. Those are good, good hands to be in. Jesus isn’t Allstate, He doesn’t raise your rates when you make a claim. You are rooted and established in Him. He’s got you, and if you don’t feel like you can see the end of this ordeal right now, just remember that He’s got you. He has engraved you on the palms of His hands, and it is impossible for Him to forget you. See Isaiah 49:16.
This Resurrection Sunday, I hope you rejoice and declare with total trust in Him that He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Lord bless you today, and every day! And may His mercy, grace and peace be yours in abundance. (And one little announcement - my devotional The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises is available on Audible as an audiobook. I’ll put that link in the show notes.)
I’ll see you next time. Bye bye!
Hey there, hello to you today and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where we look at what God has promised His people in the Bible, and we live like those promises are true… and thank God, they are!
Biblical Motherhood Pinterest Board
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, featured on the Edifi app and on iHeart radio. Today’s episode is all about God’s promise to give us peace, and more specifically, perfect peace, as it says in Isaiah 26, verse 3. And this is episode number 206.
Isaiah is a large book in the Old Testament. 66 chapters, I believe, and it covers a lot of ground. It is a record of the history of Israel and Judah, it is very prophetic - about specific nations and people groups and what would happen, at times even to the day, as we see in parts of Isaiah 18, that chapter comes to mind, and other portions of the book are exactingly specific, as well. And of course, about Jesus’ birth and life and death and resurrection, it holds so many prophecies that have indeed proved true, exactly true, to perfection. And then, of course, it holds a lot of prophecy about His second coming, His return that will be the most incredible event this world has ever seen.
Sometimes a book the size and the depth of Isaiah can be almost intimidating to read, overwhelming in it’s scope, some parts are historical record, and they read like much of the Old Testament does in Judges or 1 Samuel or the book of Ruth or Esther. But it is intermingled with these astounding portions that are not at all like reading through the book of Ruth or Judges. And we may shy away from it, because it is, frankly, a lot and we might feel like we’re not learned enough or qualified to really understand it.
But is that a good reason to not read it? I don’t think so. God gives us such incredible promises in the book of Isaiah, and I do not think He made those promises so that we would never know them, let alone believe Him for them. Nope. That would not make sense. And a book that has so many powerful promises for us, a book that has been so spot on accurate regarding Jesus’ life on earth, well, that’s a very hopeful, hope-filled book. And we just don't want to miss what it has to say to us.
Which is why we’re going to look at one verse, one topic or theme, from the pages of Isaiah in this episode. You know, to get to the 206th episode of a podcast takes a bit of time, and as this show is focused on God’s promises, I have spent a fair amount of time the last few years reading and thinking about and writing about (as in the podcast show notes and my personal study time) and talking about so many of God’s promises for His dearly loved children (which is what we are, according to 1 John chapter 3, verse 1). And I have yet to be moved off my stance that all His promises are true. Ya know, you get the comments from people on different platforms when clips from the show are shared, and people can say things that are really heart wrenching to read…not what they say about me, because who cares, right? But also, usually what they say is about the Lord, and that is what’s heart wrenching. Maybe they’ve experienced serious hurt or disappointment, maybe they just have no idea who God is or how much He loves them, maybe something else entirely.
But those comments don’t move my needle regarding my belief in who my God is for me personally and as a whole, to all who will come to Him. It moves my needle with heartbreak but not my belief. In thinking about this, the comments and what’s possibly behind those comments, well I wonder if some of those commenters are lacking peace, maybe?
It’s a hard life, in a dark world, for a million different reasons in every stage and season. Inner peace, inner security, that’s missing in so many lives.
The verse from Isaiah that talks about perfect peace, that’s the verse that comes to mind. And that’s the verse I’m sharing with you as one of God’s most beautiful, life-giving promises in this episode.
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You. That’s what Isaiah 26:3 says in the New Living Translation.
It’s a hefty promise, and as always, our God does nothing but deliver on this.
Does that mean we never have to pause, do a reset, pray, seek His peace, remind one another of verses like this, ponder the fact that Jesus said in this world we will have trouble but we are to take heart, He has overcome the world and that His peace He gives to us, His peace He leaves with us, but not the world’s peace. His peace. It’s a different kind of peace. It’s sitting in the doctor’s office getting really awful news, but you have an inner calm and peace that is so rock solid, you’re able to not endure that hard moment but rather, not be shaken by it. It’s a prodigal’s parent able to fully trust in the Lord and have peace, not be up all night fretting, overcome with dread, jumping at every shadow because the stress level is so high…but having peace right in the middle of the terrible awful disaster of a mess. That’s not the world’s version of peace. It’s beyond the bounds of this world, and I am so thankful that God has promised this peace, perfect peace, to us.
Let me read Isaiah 26:3 from the Amplified now.
You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast (that is, committed and focused on You - in both inclination and character), because he trusts and takes refuge in You (with hope and confident expectation).
That adds some depth to the promise. Perfect and constant peace…that’s what I’m looking for, and I’ll find it when I look for it in Christ Jesus. A steadfast mind, well that sounds pretty good to me. Committed to and focused on the Lord, in all things all of the time. That is an amazing way to live. To have my character so impacted by my trust in God that every inclination I have is aligned toward Him. And why is this promise going to prove true for me and for you? Because we trust the Lord, and we take refuge in Him when life gets hard and we’re under attack or under pressure or facing peril or heartbreak or grief of simply the great unknown. We take refuge in our God in those moments not in a disassociated way, we don’t deny the difficult things in life, but in hope and in confident expectation. That’s perfect peace. That’s your promise.
Now let me share something I read from a missionary to China had to say about how Chinese believers, followers of Jesus, how they read this verse: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind stops at God.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Can I repeat that? I feel like it’s too awesome to only say one time.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind stops at God.
In the midst of your troubles, when those scary scenarios start to swamp your thoughts, and thus swamp your life, because where our thoughts go, there our lives go… in those moments, can you and I choose to let our mind STOP at God?
Is this possibly what it means to be still and know that He is God? I think so.
But this happened and then this might happen next and then it may snowball into this, that and the other… But what if my mind stops at God? But this happened, and He is God. Not God of some things, not God now and then, hit and miss, here and there. He is God. Period. My mind, that’s where it stops. At God.
Nothing is greater than our God. Nobody pulls a fast one on our God. Nothing gets past Him. Nothing lets Him down, because nothing holds Him up. He holds all things together, Colossians tells us about the Lord. All things. Nothing left out. Shalom peace, nothing missing, nothing broken.
He will keep you in perfect peace when your mind stops at God.
That’s it for this episode, and I’m so glad you were able to listen today. The highest compliment you could give the show is to share it with a friend. And just on the off chance that somebody might want to hear this, I am working on a Biblical Motherhood project and I have started a Pinterest board where I share some of my content, but also I Pin lots of encouraging content that falls under into the category of Biblical motherhood. If you are a mother or know a mom who would like some encouragement from a Bible based perspective, right here in the show notes is a link to that on Pinterest.
Lord bless you today, and hold your peace and let your mind stop at God today.
See you next time. Bye bye.
Hello there, and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. You know, hope is not something random. We don’t stumble upon it, trip over it, bump into it and viola - lookie there, life-change occurs. That’s not hope, especially not from a biblical perspective. The Bible has a lot to say about hope, and there is one book in particular that is brimming with hope for us today…if we’ll just take the time to read what it says, and, of course, to believe it. Looking for some hope? Then this episode is for you.
This is The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, available on the Edifi app, and this is episode number 205. I’m so grateful you’re listening, and I hope today’s episode encourages and blesses you.
When I am reading my Bible, and I see the word will or the word all in a promise God makes, I take it seriously. I usually underline it twice and often I will read it out loud and put emphasis on the word will, or on the word all. There’s nothing special about doing that; it simply reminds me that whenever God makes a promise, and says that He will do something, well, then He will. And I found that to be pretty significant, that decision to actively believe that He means what He says.
So, recently I was reading Revelation. Hold up. Don’t panic, it’s not just a scary book (although what is going to come upon the whole earth in the final days is very serious, I’m not denying that, not at all). But for the believer, for those who love the Lord, it’s a terribly hopeful book in the Bible. And, it kind of shouts about hope, because it’s not a past-tense, this already happened and it shows us God’s character, He’ll take care of me because He took care of, say, David, or Ruth, or Esther; those people inspire us to trust God all the more, and that is so important, such a blessing to have their real life stories to learn from, to be encouraged by, and to know God’s character, even in the dark times of life. But Revelation, well, there’s all this stuff that has yet to happen, prophecy to be fulfilled, and so much of what we read there is crazy encouraging. It’s profound. And we know it will happen, that what the Lord has promised will come to pass, well, that’s exactly what’s going to come to pass. So it’s a hopeful book, and a hope-filled book. Proverbs tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick (that’s Proverbs 13:12). But with Revelation, we need to bear in mind that even though it feels like so long since John received this revelation from Jesus, as Peter wrote, God isn’t slow in keeping His promise, but is patient, because He does not want anyone to perish. To spend eternity apart from Him. That’s from 2 Peter, chapter 3, I believe.
Let me read to you from chapter 21 of Revelation, verses one through eight.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then He said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And He also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega - the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children. But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars - their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Got a whole lot of hope packed into these eight verses. The old heaven and the old earth are going to disappear. That’s just a fact. Jesus says so, and so it shall be. Disappear. Gone. No longer here. If we are loving the world so much, trying to maybe hold on to aspects of it, to make it better, improve it, help it along, maintain it, keep it going…well, that’s not the best use of our limited and finite time, because it is not going to last. Why spend all our strength on what is guaranteed to disappear? A 100% negative ROI. The sea will also be gone, says verse 1. When the old earth disappears, God will finally have His Eden. At the appearance of the New Jerusalem, which comes down from God out of heaven, there will be 1000 years of this world in perfection. Think about the hope and the promise of that. One thousand years of perfection. More than ten full lifetimes, as we know them know, more than ten lifetimes of peace and perfection in a world that is perfect. Every single thing will be perfect, under the reign and rule of Jesus. That’s a lot of good stuff to look forward to. Hope - Revelation 21 ushers in so much hope.
The sea will be gone. What does this mean? Well, here’s one thing that it means: restlessness will be no more. Think about the ocean, the sea. It’s not ever really flat and calm, except in that area around the equator known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, or the doldrums. It’s calm there, but seasoned sailors (not so much in our day and age, but in the eras of sails and wind driven vessels) - seasoned sailors know that you end up stuck there, floating, not drifting, and it is so hot, the sun is so intense, the sea is flat and still, and there’s nothing good about it. No forward movement, no momentum, the last place you want to be languishing out on the open ocean. The doldrums are the one place where the sea is not restless, but it makes the seafarers extremely restless. So when it comes to the sea, it is always a restless place. There won’t be restlessness anymore. Knowing that a day is soon to come that will leave all our restlessness behind, well, that’s hopeful. In the new world there cannot be, will not be, restlessness or lack of peace, being tossed around here and there, to and fro, as if driven by the waves of the sea. And there won’t be any doldrums that nearly drive you mad. No longer any sea reminds us, promises us, a day is soon coming with no restlessness. Isn’t that a beautiful promise to hold on to and garner hope from?
God’s home will then be among His people. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. Revelation 21:3-4.
When God says will in one of His promises to us, He means it. He takes it so seriously, and I think He’d like us to also take it seriously. He will wipe every, not most, but every tear from your eyes. God Himself will do it. He doesn’t send one of His mighty angels to do this, as He sends them to do so much of His will all throughout the book of Revelation. He Himself will bend near, and wipe every tear from our eyes. This verse sparks so much hope. There will be no more (how much more? No more!) death of sorrow or crying or pain. All these will be gone forever. How much kindness, love, goodness, compassion, mercy, grace and favor will come to us when this promise is fulfilled? God’s very character and nature are wrapped up in this. Are you feeling hopeful based on these promises?
He will make everything new. I’m not sure what needs to be made new in your life, but I can think of several things in my own life, my world, that could use some brand newness from the Lord’s hand. He is going to do what He said, and He will make everything new. Look forward to this time with hope and assurance. Take this seriously. He knows all the things that need to be made new in your life, and He is going to make it all new one day, likely one day very, very soon, based on the signs of the times and the season we’re living in.
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. And He ain’t messing around. When He says in this chapter, “It is finished,” boy oh boy does He ever mean it. When He said that from the cross, and then gave up His Spirit and died, He defeated sin. And three days later, when He rose from the dead, He fully defeated death and the grave and hell for all who follow Him. It is finished are words in red that ought to wake us up out of our slumber.
To all who are thirsty, I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. What you need most, what you really are thirsting for in life, the stuff that matters when the chips are down and it’s all on the line and laid bare - He’s promising to give it to you freely. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children.
All is used in this promise twice. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings.
It takes something to be victorious. It takes being a follower of Jesus who actually follows Him. Indeed, not just in words. Do you obey Him out of your love for Him? Are you following Him? And are you applying His words from Matthew chapter 24, when He says that the one who endures till the end shall be saved? Sometimes in this day and age, we just have to keep enduring. Moment by moment. Heartbreak, grief, sin, overwhelm, fear of what’s to come, despair…in all this and so much more, He calls us to endure. Endure till the end. That is how we will be victorious and will inherit these blessings. You can do the work of enduring, because the Holy Spirit will help you.
And then, verse 8. But Oh boy, when the Lord starts a sentence with the word but, we need to pay attention. Close attention. He’s saying something really important.
But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers and all liars - their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
This is pretty serious.
Cowards. Okay, well don’t be cowardly when it comes to Jesus. If we are, then now is the time to deal with that. Pray and ask Him to make you not a coward, not ashamed to be known as one of His followers. In any and every situation and circumstance and relationship, He can make you brave for Him in place of being a coward. If this is you, please pray for it and seek His help. Today. Don’t dilly dally on this one.
Unbelievers, they don’t get the promise. They get the second death. We cannot continue to pretend that people who don’t follow Jesus are unbelievers and they don’t want to be believers, we need to stop pretending that they are somehow getting the new life when this verse says they get the second death. The corrupt, second death. Murderers, second death. You see, repentance and trust in the finished and complete and powerful work of Jesus, overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (which means we gotta have a testimony, right??) that’s the opposite of unrepentant people. A murderer can be forgiven all day long by the Lord, if they repent. Same for the immoral, the corrupt, and idol worshipers and all liars. Repent and then turn and do a 180 from whatever the sinful condition is. Liars, stop lying. Idol worshipers, stop it and instead worship the One True God. Those who practice witchcraft - listen, if you are into palm reading and horoscopes and astrology and WitchTok on TikTok where you learn about casting spells, or like that Eagles fan at the Super Bowl who was stabbing and stabbing and stabbing like a wild woman that voodoo doll - wearing a red string on your wrist to ward off the evil eye, or wearing an evil eye necklace, I could go on and on. Witchcraft is very much alive and well right here in western society, and we don’t need to lie to ourselves and say that it’s not the same thing as Jwesus was talking about here in Revelation 21.
Yes, it is the same thing. It’s evil. And even a controlling spirit, like if you are a person who has gotten used to manipulating people, sort of twisting words, laying on guilt, leaning on people to get them to do what you want, you know, manipulation, that’s a person who, in their spirit, in their inner being, in their thoughts and in their heart, they want to control people, and it shows up in their words and actions and behavior. That’s witchy stuff right there. But the Lord is always ready to heal and forgive, when we repent and turn away from that and turn toward Him. The Holy Spirit is always helping us. Ask for His help, a million times a day if you need it. Won’t He help you? He surely will.
Remember, the hope we have in these promises, that God is going to wipe away your every tear, and remove forever death and sorrow and crying and pain. Those will be gone forever. We want this to be our future reality. Not the second death. But eternal life with all the good that God has in store for us. Don’t miss this, not for the world (especially not for the world, since it’s going to disappear…that’s a lousy trade, trading eternal good for a guaranteed total loss). Grab the hope in Revelation, and don’t let it go. God’s got good for you, in this life and so much good for you in the next life.
Hang on to this hope. Hang on to Jesus.
I’ll see you next time. Bye bye.
Hey there, hello to you today.
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
Today’s subject matter is of the utmost importance, but not necessarily something that is talked about enough within the Christian community.
And that’s our tendency to live like orphans even though we are now part of God’s family thanks to Jesus.
God's promises devotional on Amazon
Good verses to read about your true identity:
Psalm 17:8
Isaiah 43:4
Psalm 147:3
Psalm 18, verses 2, 18 & 19, 28, 32, 35 & 36
Romans 12
John 8
We have so many promises from the Lord to assure and reassure us of our new identity in Christ, and yet we struggle with feeling unseen, abandoned, alone, wondering about unanswered prayers and the things in life, big and small, that wear on us and weigh us down.
How do we reconcile the way we feel with the promises God has given us?
That’s the heart of this episode of the podcast.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, which can be found on the EDIFI app, an all Christian content podcast option - as well as anywhere else you listen to podcasts. This is episode number 204.
If I could give a definition of a believer living more like an orphan than like a child of the Most High God, I would put it like this: there is a strong and sometimes even extreme sense of aloneness and possibly abandonment that can at times define some aspects of a person’s character, their attitudes, thoughts, feeling, beliefs and intentions.
This sense of aloneness and possibly feeling abandoned almost seems to operate on its own, like it has its own life force or something, working to mold the person’s self-image, actions and reactions. Sometimes it may seem like the words someone speaks are misheard and interpreted very differently than what was being conveyed (which can lead to strong reactions).
Decisions may be made based on feeling orphaned. This can also lead to rapid decisions and reactions, as in too quick and not thought out or prayed over. Ready, fire, aim sort of a thing.
We have a God who loves us and because of that love for us and because of our love for Jesus, we have an enemy, Satan. And I think our enemy works to get us feeling alone, abandoned, orphaned. The devil is in the details, isn’t that the saying? And the devil also works in darkness and tries to push God’s children into darkness as well. Operating in the darkness and pushing that orphan-like feeling on people is an attempt to manipulate people. And to keep the evil influence secret. Satan doesn’t want us to know that he is harassing us; he would like us to wrongly believe that the problem lies within us. The father of lies, the devil, always lies to us because it is his native tongue (that’s what Jesus said in John 8:44).
Some of the things our enemy often does is try to hide what’s actually going on from the Lord’s followers. He lies, he deceives, he manipulates. Now what if a person starts to counter the sense of aloneness with the truth from God’s word? Does the devil ever try to push back on the truth? Yeah, he probably does.
So what are we to do?
One thing I know for sure; Jesus died to give us freedom, and when we bump up against areas in our life where our freedom has been stolen or where we maybe have given our freedom away, we don’t want to just give up. Pray and keep on praying, isn’t that what Jesus taught His followers in Luke chapter 18? It can be so hard to keep on fighting the good fight of our faith in prayer sometimes. But I really want to encourage you to keep fighting. Keep praying. Keep your Bible open. Keep believing, even if it feels like it’s hard to believe those promises. Pray and don’t give up. Paul wrote about this in 1 Thessalonians - pray without ceasing. God won’t lie to you, leave you or forsake you. And you are not an orphan.
When we read Galatians chapter five, we get this beautiful picture of freedom. Not just freedom like we celebrate on the Fourth of July here in America. But freedom in Christ, next level freedom, freedom that impacts our life here and now but carries over into all eternity. It’s not a temporary freedom, there is no way that it can be taken from us (in spite of the fact that at times we may not feel free, our freedom in Jesus isn’t something that ebbs and flows, that comes and goes - it is permanent and eternal and everlasting, while our feelings don’t alway speak the truth).
From the J. B. Phillips translation, Galatians 5 verse 1 says this: Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery.
As I read that verse once more, imagine yourself being freed from literal shackles of slavery and then think about letting yourself be re-shackled and enslaved.
That is what we are told not to do. Plant your feet firmly with the freedom Christ won for you. Stay planted, rooted in Him. And don’t move out of that place of being planted, don’t move to a place where Satan has the chance to put those shackles back on your ankles. Keep your feet in the right place and don’t let him get your feet moving off that place, the Rock which is Christ Jesus.
Freedom is what Jesus gave to you. He bought it for you. It’s yours. That’s an absolute iron-clad promise. Don’t forget it!
If you ever feel like you’re being pushed and pulled and prodded in a super stressful way, like you’re just being driven and driven and driven, that could be the enemy harassing you. Why do I think that? Because that driven driven driven feeling is in direct opposition to the Galatians 5:1 freedom that Jesus secured for us. And the Lord sure isn’t giving us the exact opposite of what He died to grant us. When you feel like you’re being driven, pause and pray, pray that the promised freedom God clearly talks about in Galatians would be your immediate reality and that the liar the devil would be rendered ineffective in his harassment.
Satan loves to drive people. Jesus never drives people.
Satan wants everybody to live like they’ve been orphaned, but he doesn’t want anyone to talk about it. But when we talk to the Lord about it, we bring it into the light and God’s truth lands on it and that is really effective at keeping us free. Because the truth, said Jesus, will set you free. John 8:31-32.
Genesis 18:14 says this: Is anything too hard for the LORD?
The Lord said these words to Abraham when Sarah laughed when He promised that she would have a son in about a year’s time.
It’s one thing to hear me pose the question, “Is anything too hard for God?”
But it’s quite another when the Lord speaks for Himself and asks, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” in direct response to one of His dearly loved children wondering whether or not He will keep His promise.
Is God maybe asking you today, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
How can you apply this verse to your situation? What’s your answer to His question?
We have some weapons in our spiritual arsenal.
Weapons like prayer, like fasting, like choosing belief and refusing doubt, the weapon of worship, and of course the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
Luke 24:13-35 tells us that Jesus walks with us and comforts us when we are traveling on a difficult path in this life. That indicates that He never wants us to feel abandoned or orphaned on those hard roads. He wants us to know that He is walking alongside us.
In John 16:24, Jesus described the Holy Spirit as our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener and Standby (Amplified).
This verse reminds us to ask and keep on asking in order that we might receive and have our joy be complete. Pray things through to their very final end. Please don’t give up on praying! Never stop praying! And keep believing every single promise God gives you in the Bible.
He loves you with great tenderness and he wants you to have a rich, full, joyous life as His child. Secure, at peace, resting in His love and care. Not a trouble free life - that’s not possible in this world, and Jesus Himself said that in this world we will have trouble, but to take heart, for He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
1 Peter 1:4 says that we have been born into an inheritance that is beyond the reach of change. Orphans don’t have an inheritance and they live in constant fear of change. Satan is so lying when he tells us differently than this verse promises!
And 1 Peter 2:9-10 is proof of our non-orphaned status. 9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[g] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10
“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]
We are chosen, consecrated, set apart, a special people for God’s own possession, called out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Once we were not a people, but that time in our lives is over and done with.
I’m going to list off a few more verses you are welcome to read for yourself if you’d like. The truths in these verses are promises that can cement in your heart and mind how the Lord really, truly feels about you.
Psalm 17:8
Isaiah 43:4
Psalm 147:3
Psalm 18, verses 2, 18 & 19, 28, 32, 35 & 36
And the entire twelfth chapter of Romans. That’s an excellent piece of the Bible to read!
Freedom comes at a cost.
But Jesus paid the price in full. And he or she who has been set free by the Son is free indeed. John 8:36
My prayer for you today is that the Lord will move by the power of His Holy Spirit to fully set you free, to bless you, guide you, speak to you so loudly that you know for certain He is right here with you. Delivering you from the enemy’s evil attacks, bringing total healing and freedom and restoration and redemption into your life. That’s a prayer I believe He will absolutely answer. Thanks for listening to this episode, and I’ll share a link to my devotional about God’s promises which is available on Amazon if that’s something you’d like to check out.The Power of God's Will: 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional: Burt, Jan L.: 9798573528939: Amazon.com: Books
Keep expecting God to keep all His promises. He’s got those hard situations, and He’s holding you safe and secure in the palm of His hands today. How could He ever forget you when He has engraved you on the palms of His hands?
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, getting the promises of God into the people of God, right where they belong.
I’ll see ya next time. Bye bye.
Well hey there and hello again to ya.
Welcome back to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
Created for You Freebies at JanLBurt.com
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional on Amazon
Let’s go ahead and get started. God’s got good for you, and I am hopeful that this episode will remind you of that, no matter what kind of stuff life is throwing at you today.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, blessed to be part of the ministry of the Edifi app. That’s EDIFI, and you can find it in your app store. And if the show blesses or encourages you, I’d like to formally invite you to subscribe. This is episode number 203.
Today I am going to read a bunch of Bible verses to you and let the promises of God sink into your heart and also into your mind (because when the word of God gets into our mind, it literally changes the way that we think and that, my friend, changes the way that we live). And I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to prepare you right now, before I even quote one single verse, to ready you and prepare you to believe His amazing promises to you so that you can live from here on out like they are taking place, being accomplished, in your life. Live like His promises to you are true.
Because they are! God keeps all of His promises so I want to encourage you today to live like you know He is keeping all of His promises to you. To your family. And to His people all over the world.
Okay, so let’s dive into God’s Word and get some encouraging news in our ears, and into our thoughts, shall we?
First let’s start with some powerful and hopeful words that Jesus spoke. I am quoting the NLT for today’s podcast & let’s look at Mark 12:27 - Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
Okay - this is where we are going to begin. It is so, so important to remember, when we are making the big bold decision to really, truly believe God’s promises - to live a believing life - that we don’t base our belief on anything other than the Lord. We don’t search out something in addition to Him in order to increase our faith. We aren’t mustering up more faith by trying to make ourselves have more faith. Rather, we are relying fully on Him. And we are simply deciding that we will believe what the Bible says to us. And so, this verse is just a great reminder that you don’t have to make God’s promises work out in your life, in your kid’s lives, etc. Nope. The pressure isn't on you to make happen what God has promised. But so often we live as if the pressure is on us, somehow, to do what is impossible for us. Only God is God, and only He can keep the promises He makes. Now only you can live by faith, believing God. But you and I have no ability or power to make it happen. We cannot get it done. But what we can get done is choose to believe Him, to take Him at His word, and to abide in Him moment by moment, even while we are expecting to see His promises fulfilled.
There are actually many, many things in this life that are impossible - for mankind. For humans. For wives and for moms and for employees and so on. Humanly speaking, there is gonna be stuff that is just not possible. But not with God! Aren’t these words from Jesus incredible?
Think for just a moment about what our Savior is actually saying to us. But not with God. EVERYTHING is possible with God.
So bring God into everything, then!
Never intentionally leave Him out of anything. You want the God who turns the impossible into the possible - you want that God doing all the things in your life, right?
Get a sense of Jesus, today, looking at you intently and reminding you, firmly but with great love and compassion, that it isn’t about mankind's ability to make this thing fly. Because is is God and God alone who makes everything possible.
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) says this - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Okay, this is a great verse! What hope it provides! What assurance! This is quite a promise!
He is promising that He will direct your steps. And guess what? You can pray this verse over your loved ones, your co-workers, your spouse, your aging parents, your neighbors. And also, pray this over yourself.
Lord, please do as You have said in Your word and direct my steps. Lord, delight in every detail of my life.
Lord, direct my steps. I know my righteousness and any godliness within me is thanks to Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Father, bless me and direct each step that I take. Stop me when I am near a misstep. Thank You for this promise of Your guidance and direction over my life, from now until my last breath.
It says that He delights in every detail of our lives. So guess what that means for us? How does that relate to us living in total belief that God’s promises for us are absolutely true and are being realized on the daily? Well, take every little and every big detail of your life to God in prayer. You can do that! You should do that! He cares so much - talk to Him.Talk to Him often. Like, talk to God a lot! All of the time. And remember, and keep on remembering, He delights, not tolerates or endures or notices, but delights in every detail of your life. You are not just barely tolerable. No, to the contrary, you are one in whom God takes great delight.
Oh this is a great promise. And a great prayer verse too. Quick side note here - anybody else feel kind of like we need to ramp up our praying? Just have that sense that we need to spend more time talking to the Lord, time in prayer by ourselves and maybe with others, too. If you feel that way too, listen to the Lord as to what He is calling you to. And keep track of, write down, memorize, put in your phone verses that you can have at the ready at any moment to pray.That’s just a little tip that comes in handy, having some verses saved to a note on your phone so that you can open it and start praying those verses at any time, it can be helpful to have that at hand. And maybe open that note and pray those verses rather than scroll when you have ten minutes to spare. Just a thought! Praying God’s promises is really amazing. Like, this will leave you amazed again and again. So, that’s my side note. Just keep seeking to be part of whatever He is doing, where He is moving. And hey, prayer is always always a good thing, is it not?
(And maybe take a look at what it says in Habakkuk 2:3 - that is an awesome verse to start a prayer time with. I encourage you to look it up but I will read it to you from the Amplified right now - For the vision is yet for the appointed (future) time; it hurries toward the goal (or fulfillment); it will not fail. Even though it delays, wati (patiently) for it, because it will certainly come; it will not delay.)
He is always moving, and even when it seems like there is a delay, which there is at times according to the verse I just read from Habakkuk, don't lose heart. Hang your hope on the Lord who always does as He has promised, and don’t unhang your hope when the wait gets long.
Okay, so this next verse is one that I think some people might feel like they just cannot seem to fully believe for themselves. Like, this isn’t going to be true for me. If you’ve ever thought like that, let me encourage you. I am hopeful that you and I can today believe this verse for our very own situations.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) says - So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
A lot in that verse. First, God says to be strong and courageous and that sentence ends with an exclamation point. Now there weren’t exactly punctuation marks in the original Hebrew, right? But the translation into modern English gives us the exclamation point so that we grasp God’s meaning in this verse. The punctuation reminds us of the importance - it’s to garner our attention, to make sure we’re listening and reading what God has said in His word. So - let’s just do what He says to do! Be strong. Be courageous. Exclamation point. I am guessing you have one or more parts of your life right now, at this point in time, where you can apply this. So go ahead and apply it. Be strong. Be courageous. How? By resting in the Lord and knowing that He is going to keep His word.
Don’t be afraid. Think on Jesus and the fear dissipates, really it does! Do not panic before them, it says. Well “them” of course refers to their enemies. Don’t panic before your enemy.
And here is the reason why you don’t need to be afraid, don’t panic, but instead be strong and courageous. For the Lord your God WILL PERSONALLY go ahead of you.
This is profound to think about, and yet it is absolutely true.
When God says He WILL do something, He most assuredly will. You just be about the business of believing He will do all He has promised to do. Let Him be about the actual doing of it.
He will personally go ahead of you.
How’s that for a promise that can give you some big time faith?
And the verse ends with this - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
I’m going to say that once more - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
He won’t. That’s that.
I’ve got a couple more verses to share with you today. And I am believing they are encouraging to you and will have you just believing by the end of this episode. If not, hey, you can listen again. Let that faith grow in you and believe more and more every single day - trust God more than the news, more than fear, more than anything. Right?
Revelation 21:4 (NLT) - He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying of pain. All these things are gone forever.
This is such a wonderful verse for us. I’m not going to mention anything specific today - but we are living in a very tumultuous era. I’m going to say this about our current season in the history of the world: I believe we are living in the end times, the last days. And I say that based on what the Bible teaches us about how things will look in the end times. Now, many Christians will say that we have fifty or a hundred years until Jesus’ return. I don’t think that is possible, because it does not make sense based on what the Bible tells us the last days will be like. Let me explain what I mean - we know that in the last days no one will be able to buy or sell unless they take the mark of the beast, the mark on their hand and/or forehead. You’ve heard this before, I’m pretty sure. You can read about it in Revelation chapter 13, I think verses 16 through 18 specifically. A hundred years ago, was there a way for a mark to be put in your hand or in your forehead that would prevent you from buying or selling? Well, not really. How about fifty years ago? Not really. The answer is, no. It wasn’t possible. How about even 25 years ago? Back in 2000? Getting closer, but the tech wasn’t quite there.
So here’s some food for thought. If fifty, a hundred, or even just twenty five years ago the tech wasn’t ready for the mark of the beast to be implemented, and then if we just ponder the last five years or so, the changes in the tech world. It’s astounding how much has changed in a handful of years. So, at the pace technology is changing and advancing, and I can tell you in my limited experience with just the podcast industry and social media, it changes so fast, a month ago things were different with some of the apps and things I use. It’s quick change after quick change, all day long, right? So how does that work if we have fifty or a hundred years yet to go? Won’t the tech outpace the end times at this rate? Like, we cannot fathom what technology will be capable of in fifty or a hundred years. But right now, we can fathom the mark of the beast for buying or selling, and the tech, it would work. We’re right on the cusp of this being a possible and plausible reality. Since this is what we were forewarned of by Jesus Himself in the book of Revelation, is it wise to tell ourselves or to preach to others that we’ve got decades of quote/unquote safe time before it all happens as the Bible says? Or is it far wiser to say, hey, per the words of Jesus, we’re just about to this point technology wise. It’s coming, and it’s not going to be in five or ten decades…because at that point, the tech would have outpaced the very word of God, the prophetic aspects of the end times, and that, we know, cannot and will not happen.
So today, this moment, is the time for you to consider Revelation 21 verse 4. Let me read it once more. Revelation 21:4 (NLT) - He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying of pain. All these things are gone forever.
This verse is a balm for those who know Jesus. It’s key. It’s mission critical to remember there is a day coming when all the tears will stop. And that day is nearly here. No more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Gone forever. I don’t even need to say more about this verse, this promise from Revelation, except that it is for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you don’t, you are welcome to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will reply. It’s so important to know Him, not know of Him, not just attend church, but really know Him. Not talking religion here. But true relationship with the Son of God, Jesus. I really do welcome you to contact me. Totally confidential and non judgmental. Just offering Jesus and how to have Him as your best friend forever.
Last verse today - Luke 1:37 (NLT) For the word of God will never fail.
Short and sweet. Doesn’t need explaining. No need for commentary. Just know that this is absolute and unchanging truth.
For the word of the Lord will never fail.
Anybody else need to know that today?
Take that thing, big and scary, and hold it up next to this verse, Luke 1:37. Does one seem bigger and one much smaller?
For the word of the Lord will - never - fail.
It won’t. It just flat out will not fail. Never, no never.
Lord bless you today. I have prayed for you, all who listen to this episode, and I am going to continue to pray for you.
Live a life sold out for Jesus, believing all of His promises, and just see what God might do in and through a life lived like that.
Find me via my website JanLBurt.com and grab any one of the free items I’ve got on the home page- and I have a book, a devotional, available on Amazon - The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises - with verses that have the word “WILL” in them. God does what He says He will do, and He never doesn’t do what He has said that He will do.
Have a great day & I will see ya back here next time. Be sure to subscribe to not miss future episodes. Thankful you joined me & blessed to be able to stand by faith on the promises in God’s Word.
Bye bye!
Well hey there, hello and a very warm welcome to this episode.
No need to dilly-dally or make small talk…let’s just jump right in and talk about God’s promises.
Link to the devotional mentioned in this episode
Link to the free No More Worrying digital download mentioned in this episode
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, which can be found wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as on the Edifi app, a unique podcast app featuring Christian content only. That’s EDIFI, available in the app store. This is episode number 202. The Promise of a New Year - God’s Promises for You.
New year, new you? Ever heard that phrase? How does that usually work for ya? Dive into a new year, do the prep for whatever needs prepping in order to make the new you a reality. Plan it, map it out, might even pray over it. This time! This time, for sure!
Sound familiar?
Let me ask again, how does that usually work out for you?
It works so well for (can you hear my sarcasm) that I have decided not to do that anymore. New year, same God, not going to fixate on a new and improve me. He can mold me, shape me, make me again another as it says in Jeremiah 18:4, do His sanctifying work in me for His glory and His purposes and I’ve decided that’s enough for me. More than enough, because thus far has the Lord helped me, declaring my Ebenezer (not like A Christmas Carol, but like 1 Samuel 7:12 and the hymn “Come Thou Fount” which holds the line, “Here I raise my Ebenezer”.
A far, far better way to start a new calendar year, in my opinion. I gain so much peace, I bend the knee and bend my will to God, I can rest in Him and also be expectant of all He will do in the coming weeks and months. As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease and He must increase.” Yes, please. This usually (or always) works well for me, whereas new year, new me…not so much.
The title of episode number 202 is “The Promise of New Year - God’s Promises for You” because there is so much promise in every new season when we walk out said season with the Lord. A new calendar on the wall counts as a new season, and the promises I’m about to share today fit this new season. As always, these promises are God’s promises, taken directly from the Bible, and they are for you, my friend. Y.O.U.
Psalm 125, verses 1 and 2, from the NLT:
Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forever.
Now of course this psalm, which is a psalm of ascent, has to do with Israel and her people. No doubt about that. And it also is an encouragement for us, not as Jewish people, but as Christ followers. 2 Timothy 3:16 says all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, reproof, instruction, correction. Knowing what Scripture says matters, and that’s why Psalm 125 matters for you right here in this season.
In Zechariah 14:4-11, Revelation 19:11-16 and Revelation 20:1-6, we read about the Messiah, Jesus, standing on Mount Zion when He returns the second time. So when Psalm 125 says that those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion, well that’s pretty secure, I’d say. If that is the place where Jesus’ feet will land, where He will stand, it’s an iron-clad guarantee that Mount Zion is going to be there right til the very end… If we trust in the Lord, we’re secure like Mount Zion is secure. This is an amazing promise. It’s an immovable promise. They will not be defeated, but will endure forever. God surrounds you like those mountains surround Jerusalem, both now and forever. Huge, huge promise. If the only promise I shared with you today was this one, it would be more than enough for the entire year. Isn’t God good? What a promise! You are as secure as that mount on which Jesus will stand at His return, and I do not know what more could be said to ensure that you trust God and know this promised security is yours. Amen?
John 14:1 from the NLT says: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.” This is Jesus speaking.
We all have things that trouble our hearts, and the things that fall into that category, the heart troubling category, well those aren’t the small things that get in our craw, that annoy us, the little irksome frustrations. No, anything we describe as heart troubling, well, that’s the real hard stuff in life. We can’t just brush it off, ignore it, say a quick prayer and have it dissipate, talk ourselves out of it, or anything like that. And Jesus says to you and to me about those things that are the big, hard things, He says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God (as it says in Psalm 125 verse 1) and trust also in Me.” Do you trust in God? Do you trust Jesus? Your answer is probably, “YES”. Do you trust Him with the things that give you a troubled heart? Do you trust Him in the midst of those things, in spite of things, trusting and trusting again and again, until your faith becomes sight, until you have the peace that passes all understanding, perfect peace as it says in Isaiah? This year, trust Him like that. Trust Him more fully, more completely, with more abandonment and more certainty that He’s got you, you are so secure in Him, more than you ever have before. Because He keeps all His promises, nobody is more trustworthy than our God, and perhaps no one’s trustworthiness has been questioned more than our God. Let’s not be among those who question Him, not today, not this time. Let’s choose, let’s opt in, to not let our hearts be troubled, but to trust God, to trust Jesus.
Let’s ponder God’s utter faithfulness for a moment, because it’s worth the reminder…when we are so dug in, all in, certain of who our God is and of His absolute inability to be anything but perfectly faithful and a perfect promise keeper, well then we believe all of His promises on a better, deeper level. Malachi 3:6 from the CSB says, “Because I, the LORD, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.”
The Lord does not change. He doesn’t! But sometimes the lack of belief we exhibit reveals that we think it’s somehow okay to act like He does change, like He might change this time, He might do us dirty. We’re fickle, we’re selfish, we’re mercurial, and we’re not often the least be ashamed by that.
James 1:17 also from the CSB, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Just to reiterate the truth that God does not change, has never changed, will never change, it just is not going to happen so let’s go all in and believe what He has promised in the Bible.
John 8:12, NLT - Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Want to be challenged and encouraged and bolstered and blown away by Jesus’ words and promises? Read John chapter 8. That’ll do it! Feel like you need to expand the boundaries of your faith in the Lord? Read John 8 and oh those boundaries will sure enough expand! In a good way, in the best way.
We don’t have to walk in darkness. There are no areas of life that don’t fall under this promise. So when we walk in darkness, maybe we’re forgetting this promise. Maybe we are in a place of unbelief for whatever reason. Maybe we just need to be reminded that Jesus IS, present tense, right now He is the light of the world - He is the light of your world right now. You don’t have to walk in darkness, in confusion, with a clouded mind, because you have the mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2:16 promises. You have the light that leads to life. Don’t overanalyze, don’t think yourself out of believing it, just opt in and agree that what Jesus said in John 8:12 is true, and is true for you. Right now. No matter what. It’s a true promise for you today.
Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT, say - Trust in the LORD with all your heart (with some of your heart? Most of your heart? Or all of your heart? We need regular heart check ups to make sure our trust level is aligned with this verse) Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding (Do Not! When mom or dad says do not do that, well, the wise child listens and even the ornery child usually listens because a stern “Do not do that” warning from a parent…that gets your ears perked up. This is God, your Father, saying Do Not…and we think little to nothing about doing exactly what He says not to do. Let’s read again and keep that do not directive in mind). Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do (in most of what you do? Nope - in all you do) and He will show you which path to take.
Wondering which direction to go? Then seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take. We don’t just want these promises to be fulfilled in our lives, we NEED them to be fulfilled. And when we see something we’ve been missing, let’s make those adjustments and get on board with the Lord. The Good Shepherd leads His sheep well, and we’re safe when we listen to Him and not to any other voices. So, let’s listen up and heed His words.
Have you seen the animated film Over the Hedge? In one scene, the character R.J. says to another character, Hammie (and Hammie is sort of spacey, not all there, and Hammie is trying to eat a cookie that is broken in two and being held together with a band aid…kind of gross, right? Well, that’s us sometimes.) RJ says, “You don’t want that cookie, Hammie. That cookie’s junk.” What band aid cookie are you trying for and where is God saying, No, that’s junk? Trust in Him with all your heart, and do not depend on your own band-aid cookie version of understanding. He has better for you than you might have for yourself. You don’t want that cookie, my friend, because that cookie is junk.
Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT - The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with My word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Did you hear that?
His word will never return to Him void. It always produces fruit, always accomplishes what He wants it to, and will always prosper everywhere He sends it. Today, via this podcast, He is sending it to you and it will not return to Him void or empty or ineffective. It works. It can’t not work. It’s His word, and it does as He wishes. That’s the truth, right there. Believe it. (And this verse says will…it will accomplish all He wants it to and it will prosper everywhere He sends it. Will means WILL! My devotional The Power of God’s WILL - 40 Days of God’s Promises is all about this exact thing and you can find that on Amazon).
The last few weeks God has been laying on my heart the need to daily crucify my flesh. Now listen, I do not claim to be a prophet, and so maybe this is just for me personally, but I have a sense that I, and other disciples of Jesus, are going to need to be Spirit led, Spirit dependent, on a whole new level in the coming months. I really think that’s true. We might go through hard times, we may be tempted with prosperity (and that’s often harder to walk through and stay close to the Lord than poverty, truth be told). Crucifying my flesh keeps me close to the Lord. The flesh, well, it isn’t going with me into eternity and so it is in its last days, so to speak, it’s getting near its deathbed and it’s temperamental, it’s demanding, it's a brat. So as I seek to do as the Lord has put on my heart to do in my own life, Romans 8 verses five and six are what I’ve been pondering. These are the verses I’ll leave you with today. From the NLT - Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
The flesh makes me want to make a snarky comment when I get my feelings hurt. Crucify that, Jan. My flesh gets annoyed when my coffee maker goes kaput during blizzard weather and I want to be able to go get a coffee since I can’t make any coffee but I can’t cuz there’s half an inch of ice on my car and the driveway is a disaster and I can’t get out. Crucify that, Jan. So crucifying the flesh doesn’t always look like those huge and terrible sins that come to mind. It can be a bad attitude. Or maybe that’s just me. Either way, these verses remind us that our life belongs to Jesus now. And we can both believe all His promises to us and crucify our pesky flesh at the same time.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I have something free for ya today. If you ever struggle with worry, this is for you. It’s a digital download, a pdf, with 40 Bible passages that will combat worry in your life, and the way you utilize it is super simple. For 40 days, you just write Do Not Worry at the top of your daily to-do list (or set it as a reminder in your phone that will ping each morning). You read the verse or verses for that day, while bearing in mind that for the next forty days, just for forty days, you will not worry. You’ll hand those worries to God, and they’re not your burden to bear for forty days. Doesn’t mean you quit your job and run up the credit cards because Jan said so… that’s not at all what Jan said. You keep on living your life, but when you catch yourself worrying about something, about anything, you remind yourself that for forty days, you won’t give in to worry. You’ll lay that worry, that concern, at the feet of Jesus whenever it crops up, and you keep moving on without the stress of worrying. Do it for forty days. Seriously, this is a really great faith grower. Grab yours for free at JanLBurt . com
I hope you do that as this new year begins. Lord bless you, thanks for listening. I’ll see you next time. Bye bye
The Power of God's Will: 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional: Burt, Jan L.: 9798573528939: Amazon.com: Books
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Hey there! Welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, we’ll be taking a look at the hope and the promise of Christmas, from Luke chapter two. This is a time of year when hope is a watchword, and traditionally has been a season when people are much more open to receive kindness and blessings and when you say Merry Christmas and God bless you, maybe they don’t do that little uncomfortable wince that happens at times. This year, let’s take a few minutes and consider the hope we have because of Christmas, and because of all the promises God made and then fulfilled when Jesus came to earth as a newborn baby.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. That’s Edifi, spelled E D I F I, and you can find it in your device’s app store. The hope and the promise of Christmas is our focus today, and this is episode number 201.
As I did some research for this episode, I read that there were at least eight specific prophecies that were fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Now of course, Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies when He lived on this earth, and died and rose again. And the remainder will absolutely be fulfilled at His second coming. But regarding His birth in Bethlehem, we find the fulfillment of prophecies from Genesis 22:18, Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 7:14 (that one is a common Christmas card verse, for good reason), Isaiah 9:6-7, Daniel 9:25-26, Micah 5:2 (one of my favorite verses for this time of year), Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1 which does tie in with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
The Bible truly is an amazing book, God’s Word is profound. And at Christmastime, I hope it has a profound impact and blessing on your life. I say this a lot, but I think it needs to be said often - not only are God’s promises true…they are true for you. He loves you enough to make promises to you and then to keep those promises. And that’s where hope comes in for us - we have such great hope because we’ve seen Him keep His promises, and in the midst of tough times, we hold on to our hope that He will continue to keep His promises. This is not hope misplaced; it’s the opposite - perfectly placed hope. Hope in the Lord ends up being the kind of faith that yields results. It’s unseen at first, those results, but ends up being seen when our faith becomes sight. If you need some hope right now, well, this is for you.
From the Amplified, Luke chapter two verse 1 says: Now in those days a decree went out from (the emperor) Caesar Augustus, that all the inhabited world (the Roman Empire) should be registered (in a census).
So this was more than just an emperor deciding he needed to take a census and get an accounting of all the citizens of his empire. This was done at the Lord’s behest, because of His will. One of the things that is easy to overlook in the Christmas story, to take for granted, because we’ve heard this passage so many times, year after year, it’s easy to overlook the significance of the way God’s hand, albeit invisible, was at work to move the heart of Caesar to order this census that required everyone to return to their own city, hometown, the town for their family’s official registration. And if we just read verse one, that single sentence, and move right on into the rest of the chapter, we can miss the reality that’s here for us, for our lives, right now. God moves in the lives and in the hearts of men, women, and children. He moves little people, and that’s like little in quotes because all mankind is so precious to Him, nobody is small or miniscule to Him. Our God is not in the business of marginalizing people. He created each one, knitting each in their mother’s womb, has engraved us on the palms of His hands, and no one is without value to Him. So that’s not what I mean when I say little persons. What I mean is, societally, the shepherds were not big wigs, power players, in that culture. And yet, they were given the message, the announcement, of the birth of the Messiah, the very Son of God. Amazing! The emperor, Caesar Augustus, was moved to issue the decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world, all his empire, and so mankind was on the move, headed to their hometowns to be registered as part of this mandatory census. Don’t miss this. There is great importance and value to this moment in time - and it’s valuable and important for your life. The God of hope is the God who wants you to believe that He can move mountains and the hearts of kings, rulers, those in authority, in order to bring about what He has in store for your life. He is not arrogant and narcissistic, that He would move those mountains and turn those hearts in ostentatious ways. He does not need to be loud about it, because He has no insecurities, needs no validation - so He can do it without there being a lot of fanfare about the WHY behind what He is doing.
And yet, He may still announce what He is doing, with great praise and rejoicing for His goodness toward us, He may still announce it to those who are not a big noise, household name, someone important in the world’s eyes. This should amaze us, and simultaneously cause hope to spring up anew in us regarding our own lives and circumstances.
Got something you have been praying about, carrying a burden about, for a long time? Weeks? Months? Years, even?
The message of Luke two verse one is for you, then. Now in those days…
My friend, for you right now, it might just be one of “those days” when God begins to move on your behalf.
The hope we have when we live in a state of expectancy, of believing God for what we see no evidence of, well…that kind of hope is real hope. Romans 8:24-26 says that hope that only hopes for what is seen is no hope at all (that’s not verbatim, of course). What kind of hope do you and I have? Is your hope doing any stretching in your life? Are you having to hope more, trust more, believe more, as the days wear on and the promise isn’t yet fulfilled? Then that’s actual, biblical hope.
Proverbs 13:12 tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick, and that is true. So from these two passages about hope, which seem to be in conflict with each other, what do we learn? How do we make them make sense to us when we need to hold on to our hope in Jesus, and yet we can relate to the feeling of hope deferred making us heart sick? When your faith is not sight, and you cannot even begin to fathom how it will ever become sight, how do you hold on to hope and keep holding on?
Hope really does have a name, and His name is Jesus.
Some moments are simply crawling through the crowd on your hands and knees, pressing and pushing to get to Jesus, reaching out and just skimming the edge of His robe, knowing that’s all you can do, there is no more gas in the tank, you’re spent, without Him it’s over…that’s what it is like sometimes. It’s really that rough sometimes.
Sometimes the biggest part of our faith journey ends up being hanging on to Jesus, hanging on to our hope in Him, when we are getting awfully heartsick and nearing the point of more than we can bear. (Spoiler alert: if you have not yet had a moment in your life when you were maxed out beyond what you ever dreamed you could handle, well, keep walking with Jesus and that will be your experience. It isn’t easy street, this discipleship life. It’s daily taking up your cross and following after Him, it’s knowing that the servant is not greater than the master and as they treated Him, so shall they also treat everyone who follows Him. It is a somewhat hard knock life, this life with Jesus, but these hard knocks are the hardest it will ever be and for the unbeliever, this life is the best it will ever be. Eternity is worth living for, my friend, because Jesus is there and He has gone ahead of you to make ready a place for you, that where He is, you may one day also be. It’s hard, but it’s such a good hard.)
Hope deferred does make the heart sick. It’s absolutely true. But the point at which we feel our hope has been deferred for too long is not usually the same point at which God, in His sovereignty and providence, knows our hope has been too long deferred.
Trust Him, even when, especially when, it’s been a long, hard road.
The journey to Bethlehem was not easy for Mary, or for Joseph. The labor and delivery, also not easy. But they were exactly where God wanted them to be for that moment in time. And they HAD to be there, according to Caesar’s decree. Everyone had to be counted and registered…and likely, taxed, too. So, all around not ideal, at least from a human point of view. But thank God we have the option, the choice, the ability thanks to the Holy Spirit who indwells us, to look at the less than ideal, difficult times of life via God’s point of view. Thank God that we have the Bible, full of all it’s raw honesty about people and sin and life, and also full of God’s love and intervention and His righteousness and His fair judgements and standard that played out at Calvary - thank God we can choose to face our most not so easy moments knowing that the God who was at work in the lives of those we read about in the Bible is also at work in and through our lives and circumstances.
I want you to know that God sees you. He really does know how hard this is, how long it has been going on, and how ready you are for it to be over. We can want our deliverance to come so badly that we get hyper focused on it, and we miss the presence of God in these places. Perhaps that’s just me, maybe I am the only one who does that. It takes a reset sometimes to find God in our midst when life is overwhelming.
And I’d like to mention something about overwhelm. It isn’t always what you’d think. Sometimes that one thing that pushes you right over the edge into a state of overwhelm is so small, such an itty bitty little thing, you can hardly believe that THAT was what did you in. But the old saying about the straw that broke the camel’s back? A single piece of straw does not seem like much, and by itself, it sure isn’t much, but it can be the thing that adds just enough pressure to be the last straw. Just like the last place you look is where you find something you’ve been searching for, that’s the last place I looked - well, the final straw is the one that breaks the camel’s back. Of course it is! The last one is of course the last one. But just like you didn’t think that place was where you’d find the item you’d looked for, the last straw is not the one you thought would be the deal breaker and game changer.
Overwhelm happens to all of us. We need to give others grace in their overwhelm, and not judge them so severely when we don’t understand how that little old straw could be the one that is just too much because we have our own pieces of hay, basically, that do us in, too. And give yourself grace as you navigate these things. Of course, if you are in sin as a result of your straw breaking your back, repent and don’t delay in that. Today is the day to repent, to make things right with God, being sure to keep short accounts with Him. But giving yourself grace does not need to be exclusive of repentance. They go hand in glove, because the Cross is the standard for all the grace we receive and all the grace we extend to others and to ourselves, and we only access that grace by coming to the Lord in repentance and receiving Jesus as our Savior, since He was the propitiation for our sin. Give grace, to yourself and to others. Because grace is what you need when you find yourself in that place of hope getting close to being deferred for too long. Grace is yours, if you’ll have it.
And next time you find yourself wondering why it is taking so long for God’s promises to be fulfilled, remember Luke chapter two, verse one. God is still on His throne, He has not abdicated and He never will. He is still sovereign over all. He is still faithful and true and dependable and consistent and true to His word. God is, after all, still God. And He is still moving the hearts of kings and rulers to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect timing. Who knows? That time might just be today. And if you find yourself in a position where you can glorify the Lord, whether you are a big noise and a big name or no-name who makes no noise that is noticeable in this world, you just go on and rejoice like those shepherds did. Because the God who delivered the message of Jesus’ birth to them is the same God who is still delivering messages to people today. Rejoice like the whole world is watching, even if nobody else is around. The darkest night can be pierced with angels rejoicing and the light of Jesus shining bright. What will you do when He shows up in your life? And what will you do while you wait for Him to show up?
Merry and Blessed and Joyful and Hope-filled Christmas to you.
Thanks so much for joining me for this episode, and I do hope you’ll share it with a friend or on social media this Christmas season.
God bless and I’ll see you next time. Bye bye.
Well hey there! Hello to ya today. Welcome to episode number 200 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast. I’m so excited and grateful that you’re listening today. Let’s jump right in!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 200, and we’re looking at some promises from 1 Peter.
So recently during my prayer time I started jotting down thoughts that I had while I was praying. It was for sure not just me thinking these things in my own mind - it was really the Holy Spirit encouraging me. Let me share what I wrote down.
Make a promise or keep a promise; which means more?
Boastful speech with little love or fewer words and a God-honoring life; which is better?
Loving God and loving others or making excuses for a cold, hard heart; which describes me?
Dancing with the world or bowing at His feet; which do I do daily?
Living for pleasure or living for Him; what do my daily choices reveal?
Preparing for the King’s return or preparing by default for eternal hellish torment: there is no more time.
So, yeah. Very encouraging, very convicting, very sobering and that last bit, there is no more time, was somewhat heavy. I had the sense that I ought to share this on the podcast, because I’m guessing I am not the only one who needs to be reminded often that how I spend my time, how I love others, how I honor the Lord, what I live for matters and I only have so much time. My lifespan is not unlimited on this earth (although it will be unlimited in eternity). It’s important to pause, evaluate the condition of my heart, to discover yet again that there is a beam sticking out of my eye and I need to remove it before pointing out the toothpick in someone else’s eye.
Sharing this was not exactly what I wanted to do. It felt pretty personal, ya know?
But obedience to the leading of the Lord is important, because Jesus said those who love Him will obey Him in John 14:23.
1 Peter 4:7-9 and 10-11 from the NLT: The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen.
In the Amplified Bible, verse 7 reads like this: The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer (staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him).
This is the passage the Lord led me to read after I wrote down what I read to you a moment ago. This is not a portion of the Bible that I have memorized, where I know by the reference exactly what it says. I ought to, because this is good stuff, but I didn’t just know in my knower what the passage said when the Holy Spirit led me to read 1 Peter, and in particular these verses from chapter four of 1 Peter.
And these words go hand in glove with what I wrote down during my prayer time that morning.
Listen carefully. God’s Word never returns to Him void but always accomplishes that for which He sends it forth. And so it will do what He wants it to do. God keeps His promises. He is unfailing in His faithfulness. His love and compassion know no bounds, His mercies are new every morning. He is a good God, a good Father. And this portion of Scripture says the end and culmination of all things is near…therefore, we need to be sober minded, earnest in our prayers, focused on Him, staying balanced in what we are focusing on so that our communication with Him in prayer and with others in our lives will be clear, not muddled or confusing, and reasonable, and specific, not vague, not bouncing all over the place, and pleasing to Him.
So what matters more? Making a promise or keeping a promise? Which is better?
And if the end and culmination of all things is near, is it important for us to know that God does not just make promises and throw them around willy nilly and leave it at that, but He keeps every single promise perfectly and to perfection? Yes, that’s something we need to know, each of us individually, as the end of the world is coming soon, as the NLT says.
Do you personally know that God is keeping, has kept and will keep all the promises He has made? And that you have promises from Him that He is keeping and will keep right til the end of it all? It’s so important to know that. And to know it for yourself.
As I think about verse 11, as a podcaster and speaker, it’s convicting but also encouraging to consider that each episode is me using the gift He gave to hopefully serve everyone who listens. And you serve when you use your gifts. Now maybe nobody has told you this in a while, or maybe ever, but when you do what the Lord equips you to do in service, that’s invaluable. It’s truly more precious than most of what we spend our lives on. You being the you that God created you to be is serving. Thank you for serving the way that only you can. You know, only my husband can give our grandchildren a hug that is from grandpaw. Nobody else can give them a grandpaw hug. It’s not possible. That’s how it is with your gifts. Nobody else can do what you do the way that you do it. So please keep doing it and thank you for doing it. You glorify God when you do so - and that’s the Biblical truth. It’s right here in verse 11.
Let me read 1 Peter 4 verses 1 and 2 from the J.B. Phillips New Testament.
Since Christ had to suffer physically for you, you must fortify yourselves with the same inner attitude that He must have had. You must realize that to be dead to sin inevitably means pain, and you should not therefore spend the rest of your time here on earth indulging your physical nature, but in doing the will of God.
That’s not a Bible translation we often read from, but it phrases these verses really well.
Part of the promise for us as Christians is that we will suffer, because we follow Jesus and He suffered. We must fortify ourselves with the same inner attitude Jesus had. We must realize that to be dead to sin will inevitably lead to pain. We should not spend the rest of our time here on earth indulging our physical nature, but in doing the will of God.
Make a promise or keep a promise; which means more?
Boastful speech with little love or fewer words and a God-honoring life; which is better?
Loving God and loving others or making excuses for a cold, hard heart; which describes me?
Dancing with the world or bowing at His feet; which do I do daily?
Living for pleasure or living for Him; what do my daily choices reveal?
Preparing for the King’s return or preparing by default for eternal hellish torment: there is no more time.
Let’s lay aside the boastful speech with little love and choose to perhaps speak fewer words and live a God-honoring life, because that’s truly better.
Let’s love God and love others, and stop making excuses for our cold, hard hearts.
Let’s stop dancing with the world and get serious about bowing at the Lord’s feet daily.
Let’s be done with living for pleasure and choose to live for Him.
Let’s be prepared for Jesus’ return, because otherwise what are we preparing for by default?
And that last bit, there is no more time…my friend, we don’t have many more days to waste. When the Holy Spirit led me to write down those words, “There is no more time,” and then led me to open 1 Peter chapter 4 in my Bible, well, this is no coincidence. The enemy Satan has no reason to quote unquote trick me into readying myself for the Lord’s return, to trick me into loving the Lord more and living a life that honors Him, to trick me into bowing at His feet rather than dancing with the world, to trick me into preparing for His return. See, that wouldn’t make sense.
I know many people do not believe that Jesus is returning soon.
And I know many people, students of the Word, see things lining up for His return and they are doing what Jesus said we are to do in Mark 13, verses 34-37, “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return - in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don’t let Him find you sleeping when He arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for Him!”
Those are the very words of Jesus. And He doesn’t say that since no man knows the hour or t he day, just don’t think about it, don’t talk about it, don’t preach any sermons about it, don’t keep yourself ready for His return, just say that there’s another fifty or one hundred years yet to go (which is kind of funny - why is it always, always fifty or one hundred more years? Just strikes me as a funny go-to for those who don’t believe we are actually in the very end of the end times.)
Jesus said not to let Him find us sleeping when He arrives without warning. Those who are kind of sleeping among the Church today are those who say, oh we’ve got time…we’ve got fifty more years at least, possibly a hundred years. We are told to keep watch. And if we are saying, oh we’ve got time, well, that’s not keeping watch.
Will you live today with Jesus as fully Lord of your life? All of your life? Will you be prepared for Jesus’ return? Because on a podcast about God’s promises, and for the 200th episode no less, the Holy Spirit led me to talk about this, which is a promise so great, so important, that we ought to live with this in mind every day…that promise is the promise of Jesus’ return. And on the great and terrible day of the Lord, nothing else will matter outside of the fact that He will be here. And with that in mind, can I boldly challenge you with the thought that if this promise is true, and it is, then nothing else matters more than being prepared for the moment that promise is fulfilled?
Thanks for listening today. Get ready and stay ready. Because Jesus? Oh, He’s a comin’ again, and soon.
I’ll see you next time. Bye bye.
Well hello to ya today, so glad you’re listening to this episode of the podcast. Let’s jump right in and look at a few verses from the New Testament that hold tremendous promises for us. Luke chapter one, verse 37 from the NLT and then Hebrews 13, verses 5 and 6. God’s promises are true. Whether or not you believe those promises, well, that’s kind of up to you.
A Christmas Blessing from Mary's Song Episode Link
A Merry and Bright ADVENTure book
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing now via the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by the Christmas book for families titled A Merry and Bright ADVENTure - A Christmas Devotional for Family, Faith, Food and Fun by Katie J. Trent. Sure, my children are all grown adults…but my grandbabies are the ones I will be using this book with. It’s divided into sections, by topic, by theme, and the advent readings consist of like a family devotional, a prayer, family discussion questions, some specific advent activities and of course, a recipe which is very family friendly. There are 25 of these really well thought out daily sections, which is of course perfect for advent. And there is a list of grocery items and craft items already compiled for you, to make it as easy as possible to implement the recipes and activities. Link is right here in the show notes, and a big thank you to Katie Trent for creating this Christmas season resource. I absolutely love it. And now, on with the show. This is episode number 199.
Right there nestled among the first few verses in the book of Luke, almost too easy to read and go right on past, is the promise of verse 37. In the NLT it says, “For the word of God will never fail.”
And after that absolutely mind-blowingly huge promise, this chapter continues into Mary’s Song, the Magnificat. Which, by the way, is really a beautiful passage of Scripture to read aloud as a family during the Thanksgiving or Christmas season. Amazing, that’s what Mary’s Song is. Worship - you might call it that. Beautiful worship.
For the word of God WILL NEVER FAIL.
Hang your hat on this verse today. I mean that, seriously. Bank on it. Depend on it. Lean the full weight of all your troubles and concerns onto it. It will hold up, no matter how heavy the load is that you’ve been carrying around. This verse can handle it. All of it. Perhaps this promise is one of the most powerful promises in the entire Bible. I don’t want you to take my word for it. I want you to take God at His word. Then do it again tomorrow. And never stop taking Him at His word, every single day of your life.
Hebrews 13, 5-6 - also from the NLT -
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”[a
6 So we can say with confidence,“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”[b]
What could possibly be missing from your life when God has said this?
Combine these words from Hebrews with the words from Luke and I am thinking you have something unstoppable, ya know?
Your God, whom you love and whom you serve, the One who secured your eternal salvation, He will never fail you or abandon you. What matters more than that?
And what are we to say in response to these great and precious promises?
With confidence, we say, The Lord is my helper and I will have no fear. Because what can mere people, human beings, those who are created by the One making me these promises, what can they do to me?
The hope you have in knowing, believing, and living in the reality of these promises…well, I’m not really sure it gets much better than that.
God won’t leave you. God won’t abandon you. God won’t fail you. He will help you. You can live with no fear. And people? What can they really do to you? For the word of God will never fail.
The word of will never fail for Jan, or for Sara, or for Rachel, or for Mike, or for Betty, or for Stuart, or for Terry, or for Gail, or for Linda or for Jon or for any of His people.
What promises in the Bible do you most need to know won’t fail right now?
Is it something from Psalm 91? Psalm 103? Psalm 1?
Something God promised in the book of Genesis?
Acts or Joel?
Isaiah?
Hebrews or Matthew or Revelation?
What promises have you wanted to believe were for you, God’s to you, but maybe are afraid to go all in with that belief? About what Bible promises can you say, “Lord, I believe…help me with my unbelief?”
I want to issue this challenge to you today: write down that promise, or promises if there are multiple, and on that page where you write them down, get a pen in a different color, maybe bright red, and over the top right Luke 1:37 - For the word of God will never fail.
I don’t want you to think about this, and say eh maybe I’ll do that some day. No.
Please do it this day.
For the word of God will never fail. Those promises from the word of God? They will never fail. So says Luke 1:37.
This is a big deal, isn’t it?
Because when we begin to really know the word of God will never fail, we start praying that way, we start thinking that way, we gain victory in areas that we once thought would end up taking us out. This is important because God wants us to know that His word will never fail…and the enemy wants us to believe his lie that the word of God will always fail.
Which will ya have today?
Five pounds of Jesus in a brown paper sack, or more than that?
Maybe God isn’t going to be controllable if you go all in and believe.
Maybe you will have to do battle with your fears and doubts.
Maybe some of your Christian friends will try and talk you out of such radical belief, because let’s just be honest, so many of our female small groups turn into gripe and gossip sessions, or stay so superficial that things like clothes and make up dominate the conversation…like, maybe that could change. And you might be the odd man (odd woman) out. Spoiler alert: if you are longing for those kinds of conversations to never be part of a women’s small group or Bible study ever again, then you already are the odd woman out…you just don’t want to rock the boat by mentioning it or by leaving…cuz we all know that when you leave, everybody wants to know why (like, more gossip, perhaps?) when they ought to know why just by reading the room, right?
What’s the hardest place to leave gracefully, graciously, and without gossiping? A Christian community that isn’t truly honoring the Lord. You are already the odd one out perhaps. That’s okay. I’m thinking Moses, David, Elijah, Abraham, the entire early Church in the first century…odd man out over and over again. It’s hard, but it’s not the end of the world.
What will you need to face honestly if you choose to trust the entire weight of your life, and all those things and people you’ve been praying about, all of it on the promise that the word of God will never fail?
A whole lot could change, starting with your heart and mind.
Maybe we can’t really, fully love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as yourself until we really believe that the word of God will never fail.
Maybe, just maybe, this is the moment the Lord has been waiting for. The moment when you no longer let fear, worry, other people’s opinions, doubts, all that kind of stuff, no longer let that hold you back, tie you up in knots inside and outside, and keep you from believing all God’s promises. Maybe today is a big deal for you.
Maybe tomorrow hinges on today.
Maybe, just maybe, this is your time.
What will you do now?
I hope you choose to believe.
Because you will never regret it, and God will never abandon you.
Until next time, keep on believing. Bye bye.
Hey there! Hello to ya today.
Here we are, for episode number 198 of the podcast, where we focus on God’s promises and make the decision to simply believe that what God has said is exactly what He meant. If He promised it, He means to honor His promise. Remember, God is not a man, that He should lie, and He always finishes what He begins. Knowing those two things leaves us no choice but to either believe Him for His every promise or to live as if He were lying to us. Which will you choose today?
Psalm 91 Audio Bible Study Course
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. And this is episode number 198.
Ya know how there are times in life, like seasons if you will, periods of time, when the same kind of thing keeps coming up, over and over again. Maybe God has been speaking to you about hope, or loving others well, or accepting His grace, and everywhere you turn, that subject is right in front of you, staring you down, you might feel like. Can’t really get away from it. Boom, there it is. And wowza, there it is again. Ever experience that?
That’s been the case for me recently. Over the last few months, for sure one aspect of life as a follower of Jesus has been prominent. And I didn’t think it was a topic I’d cover on the podcast, at least not right now, fall of 2024. But I don’t get to pick and choose when and how I obey what the Lord says. I mean, I could, and I have of course, but it’s really wrong, and flat out sin. And this issue has been in the forefront of my life as of late, like I said, and the Holy Spirit led me to discuss it today.
In John 15 and 16 and 17, Jesus had so much to say to His disciples and for all who would follow Him later on, down the road, in the years and centuries to come. That includes us, of course. Jesus spoke about the importance of unity.
John 15 from the Amplified - 12 “This is My commandment, that you [c]love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you.
The header just before verse 12 says: Disciples’ Relation to Each Other
And the next section header says: Disciples’ Relation to the World
18 “If the world hates you [and it does], know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love [you as] its own and would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world. And because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Does Jesus say that the world will treat His disciples well? Uh, duh. No. He told His disciples how to treat one another, and what to expect from the world. So people in the world are not the same as our fellow disciples and will not treat us the same way.
You may be thinking, “Uh, yeah… I know that, Jan. What is your point?”
Chapter 16, verse 1: “I have told you these things so that you will not stumble or be caught off guard and fall away.
So that you will not stumble or be caught off guard and fall away.
It’s a very real possibility that we will be caught off guard, surprised and thrown for a loop and stumble and even fall away because of it. But what is the “it” exactly? The terrible treatment of Jesus’ followers by those who don’t follow Him. When have you been treated really terribly for choosing the Jesus way? If it was from those who don’t know Him personally and are not His disciples, were you super shocked? It may hurt and be just a terrible experience. But you aren’t shocked by that nearly as much as you are when it happens within the church, by someone who claims to follow Jesus but perhaps, oh I am gonna get some hate mail for this, but Ima say it anyway…perhaps they don’t actually know Him, because the fruit of their life reveals that they don’t. We’re called by Jesus Himself to look at the fruit of people’s lives, and to know them by their fruit. That’s Scripture, my friend. That’s words in red. And we don’t likely stumble and fall away when someone who is not walking with Jesus, would never open a Bible or go to church or sing a worship song, when that person lamblasts you for your faith in Jesus, it probably isn't going to push you to fall away. Because you know who they are, it’s evident by looking at the fruit of their life. Right? But when it’s within the church (and hey, please remember Jesus Himself warned us that there would be wolves who come to devour the sheep, so this should not come as a shocker, what I’m saying here today)... when it’s quote one of our own, man, then it hits hard, it can cause a stumble, often we’re blindsided by it, and it can lead to falling away. My friend, I am boldly telling you today that this happens all the time in the church, and people will be held accountable by God Almighty for their actions against His people, the sheep of His flock. If it has happened to you, I am so very sorry. And if it happened at the hands of those in church leadership, I am grieved for you and for their abuse and misuse of the authority that really only ought to be about leading people to Jesus, if you boil it down, but is often not used for that purpose.
Control and manipulation are basically witchcraft. I mean, think about it. If you are twisting words, manipulating people, circumstances, using guilt and shame, turning Scripture this way and that in order to control people in any facet, it really is an evil thing to do. And it’s like being under a spell, and if you’ve experienced it, you know what I mean.
Do you think, and I am actually asking you to think about this and make up your own mind, but do you personally believe that Jesus’ call to unity in His church was intended for His true disciples to be unified with those who are in the church but are not truly following Him as disciples?
And at what point do you think Jesus would want His true disciples to deal with this “sticky situation”?
I know this can be a heavy topic, and it is controversial (but maybe it needs to be more normalized and less controversial to talk about the reality of, for lack of a better description, church abuse). And perhaps because there are so many people dealing with and reeling from this exact issue, I suppose this is the time and season to take a look at it through the lens of the Word of God. And as always, don’t just take my word for it - but take God’s Word for it, and read it for yourself. John chapters 15 and 16 are what I’ve been reading from, so dive in and check it out. Pray about what you read, listen for the Holy Spirit to do what He does perfectly as the Counselor that Jesus promised in John 16 verses 5-15.
Over the last several months, several people have talked with me, reached out to me, connected with me, and so on, about real problems among church leadership and what in the world to do when you come face to face with some terrible stuff, and are treated terribly, even abusively, manipulated, guilted, controlled, shamed, slandered, oh boy some of the things that have been going on are truly terrible and there is no place for this stuff in God’s Kingdom, let alone among those who call themselves leaders in the Church that bears His name! It’s like we’ve stepped into the wonky zone, and things are all sorts of off kilter.
If I were to do one of those hard hitting expose pieces from the late 1980s, I would have ample material. This isn’t so much an expose as it is a CTA.
If you are being abused spiritually, can I challenge you to this CTA, this call to action? First, read the Gospels. Read what Jesus said, how He lived, what He did for people, what He didn’t do, what He approved of and what He disapproved of. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Do you see yourself as Jesus sees you? Are you being treated the way that He treated people when He walked the earth? Are those in authority over you in the Church living like Jesus, loving like Jesus, shepherding like Jesus? Pray on this! God wants you to see yourself the way He sees you. And He wants to be Lord in His church. The letters to the churches in Revelation tell us so very much about how seriously He takes this kind of thing.
Next, I want to boldly, strongly encourage you to do what the Bible says, and to follow where the Spirit leads. Remember what Jesus said in John 16, verses 5 through 15:
Let me read it from the NLT.
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’
Verse 7 amplified - 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the [a]Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]
What is the Holy Spirit, your Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strenghtener, and your Standby saying to you? Leading you? Directing you? Counseling you? Strengthening you?
Church hurt is one thing, and it is a real thing and it is a terrible thing because it is so painful. Church abuse from leadership is another thing. Both can dwell together, for sure, but leadership abuse is the main focus of this episode. If you are dealing with this, can you look at it objectively and say yes or no to this question: is this behavior biblical or unbiblical? And are those in leadership telling me to keep enduring what is unbiblical, even though the very words of Jesus say it is wrong? Is it time to flee, like Joseph did when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him? He just left his cloak and fled. Could it be time to flee? What is your Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who is God dwelling within you, saying to you about the leadership abuse that’s going on?
And do you know that you know that you know that Jesus is absolutely never going to be spiritually abusive to you? And His true sheep, His chosen shepherds for His sheep, won’t either?
John 15:1 says “[a]I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away;
He takes away. Follow the fruit. Might be far more important than the call to follow the money, for the Christian community.
6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.
Those are Jesus’ words.
This is an individual calling. We each have to follow Him, remain in Him, let His words remain in us, proving we are His true disciples by our fruit.
I’m going to try and tread lightly as I say this next bit (and I am issuing this caveat - these words I am about to utter, they ARE NOT AT ALL related to 1919 S. Rock… )
If you need to leave a local church body because there is abuse happening, and you have looked and seen what the fruit or lack thereof is (or isn’t), if the Spirit of the Living God says, “go”... then I say to you, obey the Lord. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Those who love Jesus will obey Him. And when we get the sense that the Holy Spirit is leading us out of someplace, it seems to be that He is already moving along, ready to go, ready to lead us onward. By the time we sense Him moving, He is already moving…
So don’t over question when He is leading. And don’t let a bully pulpit or abusive leadership or manipulation or guilt and shame or twisting Scripture talk you out of following the Holy Spirit as He leads.
When He says it’s time to go, then go. Because delayed obedience is disobedience, and you don’t want any part of that.
Heavy topic today, and I’ll just say that I’ve prayed for everyone who listens because it is so heavy. Lord bless you, keep seeking hard after Jesus, and next episode we’ll be back to some of God’s promises and how important it is to know that those promises are for you. See you next time. Oh, and please share this episode with anyone you know who might be facing this issue. It’s hard, and sometimes we need a bit of encouragement, support, and understanding as we navigate it. You’re not alone, but there is so much hope, freedom, joy, peace and love in the Church on the other side of spiritual abuse. Jesus sees you, He feels your pain, and He has good for you and a path out of this and into His light and His love. So please share this, because it’s too important not to share.
I’ll be back for episode number 199 next time. Bye bye.
Thanks for listening today. I hope today’s episode is a blessing and an encouragement to you, and that the promises in the verses I’ll share today remind you that God is for you, He has good in store for you, and that He will never leave you nor forsake you, because He has engraved you on the palms of His hands and He knows how to keep hold of that which belongs to Him. That’s a great reminder for those of us who follow Jesus. Now, let’s jump right in to episode #197.
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I am going to read a passage from the NT book of Matthew today, more than just one verse on this episode. And let’s look at these verses in the NLT.
Listen as I read aloud -
Matthew 25:14-30 (New Living Translation) -
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last - dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ The servant who received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more,’ The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in a bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate the people as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home, I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these My brothers and sisters, You were doing it to Me!’
Does anything stand out to you, or even jump out at you, from this passage? I am going to encourage you to read it for yourself, or re-read it in the show notes. Highlight, underline or take notes on any portion(s) of this passage that stand out to you. Be an active reader. Read this while thinking about your own life. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about this passage.
Then, read it one more time.
So, yeah, for a podcast I just asked you to read, and that is not just listening, not the norm for a podcast. Now you don’t have to read this, hearing God’s Word is tremendously powerful and has real benefits to us in our every day lives, so long as we do something with what we are hearing, right? Not just nod our heads and give an amen here and there, but live out what the Word of God is teaching. And honestly, it often is revealing things in us that the Holy Spirit is wanting to work on, to heal, to dismantle lies and strongholds, to restore and bless and move us along on this walk with Him. So be an active reader when you open God’s Word - and also, be an active listener when you hear God’s Word.
But do, for 100% certain, be sure to ask the Lord to speak to you about what His Word says.
Sit quietly before the Lord, maybe with pen and paper in hand, and write what He speaks to your heart about this passage. Ask Him to show you where you are rightly using what He has given you for His glory and His purposes. And, on the more difficult side of the coin, ask Him to show you where you are not.
If you will take the time to do this - to agree with the Lord that He meant it when He said He will ask for an account of the assets He has given to each one of us - He will most certainly reveal something (or several things) to you. Let Him do that! And then honor Him by doing His will with what He has given.
He has something for you in His Word today, that I can promise you.
Let’s look again at this passage, this literal timestamp, a series of events that actually really and truly happened, from the life of the Lord Jesus.
First off, a beautiful reminder that our God is not ever, ever far off. He is not at all similar to man-made, little g gods who are aloof and distant and above mere mortals and all of that. Our God, who is the One True God, is not distant. He is not aloof. And these verses show us how up close and personal Jesus was to people. What makes us think He is less up close and personal with us, right now, today? The Spirit of the Living God indwells all who are in Christ, so how could He be aloof or far off or distant or detached? How do you detach from someone and also indwell them simultaneously? Well, you don’t because you can’t, right?
And I have to just focus on that word WILL - it’s kind of a thing for me on this podcast, and really it predates me ever having a podcast. I have done this for a long, long time, when I see the word WILL in a promise in the Bible, or like this passage where Jesus very clearly states what WILL happen on the day we stand before His throne.
He will separate the sheep from the goats. That is going to happen. And there will probably be some goats we did not realize were goats, if I am being totally honest. I mean, the last few years I have seen a falling away that I never dreamed of. If it is in the Word of God, and here in the NT penned in words of red, well then I surely am not going to argue with whether or not it will actually happen like it says. It will be just as He has said that it will be. Period.
The final judgment will take place, my friends. And based on the parable of the servants that Jesus told just before He began to speak about the final judgment, we are going to have a close examination of what we did with every single thing He entrusted to us. You and I, like it or not, have been entrusted with things - so many varying things. Big things, tiny things - and we are expected, says the King of kings, the One who was and is and is to come, to use them well and be prepared to show Him what we did to grow, to increase, to use wisely what He gave us for His cause. His Kingdom. That’s our truth, whether we live like it is or not. No getting around it, either. Now we can’t go back and change what we did or did not do in the past, even one minute ago, but we can right now get our heads on straight and be about using the talents, giftings, abilities, resources, time and money and platform and all of it for the right purposes. His purposes.
He will sit upon His glorious throne and all the nations will be gathered in His presence.
That is two uses of the word WILL that should be like cold water thrown in our face - wake up! Get with the program! (and it isn’t your program, nor mine - get with God’s program!)
Can I just encourage you, but with some firmness in my tone of voice, like a strong-ish encouragement, to evaluate what you have available to use for the Kingdom of God and to get busy using it to that end?
I do not care if you are five years old and what you have is a heart to pray for your sick uncle to come to know Jesus and to get better. Pray. Jesus sees it and He will reward it. If you are 99 years old and can hardly get out and about, but you like to talk to text your grandkids prayers and Bible verses. Do it, and expect Jesus to bless it.
Start where you are today and do, do, do something for the Kingdom, for the Master, today. And then keep on doing. No, we are not saved by works, it is solely by grace and the price Jesus paid at the Cross. But James tells us faith without works is dead and if you have even a bit of rigor mortis creeping into your spiritual life, well let’s nix that nonsense and get ourselves all sorts of alive in the Lord Jesus.
I’m not really kidding around, either, my friend. Get after living this life for the Lord before the afterlife gets after you.
Thanks for being here and have a truly blessed day investing into the Kingdom of God.
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Psalm 116, verses 1 & 2 say this in the Amplified -
I love the LORD, because He hears me (and continues to hear) my voice and my supplications (my pleas, my cries, my specific needs). Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.
So right off the bat in the first two verses of Psalm 116, we find the psalmist talking about prayer.
When you pray, is it easy or hard for you to fully believe that God hears you and continues to hear you when you pray? When you bring your supplications to Him? Do you know that you know that you know that God has inclined His ear to you, and that as a result of this truth, you ought to call on Him as long as you live.
How long?
Oh, only for as long as you live.
If you love the Lord, let your praying be an indicator of that love. Great love will equal great praying. And when you trust Him completely, it’s really so easy to go to Him in prayer. So much of the tug of war about prayer is stripped away when we trust Him completely and maybe even dare I say exclusively. We don’t try to pray one minute and work out a plan b the next minute when we trust in the Lord exclusively.
But today’s focus isn’t on verses 1 and 2. We’re gonna hone in on verses 12 through 14.
Let me read those verses from the Amplified Bible.
What will I give to the LORD (in return) for all His benefits toward me? (How can I repay Him for His precious blessings?) I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD. Yes, in the presence of all His people.
Of course you and I don’t like thousands of years ago in ancient Israel, so what do these verses mean for us today? How does this impact our prayer lives?
These verses have encouraged me to be mindful about what I take to the Lord in prayer, what I give to Him…ever done that? A person or situation or your health or finances, you pray and give it to Him, with the total intention of letting Him do His will His way for His glory and purposes, and you get to have the peace of God and can rest easy because you have entrusted the burden of it to the Lord via prayer. But did you ever do that and then snatch it back? Like you’re worrying and fretting and trying to find the solution in your own strength. Snatched it right back. I’ve done that and it can be challenging to keep giving it to the Lord and leaving it with Him, which I suppose is what it really means to trust God with it.
If something comes to mind today as you listen to the podcast, would you give it back to the Lord today? Pray on it and let it go, knowing it’s in good hands with Him. He is trustworthy and we really can leave it to Him.
He has blessed you in the past, and He will bless you in the future. He has been good to you and He will be good to you again and again and again. His faithfulness and His love for you know no end and cannot be used up or exhausted. He loves you, He cares for you, and He hears when you pray.
Can I pray over you today?
Lord, today I ask You to do the miraculous on behalf of Your people who need a miracle. I’m seeking Your very best on their behalf. And if they have given something to You in prayer and then found themselves worrying about it again, trying to work out a solution or fix a really difficult problem, would You bless them with Your comfort, and Your peace, and draw them close, reminding them to rest in You and to enjoy peace of mind and peace of heart as You work on the problem on their behalf, because You love them so very much? We love You, Lord, and we are so grateful for the many blessings, too many to count, that You have granted to us. Thank You for hearing our prayers and for the promise that You will continue to hear us when we pray.
Make us bold in our praying, give us faith to ask for things that only You can do, and may we continually trust You to do Your will, Your good will, in response to our prayers.
Lord, today would You bring healing and peace and hope into their lives? And Lord, we want to praise You and thank You and rejoice in all that You are and all You have done and all You will do in the days to come.
In Jesus Name I ask this, Amen.
Hey, thanks so much for listening today and for the blessing of praying for and with you. I’d be honored to pray for you specifically and you are welcome to email me prayer requests at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will be praying.
Well hey there, hello to you and welcome to this episode of the podcast.
E.M. Bounds On Prayer at Amazon
JanLBurt.com to grab free download of God's Promises in Isaiah & be on my email list & receive prayer
And just as a quick FYI, my second podcast The Prayer Podcast is being retired in just a few days. Turns out hosting two shows is a lot, and I feel it has hindered my writing and this podcast, to be frank. So I am sunsetting The Prayer Podcast but will share episodes from that show occasionally here on TBNES, sort of bonus episodes. Thanks for the support of all the listeners to TPP, and also, a very special shout out to the slew of recent listeners to both of the podcasts in the country of China. You are on my mind, and I am praying for you. May the Lord’s good promises to you prove true in every circumstance and situation, and I truly believe that they will because it is impossible for God to lie, and so all He has promised will come to pass. May you be richly blessed as you walk with Him, and again, thank you so much for listening. I don’t take it for granted!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network on the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by the book “E.M. Bounds on Prayer”, a resource that has encouraged and blessed me time and time again, year after year. A link to this book on Amazon is in the show notes, and I do not receive any sort of compensation for linking to Amazon - I share this resource solely based on how it has blessed me. Again, that’s E.M. Bounds on Prayer. Now, let’s jump into some of God’s promises for us. This is episode number 194.
Today I’m going to share several promises from the Psalms with you. If one of these promises is super encouraging to you, maybe you can write it down on a sticky note or make a note on your phone. Seeing the Word of God written out in your own handwriting or popping up via an alarm on your phone can really be encouraging for the long term, and that’s a lot better than a one-off kind of encouragement, ya know?
Psalm 10:14 - You, O God, do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it in hand. (This verse reminds me of the promise God gives to be near, to never leave us or forsake us, and knowing that He is so close to us that He sees our trouble and our grief, that’s enormously comforting. Beyond that, though, it says He considers trouble and grief and He takes it in hand. That simply means that He takes control of it. Think of a new person in the role of CEO of a company, and there is a problem area; the CEO takes it in hand, as the boss now, with the aim of correcting or improving the situation, developing it into something better. He takes your trouble and your grief in hand. Believe God is going to do this exact thing!_)
Psalm 10:17 - You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted. You encourage them, and You listen to their cry. (Please don’t forget that the Lord hears the desire, the heart cries, of the afflicted. What’s afflicting you? Talk to God about it, like really talk to Him, cry out from your heart, tell Him the truth about how this is afflicting you, and then listen for what He might say to encourage you. He promises in this verse to listen to your cry, to hear you, and to encourage you. But if you never talk to Him, if you never take time to be still and know that He is God and listen to Him, you are likely going to miss much of the promise in Psalm 10:17). Also, I have to say, there is a lot of encouragement in the tenth psalm. So maybe add that to your reading sometime soon and simply by faith receive all that’s promised in Psalm 10, and you’ll find yourself encouraged!
Now let’s look at a couple of promises in Psalm 40.
Verse 2b, second half of that verse, says - He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
Yes and amen to this!
Anybody else look back at their life before Jesus and remember what it was like to live with your feet on mush? On sinking sand? When we remember what He has already done for us, and give Him praise and honor, we in turn encourage ourselves to believe for what He is going to do for us now and in the future.
And I do want to remind you that the future is not all that far away. Today is a great moment in time to believe and appropriate God’s promises and to make the decision to simply believe that what God says, He means. And He means for His children, individually and as a whole. Don’t let another day go by without choosing to believe that God will keep His promises, and He will keep them for you.
Psalm 40:4, 5b - Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. ~ The things You planned for me no one can recount; were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare. (Want to live a blessed life? Make the Lord your trust. Nothing else, no Jesus plus this or that. Just the Lord. Make Him your trust, and you will be blessed. That’s the promise God makes here. May it be true of you, and of me, I’m grabbing hold of this one for myself too, may it be said of you that the things the Lord planned for you are too good, too vast, to count or recount…but do try! Try and recount what He’s done for you, you’ll never be able to remember or recall everything He’s done while on this side of eternity, but give it a try! Thank Him. And know that they are too many to declare. Yeah, Psalm 40 verses four and five? Oh that’s a promise. It’s a good one.)
Psalm 40:11 - You do not withhold Your mercy from me, O Lord. May Your love and Your truth always protect me.
This is something of a prayer verse, if you will. Like, I literally prayed this just yesterday. Lord, do not withhold Your mercy from me or from my family or from those I am praying for (speaking of those I pray for, stay tuned at the end of this episode as I share a few words to some people I’ve been sent prayer requests by). Lord, may Your love and Your truth always protect me. Pray it and believe and expect it. God’s mercy will not be withheld from you, His love and His truth will always protect you. That’s a wonderful way to pray, maybe on those days when you don’t know what to say to God, what to ask Him to do in your life, in your children’s lives perhaps, someone has asked you to pray over a situation in their life and you’re not sure what to pray, well, keep Psalm 40:11 in mind, in your prayer arsenal. And trust that God will answer this prayer.
And from Psalm 100, verse 5 says: For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Oh this is such good news for all of us who love the Lord. Every disciple of Jesus needs to hear this! I mean that, literally, I really do mean it. For the Lord IS good - right now, present tense. In your life, in your family, in your workplace, in your scary situation. The Lord IS good. And His love endures forever! Forever! That’s a word that bears so much weight in this context. His love for you in your current circumstances endures forever. That’s fantastic, hopeful news for all of us today! His faithfulness continues through all generations. While we are still here on this earth, while mankind is still here, God’s faithfulness is still here, as well. Man what a promise.
Psalm 130:3 is the final verse I’m going to share with you today. It says: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
God’s word tells us plainly that He remembers our sins no more, they are removed as far as the east is from the west. Once you are in Christ, this is a done deal for you. So says the very Word of God. Not so says Jan Burt. Who cares what I think, what I say? So says the Lord. Somebody may need to know that today, and maybe that somebody is you. No one could stand with God keeping a record of sins, and so don’t measure yourself by someone else. Measure yourself rightly, by your own degree of faith as it says in the New Testament, and then believe that for those who know the Lord, your sins are remembered no more. Huge amount of hope and encouragement in these verses from the psalms.
Now I mentioned that I wanted to say a few words to those who have either emailed me with prayer requests, used the text box feature on my website, maybe sent me something via the jotform prayer request that I’ve shared in several places, or replied to one of the emails I sent out recently. And, yes, I do send emails with a verse and a prayer and I invite people to reply with any needs I can pray about, and I do pray for every request I get. Now I want to say that on my jotform, I had a couple of people request that I follow up with them about their prayer requests and I wasn’t able to do that (I didn’t get the contact info to be able to follow up, maybe a glitch in that form, and hey I understand that sometimes sites like jotform might drop info that is personal for safety reasons, to prevent spam and the like, and I get that, so no complaints from me about protecting privacy).
If any of the listeners to this episode would like to be on my email list and get the verse and prayer emails, which I send a few times a month, the easiest way to do that is to go to Jan L Burt . com and scroll down a bit to where it says God’s Promises in Isaiah, enter your email and you’ll get an immediate reply email with verses from Isaiah that are promises God makes, and you'll be on the list for the next email I send out with a verse and a prayer and you just hit reply and send me your prayer request, those go to an inbox that I see right away, which is so nice for me to be able to quickly start praying. And that’s it, I’ll be praying. Jan L. Burt . com and I will be praying.
That’s it for this episode, and thanks for listening. Thanks again for all who listened to The Prayer Podcast. As I say goodbye to it, I’m not saying goodbye to praying for you, that’s for sure. See you back here next time. Bye bye.
Hey there! Hello and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show…getting the promises of God into the hearts and minds of the people of God, which is right where they belong. So thankful you’re listening to this episode of the show, and hey, today we’re looking at a promise directly from the New Testament words of Jesus, and it’s a good one. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you may want to just save this episode and plan to share it somewhere, or with somebody, because it’s gonna get really real really fast and really bring it today. God’s promises are true - let’s talk about how they’re true for you today.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, which can be found via the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by the Psalm 91 audio Bible study & prayer sessions, created by the show host (that’s me), Jan L. Burt. Access the study at JanLBurt.com/psalm91 Psalm 91 is perhaps the most astounding passage of promises with the most astounding miracles linked to it of maybe the entire Old Testament, and for sure it is one of the most amazing and life-changing passages in the Bible. It’s something you should know and pray over yourself and your loved ones, because it holds promises that we find only in this passage, and it is something every believer needs to apply to their life - and that’s why I created the Psalm 91 audio Bible study. JanLBurt.com/psalm91 and this is episode number 194.
Alrighty, so let’s jump right into this.
I’ll be reading from the Amplified today, looking at a few verses from the book of Matthew, chapter 11.
Matthew 11:28-30Amplified Bible28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”
That’s from Matthew 11, verses 28-30.
We’ve got a call here, something we need to do, our part is to come to Jesus. Who is it He is calling to come to Him? Those who are weary, those who are heavily burdened, dealing with religious rituals that provide no peace…and hey, there are many things that fall into that category, so don’t automatically assume this doesn’t apply to you because it really might, and Jesus has freedom for you. Today, He has freedom for you from religious systems and programs and rituals that don’t give you the kind of peace that Jesus wants you to have. And when we do as Jesus asks us to, calls us to, and come to Him, He promises (verse 28 says WILL and when He says He will do something, He will!) He will give you rest. The Lord’s salvation is restful, is peaceful, for you and for me. We can have been in the Chirstian world for so long that we begin to lose our rest, our peace. That is not what Jesus wants, my friend. From day one of your salvation to day done of your salvation, when He takes you home or when He returns and you are caught up in the air to meet Him, whatever your day done might look like, Jesus wants you to have peace and a refreshed soul, rest like literal rest in every aspect of life, in every sense of the word, on every single day that you walk with Him. This isn’t something we share with people when we are talking to them about Jesus, but we no longer have it as part of our daily life. It’s meant to be lived, this walk of faith and lived well - lived on Jesus’s terms and this verse tells us that His terms are trading our weariness and heavy burdened way of life for rest, peace, and refreshed souls. And while it might sound too good to be true, it’s actually 100 percent true. God’s promises are what, now? True. Always and in all ways.
He calls us to take His yoke upon ourselves and learn from Him - that literally means to just follow Him as His disciple. I say JUST, but I don’t say there’s never any struggle to do this. The world, our flesh, social media, old and new friends, our workplaces, even our families and sad to say often our church culture is too worldly, too focused on programs or not being a Christian weirdo, or seeker friendly or all that stuff (a subject for another day, but not biblical, not sustainable, and not discipleship…just sayin’!) All these things and more can make it tricky to keep following Jesus as His disciple. But when we stay yoked to Him and don’t pull and tug and fight that yoke, just walk with Him at His pace and His leading doing life His way, well then, that’s discipleship and we have His promised peace and rest, and it is just so good.
Now if you’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, can I ask you to pause for a moment (maybe pause this podcast for a second and think on this) and just remember what it was like for you before you responded to Jesus’ call when He rescued you and saved you and forgave and turned your life around in a good way. Can you remember what it was like? The stress, the fear, the anger or other emotions, the control you maybe tried to exert on situations and people, the overwhelm, the way your did all those things you didn’t want to do, your hard heart, the lack of hope, the lack of joy, the lack of peace, afraid of all the things, uneasy, tossed around by life - do you remember? And if you have not yet made the decision to follow Jesus as His disciple, can I just tell you that right now is a great time to make that decision? It’s super simple, there is no required prayer to pray, you can just talk to God and tell Him you’re sick of your sin, sick of life like this, and you want what Jesus offers, peace and eternal life and total forgiveness for every single sin, past, present and future, and just ask Him to be Lord of your life, to forgive you of all your sins, and to take up reign on the throne of your heart. Thank Him, and believe it is done, and it is so long as you mean it. It really is that simple. Just talk to the Lord, invite Him into your life, your heart, and thank Him and say Amen, so be it, yes Lord. He doesn’t make it hard, because He is a good God and He loves you too much to make it too hard to make Jesus Lord of your life.
So, remembering what it was like before you made Him Lord, your hard knock life, and that’s the true reality for everyone who doesn’t walk with Jesus as His disciple (not about a program for six weeks at church, about discipleship for all the rest of your days!). And now think about what it’s like to have that peace, to take His yoke upon you and learn from Him, knowing He is gentle and humble in heart and that He brings you rest for your soul. Rest for your soul. This isn’t just a nap. It’s REST for your inner being, for your soul. Soul rests is next level. It’s truly supernatural, it is not of this world. It’s from the Lord. And it’s life changing. You need it. Jesus has it for you. And that’s just one smidgen of the promises from this passage alone! Soul rest. His yoke is easy to bear and His burden is light.
You are not going to be weighed down and having a come apart when you are His disciple. That’s not your life, because it’s not His will based on Matthew 11, verse 28 through 30. You do need to believe that this is all true for you, because when we believe, our faith is accredited to us as righteousness, and Jesus often said that it would be done to those who asked something of Him, it would be done to them according to their faith, to their belief. So, believe the very words Jesus spoke, don’t do an eye roll and refuse to believe it. Just choose to believe. And it really is a choice. Don’t mind your feelings, but make your feelings mind the Word of God.
Now I’m going to sort of add some zest to this episode. It’s a unique episode of the podcast, because I’m going to share some things I have never spoken about on this platform. Everything I’m sharing today is true, it actually happened, just as I’m telling it. And I know it’s all true because it happened to me. I’m gonna tell ya some things, real life, nitty gritty, stuff. Here goes!
Bizarre and weirded me out experience #1:
Now, first off, let me preface these next couple of snippets I’m sharing from my own life by clearly stating that I was not a follower of Jesus at all at this point in time. Not at all. Not one bit. Zero percent interested in God. I was a train wreck. No Bible in our home, didn’t go to church on Easter or Christmas, just zero of that in my growing up home or in my life.
This event happened when I was a teenager, and I worked as a teen, like many of us, and at this point I was around 18, working for a telemarketing company, more like a call center for customer service stuff than outbound sales calls, but basically telemarketing. I worked second shift, we called it the night shift (only two shifts there, days or nights and I was on nights). I worked in Omaha, Nebraska but lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, right across the river, actually very normal for the Omaha area, gotta add that piece of info to this true story.
So one afternoon, I went to work as usual, and there was a man at work that I didn’t recognize, not that big of a deal, lots of turnover in a place like that, ya know? He sat in front of my and to my left at his cubicle desk area, and on our lunch break he came and sat at the table I sat at with my normal group of work friends, and back then, I was a smoker…actually started smoking probably around age 13, maybe even sneakily smoking at 12, but smoking with my mom’s permission at 13 (meaning that at that point, when I was 13, we lived in a small town in Nebraska and she gave her permission to all the local stores that I could buy cigarettes there because she’d given me permission to smoke, and am I Gen X, the child of a Boomer? Uh, yes…)
So, I sat at the outside table with the other smokers for my lunch break, and this man sat with us, but he didn’t smoke. He was chatty and said something about working a different shift for this one day and wondered if anybody lived across the river in Iowa and might be able to give him a ride back to the Iowa side after work. I wasn’t naive, I didn’t give rides to men I did not know as an 18-year-old, and you can discern from my being a smoker at age 13 that maybe I was a bit street savvy. So, it was out of the norm for me to say yes to something like this, in fact I cannot think of another time in my life when I gave a ride to a stranger, but everybody seemed like it was okay and of course they knew I lived in Iowa, and they all seemed comfortable with him and I gave him a ride after work.
Now for some reason, the whole drive to the place in Iowa where I dropped him off, I was not comfortable smoking. So, after work, a smoker lights up, that’s just how it is, one of the key smokes of the entire day, honestly, is the after-work smoke. But I didn’t grab my cigarettes. I left them in the side pocket storage area of my baby blue 1988 Chevy Beretta.
On the drive, he was very kind in a way that was super genuine, and he asked questions about my life, started as normal chit chat, but I answered each question and then he’d another one, and some of the questions were really interesting…like he asked about the small town I’d used to live in and what life was like there for me, and I shared things about being a heavy drinker and being in several car accidents where the car was totaled (like, the number of totaled cars I was in over the course of say four years was five, two cars that rolled, one that had a telephone pole fall onto it right where I was sitting, one launched off a dead end at nearly 100 mph, and another accident at around 130 mph that barely stopped before the car hit a large cement culvert). And I kind of chuckled / joked that maybe God was punishing me or maybe even trying to end my life because I was such a terrible person. (Now at this point I had not had a drop of alcohol in around a year and hadn’t really been heavily drinking in 15-18 months, so I was not a raging drunk when I gave this man a ride home after work, but I was weirdly comfortable sharing about the mess that my life was in so many ways, including my heavy drinking and horrible car accidents, four of those totaled being my own cars). So, I made a comment to try and lighten the mood but also to acknowledge that I was a really terrible teenager, and said maybe God was punishing me or trying to even end my life due to my awfulness.
This man looked at me, like really looked at me, and told me that God was not trying to kill me, but that the devil, Satan, was, because if Satan could kill me without me knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, I’d go to hell. Now I knew I deserved hell, and I knew that was where I was headed…I think it was common knowledge to GenX teens to know that, to understand that. So, the mention of hell didn't shock me, but the idea that Satan was trying to kill me was a totally new concept to me.
He went on to say that God had actually protected me from what Satan wanted to do, and that He was not angry at me, punishing me, but that He loved me and was watching out for me, keeping me from death when I should have been dead many times over.
He just told me that God loved me. And then, we arrived at the place he’d told me to drop him off. Of course it was dark, probably at least 11pm or so, and I parked near a long sidewalk that led to the doorway of this building, I still don’t know what the place was, it kind looked like maybe an apartment building but not a layout I’d seen before, it had kind of a small town hospital feel to it more than apartments, and it looked like not a place someone would live, and the sidewalk leading to the door was pretty well lit, the doors were glass and the hall inside was super well lit, bright white lighting, think hospital lighting, white walls, white ceiling, white tile floor…and I could see all the way down that hallway. He thanked me for the ride, got out of the car, and shut the car door. I reached for my cigarettes, which were in the door panel pocket to my left, and then glanced back to the right, out the passenger side window, and the dude was gone. I mean gone gone.
This sidewalk was long, and lights were shining on it. There was a barren yard on both side, no trees, no shrubs, just super short grass, and nowhere for him to hide. There was nobody in the hallway inside the building. It startled me. I literally jumped, and looked behind my car, out the driver’s side window, the guy was just gone. Once I knew he was not anywhere around, I just drove home.
Went to work the next day and had some questions about what he had said and wanted to make sure he got into his building okay, so I asked my supervisor if he could get a message to that man. My super looked at me like I was nuts. He said no day shift worker had worked the night shift, and when I said, “He worked the whole shift in that cubicle right there, ya know, dark hair, skinny dude, wore faded jeans, brown shoes…that guy, he was right there.” He said nobody had been in that seat the day before, and he had no idea who I was talking about because that didn’t describe any of the day workers.
Now I was feeling really weird.
So, on the lunch break, I asked my friends. “Remember that guy who sat with us yesterday, he didn’t smoke, but he lives in Iowa and needed a ride home, so I gave him a ride? Remember him?” Every single person at the table looked at me like, “Huh?” Nobody remembered this guy. They all said, nobody sat with us yesterday, just us. And a couple of them said they told me bye the night before as I got into my car…they were emphatic that I got into my car alone. Nobody was with me.
Okay, I was in weird town, and they were wondering if I was okay, like what was I talking about? So, I just said something like, Oh, well this is weird… and tried to change the subject. Didn’t work too well, because they really were curious what was going on and I just never mentioned it again.
But I sure did think about it.
A lot.
Not really just because of what he’d said to me about God, but because it was such a weird experience, and nobody remembered him but me and I’m telling you, he was a real guy at my real workplace who rode to Iowa in my real car, and we had a real conversation and then he was just gone.
This really happened to me.
And it really happened just as I’ve told it.
And it really stuck, because of the way it happened.
This event in my life paved the way for me for what God was going to do in the future, which was to reveal Himself to me (Christ revealed to us, as Paul wrote in the New Testament). It was part of the rock-solid foundation the Lord was building in my life.
The verses I read today from Matthew got me thinking about this and got me thinking about all the ways God is working in the lives of people all the time. Remarkable things like this happened often. Have they happened to you? Maybe they’re happening to people you’re praying for. Don’t stop praying! Please!
And maybe you can share something God did to get ahold of you, to get your attention, to make a mark on your life, that was how He was drawing you to Himself, so He could save you for time and all eternity, give you new life, freedom, hope, joy, peace, and forgiveness.
I personally believe that I had an encounter with some kind of angel in disguise. He told me the truth, and it stuck. And he disappeared from sight in an instant, and that stuck. I don’t know that I was entertaining an angel unawares, but I do believe it was an angel, nonetheless. God sent him to my workplace, God made me comfortable enough with him to give him a ride from Nebraska to Iowa, and God set up those circumstances with nobody else remembering this man and him poof vanishing right out of thin air so that I would not forget that moment in my life.
And when the next moment came along for me, when God was doing the miraculous to get hold of me, you’d better believe that this moment was still fresh on my mind.
I’ll share Part Two of my salvation story in the next episode, and I hope you’ll tune in because it’s really a precious part of my life, and I’m honored to be alive to share it with you. And I mean that. Share your story with somebody as the Lord leads, and of course feel free to share this episode if it might encourage others that are in your say social media circle.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see ya back here next time. Bye bye.
Thanks for listening to this special episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today we're taking a look at Psalm 145 and praying the promises we find there. And fair warning - since this is a special bonus episode, it does cut off at a seemingly random point... but it really isn't random at all. (There was just a smidge of no-longer relevant info that I cut from the tail end of this episode.)
I’m thankful you’re listening, and I have been praying that today’s verse and today’s prayer will be a huge blessing and encouragement for you, right now, in the midst of all that is transpiring in your life, good or bad, ups and downs, no matter what. Let’s talk about it.
Psalm 145:18 in the NLT says this:
The LORD is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in truth.
Free Daily Prayer Tracker
Praying Colossians Chapter One
So if you happen to know me from my first podcast, which is all about God’s promises, then you’ve probably heard me mention how God means it when He uses the words will and all in a promise from the Bible. So of course, the word all being used twice in Psalm 145:18 stood out to me. Who is the Lord close to, according to this verse? To all who call on Him in truth. And it’s doubly emphasized. He states this twice. We should take Him at His word.
All means all, it cannot mean anything else or less than all.
And so, you can go to Him in prayer, you can call out to Him (in truth, as it says…and that indicates honesty in the inmost parts, which we know from the Bible is what God desires from us, and in the name of Jesus, who is The Way, The Truth and The Life). Call out to the Lord. Tell Him what is on your heart, on your mind, stressing you out or what you are celebrating. Call out to Him about your biggest need. And expect Him to be close to you.
I take this literally. I expect Him to be so near that I know He is near, that He is right here with me. That I am not ever going to be abandoned or forsaken, because my God does all that He has promised to do. And so, yes, I call out to Him in truth. I don’t sugar coat my needs or my concerns, and I don’t try to be all cleaned up and perfect before I come to Him in prayer.
If my friend is facing something overwhelming and I am praying for them, it is not with a phony, this is not big deal but if You have time God please help my friend out. No, I get in there and pray. I am honest about what is happening in their world, and I seek God’s actual, tangible help for them in their time of need.
Little bit harder to do this for myself, if I am honest. But I don’t think it should be more difficult, because God clearly is okay with His people calling on Him.
How about you? Are you super good at calling on God when you are facing something, at a point of need? When you are afraid, do you trust in Him fully and call on Him honestly?
This is your birthright, if you will, and God does want you to have the absolute most possible peace and grace in your life right now, and every moment hereafter. There is not any of His peace or His grace or His love that He wants you to set aside and leave for later, or leave for heaven. He has all this for you here and now, but often we leave it on the table and we miss what He wants for us.
As I pray today, would you pray with me and ask the Lord to give you an overflow, an abundance of His blessing? Love and mercy and grace and help and wisdom and healing and all the things you know you need? Would you join me in asking our good and faithful God to hear you as you call out to Him, and to answer in ways that move mountains and reveal how close He is to you - that He is right here in this thing with you, and you are not alone and you are so dearly and even fiercely loved by Him.
Father, today I am coming to You in prayer asking that You would hear me according to Your Word, which says that when I call out to You in truth, You will be close to me. And that is exactly what I am praying for today. That as I call out, You would show up, even in a way that seems overwhelming to the ones for whom I am praying. Overwhelm them with Your love today. Give them direct and clear and profound answers to their most pressing needs. And where they are celebrating in some way, and maybe for many of them feel as if they are celebrating alone, feeling a bit isolated perhaps, would you in some way show them that You rejoice with them.
Be honored as we pray and by the way we live our lives in Your presence. You are the friend who sticks closer than a brother, and for that, we praise You. Can I ask, Lord, for You to do it again? Those moments when the one listening has felt so close to You, so much in Your favor, loved so dearly and walking with You moment by moment, blessed and joyful and covered by Your grace and peace…would You do it again, Lord? Right now? Do that today. And I boldly ask that You keep on doing that, day by day, so that they can live in a state of peace of mind and heart that can only come from You.
Move in their lives. Show Your will, Your love, and Your hope to others through them. Provide richly for their needs. And even beyond that, Lord, I am asking for You to give them enough that they can share with others who have needs. Be generous with Your people, and remind us often to in turn be generous with others. Life is a gift, and we want to spend our gifts well for Your glory. Thank You that You are always only a prayer away, in fact You are never far and never forsake those whom You love.
Teach us how to best pray for one another, and teach me how to best pray for those who listen to this podcast. Favor them highly, comfort them in amazing ways, be much with them and may they bear so much fruit. Comfort them, and give them the opportunity to comfort others. May no weapon of the enemy that is formed against them prosper, and may every tongue that rises up against them be condemned, as Your word says, Lord. Do the things that only You can do, and do it in ways that glorify only You. We give no quarter to the enemy, we do not dwell in doubt but rather in faith and in trust, for we know the One to whom we pray.
May we trust You in all things, knowing that not one of Your good promises will ever fail to come to pass. And so, Holy Spirit, I ask You to move and keep on moving in the life of the one listening today. Move and keep moving, because I ask and I keep asking, as Jesus taught in the New Testament. We are choosing to believe You above all else, and we are certain that our hope in You will lead to blessing and favor and glory for Your name, because He who promised is faithful and He will do it.
Bless them, Lord. Draw them ever closer to You. Hear them as they call out to You, and do not be slow in answering their heart cries.
Thank You for the privilege of prayer, for making a way into the Holy of Holies to pray before Your throne of grace. I am eternally grateful and am thankful that You made a way where there was no way. Do it again, Lord. Do it again. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to pray for you. It really is a blessing! And in one of my prior episodes of The Prayer Podcast I shared a free resource with you, and in case you have not gotten it yet, I am sharing it again. It’s a link to a Daily Prayer Tracker that you can download and print and use in your daily prayer time. And I am also adding a link to a prayer based on Colossians chapter 1 that you can download and pray. And there will be more things like this coming in future episodes, I will try and rotate through and add things to bless you.
Prayer is a key element of the Christian life.
I don’t think any of us would argue that.
But it is also not the easiest aspect of the Christian life.
Praying Colossians 1 free download
Welcome to this BONUS episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
In this episode you'll hear an excerpt from The Prayer Podcast as we take a look at Romans 12 verse 1 and learn some things about prayer.
I pray this bonus episode will be encouraging for you.
Remember, when you know God's promises and you pray boldly based on those promises, you'll see mountains move in your life and in your heart.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any bonus or regular episodes!
Prayer can feel risky, can’t it? It can feel safer to go to church each week, to follow through with the read the Bible in a year checklist, to go to small group now and then…and to let others do the praying, especially the out-loud praying.
I get it. I’m pretty introverted. Like, I’m guessing about half of the people in the world. It’s probably about a 50/50 split of introverts and extroverts. Not all of us enjoy the spotlight, being the focus of all the attention in the room. And some people, the other half of the world’s population, do seem to like the limelight. Both of these can be problematic when it comes to prayer.
Does God want showy prayers? Or genuine ones? Look at me kind of praying, or head bowed, seeking the heart of the Lord kind of praying?
Psalm 51, verse 6 says that God desires truth, or honesty, in the inmost being. Honesty from the heart. I have found it very helpful for me to pray that way - honestly, from my heart. And that also makes it so much easier for me to pray in public, even as an introvert. So if you struggle with praying aloud in a group setting, this verse may be encouraging or helpful for you. And it takes the pressure off - what we want when we pray out loud in front of others, and what we think they want when we pray. Focusing on what God wants takes a lot of the zing out of it.
Today we are going to look at a verse from the book of Proverbs, and it is often referred to as a book of wisdom. That’s accurate.
And I think this verse I’m going to share with you is going to bless you in regard to your prayer time. And of course, I get the privilege of praying for you today based on this verse.
Proverbs 15:29 - NLT - The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous.
Far from.
We want our prayers to be heard, or why would we spend time praying?
And if we spend time praying and want our prayers to be heard, we also want them to be answered.
It’s weird to pray and not expect an answer, and that can happen to all of us; sometimes we just pray through our prayer list and don’t give a lot of thought to the expectation of God’s answer. So, we don’t want that to be our default. But if we prayed and never really ever at all expected any sort of answer to any of our prayers, that would be strange.
We expect to be heard and to get an answer. Obtaining an answer is really a huge part of why we pray. There is a need - we need help, an illness, finances, work troubles, all the things we pray about. We are looking for answers and when we take those things to the Lord in prayer, we are going to the One who has answers, who can help us when we need it.
This verse shows us that a key part of achieving that end goal of answered prayer is not to be far from God. It says He is far from the wicked, but hears the prayers of the righteous. As followers of Jesus, we know that our righteousness is through Him and not of our own good works (“good works” is in air quotes, because none of us is righteous and that’s why we need a Savior).
How can we ensure we are not far from God?
Well, let’s maintain our spiritual integrity.
Integrity isn’t what we do out in public, in front of everyone, on the social media platforms, not even on Sunday morning at church. I mean, we want to be people of integrity in public, since that’s where we go to work, where we interact with others, and so yeah, we need to have integrity in public but if our private life is the opposite of our public life, then it’s not true integrity. Am I the same in both places? Or do I wear some kind of mask? How’s my integrity? How am I doing at this whole person of integrity thing?
So spiritual integrity could be our private life with the Lord, not solely the more public aspect of our Christian life. We want to have integrity all the time, not just some of the time. And if somebody runs into us in a non-church setting, well they shouldn’t be totally shocked by who we are and who we aren’t.
It goes beyond Sunday morning.
Does my love for Jesus plumb the depths of my heart and soul and life?
Spoiler alert: it should.
I think moral courage comes into play, too.
Think about what it looks like to have moral courage in 2023, which is when I am recording this episode. Moral courage can be viewed wrongly by society as a whole. And that is one reason it can be hard to live out. I mean, we don’t want to be unloving, because we know Jesus wants us to love well. But we don’t want to be cowards, afraid to let anybody know we follow Jesus.
Moral courage and spiritual integrity. Living for the Lord all the time, that sums it up well.
And why are we focused on those things, again? Because Proverbs 15:29 promises that the righteous will have their prayers heard by God.
This is critical. Too critical to just leave to chance.
I want to pray well. And I want those prayers to obtain answers. I want God’s very best, and I will not truly know what that is if I don’t know what the Bible says. And so, I read my Bible and I pray to the best of my ability in accordance with the Word of God.
Proverbs 15:29 - The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to pray for you now.
Lord, thank You for this verse from the wisdom of the Bible. Thank You for showing us clearly that we can be assured You will hear us when we pray. Thank You for the righteousness we have through Your Son, Jesus. You have been so very gracious to us, and we are so very thankful for that grace.
Lord, would you bless each listener with braveness to pray to You about the things that are weighing heavy on their hearts today? Would You give them the exact wisdom that they need in that exact situation. Heal them if they are in need of any sort of healing. Provide for them if they are facing financial lack, or any other kind of lack in their life. You have promised to meet all of our needs, and so I am asking You to do that today. Open doors to bless them, lead them to people who can help them move forward in life. Bless their families and their workplaces and their friendships and the churches they attend.
Take care of them daily, Lord. Emotionally and physically and spiritually, take good and careful care of each one listening today.
May they experience Your love in powerful ways, and may they find all that they have longed for in a close relationship with You. Show up for them. Show off for them. Let them know that they are the apple of Your eye, and You never take Your eyes off of them or stop thinking about them. Thank You for the hope that You offer us for the future, and for eternity.
Bless them in mighty ways today, and may they pray in boldness and receive what they need from You. Answer quickly, Lord. Do not delay - we have needs that are urgent, so I am beseeching You to move quickly.
In Jesus Name - Amen
Thank you for the blessing of praying for and with you, and thank you for listening today.
If this episode has been encouraging, feel free to share it with someone. And I’d also like to ask for reviews or comments, as those will help more people to find the podcast, especially in the new days of a new podcast. It makes a tremendous difference, to say the least.
I also have a free resource for you, it is a prayer guide that follows Colossians chapter 1, and you can get that for free at the link here in the show notes. And you can email me at any time with prayer requests at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will be praying for every request I receive.
Do you need some hope today?
Hope for restoration of things long since lost, devoured, or delayed?
Then this episode is for you!
Be encouraged, take hope in the Lord, and remember, He who promised is faithful!
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional available on Amazon
The Lord’s Promise of Restoration18 Then the Lord will pity his people
and jealously guard the honor of his land.
19 The Lord will reply,
“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy your needs.
You will no longer be an object of mockery
among the surrounding nations.
20 I will drive away these armies from the north.
I will send them into the parched wastelands.
Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.[c]
The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”
Surely the Lord has done great things!
21 Don’t be afraid, O land.
Be glad now and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things.
22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.
24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,
and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.[d]
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26 Once again you will have all the food you want,
and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit28 [e]“Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.
30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and terrible[f] day of the Lord arrives.
32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved
Welcome to this BONUS episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
In this episode you'll hear an excerpt from The Prayer Podcast as we take a look at Romans 12 verse 1 and learn some things about prayer.
I pray this bonus episode will be encouraging for you.
Remember, when you know God's promises and you pray boldly based on those promises, you'll see mountains move in your life and in your heart.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any bonus or regular episodes!
Next time we will take a look at Joel chapter 2 as we continue the series, "Every Book a Promise".
Thanks for listening and as always, you can reach out to me with questions or prayer requests via my website, JanLBurt.com, which has a text / chat bubble that makes it super easy to reach me!
In this episode, we're taking a look at a portion of Luke chapter 8.
This passage challenges us, but it also encourages us to go all-in with Jesus, trusting Him utterly & completely, believing that He is who He says He is and that He does exactly what He has promised to do.
This episode sponsored by Heather Creekmore's book Aging Gratefully, available on Amazon.
Jesus Calms the Storm22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. 23 As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. 25 Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”
The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”
Thanks for listening to the podcast & I hope it has been encouraging for you!
Well hey there! Hello to you today! So glad to be able to talk about God’s promises today - the freedom to share the truth of God’s Word is something I am so very thankful for. And I’m also very thankful for you.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 188, and we’re taking a look at some promises from the Old Testament Book of Hosea. Let’s jump in.
Working our way through the Bible, one book at a time, and finding promises God has made to His people in each book is pretty amazing. It’s like a treasure hunt that never stops yielding huge treasure.
Hosea chapter one, verse seven in the New Living Translation says, “But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies - not with weapons and armies and horses and charioteers, but by My power as the LORD their God.”
God’s not promising no struggles or difficulties.
God’s not asking His people to live in denial about their hardships and their enemies.
You know, it’s passages like this that come to mind when people have said to me that my “religion” is just a crutch to keep me from facing reality. I don’t have a religion. I have a Living Savior and I have a daily relationship with Him. And Hosea 1:7, well, this is a verse for the times that are so tough in life, no crutch would do. Any crutch that we try to use, as believers, that is anything outside of leaning fully upon Him and relying on His strength alone, well, any other kind of leaning on a crutch ends up being a flimsy reed that breaks and then stabs us in the hand, ya know? It does not work! The only thing that works is actually putting the entirety of our hope in Him alone.
And this verse is a great reminder of that hope, that truth. There is a great big promise here for us, but only if we choose to believe it!
Are you facing an enemy right now?
Can I encourage you to seek the Lord for His favor, asking Him to pour out His love on you, to free you from your enemies, and not with some means that you can figure out on your own, but by His power alone as the Lord your God?
Sure, it’s a big, bold prayer to pray and it can feel kind of risky or even presumptuous to pray like this…but when we pray based on what we read in God’s word, I don’t think that is the same thing as presuming upon the Lord. When we ask for things He freely gives all over the pages of the Bible, I think we asking well.
In chapter three of Hosea, we find a verse that stands as a firm reminder of what will happen in the last days. Verse 5 says, In the last days they will tremble in awe of the Lord and His goodness.
This is going to happen. God says will in this verse, and He actually means will.
I think it would be very wise for us to acknowledge that this is going to happen, that everyone will tremble in awe of Him and His goodness. I’d like to start trembling in awe of Him and His goodness right now, and not wait for the time when everyone can’t help but stand in awe. I’d like to honor Him in my awe of Him, if that makes sense. And I’d like to do that today.
Hosea 14-8-9 says: “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the One who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green, all your fruit comes from Me. Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
We see a lot in these two verses.
First, God wants His people to stay away from idols.
Sure, it says Israel, but we can know for certain that Christians also need to stay away from idols. And an idol is anything that pulls at our hearts and gets us focused on something other than God. Yes, lots of bad bad things are idols. And also, lots of things that aren’t inherently good or bad in and of themselves are also idols. Food can be an idol. Our appearance can be an idol. Our followers on social media, stats, can be an idol. Our children can become what we idolize most in this life. Possessions, big and small..our health, our athleticism, our intellect, our job title, our list of achievements, our degrees, who we rub shoulders with, our address, where we vacation…the list goes on and on.
Idol worship is what God says we are to stay away from. Stay away from idols. This doesn't sound like a request. It sounds like God is serious, and states this very plainly. We have no excuse for our idols. And we all deal with this issue, so we may as well be honest with the Lord about it and seek His help with whatever or whomever the idols are in our own hearts and lives.
God is the One who answers our prayers and cares for us.
So why are we to stay away from idols? Because we get ensnared, drawn into the trap of thinking these things will deliver something that we are seeking. Security, status, any number of things. But they can’t deliver. They aren’t gods at all, they’re not real like the One True God is, and we need to continually check our hearts to see if we are making some desire, something we want to see fulfilled, into a form of idol. This is a personal heart check, not a fix your spouse or your sibling or your child, but personal.
Idols keep us from living like the One who answers our prayers and cares for us is the One who answers our prayers and cares for us. They rob His glory, and they rob from us as His children. We get stressed out, we worry and fret, we moan and groan and complain. All while God is the One taking care of us, never forgetting us since He has engraved us on the very palms of His hands. He is the only One capable of answering our prayers. We pray to Him and in the next breath we try to find another option, a solution for the things we just prayed about. Idol worship does this to us, dimming our eyes of faith and darkening our hearts of trust. It’s a way of dethroning God in our lives. Stay away from idols, regularly ask the Holy Spirit to show you idols that are in your heart, repent, turn away from those things, and keep on renewing your daily and constant trust in the Lord.
Remember, He cares for you you and He answers your prayers.
He says that He is like a tree that is always green. Never barren or brown. Always green, and all our fruit comes from Him. Something good in your life? Something fruitful? Then it comes from Him. Period. He doesn’t give any other options here, because there are no other options. Is it good and fruitful and full of life and joy? Then it comes from God.
Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
Let’s pray for discernment to be able to listen carefully when God speaks, and let’s ask Him to give us wisdom and understanding. We need to be wise, discerning, and understanding in this season of our world. Let’s ask God to give us what we need!
The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
Ah, well here we have the hard truth.
We can evaluate our own lives based on this text, and we can notice other people’s lives and apply wisdom and discernment.
Think of it this way - if Biblical truth and wisdom cause people to balk, to get stiff necked and angry, argumentative, overly frustrated, rebellious…if God’s word is causing that reaction, they are likely stumbling and falling in the paths of the Lord. Not throwing stones by saying that - just stating what God’s Word says.
You can and should pray for people who react that way. But you don’t want to do daily life hand in hand with them. Remember what Psalm 1 says about walking with the wrong people…first we are walking with them, then we stop walking and are standing with them, like conversing with them in a more focused manner, listening to them intently…and then, next thing you know, we’re sitting with them, doing life with them, in agreement with them. Can two walk together unless they agree? No, they cannot. Same for sitting and standing. We don’t want to walk, stand, sit with those who become angry, agitated, argumentative, irritated by God’s wisdom in His Word. Because, as God says in Hosea, they will stumble and fall. And we are meant to live, not fall, not stumble, but live in the paths of the Lord, which are true and right, live by walking in them. You can’t walk on bad paths and on God’s paths at the same time. And those who stumble and fall on God’s paths are not ones you can do life with, they can’t keep walking with you because they will absolutely stumble and fall. So if you are walking with those who you know don’t really adhere to or accept God’s word, think about that and pray about it. You may need to check yourself and make sure you are on the Lord’s paths, the ones that are true and right, and live there.
If that seems like a harsh message, it actually isn’t. I promise. It’s just an honest one based on Hosea in the Old Testament. We want to have the hope come to fruition for us, what’s promised here in the 14th chapter. And we will, so long as we heed God’s words to us and don’t stick our heads in the sand and live in denial.
God has good for you, my friend. Answered prayers and blessings untold and uncountable. Good things, and good fruit. Grab hold of all of it with great gusto, in total faith, being unwilling to walk anywhere other than in his paths of peace and righteousness!
Praying Psalm 91 coursePhilippians 1:6Amplified Bible6 I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].
Philippians 3:20Amplified Bible20 But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
2 Peter 3Amplified BibleThe Coming Day of the Lord3 First of all, know [without any doubt] that mockers will come in the last days with their mocking, following after their own human desires 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming [what has become of it]? For ever since the fathers fell asleep [in death], all things have continued [exactly] as they did from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they willingly forget [the fact] that the heavens existed long ago by the word of God, and the earth was formed [a]out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.
8 Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
A New Heaven and Earth10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish with a [mighty and thunderous] roar, and the [material] elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are on it will be [b]burned up.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be [in the meantime] in holy behavior [that is, in a pattern of daily life that sets you apart as a believer] and in godliness [displaying profound reverence toward our awesome God], 12 [while you earnestly] look for and await the coming of the day of God. For on this day the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the [material] elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But in accordance with His promise we expectantly await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14 So, beloved, since you are looking forward to these things, be diligent and make every effort to be found by Him [at His return] spotless and blameless, in peace [that is, inwardly calm with a sense of spiritual well-being and confidence, having lived a life of obedience to Him]. 15 And consider the patience of our Lord [His delay in judging and avenging wrongs] as salvation [that is, allowing time for more to be saved]; just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him [by God], 16 speaking about these things as he does in all of his letters. In which there are some things that are difficult to understand, which the untaught and unstable [who have fallen into error] twist and misinterpret, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, [let me warn you] beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of [c]unprincipled men [who distort doctrine] and fall from your own steadfastness [of mind, knowledge, truth, and faith], 18 but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honor, majesty, splendor), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Hebrews 4:16Amplified Bible16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
Well hey there! Hello to you today and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. God’s promises are to be believed. We can rely on them, leaning the full weight of our concerns upon them, because they come from our God who is unchanging in His keeping of His word. Today I have some verses to share that will encourage you to fully believe all of God’s promises.
Kerry Beck's Homeschool Summit - Free Ticket Available Here
Psalm 91 Course from Jan L. Burt available here
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing in the Edifi app. This episode is sponsored by Kerry Beck and her summit for homeschool families - Homeschool Superheros. For information about the summit or for a free ticket, click the link in the show notes. This is episode number 186.
Let’s look at a handful of verses today that are going to perhaps challenge us in our belief, or lack of belief, as it comes to God’s promises, and they will also spur us on to even great belief. You know, we don’t trust in just any old book, or in mere words, but in God’s very word, penned by men at the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is good news for us, because we don’t rely on something vague, artificial, or temporary (in fact Jesus said that the earth and all that is in it will pass away, but His words will never pass away). We are in a good place, in our sweet spot, when we fully believe God’s promises and apply them to our lives.
One way to apply God’s promises to our life is to take a particular promise and pray that promise about an exact situation or problem or relationship or issue we are facing. When we do that, we are literally applying the promises of God to our life and we can expect to see God’s movement in those parts of our lives.
1 Samuel 22 verses 2 and 3 say this
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; You save me from violence.
What has God promised to be for you in these verses? Let me recap: your rock, your fortress, your deliverer, your God, the one in whom you need to take refuge, your shield, the horn of your salvation, your stronghold and your refuge, your savior. He promises to save you from violence. The definition of violence is this: physical force to injure or abuse, damage or destroy - intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force - vehement feeling or expression-a clashing or jarring quality
This is what God is promising to save you from. Violence isn’t just a punch to the face or a pile drive to the face. Violence can be, and often is, much more than a physical blow. Believe that He is going to keep this promise to you. Won’t He do it?
Psalm 28:8 a - The LORD is the strength of His people
Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 34:8 - Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Psalm 91:1-2 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Let me read to you words in red, words Jesus spoke, and let me remind you somewhat sternly that these words are meant for you to know only hear, but to believe, and to make your very own. Take them personally. These words, they are personal if you will believe that they are for you, personally.
John 8, verses 31 and 32 and then skipping down to verse 38 say:
If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free…So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Are you truly free today? Free because the Son has set you free?
If not, do you want this freedom? And for God’s promises, all of them, every single one, to be true for you? It’s actually quite simple and quite hard, all wrapped up together, this gift of salvation Jesus offers. It demands allegiance to Him alone as your one true King, and it comes with a repentant heart, actually repenting to the Lord for your sins, and receiving the total forgiveness Jesus won for us on the cross. And then the followers of Jesus must actually follow Him on the narrow road that constitutes our life from this point forward. Simple and hard all at the same time, but the right decision for you and for me, to be sure.
Be sure to share this episode if it has been helpful to you, and thanks so much for listening to the podcast. God bless you, see you next time. Bye bye.
Well, hey there, hello to ya and welcome to episode number 185 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, getting the promises of God into the people of God so that we can live in a state of belief, knowing and trusting that all God’s promises prove true.
Today we are taking a look at Psalm 145, from the New Living Translation.
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Let’s start by reading verses 3 and 4, since they give us a solid foundation to start with.
Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure His greatness.
Let each generation tell its children of Your mighty acts; let them proclaim Your power.
Our God is great, He truly is. And He acts in greatness, doing great things and moving in great ways. He is most worthy of praise - literally, the most worthy of our praise and our time and our focus and our hearts. No one can measure His greatness. That is indeed a true statement. God’s greatness cannot be measured.
Are we telling the next generation about God’s mighty acts? I mean, you could say this podcast has that express purpose, since I’m Generation X and many podcast listeners are from younger generations. When we pass along what we know about our God, talk about His mighty acts, what He has done in our lives, what we know about Him, and what the Bible says, then we make way for the next generation to proclaim His power.
Let’s jump down to verses 8-9.
The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation.
Here we find some promises, and these promises bring me hope and peace right now, in the place I’m living out my life. Let me speak these promises over you and your life today. The Lord is merciful and compassionate to you, He is slow to get angry with you, and He is filled with unfailing love for you. The Lord is good to everyone - and that includes you! He showers compassion on you.
Your promises today are right here: God is merciful and compassionate to you, He is slow to get angry with you, He is filled with unfailing love for you, He is good to you, He showers, not sprinkles, but showers compassion on you.
Verse 13 says this: For Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The LORD always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does.
His kingdom is everlasting - so no matter what you feel like you are up against in this life, doesn’t it put things into perspective to remember that God’s kingdom is everlasting and all the drama, stress, darkness, evil, nonsense, junk in this life is very, very temporary. And knowing that our God rules always, throughout every and all generations, that is big comfort for us. He has not and will never abdicate His throne or His rule. Yes, there is one who rules this world, the prince of the power of the air, satan, that old devil, but his rule is truly miniscule as compared to the eternal rule of our God. For those who don’t know Jesus as their Lord, who are not living as disciples of Jesus, both knowing what He said and obeying what He said - John 14:15 and 1 John 2:3 are the Bible verses I’m referencing when I say that - this is not their promise. They are at the mercy of the evil one, and this life is the best it will ever be for them, because eternity without Jesus is actually hell, contrary to what a lot of people seem to choose to believe to their own detriment. He rules in this generation right now, and if He is your God, you love Him, you know Him, you serve Him, you obey Him, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life for you, well, then these promises are your promises and you ought to believe them.
It says God always keeps His promises.
Is there any room in that sentence for you to say, “Well, He doesn’t always keep His promises…” without being basically on the verge of blasphemy? I’m pretty serious about this. What is it, when we say or think or believe things like that, in direct contradiction and opposition to the very word of God, the Bible, what is it if it isn’t calling God a liar, basically? Now I know you don’t think that’s what you’re doing, but nevertheless, that is what you’re saying. And He is not a liar, the devil is the liar and as Jesus said, the truth is not in him. Let’s not attribute to God what belongs only to Satan. I am pretty serious when I say that any implication that God is not who He says He is and has repeatedly down through the ages proven He is, any implication is bordering on blasphemy. Could it be that satan the liar tries to convince us to think that God is lying to us, holding on us? He isn’t. Even when we cannot begin to understand what is going on, God is still never lying to us and satan is still always, only lying to us. Jesus said lying is satan's native tongue (see John 8:44). He’s not going to tell you the truth, my friend. Not ever. He speaks his native language, so says Jesus, and what Jesus said, those words in red on the pages of the New Testament, that’s what I choose to believe. The Lord always keeps His promises, Psalm 145:13 tells us, and He is gracious in all He does. And that is simply the unadulterated truth. We need to hang on to this truth, the promise that God always keeps His promises. In good times, in bad times, we need to hang on to this!
Let’s end this episode with verse 18, because I think it will be encouraging for you today.
The Lord is close to all who call on Him, yes, to all who call on Him in truth.
Want to be closer to the Lord? Call on Him. Spend time in prayer.
And really, at this stage of the game, at this moment in time, can you think of a better use of your time than to spend it praying? Isn’t it just like our God to tell us that the way to be closer to Him is to call out to Him? He is telling us that He wants to be close to us.
I’m going to leave you with that today, and hey, maybe read Psalm 145 sometime soon, because it will certainly encourage you.
Also, I wanted to let you know a couple of things. Soon there will be some extra or bonus episodes of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, because it’s a lot to host two podcasts and I have some writing I need to be working on, namely finishing the Bible study I’m working on titled Biblical Motherhood - Encouragement from God’s Word. So I am going to drop episodes of The Prayer Podcast as bonus content for this show and will likely phase out The Prayer Podcast sometime soon-ish. And I’m so blessed to be the prayer coordinator for an upcoming online event, a homeschool conference, so I’m going to put the link to that, which has a free ticket option as well as paid tickets that come with a bit more than the free ticket of course, but I’ll put that link in the show notes and even if you don’t homeschool, if you know any homeschoolers, would you pass the info that link on to them? It’s a great event and the fact that the host has a prayer room for the attendees and makes prayer for those who join her conference a priority, that’s not the norm at summits and conferences, and I have spoken at a number of them, so I speak from experience. Share that info with those who might be blessed and encouraged by it, and I’m so honored to be part of this event as a speaker but mainly as the prayer coordinator. And I have a new product launching for homeschoolers super soon…it’s all ready to go, but there is some kind of nutty glitch with my email that is associated with my website and it isn’t sending out emails properly so when someone purchases Homeschool Planning Made Simple, they may not get an email about their purchase. If you have purchased it and did not get a follow up email, would you let me know? Reach me anytime at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will get back to you as quickly as possible. Thanks for listening today, and remember, the Lord always keeps his promises to you, my friend. See you next time. Bye bye.
Hey there! Welcome to episode number 187 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today we are discussing some promises from the book of Daniel. Now, Daniel is a complex book, in my opinion. True story of exile and the greatest king to ever rule, visions of the future and of the end times, dramatic answers to prayers, miracles, just wow from start to finish, that’s the book of Daniel in a nutshell. A documentation of God working over the entire course of a man’s life. And a bold reminder of what a life lived all-in with the Lord can look like, and the mark it can make for the good of others and the glory of God.
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Let’s start by reading Daniel 2:21 from the Amplified.
It says: It is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and (greater) knowledge to those who have understanding! Verse 22: It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.
These two verses give sort of an overview of the entire book, and they stand as a bold reminder to us that God really is in control. Of all of it, whatever that “it” might be in your own life and the greater “it” in the world at large.
In those things in your family that are head scratchers, and in those things on the other side of the world that are gut wrenchers.
God has not abdicated His throne. Daniel is a book that proves this to be true in so many ways. Just think about the prophetic role this book of the Bible has played down through the centuries, and how it has proven true again and again. Think of Alexander the Great, think of the Roman empire…those have proved true per the book of Daniel. Think of the things Daniel was shown in a vision, that were to do with the last days, and which distressed him so much that he was physically ill after receiving this information … when is the last time you had an experience with the Lord that left you so unwell that you could not get out of bed for days, for weeks even? I’m guessing the answer is never. And I’m not sure that, per Acts chapter 2, that we might not be missing something in the modern church as a whole, and as individual disciples of Jesus.
We’re seeing things happening in the western church, meaning the American church to be exact, that should make us realize we’ve put too much on men in the pulpit…to much focus, too much value, too much loyalty, too much power, too much expectation, too much “let that go…it doesn’t mean what it seems like it means…” and too little accountability, too little first century church way of living (not way of going to church or being part of churchianity, but of living because it was their whole way of life, not just 90 minutes a week). Pastors are stepping down, resigning, and not because they repented for their sins, but because they got caught. Come at me, bro, if you want to, but I’m not incorrect on this. It is the issue of the day within the church culture in America, and so it is worth talking about and viewing through the lens of the Bible, not the lens of churches being run like a business, but through the very Word of God. What’s God’s standard for those who shepherd His flock? What’s God’s definition of repentance? It’s not “old sin” that “wasn’t a crime”, and it’s not a 12-year-old child being described as a “young lady”, or to blame the girl who was A CHILD…this nonsense is so far out in left field, and the fact that people within the church are saying these things and thinking they’re right in the Lord’s sight for their opinion? Oh my… oh my, we have all but lost any semblance of a fear of the Lord. And so, as we see these things taking place, if we believe that the book of Daniel proves that God is totally in control, then we have to believe that this is the time for uncovering what’s been hidden, for bringing things into the light, and for knowing that the words Peter penned, when he said that judgment begins with the house of the Lord, that being His church, well, it’s happening right now. We must stop calling God’s judgment on His house an attack orchestrated by Satan. That kind of thinking means you’re either far too accustomed to automatically defending people rather than letting God be God, or it means you have not opened your Bible and read it well enough to know what it says about things like this. Gotta be in the Word in these dark days, my friends. If you aren’t, you are going to be duped and tricked and deceived and manipulated and confused and on the struggle bus unable to pull the cord to get off at the right stop, just stuck on the struggle bus riding along and riding along with no God-given destination on your route.
God is in control today, and He is doing a cleaning out, cleaning up, bring into the light work in the church. And why wouldn’t He? When Jesus returns, it is to be for a pure, spotless bride. Does that describe the church in America to you? Watching the garbage we watch on our streaming accounts, making excuses for sexual immorality, neglecting to lead our children in the ways of the Lord, hardly praying ever except when we need or want something, leaving our Bibles to collect dust on the end table and somehow thinking reading the verse of the day is daily Bible study…but huh, does that sound like the kind of studying that enables you to pass the final in college and get your degree? One verse a day? If we were quizzed on the series we binged versus passages of the Bible, how would we do? Pass one, fail the other? If you and I don’t know what God says about all the things, how can we possibly make a right judgment about serious situations in the world or in the church? Do we need to get serious about the Lord? Or is this all just fire insurance? Where are we at? What are we doing? When will we stop playing pat-a-cake with the world when the Bible says not to love the world nor the things in or of the world?
We cannot experience a life even remotely like Daniel’s with our lukewarm version of Christianity. Do you practice Christianity or churchianity? Food for thought. Digest that. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, as Paul said. Not enough time left in this life for us to mess around with the truly important things.
So if I haven’t lost you yet, haven’t offended you or ticked you off or something of that nature, by daring to be as bold as I’ve been on this episode, let’s look at some other portions of the book of Daniel.
Remember the story of Daniel's three friends and the fiery furnace? They refused to bow down and worship the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar and they were thrown into a lit furnace that had been heated seven times hotter than usual. And they walked out of that furnace without a single burnt hair - they did not even smell like smoke. Daniel chapter 3 tells this true story, and you likely already know this true story but I’d encourage you to read it again. It’s miraculous! But the miracle didn’t come from lukewarm faith, from trying to find a way to keep the peace with this particular regime and ruler, or from compromise. They expected to be thrown into the fire and burned alive. They also expected God to preserve them. Which He did, but they were willing to go all the way to death rather than even hint at dishonoring the Lord.
Do we live like that? Even remotely? Is our fear of God such that we can say, “Toss me in, burn me alive, do whatever you gonna do but I’m not bowing down to whatever it is society or government or whatever says I have to bow down to cuz if I don’t I am gonna pay. Well, lemme pay, then! Hand me my bill, let’s get this thing paid already, and then I’ll need receipts cuz I am determined to stand before the Lord fearing only Him, and Him alone. So, that’s that.” Once the fear of anyone or anything other than God is settled in us, those hard decisions are no longer hard because the decisions have already been made when we chose to fear God and nobody and nothing else.
Are you afraid of health problems? Don’t be! It’s not so bad, even the worst of it, in comparison to eternity in a perfect body with perfect health! And if health stuff has made you step further away from Jesus, can I encourage you to get honest about why that is the case? Jesus never promised us an easy life, but in some ways, the modern western church did, and that simply is not biblical. If people let you down, and boy oh boy can they ever let you down, did that move you closer to the Lord who loves you so much that He laid down His very life for you, or move you away from Him? Can you be brutally honest about why these kinds of hardships have moved us away from Him? And can we ponder Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being tied and bound and chucked straight into the flames rather than bow down to a gold statue and dishonor the Lord, can we ponder why we don’t have that kind of loyalty to the Lord? Hard questions because they force us to be honest and not sugar coat things. Important questions that we need to ask ourselves. This isn’t for you to go ask your spouse. This is about you and your fear of God, or lack thereof.
We can read about Daniel in the lion’s den and we can read about Daniel and the writing on the wall (the saying oft used, “the writing’s on the wall” comes from Daniel chapter 5, and once God says this is it, times up, it’s done, the goose is cooked, well, that’s how it’s going to be. Daniel 5-22 - And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart even though you knew all this.” What truth from the Word of God do you and I know but have still refused to humble our heart? Do we really understand that we do not get a pass for refusing the humble ourselves and obey what God has said? I don’t know that we do. But Daniel, he did. And he lived a life filled with miracles, depending on God alone, through kings and kingdoms, from young man to old man, and that is truly a life well-lived.
When we read Daniel 7 through 12, we find things that are incredible regarding the last days, and to think that one man, Daniel, was given such great revelations, is incredible. Do we take all of his life and all of the book of Daniel seriously, or just the parts that deal with end times and prophecies? I think we need to take all of it as crucial in this day and age, because when we read about a man like Daniel, his life and all he faced and the way he honored and trusted God fully, it gives us great hope and courage to advance day by day, walking with Jesus, depending on His Spirit, honoring the Father, knowing that one day soon our faith will be made sight. You and I are not living at this moment in time by accident or happenstance, any more than Daniel was in his day. God chooses the places we live and the times we live in. Do you know that’s true for you? Because it is. As it says in the book of Esther, perhaps you were born for such a time as this. No accidents, not for you, not for any of us, in terms of living in this current age. What will you do with what you’ve been given? Will you hide, tuck tail and run, ignore the writing on the wall, or will you square up, go all in with Jesus, and allow nothing but the fear of the Lord to strike fear in you? In chapter 9 we read Daniel’s prayer for his people. It’s powerful. The way he prays, the way he is so in line with the holiness of God and the unholiness of mankind, of his people, well, we don’t have enough of that today. And it shows. Verse 3 says: So I directed my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I can’t speak for you, but I don’t pray like this and in light of the state of the world and the state of this land I live in, the moral rot that has even gone so far as to trickle in, seep in, and permeate Jesus’ church, well, I need to get to praying the way that Daniel did. I’m going to close out this episode by reading a few more verses from Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9, as a reminder that God hears and answers prayer, and not just asking for what we want or need (although that is part of a healthy prayer life - if you never talk to God about things that are personal and near to your heart, that’s not healthy at all and is not part of the close personal relationship God desires to have with you). God does hear when we pray, and He does provide answers, and as we read in Daniel chapter 9, repentance is not a bad thing. The promise for us here is that we can be bold and fear God and not man or circumstances, and live a life full of God keeping all sorts of promises to us. And I don’t mean this is a works based salvation, that’s simply not what we find in the New Testament. But fear of man is a snare, and even in the early church, God did things that were miraculous when fear of God trumped all other fears. It’s all throughout the book of Acts, as just one place with many examples of this. Pray boldly today, expecting God to hear and answer, to do things in response to your praying, and make fear of the Lord and not of man a priority for your own personal life. We may not have lives like Daniel’s life, but we can expect to live lives that stand out, to look like a people who trust our God and see miracles happen in our day. Let’s be about going all in with the Lord, similar to the way Daniel was all-in.
Daniel 9:5-6: we have sinned and committed wrong, and have behaved wickedly and have rebelled, turning away from Your commandments and ordinances. Further, we have not listened to and heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. Verse 9: To the Lord our God belong mercy and loving kindness and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him. Verse 13: Yet we have not wholeheartedly begged for forgiveness and sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our wickedness and praying attention to and placing value in Your truth. Verse 14b: for the LORD our God is uncompromisingly righteous and openly just in all His works which He does - He keeps His word; and we have not obeyed His voice. Verse 17-19: Now therefore, our God, listen to (heed) the prayer of Your servant (Daniel) and his supplications, and for Your own sake let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear, open Your eyes and look at our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before YOu because of our own merits and righteousness, but because of YOur great mercy and compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
And how did God respond to this prayer?
Verses 22-26 tell us what the angel Gabriel said to Daniel when he appeared to him.
He instructed me and he talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your supplications, the command (to give you an answer) was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly regarded and greatly beloved. Therefore consider the message and begin to understand the (meaning of the) vision.”
How’s that for an answer to prayer? It’s something truly spectacular.
Hold on to the hope of an eternity with Jesus that is perfect through and through. Spend time with Him in prayer, sharing your heart and listening for His reply and receiving His love and comfort and His direction and wisdom. And stay in your Bibles, keep them open, read them and study them and believe what God has to say over and above what anyone else has to say. These can feel like perilous days, as we see things happening in the pulpits that shock us. But God has to clean His house first before He can do any other cleaning up of our society, and have we not prayed that He would do a work in our lost world? Be willing to be part of the pure and spotless bride Jesus is soon returning for, and don’t give in to fear of man…not any man, but fear the Lord and serve Him only.
I’ll see ya back here next time. (and if you’d like more Bible teaching like this, please check out the Psalm 91 audio course via the link in the show notes - for more on prayer, there is a link to A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents via Amazon). Feel free to share this episode with a friend! Thanks so much for listening! Bye bye.
Well hello and welcome to the podcast, thanks for listening. This week, just as warmer temps get closer to the 100 degree mark here in Kansas, we’re looking at a portion of the Bible that can bring some intensity and a tremendous reminder that every single thing God has promised always, absolutely, comes to pass.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, and you can listen via the Edifi app for this podcast and many others with Biblical content. Today’s episode is sponsored by Growth Roots, the makers of my favorite linen covered journals themed with the Christian in mind. Learn more at GrowthRootsCo.com or follow them on Instagram @growthrootsco. This is episode number 183.
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We’re moving along in our look at promises in every one of the 66 books of the Bible, and we are in the Old Testament book of Ezekial for this episode. It’s a hefty book, and so there were several promises and passages for me to choose from when I was preparing for this episode. I landed on chapter 36 because it is so fitting for the current moment in which we are living.
I’m going to be reading from the NLT today, chapter 36, starting in verse 8:
8 “But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people—for they will be coming home again soon! 9 See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. 10 I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. 11 I will increase not only the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord..
So Israel was a nation, think back to the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants, then Moses leading the people out of Egypt in the Exodus and then Joshua taking the lead as the people of Israel moved forward literally into that land that was promised to them. Move forward through the Bible and you see times of exile, destruction of Jerusalem, and eventually Israel was no longer the nation that it once was. For a long time, and the history is extensive of all that happened over the centuries, but Israel was not a nation for quite some time. And then in May of 1948, 76 years ago, they became a nation again. It’s an amazing thing to study how exactly that came about, but it really did happen just as God said it would when He asked the question, “Can a nation be born in a day?” You can find that verse in Isaiah 66.
Literally, the nation of Israel was born in a day. And so, very uniquely, when they celebrated their 76th birthday last month, they were actually celebrating it for the second time, because they’d been a nation before. God keeps all of His promises, and for this era we are currently in, I mean world wide, it behooves us to remember that God has made specific promises to Israel, to the people He chose to be His own possession, and when we read the news through the lens of God’s Word, we get the proper perspective.
And we truly do need the right perspective, or how can we endure all the things that we don’t fully understand? If we’re honest, there’s a lot that feels confusing and overwhelming. Standing on the solid rock of Jesus and the Word of God give us sure footing, hinds feet for high places, that we need. The Bible speaks into our circumstances today, right now, and that is comforting and it also reminds us, we need to be students of the Bible.
Verse 8 says the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops, verse 10 says God will greatly increase the population of Israel and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. Verse 11 says animals will increase, too, and that the nation will be more prosperous than it was before.
Israel has a population of around 9.8 million people. 36 Israelis are on the Forbes list of billionaires, with a b, for 2024. As far as millionaires go, Israel has about 131000 of them. Wheat, sorghum, corn, avocados, citrus, kiwi, guava, mangos, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchine, melons, bananas, dates, apples, pears, cherries, wine, cotton, cows, milk, silver carp, grass carp, gray mullet, St Peter’s fish, rock bass, silver perch, Asian seabass, sea bream, trout, salmon, pomelo (a fruit they created), olives, figs, plums, strawberries, prickly pear, persimmon, pomegranates, almonds, around 90 million in annual flower exports, especially waxflower and roses, but also lilies and tulips, and I could go on.
Lest you think that this is not a big deal, that it’s just their GDP and hard work and not God keeping this specific promise that He made here in Ezekial, well, in the 1920s and 1930s, the land that is now Israel was a wasteland, basically a desert where not even cacti would grow, and it was malarial…which is interesting, isn’t it? A desert that gives you malaria? It was so bad, seemingly useless and place to go to lose your health, that only God could revive it and make it what it is now. He made promises, and He kept them with exacting precision.
So, let’s bring this home to roost for you, in your life. The same God that keeps all His promises to Israel is the God who is right now in the business of keeping every one of His promises to you.
Not to beat a dead horse here, but I have this podcast for the express purpose of reminding Christians that all of God’s promises are true, and He won’t forget about those promises, nor fail to bring them to pass. Now if you don’t believe them, you end up in the camp of the people Jesus encountered who did not believe He could do much, they had no faith, and among them He could do only a few miracles. So we can land there, we can end up not receiving what God wants us to have, solely because of our unbelief, our lack of faith. But God isn’t shoddy in His workmanship. He doesn’t make a promise with the intention of breaking it. He makes it so He can keep it, and He delights in our faith, our trust, our total belief and expectation that His promises to us will absolutely come to pass.
How’s your faith today? What would you say is a fair and accurate description of what you are believing God to do for you, for your loved ones? And does that line up with hard times and the lowering of expectations and the dimming of hope that we often give way to when life is rough…or does it line up with the truth of God’s Word? Only one of those is worthy of guiding or directing our faith. Which one is ruling the day in your life, right now?
God’s Word is going to prove true, 100 percent. Why not make the choice, by faith and in faith, to believe God for all His promises and be on the right side of history? One day all of this will be history, and we can choose today which side of history we’ll end up on. May as well be the right side, the winning team, am I right? Like, God’s going to win the whole ball game, so let’s get on His side and let’s live expecting to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living even now. Grow your faith, maybe focus on that more than growing your bank account or your resume or closing the rings on your watch each day or whatever your big focus is.
My prayer for you today is that you will have such solid faith in the God who makes amazing promises that you’ll live each day, starting with this day right now, as if He has already kept them, just like Israel is living in those promises from Ezekiel 36. He’ll never fail in the keeping of His promises, not even a single one. Let’s never fail in believing Him and living in a state of chronic belief and expectation, knowing that our hope in Him will never disappoint us.
I’ll see you back here next time. Bye bye.
Have a prayer request? You can share it here & I will be praying!
Psalm 91 Course Access
Well hey there, hello to you today. Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, getting the promises of God into the people of God. When we know what God has promised us and we live like all those promises are true, our lives change. Now I mean that literally! God’s Word is life-changing. And that’s awfully good news for us!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, playing via the Edifi app, which you can find in your app store. Today’s episode is brought to you by my very own Psalm 91 - Pray It and Believe Course, all twelve sessions with lifetime access and the bonus content for $35. The link is right here in the show notes! I’d love to have you join me in the course - because the promises of Psalm 91 are for you (which is why I created the course in the first place). And this is episode number 182.
Last time we looked at the book of Jeremiah, and today we will look at the book of Lamentations, which was also written by Jeremiah. And yes, it’s a book of lament, which means it isn’t all happy, happy, happy, but is a serious book of the Bible. Written by a man who lived a serious life. Jeremiah was not living on easy street! He had a unique calling and it wasn’t happy-go-lucky. And you know what? We find a lot of comfort in Jeremiah’s words, in how his life played out, when our own lives take a turn that is uncomfortable, when something truly terrible hits us right between the eyes. We live on every word that comes from God, to be sure - that’s Biblical and that’s what Jesus said to Satan when he was tempting the Lord in the desert. And every word of His, what we read in our Bibles, is most comforting to us when we are at our lowest. I’m guessing that you’ve found that to be true. It’s most comforting when we most need to be comforted. And that is why the book of Lamentations, being an actual lament, holds out so much hope to us. It’s here when we truly need it, and we truly need it when the going gets tough, not when everything is coming up roses.
So let’s take a look at a promise from Lamentations and let’s either apply it right now to the hard thing we’re facing in life, or store it up, hide it in our heart, so we can easily grab hold of this promise when we need it (so if you’re not dealing with something difficult right this very moment, you can keep this in mind for when you're facing something tough…and it may be something good to have on hand to share and encourage and bring comfort to someone you know in real life, or via social media, who is dealing with something difficult right now).
From the Amplified Bible, I’ll read Lamentations chapter 3, verses 57 and 58, and then I will move backward a bit in this chapter and read verses 24 and 25. But first, let me read verse 37, because it kind of jumped off the page at me - it just stood out to me as I was reading over this chapter and I want to share it so that it can be an encouragement for somebody today. It says this: “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has authorized and commanded it?” (Now this may not seem like a verse that is relevant to this episode, but hang with me for a moment. This verse, Lamentations 3:37, is such a wonderful reminder that God is always completely in control. Please don’t forget that, my friend!)
Lam. 3:57-58: You drew near on the day I called to You, You said, “Do not fear.” O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause (You have guided my way and protected me).
Lam. 3:24-25: “The LORD is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul; “Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait (confidently) for Him, to those who seek Him (on the authority of God’s word).
These four verses contain promises God gives His people from the book of Lamentations.
When you are in that terrible place in life, even if things are going well with your health, your finances, your job, your marriage, your friendships, and so on…but you are still struggling and feel a heaviness internally. Maybe one area is amiss, and it feels like you are drawing because of it. Even if it is just one part of life that’s not so good, even if (and that’s a big if, because most people I know are dealing with more than just one tough thing right now), but even if it’s just one area, one thing, just one…I have to ask this question: what are you doing about it? Are you worrying? Are you trying to find a way to handle it, to buck up, to get thicker skin? To deal with things in a healthier manner? To sugar coat it? Are you fretting, giving in to fear, losing sleep, going gray, mind wandering as you kick this thing around, trying to find a solution? Asking others to pray for you? Doing all the things…but what are you DOING about it? Remember the first verse I read, the reminder that God really is in total control? These verses go together, in a way. Verse 57 says that when Jeremiah called to God, the Lord responded with these words: “Do not fear.” It says God drew near on the day Jeremiah called to Him. So, whatcha doin? Are you calling to Him? What’s the one thing we really need, and likely want, to hear from God when something has gone so far south that we couldn’t locate North on a map with a compass glued to our nose. Call to Him. I do believe He wants to draw near and speak, “Do not fear.” to your heart. Verse 58, where it says God pleaded Jeremiah’s soul’s case…you know, Jesus secured our freedom and forgiveness and our eternity at Calvary, and He did indeed plead my soul’s case, and yours, too. He has guided our way and protected us, and we have no evidence to think He will stop doing so for us, for all our days. He is good, is He not?
Does your soul say that the Lord is your portion and your inheritance? Say it to yourself - preach this to yourself if you need to be reminded! What’s your portion? Not your bank account, your retirement plan, not your mid life crisis car, not your dress size, not even what your labs and bloodwork show, not your address, not your salary, your title, your name, your alma mater, your GPA, your vaca destination, carats on your ring finger, how many people know your name, if you are saluted or do the saluting, how many letters come after your last name, your merits, your accomplishments, the stories you tell to impress others…need I go on? I could, you and I both know this is real life, what we do and how we measure one another and how we give ourselves a pass or fail when we evaluate our own lives… But that’s not your portion! Let alone your inheritance! The Lord is both! The Lord is your portion, and if you have Him, you have the best thing, as Jesus said to Martha when Mary was sitting at His feet being taught by Him, the best thing and it will not be taken from you. Your inheritance is not safe on this earth, in this life. With Him, your inheritance is safe. He is the only safe place there is! And yes, I do know what C.S. Lewis wrote in The Chronicles of Narnia, and I do know it is quoted by pastors and Christians on the regular…and I also know it’s not true, that line about Aslan being good, but not being safe. Ha! What??? Man, if that’s what floats your boat and forms your theology, get and auger and drill a bunch of holes in your boat and sink it and get your theology in line with the Bible, because my life was very unsafe before Jesus pulled me out of the pit, and the only safe place I have ever found in this world is with Him. Ain’t nobody, C.S. Lewis included, gonna tell me convincingly that my God isn’t safe. He is my refuge - He is my fortress - He is my deliverer - He is my salvation - He is my peace - He is my hope - He is the Way, the Truth and the Life for me. And He is indeed safe.
When the Lord is our portion and our inheritance, we truly can say along with Jeremiah that we have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. Hope in Jesus is never misplaced! And He is always worth the wait!
The last portion of verse 25 says The LORD is good to those who wait (confidently) for Him, to those who seek Him (on the authority of God’s word). Man, that’s rich, isn’t it? I mean that seriously. This is gold, this is rich!
Can you wait not anxiously, gnawing on your thumbnail and holding your breath…but confidently? Knowing your God is going to show up. He’s got this, He’s got you. Nothing, not one hair on your head, is misplaced or overlooked. He is always in absolute control of the situation. What situation? Your situation!
Wait confidently for Him. Be one of those who seeks Him, and seek Him on the authority of His word. What does the Bible promise? Believe God for that exact thing. What does God’s Word tell you about who God is, His character, His ways, His faithfulness, His mighty deeds, His unending love and astounding mercies? Seek Him based on those truths. And you, my friend, will not be left abandoned but will be, like Jeremiah, guided and protected.
That’s it for this episode, and I’ll put the link to the Psalm 91 course here in the show notes and I’ll see you back here next time. Feel free to subscribe to the show and get new episodes as they release. Hang on to these promises and remember, they’re not just for everyone else…if you know Jesus, these promises are for you, right now, this very moment in time. Bye bye.
Well, hey there! Welcome to the latest episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I’m Jan, and if we have never met in real life or on the interwebs, it’s so nice to “meet” you!
Let’s take a look at some promises God offers His people in the book of Jeremiah.
Episode #181 is sponsored by JoannaWeaverBooks.com
How can I pray for you?
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by the author and speaker Joanna Weaver. You may know her from the bestseller Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Her words resonate with so many Christian women, and I am currently working through her book Lazarus Awakening. Thanks, Joanna, for writing what I’ve needed to hear so many times. I’ll share a link to Joanna Weaver’s website here in the show notes. This is episode number 181.
Jeremiah. The weeping prophet. His calling from the Lord was far from easy. In fact, it was downright brutal in many aspects. This is a man who lived a rough life for all the years he walked in obedience to God. And so, we can take comfort in his words when we feel like things go from bad to worse when we do what God told us to do. And in the midst of so much hardship, we find some amazing promises in the book of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 17, verses 7 and 8 from the NLT say this:
But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
Isn’t this passage remarkable? It reminds me very much of Psalm 1. The promise here for you is that you will be blessed so long as you trust in the Lord and make Him your hope and confidence. Listen, the honest truth is that we can feel like we’re trusting Him but when pressed a bit regarding whether or not any and all of our confidence is in the Lord alone, well, hmmm… it’s not always placed fully there, is it? And it needs to be. There is nobody that will fail to let you down save One, and His name is the Lord. So put your hope in Him, put all your confidence in Him, and you will be blessed. That’s the promise here, and God never fails to do what He has promised.
You will be like a tree planted along a riverbank, your roots are gonna go deep into the water and you will not have to feel barren and dry and fruitless and useless and pointless even when the whole world around you is in a season of drought. Your leaves will stay green and you will never stop producing fruit.
Does that describe you right now?
You know, one of the best ways to examine your life, to examine yourself to see if ye be in the faith, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5, is to take a look at your life’s fruit, or lack thereof.
If you have no fruit, meaning the kind of stuff that marks you as a Christian, that is different than the ways of the world, that is evidence that Jesus has hold of your heart and is doing a sanctifying, transforming work in you and through you…that kind of fruit, well if it isn’t evident in your life, then I’m going to be bold enough to say that you may not be planted firmly in the Lord, may not be fully trusting in Him alone. And if you’re not, can I encourage you to change that today? Walking with Jesus is not about saying a prayer one time during an emotional moment at the end of a three day conference. Climate controlled settings with emotional speakers and worship can be awesome, there is not doubt, but they don’t always equate to the kind of transformative life change that Jesus is really after in the lives of each of His disciples. If we are going to see the kind of fruit that points to us belonging to Him, we need to make a decision to take up our cross daily and follow Him, and that goes far beyond the women’s event and stretches into every nook and cranny of our life.
Jeremiah 33:3 is another verse I’d like to share with you today, and I actually mentioned this verse on episode number 33 of my other podcast, The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt and I can drop a link to that episode in the show notes for you to easily listen to if you’re interested. Let me read it from the NLT.
I’ll start in verse 2 and then read verse 3:
This is what the LORD says - the LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the LORD. Ask Me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
Yeah, that right there is a big deal. It’s a huge promise. Ask Him, call to Him some versions say, and ask Him things you don’t know. Ask Him and He will tell you secrets that are remarkable about what? About things you don’t know, about things to come. This tells us that we aren’t on our own, we don’t have to figure it all out by our own selves, and beyond that, we can ask Him to tell us secret things about what is to come and He will do it. Isn’t that amazing? Like, how is that even possible, that we can ask and God will tell us things like that? Oh it’s amazing all right, and God means what He promises here. We aren’t walking into an unknown, uncertain future in the same manner as those who don’t follow Jesus…and this verse gives us tremendous hope and comfort that God will show us things, remarkable things, secret things, if we will but ask Him. Our future is not unknown - it is safe in the hands of the God who knows us and we can keep expecting Him to show us things about the future if we will just ask. Yup, this is an awesome promise!
The last verse we will look at in Jeremiah is from chapter 10, verse 23, still reading from the NLT.
This section of chapter ten has the header “Jeremiah’s Prayer” and verse 23 says:
I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. And verse 24 says:
So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.
I love this. To begin a prayer by saying that we know our lives are not our own, that we are not able to plan our own course, is a huge admission that we all need to make! God already knows this is true; we need to know it! And as a Christian woman in America in 2024, it’s not common to our western culture, this kind of admittance.
We DON’T know that our lives are not our own. We really have been taught to drink the Kool-Aid and believe the untruth that we can plan our own course. Actually, according to the very Word of God, we cannot!
The promise here for you and for me is that this acknowledging brings with it so much comfort and peace, because we put our lives where they belong…in His hands. Honestly, we don’t want them anywhere else. And Jeremiah goes on to pray, so correct me Lord, but please be gentle. If God corrected us, dealt with us in His anger, none of us would be alive. Instant death. Poof. That’s it. Time to punch out. But of course, our loving God in His grace and mercy doesn’t deal with us in His anger! He gentleness is known to all, if we take the time to notice it.
But in praying these words, asking God to move in our lives, to do His sanctifying work, which does at times, often times for me, involve correction, is a really amazing way to ask God to do His will, but in a way that is gentle. He does remember that we are but dust, it says in Psalm 103, and in His gentleness toward us, we see evidence of how much He loves us.
Take comfort in this!
God’s love and care for you knows no bounds, and He will finish the work He has begun in your life.
I hope these verses from Jeremiah have been encouraging for you today, and if so, well, praise the Lord!
Lord bless you and thanks for listening today - also, I’m leaving a link in the show notes where you can send me any prayer requests you may have, and I pray for every request I receive. I’ll see you next time! Bye bye.
Psalm 91 Pray It & Believe Course
God's promises are true.
He has a perfect track record, and His resume is impeccable. But do we live like His promises are true for us, personally?
How is our prayer life impacted by whether or not we really, truly believe that everything God has promised to His people, He will deliver on?
Let's take an honest look at this issue & let's choose to believe that God's promises are true for us...because they are!
believe #GodsPromises #truth #Biblestudy #NewTestament #hope #prayer
Well, hello to ya today!
Welcome to this fun bonus episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show…where we take a gander at the importance of applying the Bible to our family life.
SUMMIT TICKETS HERE (& be sure to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com if you sign up!)
It won’t come as any surprise for me to say that your family, your spouse, your children, your siblings, your parents, these relationships are often the ones that we want to focus on, and sometimes those are the relationships that we neglect.
We have a real enemy, and he hates what God loves. In Genesis we see the first family, and we know that God planned for them to be a family with a focus on honoring and living for Him, for the Lord. And so, of course, satan hates the family and works to rip it apart, damage it, thrash it and trash it in any and every possible manner.
We see that all around us in society. And it’s having an impact as a whole.
So we need to continue running our race and fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. It matters how we run, it matters where our gaze lands, or those words wouldn’t be on the pages of our Bibles (in the book of Hebrews, chapter twelve is the exact location).
And while this next bit I’m going to share about wasn’t part of what I’d planned to share, it is timely and fits the exact message of this episode, so I’ll be sharing some of what I shared in a blog post that I published yesterday.
I'm no stranger to difficult conversations with my children.
I've explained and over-explained so many things in the hope that some of what I said would ring true and speak louder to them than the world.
To parody the insurance commercial tagline, I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two.
But isn't there always something that crops up, trying to gain access to our children's hearts and minds? Isn't there always?
Yes, indeed there is. And even though my children are all adults now, even though I am no longer actively homeschooling, I continue to speak at homeschool conferences and summits and to groups of moms and women in person and via my podcasts and social media platforms. I still very much want to encourage and support homeschoolers and Christian parents in any way possible.
And today, my messages have been full of parents dealing with an unexpected source of frustration that involves the latest Taylor Swift album...
Here's a quick rundown of what's going on -
A new album was released and so, of course, loads of Swift's fans have been posting all over social media. This isn't unexpected, and certainly isn't the source of frustration so many parents are facing today. These parents have seen their children exposed to this album, which contains plenty of explicit lyrics and anti-Christian themes. But the exposure came via an unexpected source.
Many parents have strict policies for their children regarding what music they listen to and what they see online, which includes who they follow on social media. For example, say your tween daughter has an Instagram account that you monitor carefully, and the accounts she follows have been vetted and are both age and morally appropriate. All of a sudden, these carefully selected Christian content creators begin posting in detail about the latest Taylor Swift album, saying they're coming out of the closet and they don't care what anybody thinks about it, going on to explain why the album is okay to listen to if you are an adult, that it isn't child-friendly, and so on...but sharing the lyrics along with photos and video of their bizarre album-release-dinner-party-ritual-events(I have no idea what to call the release dinner party celebrations that I've seen all over my CHRISTIAN social media feed...so forgive me if my name for sounds weird, but the images I saw were pretty weird so I simply called it as I saw it).
So many young people were exposed to controversial lyrics at the hands of the Christians they follow on social media, and so many of those who posted this content did so while defending Taylor Swift in a way that makes absolutely no sense at all for someone who has chosen to take up their cross daily and follow after Jesus.
And the comments on these posts are equally controversial and surprising. Basically, what I've seen is those who take a stand against this album and its content by saying it's not really what Christ followers ought to be listening to get DESTROYED in the comments by the ample swarm of fans who feel the need to lash out against anyone who dares question their absolute allegiance to the pop star. (Note: they come out swinging against those who declare their allegiance to Jesus in an attempt to justify their allegiance to Taylor Swift as Christians...make it make sense!)
One comment went so far as to say that the lyrics on this album are no more controversial than the story of Lot and his daughters. Well, let's think about that. Genesis 19 is part of a tragedy that took place in the midst of a wicked, fallen society (hmmm, sounds familiar, doesn't it?). Lot's wife looked back at that which the Lord deemed worthy only of total destruction and thus did not make it to the "high ground" with her husband and daughters. Lot fled to (and then away from) the town of Zoar because he had a pretty good idea that the people of that community weren't going to simply let him exist in peace after what went down next door. He took his two daughters and made his home in a cave, away from the populous. The young women did not want to die childless and so they devised a lewd plan and went forward with (get dad drunk and do the unthinkable with dad in order to have children). The names of their children were Moab and Ben-ammi...the very start of the Moabites and the Ammonites, who have a long and tainted history of fighting against God's chosen people, the Israelites. I'm not exactly certain how this commenter thinks that the story of Lot and his daughters comes to her defense regarding the album and its crude, anti-Christian content. If anything, it lends credence to the fact that the album is not fit for Christian consumption.
All of this is what parents are facing today as they face the next battle for their children's hearts and minds.
After replying to messages, praying for parents, muting and unfollowing so-many-accounts today, here I am posting this on my blog as a means of encouraging any parents who are dealing with this sticky situation with their own children (or any other stick situation you may be facing). You are not alone. It may feel like you are, but I promise, based on my DMs, you absolutely are not. And I am praying for you and your family, because this is tricky stuff, explaining why Christians make choices like this, share about those choice, and defend them in ways that, frankly, dishonor the Lord.
I had intended to record a podcast episode today about the world we're raising our children in and the need to be encouraged and shored up in our parenting as Christians...and then, all of this began to play out in my social feed and inbox. So, I prayed, and changed my plans a bit and tomorrow I will be recording an episode for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show that includes some of this controversial hot topic, along with information about an upcoming summit I'm speaking at that has the express aim of encouraging families who follow Jesus. (If you'd like to check out the summit, tickets start at $17 and here is the link - Vibrant Home Life Summit 2024 ).
And lastly, if this post encouraged you, please feel free to share it on social media. Some other parents may just be encouraged by reading it, and it may be helpful to simply know they're not alone in their desire to train up the children in the way that they should go.
Lord bless you today - don't stop doing good and honoring the Lord in your parenting, because you are promised that you will reap a harvest at just the right time, so long as you don't give up!
Now I’ve spoken a lot of times at online summits and in person, and I aim to be selective in when and where I speak, and I don’t say yes to all the things I get asked to do (although once in a while I miss things, like when a speaker request / inquiry from Great Homeschool Conventions somehow landed in my spam folder, and so I didn’t see that in a timely manner and if anybody from Great Homeschool Conventions is listening to this by chance, hit me up again because yes I’ll be a speaker!) Also, check your spam now and then so you don’t miss something awesome like I did!
But I am a speaker for an upcoming event that has been created just for the Christian family. It’s the Vibrant Home Life Summit. Of course I’d love for you to check out my session (which was really difficult to complete, like every time I turned around there were difficulties and it took a lot to get it done, so I have the sense that satan didn’t really want me to speak - which means he doesn’t want any families to be encouraged by the message that I prayed so much about… and so I do think it may be a blessing for you, even though by the time I got it finished I had nearly lost my voice- I have never had that kind of trouble completing a message for a summit or for an in person event, just never happened before.
We go to work, and there’s tension and the worldview that isn’t ours as a disciple of Jesus is in our face all day, and our kids may be dealing with similar things in their daily life. It’s a battle, and it’s okay to say that out loud.
So my friends Christian and Lisa are hosting this summit as a way to link arms, join with other parents who are working toward the same goal as Christians, desiring a Christ centered home. The entire event is about that, specifically, and there will be a lot of encouragement and a lot of practical advice and tips, and all the other things that come with a summit too, like freebies and giveaways with prizes and surprises and the connections and all those things.
It’s about faith and growth and loving your family and raising your kids and honoring the Lord. And so I’m thankful to be part of this event, thankful to be speaking and doing some other things, and thankful to share it with you, because my podcast audience is all about being a disciple who disciples others while grabbing hold of all of God’s promises and believing them. And that’s why I’m sharing this with you today - now the summit includes a goodie bag of things for attendees, it is happening from April 29th to May 3rd of this year, 2024, but there is lifetime access since it’s all online, and one thing I like about it that you can listen to the sessions and that fits with the podcasting world really well. Not everyone likes podcasts, but my people do and I do so that’s how I’m going to check out this summit, I mean I can watch the videos but I’m just gonna do it like a podcast and listen.
There is a price tag of $17 for the summit, but you get the freebies and something like 42 sessions for that seventeen bucks, it’s a really good price.
Consider this your formal invitation to join me and let’s move the Kingdom of our God forward, literally linking arms, spurring one another on toward love and good deeds, reminding each other that we’re not alone, there are lots of us doing life as disciples who want to raise our children well in a world that is hostile to the Good News of Jesus. And if you do grab a ticket with the link, would you send me an email with the subject line “Summit” and I’m working on something new that I would like to share with you when it’s done, it will be early summer when I get it all ready to go, but it will be something I’ll share with you before I release it out into the great big world, and I’ll be sending it your way first and before I start selling it. So like a bonus, sort of, but in my mind I’m thinking of this as more of a share it with you rather than a bonus.
Check out the summit details via the link in the show notes and I’ll update my website the link on my home page and be sure to really consider this as something you invest in this spring, because this world isn’t getting nicer, kinder, more friendly toward believers. We need encouragement, and I’ve been doing that for a long time now, since I started blogging way back in like 2009 or something. This is just one more way for me to do what I do, encourage you. Email me at JanLBurt at outlook.com if you grab a ticket via the link in the show notes or the link at JanLBurt.com and you’ll be hearing from me with something additional to encourage you.
Thanks for joining me for this special bonus episode of the podcast, and next time I’m going to take a look at a specific promise that is huge, and you can expect that episode to drop in just a couple of days, so I’ll see you back here then. Bye bye.
Well hey there! Hello to ya and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where we talk about God’s promises and apply them to our lives. God’s promises are all true, and they are true for you if you are a follower of Jesus. Isn’t that great news?!? I’ll go ahead and answer my own question: yes, it is most certainly great news.
I'm speaking at the Vibrant Home Life Summit & I hope you'll join me (it's online!)
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by Mr. Pen , and I’ve put a link in the show notes. I love pens, journaling, and the like…and I love Mr Pen products. I also love their heart to support IJM and take a stand against human trafficking. So check them out, follow them on the gram, and be part of something more than just buying a new Bible highlighter. And one more important thing I want to share with you today - I’m honored to be speaking at the upcoming Vibrant Home Life Summit. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the secular culture that seems to surround us at every turn? Do you find yourself struggling to maintain your faith and uphold your Christian values in a world that often feels hostile to them? If so, I want you to know that you're not alone.
In the midst of the chaos and confusion of the secular world, there is a beacon of hope shining brightly: the Vibrant Home Life Summit. This transformative event, taking place from April 29 to May 3, 2024, is designed to breathe new life into your faith and equip you with the tools you need to thrive as a Christian family.
I’d love to have you join me for this summit, which is an online event, and find a whole ton of encouragement. The link is right in the show notes, and I’ll be sending out some emails about the summit and sharing on social media and am going to have a special bonus episode of the podcast to hit on some issues that are facing us as disciples of Jesus in this day and age, so be sure to keep an eye out for that and I’ll be hitting this subject hard in that episode, number 179, because you and I are living in this exact time for such a time as this, and in order to live well we need one another, we need to be shored up and encouraged and reminded that we’re not alone, far from it, in this culture war and war on our families. I’m looking forward to that episode, and to have you join me at this summit, which is so needed right now.
We’re taking a look at some promises God’s given us in the book of Isaiah today, and this is episode number 178.
Episode mentioned for reference - Episode 38 - Isaiah 40:31 & Psalm 103:5 (A Molting Season...) | The Burt (Not Ernie) Show (podbean.com)
Isaiah is a book that is packed full of warnings, prophecies, encouragement and promises. It’s a book that you can, and probably should, study with a long-haul perspective. It is anything but lifeless! And it isn’t something to glaze over quickly.
And so, here we are taking a second look at the promises in Isaiah because it’s not really a book of the Bible that can be fully addressed in one short podcast episode. Or in a dozen episodes, honestly. I cannot possibly do this book justice. I just can’t. I won’t even come close.
But I can share several promises from Isaiah that will encourage you, no matter what your life may look like today, or what it may look like in a few months or a few years (and I do think we are entering a phase of history that will leave all of us living lives that look very different in the next several years as compared to how they look right now… as I’ve said before, keep your eyes on Israel and pay close attention to what’s happening there… some upcoming events are going to take place that could very well be the next steps toward the prophecy we read about in Daniel and the explanation, if you will, that Paul shared in 2 Thessalonians… and while that isn’t the express focus of this episode, it is noteworthy. Because if we don’t have any real idea of what’s happening over there in the Middle East, in Israel specifically, that could be because our news isn’t telling us some of the things taking place that pertain to the Bible being fulfilled exactly as it’s written, and not all of us have our social media feeds curated so that our feeds keep us somewhat up to date of what’s going on. And what’s going on has to do with Iran readying to attack Israel, now per it’s old school Bible name, Iran is the same as Persia. It’s a wild time to be alive, for us as Christians, so let’s keep loving people well, and we do that better when we know what time it is on the Kingdom calendar and realize that our priorities can easily get all out of whack when we think it’s a different time than it really is. If things are heating up in Israel, which they have been the last six months, then we know it’s a ramp up time. Gotta know the Bible and gotta keep our eyes on Israel and gotta love people now better than we ever have before, because that’s our job as disciples, to go and tell. Let’s allow the words from Isaiah to spur us on toward love and good deeds, and I don’t mean platitudes and somewhere over the rainbow, but actual love that moves us to love others. Christ love compels me, wrote Paul. But what about us? Does Christ’s love compel Jan? Do you find yourself compelled by Christ’s love?
So it says in Isaiah chapter 8, verse 13 AMP - It is the LORD of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome. He shall be your (source of) fear. He shall be your (source of) dread (not man). Verse 14a - Then He shall be a sanctuary (a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him);
What you fear rules the direction of your life and the attitude of your heart.
I think you likely already know that, but it’s worth the reminder. Because we are living in uncertain times, lots going on every single day, we are in an era when the next news story doesn’t even shock us because it’s been so much for so long. I’ve seen surveys of younger people who all seem to agree that since 2020, they feel like their life has sort of been on hold, in some kind of a pause, and they feel lost and somewhat depressed and I don’t think that only applies to the younger generation. It’s sort of true for all of us, isn’t it? So the hope we find here, to fear the Lord, to let Him be our only source of dread, that takes the fear out of everything else. But we have to be reminded about this, at least I do. Fear Him, He is to be your only source of dread. Not man. And then He will be a sanctuary and an indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him.
Here’s a big promise, whopper sized, for us from Isaiah
Chapter 30, verse 21, still in the AMP
Your ears WILL hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
If you need some guidance (and who among us doesn’t at one point or another?) or clarity, direction, which choice do I make, which way do I go, what do I do? This verse holds the hope and the promise that we are in need of.
I say this often, although I haven’t said it on the podcast in a while, but when one of God’s promises says “WILL”, He means it! Let me read that aloud to you once more.
Your ears WILL hear a word, or a voice, behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
WILL! He is going to give you a word of guidance when you are weighing your options, do I go right, do I go left…but here’s the thing, we have to walk in it. He will say, “This is the way,” but He won’t take those steps for us and He won’t force us to walk in those ways. He will tell us, Go this way, take a left, not that way, this way is the way to go…and He expects us to do as He directs us to do and to walk in the way He leads us. If you will do that, not all the second guessing and the what iffing, but will just say, yup, He directed me and it’s a left turn here at this junction, so I am going left, if you walk in it, then you’ll be living in the fullness of this promised blessing.
To be able to know that you have the guidance and direction from the voice and word of God for all the days of your life in every decision, to be able to know the way to go, the route to travel, the path to take, the turn to make…this is a huge promise. Don’t miss out on this! Take full advantage of this one! And believe that God says will because He means it. He WILL do this for you. But you need to walk in the way He directs you to go.
Isaiah 40:29 AMP
He gives strength to the weary, and to him who has no might He increases power.
Now this one, it’s for me. It might also be for you today, but I can tell you without a doubt, it is for me right now.
I am somewhat weary from health problems. In all honesty, I am super weary. I’m tired of discomfort, I’m tired of the cough that is either due to the heart failure diagnosis or due to my busted thyroid or due to both. I am weary of the pain due to a large number of uterine fibroids. I don’t like the constant feeling of needing to catch my breath. I don’t like coughing and people wondering if I am contagious (I’m not, it’s just due to my heart). I’m tired of hypothyroidism. I’m tired of not knowing if it will be a good day or a not so good day, energy wise. I’m weary of feeling like I ought to enjoy my life more and live better. I’m tired of gained weight (again, thyroid and heart problems…like if you see me and want to know what happened, well, Google heart failure and you’ll know!)
And so, a verse like this one is for me.
He promises to give strength to the weary. That’s me! And to him, or her, who has not might He increases power. I have no might on my own! For a fact, there is no might I muster up to do anything. If it gets done, it’s all because God gave me power to do it.
Now that’s true for all of us, but in my case, I am just a lot more aware of it on a daily basis.
Isaiah 40 verse 29 is a verse I need, and so I opt to believe that God will keep His word, keep His promise, and I pray for that to be my reality.
Yes, I pray for healing. And I also pray for power and strength while I keep praying for healing.
I hope you do that, too, for whatever need you have, whatever your current station in life might be.
Isaiah 40:31 AMP
But those who wait for the LORD (who expect, look for, and hope in Him) will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings (and rise up close to God) like eagles (rising toward the sun}; They will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired.
Ah, what a verse!
We have to wait for the Lord in order for this promise to be fulfilled for us - but we wait with expectancy, we wait in hope, knowing that our hope will not be disappointed! We look for Him, watching and searching for Him to show up in our circumstances. Active waiting is a real thing, and in the Kingdom of God, it’s the only way to wait well!
When He shows us, we gain new strength (I’ve talked about this on the podcast way back in 2019, I think it was, and it is amazing how the eagle transforms after a molting season - it is hands down one of my favorite episodes of this show and I’ll add the link here in the show notes). Renewed power. New strength. All because we wait for Him expectantly and with hope.
We’ll rise up close to God like an eagle rising toward the sun.
We will run and not become weary and to this I say, Yes, Lord! Do as You have said! And they will walk and not grow tired.
You know, last fall I took a trip that involved a lot of walking and I began to see with a new set of eyes more clearly what my health was like, sort of how bad it had gotten, because walking several miles did some revealing of things in my health that I had kind of not really clued in to.
And I’m glad for that experience!
But also, I’m praying that it will come to an end, in this life and not merely the next one, and I’ll have healing and be free from the hindrances that I did not used to deal with and would like to not deal with now.
What about you?
I’ve shared a lot about how these passages from Isaiah spur me on, emboldened me as I pray, and give me tremendous hope as I wait for God to fulfill them for me.
Do they do the same for you?
Are you more free, more excited, more hopeful, after reading God’s promises?
Do you rise up with new energy and strength because God, via His living word, has supernaturally done a work in your heart and mind and inner being?
I don’t want to only talk about my health struggles.
I want to use those as a real life example that will hopefully encourage you that God’s promises are for you, remind you that He is for you, you are never alone, and all His promises to you will not fail because He will not fail.
Not only are you loved, but you are so loved.
Not only are you favored, but you are highly favored.
And not only are these promises for all God’s people, but they are also just for you.
There are some more promises in the book of Isaiah that might encourage you, and I’m going to put together a pdf download for you that has a list of promises from the Amplified Bible.
I don’t know that it will be linked in this episodes show notes, but I will get it linked in the next episode for sure and will also share it on social media and on my website, which is my name, JanLBurt dot com.
God’s gonna keep these promises, to me and to you.
Believe Him for it!
And honor Him by waiting with great hope and expectation!
Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll see you back here next time.
Bye bye!
Join Jan Burt in the 177th episode of The Burt Not Ernie Show, a faith-based podcast committed to uplifting souls and encouraging believers. In this episode, Jan delves into the journey of discovering who you are in Christ and debunking the devil's lies about our identities. She further draws on the significance of the number seven, connecting it with the theme of recognizing and appreciating our unique roles gifted by God.
Psalm 91 CourseFeaturing a deep dive into the Bible, specifically Nahum 1:7 and Psalm 117, Jan brings to the forefront God's promises and His unwavering goodness despite life's tribulations. This soul-stirring session ultimately calls for listeners to find refuge and place their uncompromised trust in God's word.
Uncover the transformative power of faith and truth in overcoming negative influences through God's word. Beyond merely reading scriptures, the episode inspires all to fully trust in God, resist the devil's falsehoods with a firm grip on the shields of faith, and bravely combat with the sword of God's word.
Taking center-stage is Psalm 117 from the New Living Translation, a succinct yet potent text reminding us of God's everlasting love and faithfulness. Compelling conversation evokes the omnipotent love of God characterized by the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The victory, we are reminded, ultimately lies in God's Love.
In conclusion, the episode encourages listeners to carve out more space for God amidst their busy schedules. Slowing down and leaning into faith and patience are key components in this spiritually fulfilling journey. Necessary too is praying for others and hoping for their acquaintance with the Lord Jesus - encapsulating trust and total acceptance.
All in all, even in moments of struggle, God's truth and faithfulness serve as eternal beacons of hope. No matter the life challenges we face, we must remember God's unfailing love and His everlasting faithfulness—a powerful, enduring force to depend on.
Well hey there, hello to ya. Thanks for dropping by the podcast today. It’s a good one, this episode, as we take a look at a promise from the book of Isaiah. What a book - am I right? What. A. Book.
Alexandra Bowman Photography
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, playing via the Edifi app. This episode is sponsored by Alexandra Bowman Photography, located in south central Kansas, and a link to see her work is right here in the show notes. This is episode number 176.
Every book a promise.
How many promises are there in the Bible, exactly? I’ve read that there are over 6000. That’s something like one promise a day for 16 plus years. It’s a book of promise, it’s a book of hope, the Bible is living and active, so says Hebrews. And all those promises? They are all yes and amen for those of us who are in Christ. That’s very good news for us today, don’t ya think?
And so this series, looking at a promise from each and every book of the Bible, all 66 of them, from Genesis to Revelation, well, it’s a good series because it’s so filled with the hope of those promises. God’s track record at keeping His promises is perfect, absolutely perfect. Of course it is, seeing as He is perfect. Total perfection, nothing less.
Isaiah, however, is a big, full, rich book. Sixty-six chapters and so many promises, especially once Isaiah turns a corner in chapter 40 and the hope just pours out. If you haven’t read much of the book of Isaiah in a while, you won’t regret diving in and reading, applying to your life, choosing to believe what is says.
I decided that it would be pretty near impossible for me to truly do a good job, or even a moderate job, of touching on the promises in Isaiah in just one single episode. So today I’m going to share a promise from chapter 43, a really amazing promise, and then I am going to have another episode with other promises. Because we need it, right now, in our current day and age. We need to hear God’s promises spoken aloud, we need it. It’s like oxygen - this is not the time to be holding our breath. This is the time to be breathing deeply and getting life from God’s promises.
Isaiah 43, verses 1, 2 and 3.
CSB
Now this is what the LORD says - the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel - “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior.”
Who created and formed Israel? It was the Lord God who created and formed Israel. God was intentional when he formed Israel, when He changed Jacob’s name to Israel, in all His dealings with His chosen people, He has always been intentional. And this understanding of the intentionality of our God reminds us that He is not, nor will He ever be, unintentional with us. He is working in our lives and all around us, and He does so with loving and careful intention.
Your God is intentional. And He is intentional about you.
Do not fear.
These three words are repeated again and again to us all throughout the Bible. And aren’t you glad for that? That the Lord says this to us, for us, again and again and again? I know I am!
God’s call to us to fear not comes with a promise attached. He knows how we are made, that we are but dust is says in the Psalms. And so, He knows what we can and cannot do in our own strength. (Spoiler alert: we can do basically nothing in our own strength and we need Him for every single thing, every single breath, every single moment.) He doesn’t tell us not to be afraid and then leave us with no way of actually not being afraid. He calls us to a life of no fear and then He makes it possible. Do we need faith, do we need to actually believe what the Bible says? Yes. So choose faith, choose belief, choose to obey the Lord on a daily basis. And when you are scared about something, remind yourself, preach to yourself, that God does not want you to be fearful and then pray and ask Him to do what seems like it’s impossible - to truly make you not fearful. He doesn’t say, “Do this,” or “Don’t do that,” and then leave us unable to do or not do said things. Your God is a good God, and your God loves you so very much, and He will enable you, empower you, to not be afraid.
He says here that He redeemed Israel. And in Jesus, we who are not of the nation of Israel are also redeemed. Do we live like we’re redeemed? Are we behaving like a redeemed people? Just food for thought today. God wants us to understand in the deepest recesses of our hearts and minds that we are redeemed…from death, from hell, from all that a sinful and broken world brings at us, and He wants us to live a changed life as a result of knowing that we are a redeemed people. Does that make us look a bit different than those who don’t know Jesus personally and thus aren’t redeemed as of yet? Well, yes. But isn’t that actually good? Doesn’t that difference, that oddness, us being a peculiar people as it says in the New Testament, doesn’t that give other reason to look at us and maybe, just maybe, some will do more than look, they’ll study us a bit and who know? Some will come to know Jesus for themselves because you and I, we are different because we’ve been redeemed. You could look up the word redeemed in the dictionary and check out the definition and see if it describes you as a follower of the Lord Jesus.
He calls us by name. He knows us all, and He knows us each one, and He knows us well, better than we know ourselves. He calls us by our names. Personal? Yes, your God is personal. He knows. Whatever it is that is weighing on you, maybe a skeleton in your closet, maybe someone really did you dirty and you have not talked to anyone about it…God knows. In His knowing of us, we can rest and we can receive His peace and we can just set it all down, lay it down, and receive what He has for us. You are known, because He calls you by your name. Not a stranger, but one whose name is known and whose name is called.
You are Mine, is says next. You are called by your name and the One calling you by name says this: You are Mine.
When God says something or someone is His, who are we to argue?
But we do sort of argue, don’t we?
I don’t feel like this is true (oh, those fickle feelings, always messing with us and playing tricks on the way we think, which ends up impacting the way we live our lives…)
Listen, if He says something is so, then it is. Period. Your input, my advice, the counsel of the billionarist of all billionaires is irrelevant, it is not needed, He never asks for it.
What God says, that’s that. That’s it. Case closed.
You are Mine. Says who? Who says that? God. That’s who. And that’s that. Once He says you are His, well, just let that be settled here in your life on earth as it is already settled in heaven.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
So, sometimes we are gonna go through some stuff. No way around it, gotta go through it, and that’s how it is. But you aren’t alone, far from it, God has said here, promised here, that He will be with you. Okay then. God’s with me as I pass through those waters? Alright. That changes everything!
And through the rivers, they won’t overwhelm you.
You won’t drown in this situation, because that’s the promise here.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior.
I guess we’re fire walkers, aren’t we? Things will be hot sometimes, but God has said we won’t be scorched, the flame won’t burn us because, and here is the promise, because he is the Lord our God, the Holy One of Israel, now think on that for a moment. Think of God doing all those miracles in Egypt, think of it! The Holy One of Israel, that’s who says you won’t be scorched or burned. He is your Savior.
No political candidate is your savior. No job, career, inheritance is saving you. Good health, you’re a marathon runner, a super athlete, got all these friends around you, live in an underground bunker compound or whatever, nope. That’s not the promise. That’s not where it’s at.
The Lord is your Savior.
Will you rest in that promise today?
You won’t drown, you won’t get scorched, you are called by name, you are His, He will be with you and He is your Savior.
Now that’s quite a promise.
Remember, next week we will look at Isaiah again because the promises in this book, they are for you and for me and so let’s know what they are, and let’s believe them.
He’s got you, and He will not let you go.
And I'm adding Isaiah chapter 11 to the show notes to make it super easy for you to read and pray through.
ISAIAH 11A Branch from David’s Line 1Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.2And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,the Spirit of counsel and might,the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.3He will delight in obeying the Lord.He will not judge by appearancenor make a decision based on hearsay.4He will give justice to the poorand make fair decisions for the exploited.The earth will shake at the force of his word,and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.5He will wear righteousness like a beltand truth like an undergarment. 6In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,and a little child will lead them all.7The cow will graze near the bear.The cub and the calf will lie down together.The lion will eat hay like a cow.8The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.9Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,for as the waters fill the sea,so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. 10In that day the heir to David’s thronewill be a banner of salvation to all the world.The nations will rally to him,and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second timeto bring back the remnant of his people—those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam;in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.12He will raise a flag among the nationsand assemble the exiles of Israel.He will gather the scattered people of Judahfrom the ends of the earth. 13Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end.They will not be rivals anymore.14They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west.Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east.They will occupy the lands of Edom and Moab,and Ammon will obey them.15The Lord will make a dry path through the gulf of the Red Sea.He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River,sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streamsso it can easily be crossed on foot.16He will make a highway for the remnant of his people,the remnant coming from Assyria,just as he did for Israel long agowhen they returned from Egypt.I’ll see you next time!
Bye bye!
In our continuing series, Every Book A Promise, let's take a look at the Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs, as it is titled in some Bible translations).
The overall promise of this book of the Bible is that of God's great love for His people.
His love is so vast, so enduring, so perfect that we will never be able to fully grasp or understand it. The depth of His love knows no bounds, and this episode is a reminder of that truth.
There are also a few warnings to be found in Song of Solomon.
Warnings to not awaken love before the proper time.
Warnings not to allow the little, destructive foxes in life to run wild and rampant, thrashing and trashing the things we've been working hard on.
Warnings to place Jesus as the seal over our hearts, and the greatest love of our life, and the one whom we've given our hearts to for eternity.
And the warning to be ready for Jesus to call us home to Him at any moment.
Feel free to ready the following verses in your Bible -
Chapter 2, verse 7
Chapter 2, verse 15
Chapter 8, verse 6
Chapter 8, verse 14
Next time we'll take a look at God's promises to His people in the book of Isaiah...and because this is such a tremendous book, more than one episode may be required to dig into the promises of Isaiah.
Thanks so much for listening today, and if this show has encouraged you, feel free to subscribe or share the link with someone else.
See you next time!
Jan L. Burt
In the latest episode of The Burt Not Ernie Show, host Jan Burt returns for another enlightening conversation on her series, Every Book a Promise. Delving deep into the book of Proverbs, Jan invites her audience to explore and believe in the power and specificity of God's promises and how these can lead to significant life changes.
Through three potent verses, Jan echoes the possibilities that arise when we live in our authentic identities and align our faith with God's purposes. With a firm belief in the Almighty, she uncovers the wisdom encapsulated within Proverbs and its power to impact our daily lives.
This episode serves as a challenge and a guide to living life with complete trust in God's promises, emphasizing the immense strength offered in His name, the prevailing of His purposes over our plans, and His ability to guide the hearts of those in authority. From discussing God's constant presence on the throne, to the importance of forgiveness, to the metaphor of God as a 'strong tower', Jan offers a wealth of biblical insights and comforting reassurances.
Tune in for a spiritually engaging discourse that will deepen your understanding of biblical wisdom and offer a refreshing guide to living a faith-filled life. Remember: God's promises are meant to be believed, and the path to life change is only one faith-step away.
Hey there, welcome to episode 174 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast.
We’re moving along in our series Every Book A Promise, working our way through the entire Bible to find, and believe, promises from God for us.
It doesn’t do a whole lot of good to just know about God’s promises, or even to be able to recite them from memory.
Life change happens when we believe them.
Remember when Jesus was amazed at the people’s lack of belief? And remember when He was astounded by a couple of people who had tremendous and complete faith?
Which category do we want to be part of? In which camp do we land? And do we need to make a move, change camps, head on over to the winning side?
So as we go through all 66 books of the Bible and learn about what God has promised to His people, let’s be sure we are believing these promises. Not just hearing about them, but believing them. Because they are meant to be believed. Our God wants us to trust Him utterly. Let’s go all in and believe God’s promises.
We are in the book of Proverbs for today’s episode.
And once again, it was not easy to choose just one promise to focus on. There is a wealth of wisdom in Proverbs, I think we all know that, but there are also a whole lot of promises. So I’ve got a few verses to share today, and just as a reminder once more, sort of like I am beating dead horse here but it’s important so I’ll say it again, these promises are for you, right now, today, so go ahead and believe them for yourself right now, today.
Proverbs 18:10 NLT - The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe.
19:21 - You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.
21:1 - The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD: He guides it wherever He pleases.
So let’s talk about it!
Starting with the last verse I read, ch 21 vs 1. The king, the ruler, the leader, the one in authority - the heart of that person is like a stream of water directed by the Lord. Something about the leadership, rulers, authorities, big bosses, global tyrants concerning to you? Leadership on a small level or a huge one- you can take it all to the Lord in prayer and make your requests about that specific reign or rule to Him, and simply ask Him to do what it says here that He does…direct their heart like a waterway. Just do the guiding, Lord. Turn them from their evil and from doing what is just so wrong and make Your will to be what gets done. You can and should pray like that. And also, recognize that the second portion of the verse is true, too - that the Lord guides their hearts wherever He pleases. He is Sovereign, and He does love it when we pray and He delights to answer prayer, but that does not mean every single prayer gets the answer we want. He may be doing a much broader, deeper, greater work in an entire nation, state, a company or corporation, and a particular type of leader is who has to be in that position or role. And they may not be good guys, ya know what I mean? And yet, God is in charge, He is Sovereign and He is getting things done that He knows need to be done as per the true bigger picture. Other times, we don’t see anything changing in that person’s leadership because there has been no heart change and that could be because nobody is really praying for that particular person to have a God- led heart change.
But the promise still stands, it is still totally true. God turns the heart of the kind like a stream, like a waterway, directing it wherever He pleases. That should bring us comfort.
Chapter 19, verse 21 You and I can make plans, and don’t we do just that? We plan our vacations, we plan out our week, I mean I have a planner on my desk in front of me right now. We plan for celebrations, we make a plan to get some things done on the honey do list. We make plans. But it is so good to remember this promise, that the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Where is the hope in this verse for us? Well, in the assurance that His will is what will prevail. And I need to know that my will isn’t going to prevail, because if I am honest I can admit that I mess things up and I don’t trust my will, just as I don’t trust my own heart. I don’t want to follow my heart, because the Bible says it is deceitful above all things, above all else, and that is the truth, not just for me but for all of us. So I need to have a promise like this, and so do you, so we can trust beyond our own plans and realize that God’s purposes will prevail. Remember when God says WILL in a promise in the Bible, He really does mean it. This verse from Proverbs is not an exception - God says clearly that He will actually bring about what He has purposed. So keep this in mind on your good days and the bad ones, because He is in charge, He is on the throne, and you can have total peace. His purposes will prevail. And all His ways are good, so we can trust His purposes.
The last verse I want to look at today comes from chapter 18. Verse 10 reminds us that He is a strong tower, His name is a strong tower. The godly run to it and are saved, our safety is there. Provided we are numbered among the godly. And we know that the blood of Jesus, His perfect life, sacrifice, and resurrection are what enable us to be counted among the godly. I am only godly because of Jesus. What a gift He has given us! It never wears out, we cannot exhaust it, the supply of His love and grace and mercy are endless, and we are able to claim verses like this one for ourselves, all because of Jesus. It should astound us, because it is truly astounding.
Do you need some protection? Are you feeling vulnerable? Run to the name of the Lord. It’s more than a worship song, it is truth! The name of the Lord is like a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are saved. Run to Him! But run in the name of Jesus, the Messiah, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, the Lion of Judah. Worship Him, run to Him, believe that you are safe in Him. No matter what comes, if everything including the kitchen sink is being thrown at you, this promise will continue to prove true so long as we do as it says, and run to Him.
Jesus is the Name above all names, and our trust in Him, our hope in Him, our belief that His promises are true for us, is never in vain.
Which of His promises has God forgotten about? Nodded off on? Moved out of the driver’s seat? Abdicated?
None, that’s how many. And none of them, not even a single one, will ever not prove true.
I don’t know how we can ever astound Jesus with our faith, our belief, our trust, our lack of worry or fretting or fear, if we don’t go all in with believing the Bible’s promises.
Would you join me in growing your faith today, by choosing to believe the promises from Proverbs, even in the face of whatever adversity you may be facing? Let’s do this together, what do ya say?
Thanks for listening today, and I’ll see ya next time. Bye bye.
Recommended Reading -
Psalm 1 - Psalm 91 - Psalm 37 - Psalm 103 - Psalm 90 - Psalm 139 - Psalm 145
(If you read Psalm 145 and want to share how it relates to your life right now, please email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com)
Psalm 91 Audio Course
Welcome to this episode of "The Burt Not Ernie Show", hosted by Jan Burt. This episode is part of our 'Every Book a Promise' series where we dissect the wisdom and promises contained in the books of the Bible.
It was incredibly difficult to choose just one promise from just one psalm... and so I'm adding a list of psalms to read for yourself. Expect these passages to be life-changing!
Psalm 37 will be our focus for this episode, and the verses discussed on the show are here in the show notes for you to read yourself.
Psalm 37 from the NLT:
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
19 They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
30 The godly offer good counsel;
they teach right from wrong.
39 The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them,
rescuing them from the wicked.
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. God's promises are true - and they are true for you today!
See ya next time! Bye bye.
2024 Prayer Planner from Shannon Roberts
Praying Psalm 91 Course
Jan's Email List (podcast links sent directly to your inbox)
~ Today in the Every Book A Promise Series we are looking at the Old Testament book of Job.
~ From the NLT, verse 1 of chapter 1 says: “There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless - a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. (Oh how my prayer for myself, for my husband, my children, grand babies, and the whole of Jesus’ Church is that this verse would be true of us, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That would be a beautiful way of seeing Matthew 6:33 lived out in real time).
~ verses 6-12 of Job chapter 1: One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser (note that Accuser is capitalized, this is one of Satan’s actual names…not just an adjective to describe him, but who he is, his name is the Accuser)...and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless - a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” “All right, you may test him,” The LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.
~ And now we will jump down to verses 21 and 22 of Job chapter 1: well I will actually start in verse 20: Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
~ This is quite a response for a man who, in one day, a SINGLE solitary day, think sunrise to sunset getting this kind of news, his children had all died, all of them, and his livestock and farmland and property, all of it, the vastness of his life’s work, gone. This is unfathomable grief, a moment we see in a life that is pure pain. And Job’s response? Pure worship of the LORD God Almighty in the face of pure pain.
~ As the book of Job progresses, we find Job’s friends coming to him first to sit next to him in silence for seven days, and Job began to have physical affliction at the hands of Satan in addition to all else he had lost, so he was in a ditch in every sense. Life in the ditch is hard. Have you been there? Are you there today? Life in a ditch in every single part of your life all at the same time, that’s where Job found himself. Of no fault of his own. He was blameless, as it says in verse one of Job chapter one. And the Accuser gained access to his life, to do anything but slay him. Revelation talks of a day when men will wish for death but it won’t come, they will continue to live when they so much want to die instead. There are times, seasons, when living, continuing to keep on living for Jesus seems to be the hardest thing, that dying would be preferred. Are you in such a season? Oh I feel you. I grieve with you. I have prayed for those of you in those seasons, prayed as I worked on this episode. This is a show that feels heavy, it bears some weight and I’ve been feeling the weight of it the last week or so. Job paints a picture, a reality, that seems to be so contrary to who God is and how He does things, doesn’t it? And Job’s friends started out so well, caring enough to sit in silence with him in his deep grief. But then, they couldn’t keep quiet any longer. They did not hold their tongues and out came some things that seem like they are totally true. Job must be a deep, dark, secret sinner or this never would have happened to him. My husband recently said this: Job’s friends knew about God, His character and so on, but they didn’t really know Job or Job’s heart. God looks at the heart, it says in 1 Samuel, while man looks on the outward appearance. That’s not just about clothes and hair and style and the drip. It’s about all that we cannot see, all that God can fully see. And when God says, “Accuser, have you considered my servant?” There is no mistake in that. Pain? Certainly. Being misunderstood and maligned by dear friends? Like, the ones you thought got you, your ride or die, doesn’t get you and is gonna leave you to die while they accuse you on their ride outta your life? This is pain on pain on pain. Some of you are in this right now. Look, we are in the last days. Many don’t believe that to be true - and that’s okay, because Jesus said and Paul said that one of the signs of the times of the last days would be that many who profess to believe would not know what time it is on the Kingdom calendar, even though every single bit of it is playing out play by play exactly as He said it would. So those that don’t think it’s the last days, I’d challenge them to really read what the New Testament says about end times and see if maybe they might be among those who don’t believe but think they are full on believers…this is not going to make some folks happy. Cages will be rattled. It’s alright though, because it isn’t me coming up with nonsense. When I see something on the news that aligns perfectly with Bible end times prophecy, I didn’t invent the prophecy nor make that certain news story to happen. I just saw it and filtered it through the Word of God. And we all need to do that. If we’re not longing for His appearing, we probably are loving the world too much and the book of 1 John ought to be in our Bible reading the very day, the moment, we realize we be loving the world and our little old lives in this ratty old world too much. If you doubt it’s the end times, will you read first John and pray before you read it, asking the Lord to show you any part of yourself that is loving the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life? And if that seems like, Nah, I don’t have those issues, read it in the NLT because it says it like this: chapter 2, verses 15 through 17: Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (Do you love what the world offers you? Then you do not have the love of the Father in you and you won’t be able to see what time it really is, the set up is all in place, just think about the last week alone what’s happened in the world, the things in the middle east, the ten kings enthroned in what was the Roman empire, things are moving along tick tick tick…but when we love the world, we cannot see what’s happening clearly. We are blinded. We’ve got spiritual cataracts. Craving things, pride in achievements, possessions. Not from the Father. Take pause and read 1 John chapter 2 and pray. The time for getting serious and stop playing patty cake with the world is now, today. Don’t miss this moment!)
~ Job 40, verses 1-5: Then the LORD said to Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” Then Job replied to the LORD, “I am nothing - how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”
~That is how a righteous person responds when God speaks. Hand over mouth. Confess that I don’t know anything. I’m the clay, He is the potter, and I need to be silent and stop clapping back. Even what does not seem like backtalk to us, it likely is clapping back at God in light of His holiness, I mean Job was blameless said God and Job was acting like God’s critic, said God. Clap hands over mouths instead of clapping back with words. Sometimes we need to just shut it, be in awe of His holiness, and simply be still.
~How far removed from this stance is our modern church? The age of grace has in many ways left us bratty, blind to God’s holiness, welcoming all sorts of filth into our hearts and minds and homes and families that ought not to be. Denying His word by what we say, what’s in the pulpits, what’s on our screens, what’s in our minds, the words we speak. God is holy. How did His church come to forget this truth?
~Job 42:1-2: Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You.” Oh we need to remember this! Here’s a promise we need to stand on. God can do anything and no one can stop Him. This is a promise, this is truth, and we need to be humble before our God, the One who can do anything and cannot be stopped by anyone. Verses 5-8: I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. - After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has. So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to My servant job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.” Okay, this is about to get real. Did you hear that? You have not spoken accurately about Me, says God. You have not spoken accurately about Me. And punishment was deserved, well earned, for this not speaking accurately about God. As a podcaster who speaks about God, this hits home. Deeply. This is beyond serious, for me, and it needs to be taken seriously by every single person who writes, posts, blogs, podcasts, speaks to groups, online speakers, YouTube, TikTok, small group leaders, and every pastor in every pulpit. We have got to stop joking around about holy things. If you joke about the blood of Jesus, what are you doing??? Read the final chapter of Job and ask yourself, what am I doing??? Take back everything you’ve said, and sit in dust and show your repentance. God is holy. None of that stuff is fitting for a minister of the Gospel of peace. If I just stepped on your toes, good! You needed it, then! Did it smart? Did you feel that? Did it offend you? Then you needed to feel it, to wince, to be offended! Now what will you do about it? I don’t speak with platitudes, and so be offended at me all day long. Who cares? What does that even matter? But don’t be offended by the Word of God. And stop making jokes, which is mocking, which means making a mockery of things that are holy. There is a holy fire purge coming into the Church that is God’s Church, in case you haven’t noticed. The thing known as the great falling away, it’s happening, in case you haven’t noticed. Let God do His cleansing work in His church, and repent where you need to. And we all need to, every one of us, the one who claims he has no sin is deceiving himself and the truth is not in him that’s 1 John 1:8. There isn't enough time left to keep goofing off. God will have a pure bride, and the bride is His church. Judgment begins with the house of the Lord, and that's 1 Peter 4:17. Are your seeing it happening? Feeling the heat of His judgment? It’s time to repent, as Job did, and as Job’s friends had to do in order to avoid the treatment they deserved, verse 8 of Job 42 says. Do you take God and His word seriously enough to do what it says? If not, why not? If not now, when? Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Your lampstand can be taken away, as is described in Revelation. We are not in the age of grace and thus exempt from being a people who strive to be holy, even as our Lord is holy. Yield to the Holy Spirit instead of grieving Him. A fear of a holy God demands it. Today is the day, now is the time, so please, do what the Bible says, don’t just read it but do what it says, as the book of James instructs us. This is the day to get our houses in order, because time’s almost up and we will all meet our holy, righteous Judge very soon. Let’s be ready, because our redemption draweth nigh.
Well hey there, hello to you and welcome to 2024. Gonna be a big year for the Kingdom of our God, and I’m so thankful for all He is going to do. Choosing to praise Him even in the midst of things that are not super fun, anybody else want to join me in that? Let’s just thank Him in advance, fully trusting in His unending love and immeasurable faithfulness toward His people. God is so good, and I am so grateful!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, which can be found via the Edifi app as well as other places you listen to podcasts. A special shout out to those who listen via iHeart Radio - I pray you are blessed abundantly and experience the Lord’s love and favor in the greatest possible measure. This is episode number 171.
It’s time for the show to get back to our series, Every Book A Promise, where we have been focusing on going through the entire Bible, one book at a time, and honing in on promises God makes us in each and every book. It’s been a great series so far and I’m excited to get back into it. Today we’re looking at a book that is pretty well known, and that is an interesting portion of the Bible. Like many other books in the Old Testament, it takes place during a time of exile in the history of God’s chosen people, the Israelites.
What a great encouragement for us when we face difficult times - and if we are honest, which I will be right now, we do face times when we feel like we are in an exile of some sort. Rejection. Serious health issues, or financial issues. Loneliness. Relationships that fall apart. Transitions that are difficult, like a big move, even for a good reason like a promotion of a post college career opportunity, it can feel like an exile in many ways. Take parenting. They say that for 18 years you see your child pretty much daily. And then, after they leave home, over the duration of your lifetime, you will see your child in total for about one more year. That’s very real, and people can be kind of mocking about the empty nest but this is the truth, so of course it is an adjustment. Of course it feels like an exile in some ways. How could it not? For those who make jokes about not being able to wait until they can kick their kids out and change the locks, well, that’s just strange to me and also, when you say that out loud it reminds me of that line from The Help when Miss Leofolt says about her toddler Mae Mobley, “She’s always hungry.” and everyone laughs…everyone but Skeeter, who replies, “You know she can hear you, Elizabeth.” That’s what comes to mind for me when I hear parents speaking like that with their kids in earshot…You do know they can hear you, right? And that they don’t feel loved, seen, protected, watched over, valuable, important…you do realize that words have consequences, right? That God means it when He says that the power of life and death is in the tongue…that means words count for a whole lot more than we like to believe they do.
So when you are in some kind of exile type situation, the Bible, all throughout the Old Testament, holds hope out to you. In bucketfulls, not in teaspoons, not in milliliters. Bushels full of hope. All you have to do is simply receive it. Some of the greatest passages of the Bible were written during times of exile. Some of the brightest beacons of hope were penned during the darkest days of the nation of Israel. And as it tells us in the New Testament, it was all written for our edification, for us to know and understand who God truly is, how He works in the lives of people, and so that we would have ample reason to hold onto Him, the One who not only authors our faith, but also authors all true hope.
And that is where we find ourselves for this episode of TBNES. Right in the middle of the book of Esther, in chapter 6, we can find hope that will, if we choose to allow it to, bring us out of any pit we’re in and fill us to overflowing that our God is right now working in the details, on so many different levels, and has not fled the scene.
Let’s read from the New Living Translation today, starting at verse 1.
That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him. In those records he discovered an account of how Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the door to the king’s private quarters. They had plotted to assassinate King Xerxes.
“What reward or recognition did we ever give Mordecai for this?” the king asked.
His attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”
“Who is that in the outer court?” the king inquired. As it happened, Haman had just arrived in the outer court of the palace to ask the king to impale Mordecai on the pole he had prepared.
So the attendants replied to the king, “Haman is out in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered. So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?”
Haman thought to himself, “Whom should the king wish to honor more than me?” So he replied, “If the king wishes to honor someone, he should bring out one of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a horse that the king himself has ridden - one with a royal emblem on its head. Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. And let him see that the man whom the king wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s robes and led through the city square on the king’s horse. Have the official shout as they go, ‘This is what the king does for someone he wants to honor!’”
“Excellent!” the king said to Haman. “Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!”
So Haman took the robes and put them on Mordecai, placed him on the king’s own horse, and led him through the city square, shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!” Afterward Mordecai returned to the palace gate, but Haman hurried home dejected and completely humiliated. When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends what had happened, his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since Mordecai - this man who has humiliated you - is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.”
While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived and quickly took Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Esther chapter 6, verses 1 through 14, from the NLT.
You probably know the backstory, but Mordecai served the king during the exile, and he was Jewish. Haman hated him and that hate led to a plan to exterminate all the Jews from Xerxes kingdom. And that was what Mordecai knew until the moment Haman showed up with the king’s horse and the king’s robes to lead him around the city square declaring that he was being honored by the king. Mordecai could not see how God was working behind the scenes, he did not know that the king could not sleep and so the record of his own history was read to him by his servants (hmmm, might be a bit narcissistic, and this is another great reminder for us that even in exile, under a tyrant who was powerful beyond compare and dangerous, even under a raging narcissist who only focuses on himself - even in that mixed up mess, God can bring a stark reminder of the good you’ve done, the right things you’ve done, and God can make a way for you to get your due). All that God did behind the scenes reminds us of how gracious He is, that He is in the details, we often say the devil is in the details, and he is a mimic and so sure he is, but even the devil is God’s devil, as Luther said, and so we can trust and even expect God to do things behind the scenes that we will have no way of knowing He is doing. Can you remember that next time it feels dark and heavy and all hope seems lost? Will you remember how God took Mordecai’s enemy, Haman, and made him to be the one to give Mordecai the king’s reward and honor? All because Xerxes couldn’t sleep and was reminded of a great thing Mordecai had done for him in the past. He did not go looking for info about who had spared him from an assassination attempt. He was reading about his own life, his own self, might have been all puffed up about his own greatness, but then he sees that his life was spared by one who was never honored, never thanked. Aha - here is how our God works! And Haman went home humiliated - yes indeed, I bet he was.
Even his wife and his friends could see the writing on the wall, that his evil plot against Mordecai would come to nothing. It will be fatal if you continue opposing him. Sometimes when you won’t bow to someone, bow down to them, kiss the ring in some way, they grow in hate. God sees this. God works behind the scenes, in all the little details like sleeplessness, and He brings out of it just what He chooses.
Isn’t this good news? Isn’t this really just the promise of hope, the promise that God sees? He is El Roi (ROI), the God who sees.
And the God who sees you, who is working behind the scenes in the things you cannot see, is trustworthy. He is true to His character and His promises. And this hope we find in the book of Esther is a promise to us that our God will not set us aside, leave us at the mercy of those who hate us, or fail to make note of when we have done the right thing, even when we are in a season of exile.
That’s a pretty solid promise to stand on as we begin this new year, isn’t it?
Let’s get excited about the hope we have because our God sees, and is working in all the details that involve us.
Happy New Year & I hope you have a truly hopeful rest of your day! See ya next time!
Well hey there! Welcome back to the podcast, and I hope you had a truly blessed Christmas. Celebrating the birth of Jesus, of God with us, and pondering what that has meant for you personally. How has your life changed because of what Jesus has done for you? The little pause between Christmas and a new year is a time to reflect on this and to thank God for as many things as come to mind when you consider what your life and what your eternity would be without Jesus.
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Free 2024 Word of the Year Printable
Quick bit of info and then we’ll jump into this special new year’s episode. If you are like me, you often have a word for the year, and looking back at the end of December, it’s really something to see what the Lord did. Now I have had years when I did not have a word for the year, it just wasn’t something the Holy Spirit laid on my heart and I just did not have one. Many years, though, I do get a sense of a word that the Lord wants me to be aware of, in a way, and to see Him do things in my life that glorify Him, mature and sanctify me. The word isn’t magical - it’s just a way that I sit up and pay attention and take note of things He does. I often write down Bible verses that have to do with whatever word God has given me, and I like to write out praises and thanksgiving in my daily Bible study journal thanking Him for things throughout the year. I have a little printable download that is all about the 2024 word of the year, and it is yours by clicking the link in the show notes. Also, I wanted to share that I have been dealing with some “new” issues with my health, you might know I was diagnosed with heart failure in 2016 and I have been dealing with thyroid problems for a couple of decades now, and so this health problem cropped up recently and you know, my team at the Cleveland Clinic has told me many times that quality of life management is sort of the overall goal of my health care, and this is just another layer to that. It just is what it is, and God is so good, so gracious to me, I am not at all questioning the Lord and do not want to be whiny or complaining about any of this. Sharing this is more to let you know, if you are used to seeing me around and I’m sort of missing in action, this is why. And there are some other things going on that have to do with other aspects of life for my hubby and I, and this is the season of different things, I suppose, so that’s what’s going on. Not gonna share more than that on a platform like this, I have adults kids and a husband and it can get weird for them if I overshare so I’ll leave it at that. But I am mostly at home, and still able to podcast and am also hoping to start sending an email weekly with links to the new podcast episodes for both shows and I have bandwidth to create some free items to share with my email list, so if you’d like to get those, if you grab the 2024 Word of the Year free item I created for you all, then you’ll be added and will start getting emails with podcast links starting in the new year.
Thank you for listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, which can be found via the Edifi app, as well as all the places you find podcasts. This is episode number 170.
Psalm 103. Written by David. An astounding passage from the Bible that can transform the way we pray, the way we see the Lord at work in our circumstances, and the way we view ourselves. For those reasons and so many more, Psalm 103 is the focus for the final episode of the podcast for 2023, and I am treating it as a blessing for each one of you, no matter when you find yourself listening to this episode.
I’ll be reading from the NLT today.
Psalm 103A psalm of David.1
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
6
The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.
7
He revealed his character to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8
The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
13
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
15
Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16
The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17
But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
18
of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!
19
The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
from there he rules over everything.
20
Praise the Lord, you angels,
you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
listening for each of his commands.
21
Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
who serve him and do his will!
22
Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
everything in all his kingdom.
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
What if we ended 2023 and rolled right on into 2024 doing this exact thing: letting all that we are, every bit of ourselves, praise the Lord? Wouldn’t that be a powerful way to exit the old and walk into the new?
Let. it’s a key word in this psalm. Let. It implies that we have a choice, we have a big say in the matter. Let all that I am, not some or part or most, but all that I am praise the Lord. No part of your life, your thoughts, your heart’s desires and your broken places, are left out here. All of you, all of me, is to be about this praising of the Lord. With my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. I’ve decided to praise Him and my whole heart is going to do just that. This is a decision. It is not a feeling and it is not fickle and it is not to be determined by circumstances, health issues, bank accounts, married or single, young or old. The decision is made and then we praise Him with the whole of our heart, not keeping some of our heart back just in case things don’t work out well for us, just in case we need to run and hide and wallow in self pity or have some excuse for bailing on Jesus (who, btw, never bailed on us…all the way to the Cross, the grave, and then out of that grave, He never bailed on you or on me).
May we never forget the good things He does for us. Never. What a way to end this year and start the next one, deciding that we never want to forget the good things He does for us!
Let’s list some of those good things now:
Forgives all our sins
Heals all our diseases
Redeems us from death
Crowns us with love and tender mercies
Fills our lives with good things
Renews our youth like the eagles
Gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg! Think of what we have in Christ Jesus! The treasure never ends for those of us who are in His Kingdom, members of His family. We are so blessed, we are super-blessed!
He is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, abounding in it. Does anybody need to be reminded of that truth today? Has it been brutal in some part of your life, and this is the reminder you need? Let it fall afresh on you today, and carry this truth, these promises, with you into the new year. Don’t set it down, set it aside, drop it on the curb. Hold on to these words from Psalm 103! Let them be your oxygen, and let them anchor you to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.
He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. What a comfort these words are! Living in a post-Christian society, and that’s what we are here in America, words of hope like this mean so very much. We deserve, as a whole, a lot of punishment. Wickedness and hate of God run rampant. And yet, He is merciful. Now, does that mean we can be grace abusers and there will never be punishment, consequences, for what goes on in our land? Nope. He is God, and we cannot begin to fathom His holiness. Let us stay close to Him, keep short accounts with Him (that means repent often, repent quickly, and repent for real - stop doing those things you repent of)! He is not a chump, but holy and righteous and just. And yet, this is what He promises us in His Word. Is He not good? Is He not kind? What a God we serve!
His unfailing love is toward those who fear Him. He removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. He is a tender and compassionate Father to His children who fear Him. He knows how weak we are. Our days on earth fly by. He never forgets this!
His love remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to His covenant. How’s that for a promise that has more hope, more power, more depth to it than we can even begin to plumb!
He rules over everything, it says in verse 19. No part of your life is out from under His rule. He is Sovereign, and those who fear Him remember His sovereignty.
Praise the Lord, everything He has created, everything in all His kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord. Those are the final words of Psalm 103.
May this be your blessing for the coming days and weeks and 2024. Maybe you’ll have a break this week when you can sit and read Psalm 103 for yourself, thanking God for the promises He makes and of course keeps, and trusting Him for the hard things in your life and the things you sense coming in the new year. He is trustworthy above all others, in ways that we can never fully understand. So trust Him to keep His promises to you in the coming days. Won’t He do it?
Let me mention one thing here at the end of the show, I have a friend who is a fellow podcaster and he does some fundraising for his podcast, and he is also a pastor so in full time ministry plus podcasting, and he has been totally honest about the costs incurred in running a podcast and he has shared that this has been a blessing for others as well as himself, to take the cost burden sort of off his shoulders and out of the family budget and others get to share in the podcast ministry, which is a global ministry for him and that’s also true for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. If you’d like to be part of offsetting the cost of my two podcasts, I’d be so thankful. It does, at a bare minimum, cost several hundred dollars per show per year. And you are welcome to touch base with me about what exactly the cost breakdown is and I’ll share that with anyone at anytime. I’ll add the link to my Buy Me A Coffee in the show notes, because to add a donate button via the podcast platform I use would be another $700 per year for two shoes…so, I went with Buy Me A Coffee. All donations will go toward the show production costs, none will buy me any coffee! Thanks for listening and for helping move the hope of God’s promises to countries all over the world. Every download moves the show up in the search ranks and helps push it out to more people when they search for new podcasts to listen to, and you did that. Thank you! This podcast gained 75% of it’s new listeners last year, so growth is happening every time you download an episode and listen to it. Every single person who subscribes to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is helping push it out to more potential listeners. The part you play in this cannot be overstated, and the end of the year is the time I want to take to tell you that I am more thankful for you than I will ever be able to express in mere words. Lord bless you a hundred times over in return!
And I’d like to close out the show, and the year, with these words, the very last words from the book of Revelation. This is my blessing spoken over you, and I am so very grateful for you.
Revelation 22:20-21, NLT
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.
May you be blessed as you leave 2023 and doubly blessed as you enter 2024. The blessing of the Lord makes one rich and He adds no sorrow to it.
And next time on the show, we’ll be back in our series, Every Book A Promise, where we are going through every single book of the Bible, all 66 of them, and grabbing hold of God’s promises to us in each and every book. Looking forward to that (and on The Prayer Podcast we will resume our series on praying through the book of James). Oh, one last thing, in my prayer group on Facebook we will be going through all of the Psalms and praying them starting in January, and if you’d like to join that group, please click on that link and you’ll be in the group (also it is a private group in order to keep prayer requests confidential, so no need to worry about sharing prayer requests in that group for worry they’ll be able to be seen outside the group).
Have a blessed start to your 2024, and thank you for being part of the podcast. Bye bye!
Mary’s song.
The Magnificat.
Luke chapter 1, verses 46-55 have this beautiful text known as The Magnificat, Mary’s song. How did this young teenage virgin respond after the visitation of an angel with the once-in-history news that she would birth the Messiah?
This is how.
(from the Amplified, Luke 1:46-55)
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has looked (with loving care) on the humble state of His maidservant; for behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God! For He who is mighty has done great things for me; and holy is His name (to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory). And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who (stand in great awe of God and) fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His (powerful) arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent the rich away empty-handed. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, just as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
This is profound!
A heart long readied to serve the Lord God Almighty responds in this manner. A hard heart, and immature heart, and self-focused heart, a bitter heart, a clouded heart cannot.
Mary was ready for the task which lie ahead for her, because God had readied her.
This Christmas, can you pause and ask the Lord to show you what He has readied you for? The answer won’t be nothing, because the God we love and serve is always moving, working in and on our hearts, readying us and maturing us and sanctifying us. Take some time to slow down and listen for what He would say to you.
He has not stopped looking on us with loving care. Have we stopped rejoicing in God our Savior?
He who is mighty is still doing great things for His people. Do we revere His name as holy, to be worshiped in His purity, majesty and glory?
He is still helping those who serve Him, and is of course still helping Israel. Have we forgotten what He has remembered - which is His mercy?
Do we know what He has promised in the way that Mary knew what He had promised to Abraham and his descendants? If we forget, or simply know not, what He has promised…aren’t we likely to miss it when He keeps those promises?
And keep them He will.
Mary’s song encourages me every time I read it.
It is beautiful because her simple and complete faith and trust are laid bare for all of us to see. May our faith and our trust be as solid and immovable as hers.
And as a quick aside, I know a pastor who does not like the wisemen all huddled up next to the baby Jesus in the nativity sets we place on our mantles…why doesn’t he like that? Because it is not true to the Biblical narrative, that’s why! I’ll let you read the first couple of chapters of Luke and see for yourself. This pastor, he’s not wrong!
I have a similar pet peeve, if you will…I so much want to buy a sweatshirt that says, “Mary knew.” on it. Not because I haven’t been touched in years past by the song “Mary Did You Know?” but because based on Mary’s life as seen in the Gospels, I think she did know quite a lot…I think we can read The Magnificat and understand that not much got past her in terms of understanding who her Son was. She treasured all these things up in her heart, we read in our Bibles. And treasure is not something one forgets, tosses aside, or suddenly becomes ignorant about. Oh, Mary knew so very much. And what she did as a result of what she knew as her life took a turn that forever altered things for all of history is a challenge to us all this Christmas - what do we know, and how does that knowing change the direction of our life and hopefully the lives of others?
Merry Christmas to you, and as always, thank you so very much for listening to the show. I pray it blesses and emboldens you as you live for Jesus in a world that needs His light.
See you next time!
Hello there, welcome to this episode of the podcast, I’m your host Jan L. Burt, and I am tremendously thankful you’re listening. In this episode, we’ll be looking at the book of Nehemiah, which holds so much hope, in the midst of genuine opposition, and the wonderful truth that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Let’s jump into this chapter.
God's Best for My Life Devotional
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, found on the Edifi app. Today’s show is sponsored by the devotional God’s Best For My Life, by Lloyd John Ogilvie, available via Moody Church Media. The link to purchase your copy is in the show notes, and if you need a new devotional for the upcoming new year, or maybe a Christmas gift, this devotional is worth reading. It is powerful in that it is life-changing and based solidly on the Bible. It’s on my list to give this year, because it’s a game changer. This is episode number 168.
Nehemiah chapter 4, verses 1 through 3 and today I’m reading from the CSB, from my Spurgeon study Bible.
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria, and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” Then Tobia the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall.”
The header for this chapter is titled, Progress In Spite Of Opposition.
Anybody feel like they are up against some opposition? Trying to make progress - maybe in your finances and the economy is fighting you. In your health and man, it’s so hard, this time of year, to make changes or find time to get to the gym, or to cut out your favorite craft coffee…we were in Florida over Thanksgiving and we had some good coffee while we were there, at a place we really love, and it would not have been easy to give up good coffee right before heading down south on that trip. What about trying to make progress for God’s glory, doing Kingdom work, maybe in your family, doing family devotions, Christmas and nightly advent devotions seemed like a great idea but some of those kids, they are in opposition to this idea and it’s hard. Trying to keep the neighborhood outreach going, but nobody else is really helping out and it’s just so hard…Okay, you get the picture. We all have times of opposition. But are we making progress in spite of it? Now, not everything that WE decide to work on is something God is going to bless, because sometimes we’re selfish, sometimes we know He wants us to go over here but those people are difficult and so lemme just go on this a way and start doing this other thing, and God won’t You just bless it same as You would if I’d done what You said? There are times we are doing good-ish stuff but it isn’t God-ish stuff, He didn’t ask us to do this, He said to do that. Or we never even asked Him, we just jumped in, started this new thing, it’s way more than we bargained for and we don’t feel like He’s giving us much favor. Gotta talk to Your Father about these things, my friends. And you also have to do what He says, and ideally do it quickly because obedience matters so much. I’ve got something I am going to do this week, and it’s a busy week, getting busier and busier by the second, but it’s gonna get done cuz He said to do it. By the start of next week, I’ll have it done. Because that’s the timeline He’s given me and I’m going to obey. I want His blessing, I want His favor, don’t you? I want progress in spite of opposition. And satan is against us, because we are part of the family of God. So we will have opposition.
In these verses, we see two men who are just on a tear. They are against Nehemiah, they are against all of the Jewish people who are back in Israel doing a rebuilding work. They are not nice or polite in these verses, and they don’t get nicer or politer (that’s not a word, but whatever) as this book continues. Why do we expect the opposition to be nice and tidy and neat and polite and manageable and not so darn mean when we’re dealing with it because we’re obeying the Lord? It’s not nice. It’s not polite. And often, it comes from the back, the sides, the flanks, not head on directly where we can see it coming and get ourselves ready. Nehemiah kept working, alongside many others, and he also prayed that these attacks would be stopped and their attackers dealt with. In verse 13 we find that things got so rough that Nehemiah stationed people around the vulnerable areas and the lowest sections of the walls with swords, spears and bows. He also reminded the people not to be afraid of their enemies, but to remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, as they fought for their countrymen and their families and their homes (see vs. 14). Remember the Lord should inspire us to awe. He is awesome, we ought to be in awe of Him. Every so often, take time to stand in awe, to stand amazed, and to ponder just who this God is that you know and serve and love. Need some courage? That’s one way to find it, and not courage based on others, on yourself, on circumstances. Courage in the Lord.
In chapter four we see that they did the rebuilding work with a trowel in one hand, so yes this is manual labor they were doing, literally rebuilding this wall brick by brick, a trowel is used for brick laying type work, masonry, they had the trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. They were working, they were ready to fight and defend themselves, and they were reliant on God. The end of this chapter says they never removed their weapon, even when washing. This threat was real.
Listen, you may feel pushed on, under a heavy spiritual weight at times. Your threat, your attack, it is also real. It’s okay if you need to do your daily work with one hand a keep your spiritual weapon in the other. Put on the full armor of God, and if you haven’t done that in a while or want to know where that is in the Bible, NT Ephesians chapter 6. Get in the Bible daily. Pray daily, and don’t just give God your list and then sign off, but listen for what He might say to you, how He may answer you. And put on worship music. All these are ways to keep a weapon in your hand. The enemy is real, and he hates Jesus and so he also hates you because you belong to Jesus. Use the weapons God has given you, and don’t feel bad about it. We don’t fight against people, our enemies are in the spiritual realm, remember that. And ask the Lord to protect you and to help you, which is what Nehemiah did.
Jump to chapter 8, and we find the people all gathered together and Ezra, from the last episode we mentioned him, he read the book of the law of Moses from daybreak until noon before the people. Verse 3b says, “All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.”
When you are at church, do you listen attentively or distractedly?
Ya know, I have to say, this is in total honesty, we don’t listen as attentively as we ought to. Lots of reasons for this, most of them you already know and don’t need me to mention. But I will say this: church hurt is real, and some folks are in the church each week, they are there, but they have some hurt from prior experiences and they love Jesus and they love His people, but they have been through some stuff and honestly, I do believe some of the inattentive “listening” we find is linked to this. Keep attending church if this is you. Keep praying, keep reading your Bible, keep listening for the Spirit of the Lord to speak to you, and keep allowing space in your life for God to bring you healing. That’s all I want to say on this issue today, but I don’t think I’m wrong that there are walking wounded in our churches and some of those wounds came from within the body of Christ. Thank you to those who are in church even when you’ve been hurt. I’m glad you’re there!
Ya know, maybe the promise for us from this book, for this episode, is that we can rebuild. We can trust God again. And again. We can serve alongside people, even those who are also rebuilding and recovering from a long, hard season. We don’t have to be perfect, to get better before we show up, we don’t have to hide out and avoid the rebuilding work God has for us to do.
We live in a hurting society where God is being rejected and pushed aside at every turn. There are a thousand areas where we can see rebuilding would be helpful. Ask God if He has a work for you to do, to be part of, to join, in the world in which you live. Your workplace, your family, your church, your neighborhood. And as He leads, you follow. If it’s a work that requires you to build with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, that’s okay. It’s happened before, with success, and God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Who He is does not shift, and we can ask Him to help us and know that He will.
And if you need some part of your life to be rebuilt, would you be brave enough to believe that God cares for you, about that area of your life, so very much that He will do the rebuilding work that needs to be done, in the way He knows is best, in the timeframe that He chooses, and with the means, resources, people and ways that He decides? Sometimes we’ve just been so hurt, we don’t even realize we never asked Him to help us, to heal us, to rebuild. Go ahead and ask. He’s so good, and His love for you knows no bounds. Rebuild in us and through us, Lord! Do what You do best! Thanks for joining me today and I hope you’ll be back next time - I’m so grateful for your time and I am praying you have a blessed, Christ-centered month of December. Lord bless you! Bye bye!
Fig Tree Books & More location infoFig Tree Books & More on InstagramWell hey there! Hello to you today and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, spent time resting and also able to spend time with loved ones, and of course had the chance to express your thankfulness for what God has done and will do in your life. He is good and He acts out of His lovingkindness toward His children, and that is something that we should never stop being thankful for. I really do believe that Christians ought to be the most thankful people on this planet. Thanksgiving is a time to express that thankfulness in all sorts of ways, and I do hope yours was wonderful. I am thankful for you.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by Fig Tree Books & More, located in Branson. If you are planning a trip to the Branson area at any point in the future, I hope you get the chance to swing by Fig Tree Books. You will not regret it, that I can promise you! It’s more than a bookstore, it’s an experience with some of the most rock-solid, Jesus loving believers I have ever met. I’ll have the link to their Instagram here in the show notes as well as a link to their exact address. Fig Tree Books & More, thank you for the work you are doing for the Kingdom, for every prayer you pray with customers, for every product selection you make with such care, for reaching your community and for being a haven for those visiting the Branson area. May the Lord bless you and the work of your hands in ways beyond your wildest imagination. I am thankful for you! This is episode number 167, and today we are looking at the book of Ezra.
The Amplified Bible is what I’ll be referencing for this episode, and I’m going to read a couple of verses from Ezra chapter 7. Verses 9b and 10 say this: …because the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart (resolved) to study and interpret the Law the the LORD, and to practice it and teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Ezra lived in captivity in Babylon, so think about Daniel and his life in Babylon and Nehemiah and his calling to work on rebuilding the Temple at the end of this season of Israel’s captivity. Ezra was alive in this same era. He left Babylon and traveled for months to get to Israel, according to verse 9 of Ezra chapter 7. Months of travel. What do we do for months? Like, what’s worth that to us? Granted this was normal in that day, travel from Iraq (which is modern day Babylon) to Israel just took that long, and it doesn’t take that long today, but it is worth thinking about, this idea of what is worth a long journey for us? And have you considered as of late that you are on a long journey? A journey home, to eternity with Jesus. You are on a long trek, you are a pilgrim on your way to your final destination. We as Christians are, in a way, sort of like Ezra. And the destination is more than worth the long, hard road we walk to get there.
When the Temple was rebuilt at the end of this time of captivity, as we see in Ezra chapter 6, the Temple was completed and dedicated and Passover observed in the homeland of the Jewish people once again, then we move into chapter 7 and we see Ezra making the journey to Jerusalem.
The promise in these verses is that when we, God’s people who bear His name, have the good hand of our God on us (not the heavy hand of the Lord on us, as we find in the Bible at times, but the good hand of our God), we are able to do hard things for His Kingdom and His purposes. Ezra had set his heart to study and interpret the Law, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, the Torah. How about us? Are we set like that? Do we have our hearts set on studying the Bible? It’s easy to answer, yes or no, there is no middle ground or wiggle room on this…the question begs an answer, an immediate and honest one. Is my heart set on studying God’s Word? Yes or no. Can you be brave enough to answer this honestly? And then, be brave enough to ask the Lord to make your heart set upon this, if the answer is no…and make it even more set upon it if the answer is yes? I’m not bagging on anyone, but I am asking an important question that warrants and honest and introspective answer because Jesus held back nothing to save us from death and hell, and He is worth everything, including our hearts set on knowing Him better and better day by day as a result of studying the Bible.
The Amplified says “resolved”. Ezra had set his heart resolved to study and interpret the Law of the Lord. How resolved are we in our study of God’s Word?
Ezra made this long journey to a place that had been decimated and trashed during this terrible exile season in Israel’s history, and at this time it was on the uptick. He was going back home, but to a home that had been broken down alongside a people who had been broken down. Sometimes the journey we make in life is alongside those who have also been broken down. You know, we want those strong leaders to lead us…and I think when we are strong in the Holy Spirit, when we are weak then God is strong in us and through us, that’s good strength. But it doesn’t always look pretty and it isn’t always neat and tidy and polished the way the world tells us our leadership ought to look. Looks don’t seem to matter as much to God as they do to man, to you and to me. Good leadership, chosen and appointed by God, may not look shiny and lovely. Good leadership may be the guy next to you, walking the same path you’re walking, who has answered God’s call to leadership. It may be the lady who is just a few steps beyond you on the road of life, she’s far from perfect and she’s got her hair in a messy bun or a banana clip and she may be walking with a limp…but she’s going where God says to go, following His leading as she obeys His call to lead others. You want leaders who are good followers, who follow Jesus closely and who obey quickly, immediately, because otherwise they’re not fit to lead anybody and they know it. What might happen if that kind of leadership became what we as the Church look for rather than wanting only leaders who look like the world, act like the world, and run the Church like a business, like the world. I have been young and now, I’m getting older and I’ve seen both kinds of leaders. And I know which kind have impacted me the most with the things of the Lord, and it’s not the polished and social media post perfection kind of ones who made real impact. It’s the one just a few steps ahead, been through some stuff in life, and they just keep on loving, serving, trusting, following, obeying and honoring God with the whole of their messed up, messy life.
Ezra may have been somewhat weary before his journey even got started. Anybody else ever feel like that? Lord, I’m so tired from this…and now You are asking me to start this next leg of my race when I’m feeling weary? Sometimes that is how it goes. I’m not against rest, but I think I can honestly say that we can have sabbath rest, resting in Jesus, even while walking the path He’s called us to. How many Bible characters were totally ready for the task God called them to? The blessing came from their obedience. Lack of obedience would not have yielded the same degree of blessing…or likely much blessing at all.
Sometimes we feel weary before the journey begins.
Others were probably weary too, and Ezra as a leader was dealing with his weariness and theirs. It can be hard to lead weary people. Not always, but at times our flesh cries out for ease and after a long season of reign by an oppressor, some happy news may have been pretty appealing. But an honest study of the first five books of the Bible would come with conviction and a real hard and honest look in the mirror. Weary people can want an answer and a solution more than they want to be taught, and Ezra was called in verse 10 to teach Israel what the Bible had to say.
The point here is that Ezra did not have the easy street assignment, and even when he was weary, he still obeyed. That’s the mark of a mature believer. Ezra had a tough role to play, but he did it. Do we want the good hand of God on our lives?
Do we really?
Verse 25 tells us that Ezra was tasked with appointing magistrates and judges in accordance with God’s wisdom and instruction. He was to appoint those who knew the laws of God, and he was told to teach anyone who did not know God’s law.
If hard times come - and I mean hard hard times, not so so hard times, but hard hard times, if those times come, do you realize there may be a special role for you provided you know the Bible well? I’m serious about this! Do you know any part of your Bible well enough to instruct someone about it? Over a cup of coffee, as part of a Bible study group, in a group text of Christian friends. The need may well arise. Are we ready if it does? Because when hard hard times come, people tend to land in one of two camps, and it’s pretty distinct. They either want to know more about God, what the Bible says, how to pray, or they get hard hearted and want to shut God out while blaming Him for everything that has gone wrong. But those that will want to know how to seek and to find the Lord in the hard hard times may need someone to show them the way, to explain the Bible to them, to pray with them. Could that someone be you?
Now these may not seem like promises at first glance, the verses I’m sharing today. But I think they actually are. Can you imagine receiving the call of the Lord to teach people about His word in hard times, in a season that could be considered the tail end of a long spiritual famine?
Church attendance in the United States post COVID has dropped and remained below 50% for the first time since attendance began being tallied or monitored in our country. It’s below and it’s staying below. How’s that for the mark of a spiritual famine? I think we’re in one in the US. It’s also a bit of an indictment on us as a so-called Chrsitian nation. Where will you and I land in this post-Christian era in which we live? Will we be ready to teach others what the Bible says, or fail to be ready? And as far as hard times go, the writing is on the wall, so to speak, when the people in a nation have turned away from, even against, the God of the Bible. We know what happened to such nations in the past. We know from the book of Revelation what will happen to those who deny the Lord God Almighty in the future. And so we understand that in our day, hard times may come, probably will come sooner rather than later.
We also know that persecution grows Jesus’ Church. Hard times drive people to their knees in prayer. And we have this moment, this era, to ready ourselves to serve God in like manner as Ezra when those days come to pass. But only if we know His Word! We cannot teach what we do not know!
In the new year, I’m planning to start sharing monthly Bible reading plans and some pdf Bible study tools and do a weekly study of the psalms in my private prayer group on Facebook, working through all 150 psalms week by week and praying based on what we find in those passages. These are just a couple of ways I hope to encourage people to get in the Word and to learn it, to live it, and to know it well enough to teach it to others. Which is discipleship 101 and Titus 2 ministry in a nutshell.
On my other podcast, The Prayer Podcast, this week I’m going to share and pray from Ezra chapter 8, a prayer for protection that God answered powerfully, you can find this in verses 21-32. And also, side note, on TPP soon we will start a series on the NT book of James and it’s going to be a good prayer series because the book of James brings life change, like, every single time we read it and apply it and study it and believe it and pray that what it says will become our reality. I’d love to have you join us for that series on The Prayer Podcast.
But when we look at Ezra 8, verse 23 from the Amplified, we find this: So we fasted and sought help from our God concerning this matter and He heard our plea. And verse 31 - We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way.
Does God answer prayer? Yes
Does God still in our day and age answer prayer? Yes
Can we really expect Him to help us? Yes
Can we talk to Him about anything and everything, specific matters that concern us and not just high and lofty spiritual things? Yes
Can we do what He is calling us to do and make the impact that He wants us to make (or rather, to allow Him to make the impact He wants to make through us)? Yes
Can we get to our destination safely, protected from marauders, fully able to do what comes next once we get to that place? Yes
Can we ask Him to see us safely all the way home? Yes
More than just a single promise from the book of Ezra, preparing for this episode has shown me that the whole of Ezra, the whole book is God’s promises being fulfilled. It’s proof positive that God keeps His promises, every single one, in perfect detail. And it’s a call to be reconciled to God. Our reconciliation should lead us to trust more. If it doesn’t, are we really reconciled? I’m not fully reconciled to someone if I do not trust them. The two go together. Be reconciled to God and trust Him completely.
Pray to Him and listen for His answer to your prayers.
Be like Ezra.
That’s all for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Thanks for joining me today and don’t forget to check out Fig Tree Books & More when you’re in the Branson area.
See you next time. Bye bye!
2 Chronicles chapters 6 & 7
V 12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. (Is this not a beautiful example of public prayer?) 13b he knelt down on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 and he said, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on the earth, keeping covenant and showing mercy and lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You (in obedience) with all their heart.” (Make note of something here - Solomon is speaking out loud a profound truth, one that changes how we pray and one that we should say out loud to one another, as he did here before all Israel, this is an example of how we should follow the NT admonition to encourage one another all the more as we see that day approaching, and we are seeing the day drawing nearer, for sure…there is no god like the God of Israel, keeping covenant and showing mercy and loving kindness to His servants who walk before Him in obedience with all their heart….are we obedient? Are we obedient with all our heart? If so, we ought to expect to be on the receiving end of this promise, and it is a promise, this is part of God’s character and He cannot be otherwise, so it is a promise to us, because what God does for us is tied closely to who He is, and He can never be less than fully God, always faithful, keeping every promise, keeping covenant - in the present tense, right now…He will show us mercy. And believe me you, His mercy toward us is remarkable, we want it, we need it, so let’s walk before the Lord in obedience.)
Ch 7, v 1-3 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the (Shekinah) glory and brilliance of the LORD filled the house. The priests could not enter the house of the LORD because the glory and brilliance of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house. When all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down and saw the glory and brilliance of the LORD upon the house, they bowed down on the stone pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and praised the LORD, saying, “For He is good, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.”
(What can we learn from this? Well, when God shows up and shows out, His people know it. Or at least, they ought to know it! Do we ever miss it because we are looking for something else? Maybe we’ve put God in a box in some manner, and we aren’t expecting this because our expectation is for that, and we miss it. But can you imagine not seeing this event? The sacrifice Solomon made after God’s glory was put on display, per the next couple of verses, was 22000 oxen and 120000 sheep. Wow! You ever made a sacrifice like that? It cost you something, it wasn’t your leftovers or the extra you have lying around, but it came at a cost and you were thrilled to give it to the Lord? If not, I hope you get that opportunity. Sooner rather than later, because there’s nothing quite like it.
A little later in chapter 7, the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and told him some things. Vs 13 and 14, and remember this is God speaking. “If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence and plague among My people, and my people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear (them) from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.” That’s a direct quote from the Bible, the very words of God. Do we believe this? Do we do this? Do we even really know how to humble ourselves before Him? Have we ever done that? I know I’m being a bit frank here, but if we can’t be nothing else, can’t we at least be frank? Particularly when it comes to the word of God? Let’s be frank about it - it says what it says, and here it says God’s people need to humble themselves when hard times come on their land. Yes, this is to Israel. And yes, I think we can, and should, apply it to the NT grafted in big C church. We have problems in America. We have sin problems in our country. It does not say that everyone, those who don’t know the Lord, don’t want to know the Lord, are from differing religions, atheists, and so on, that they must humble themselves and pray and seek and crave God’s face as a requirement and necessity…it says His people. That’s you and that's me. Do you require as a necessity, you cannot do without it, God’s face? And do you and I really turn from our wicked ways? Again, we can’t only expect the lost, who don’t follow Jesus, who have not experienced Christ revealed to them, as it talks about in the book of Hebrews, expect them to turn from their wicked ways. The implication here is that God’s people can indeed have wicked ways and He wants His people to turn from those wicked ways. Turn away, put it behind your back, literally turn your back on the wicked ways in your life. Don’t know what those are, on a personal level? Easy way to find out. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any wickedness in your heart, your mind, your life. He’ll answer that prayer, and then you need to turn your back on what He reveals. Spoiler alert: it will be different than you think it will be, what He reveals, and you may have to really make the decision to turn on it, to be done with it, to crucify your flesh in that part of your life. Couple of areas I’ll mention that can be controversial in the Church…worship of our children. Misuse of our time, the most precious commodity God gives us and one that cannot be reclaimed once it is squandered. Being afraid to look enough like Jesus that the world sees us as a peculiar people. Just a few things that come to mind, to give you kind of an example of what the Lord may reveal to you if you are brave enough to pray and ask Him what your own wicked ways are in His eyes. And that’s what matters, what He says, above all and over all and beyond all else. I cannot do anything outside of pray for other people and their messes. But regarding my own? I can yield to the Lord day by day and see Him make a molehill out of my mountain. And He gets all the glory.
I’m going to wrap up this episode and also, quick fyi, I will be out of town for over a week before and during Thanksgiving, so there may be a couple of extra days before episode number 167 releases. But I plan to share a couple of links from earlier episodes, take those out of the vault, and I’ll be sharing that on social media. So watch for those posts on IG and X (Twitter, whatever) and FB.
And I’ll see ya back here after Thanksgiving! Bye bye.
Nice by Shannon Hodde Miller
1 Chronicles 4:10 NLT -
He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.
1 Chronicles 16:25-27 NLT -
25 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
26 The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
27 Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and joy fill his dwelling.
1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT -
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
- In a world where we have no idea what news could drop tomorrow or what is going to pop off next, Jabez's bold prayer can bring us comfort, bolster our faith, & remind us that our hope in the Lord is never misplaced.
- For those of us who bear the name of the Lord as Christians, representing Him here on earth comes with a measure of responsibility & sobriety. Let's opt to live honorable lives, as Jabez did.
- Ask yourself, "Am I truly honoring my Lord? And am I brave enough to pray the way Jabez prayed?"
- Take time to pause and give the Lord praise on a regular basis. Dig deep and spend time considering new things to thank Him and praise Him for.
- God is to be feared above all else. do we actually fear Him? Or do we have more of a "so-so" kind of fear of the Lord?
- Our fear of the Lord is proven or disproven in our hourly, daily, weekly, yearly decisions, thoughts, actions, choices, attitudes & behaviors. God is to be feared - and this is not a suggestion.
- Strength & joy fill His dwelling. We can, and should, rely on His strength that is over all else, and take part in His joy (which we are told in the book of Nehemiah is our strength). A joyless life is a strengthless life for the follower of Jesus.
- His majesty is always surrounding Him. It never departs from His presence. Do we stand in awe of the majesty of God?
- Be sure to give thanks to the Lord - for He is good!
- And be assured of this promise: God's faithful love toward YOU endures ... for how long? FOREVER~
My Savvy Design on Etsy
Well hey there, hello to ya today. Thanks for joining me for this episode and today we are looking at the book of 2 Kings from the Old Testament. Just to get us all on the same page about this book, in 1 Kings the life of the prophet Elijah takes place, filled with remarkable events and it shows his life in total honesty, which is something the Bible always does and should be a comfort to us in our daily messes and also remind us not to be too judgey-judegey of people in the middle of their messes (point them to Jesus, offer them the hope we find in Christ, pray for them, speak life and truth based on the Word of God, and sometimes let the Lord do what He alone is able to do in their life, because He is so faithful and so trustworthy…do those things, working to make heaven crowded, but doing it with humility cuz we all need Jesus, nobody is exempt from that great need.) In 2 Kings, we will see the end of Elijah’s life and see Elisha step onto the scene.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Normally there is a sponsor for the show, but today I’d like to share about something more close to home and dear to my heart - my daughter Savanna’s Etsy Shoppe. She has some trendy and fun designs in her Christian store and I’ve got to share it with you because her stuff is just beyond amazing. Her clients love her work as a graphic designer, and I think you will love her work, too. Click the link to her Etsy in the show notes and show her some love, cuz she’s pretty terrific. And she didn’t know I was going to feature her on this episode, so this is a surprise for her! Thanks for blessing her! This is episode number 164.
So, we find Elijah in the book of 2 Kings. The one and only.
Followed by the life of Elisha, also the one and only.
Elisha is successor to Elijah, but he for sure was not one to lag behind, to dawdle, to live a lackluster life of service to God. Nope. Elisha followed suit.
Both these men are inspiring in the sense that they encourage us to go all in with the Lord and give us comfort that even the “greats” in the Bible were dealing with the reality of their own humanness as well as the fallen men of society around them…
I think that is a fitting description of the life of a follower of Jesus, isn’t it? We have our own issues that we are dealing with, and by dealing with I mean taking to the cross and leaving them there, seeking the Holy Spirit to heal and guide and deliver and protect and do what only He can do in us, for us, through us. All the while there is a lost and hurting world filled with people that we really want to love well, to be ambassadors of Christ to, and yet at times it is just plain hard because the people part of people makes it tricky sometimes, doesn’t it?
So if living in this current world combined with a deep longing to live fully for the Lord is something that you strive toward (and by strive I actually mean abide toward, since we only have power when we abide in Jesus, the True Vine), then this one’s for you today, my friend.
Now, let’s say that you feel like you can’t be an Elijah of sorts in this day and age. It’s not the same (and it’s not, that’s true…but it’s also not as different as you might think…). That’s okay if you land in that camp because 2 Kings has got you covered. The lives of these two men hold a lot for us, no matter if we want to emulate them or want to just get through the day. The word of God is living and active, it says in Hebrews, and that means it is still speaking to us today…and there is something God’s word has to say to you. Isn’t He good to give us a living Savior and a living Bible and prayer that allows us to enter into His throne room of grace to seek, and receive, help when we need it?
Before I read a few verses for this episode, can I just mention one more thing? Many of us know more about Elijah than we do about Elisha, and so we may have decided that we don’t have the tenacity to be an Elijah in our day. If that’s you, no worries! That’s okay! But I will say that if God chose to take somebody from their regular job and place a calling on their life, would you be willing to respond to that call if the one He called was you?
And one more thing to make mention of - are you willing not only to ask for a big blessing, but also be willing to walk out the life that comes with that big blessing?
Just a couple of questions for you to think about!
I’m going to read 2 Kings chapter 2, verses 1-14 from the Amplified.
When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now the [a]sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].” 6 Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood opposite them [to watch] at a distance; and the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his mantle (coat) and rolled it up and struck the waters, and they were divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double [b]portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked for a difficult thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 As they continued along and talked, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire [appeared suddenly and] separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he no longer saw Elijah. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces [in grief]. 13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell off him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he too had struck the waters, they divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over.
The prophet Elijah’s exit from Israel, from the planet earth, was amazing, wasn’t it? Truly an epic event in the history of mankind. Elisha saw it happen with his own eyes because he really desired to be there when this took place. He didn’t want to see Elijah go, per se, we know that to be true based on the text found in chapter 2 of 2 Kings. But he did know this event, the time Elijah was to go and be with the Lord, was upon them and he simply did not want to not be there, in spite of the grief he would experience (remember in verse 12 when he took his clothes and tore them into two pieces in grief - Elisha did not rejoice or celebrate this moment…but even in his grief, he made sure to be there for this moment… Can you relate to that at all? Doing the thing that’s hardest to do even in the midst of your grief?)
He opted to follow Elijah closely throughout this day so that he wouldn’t miss Elijah being taken. Also, isn’t that beautiful? Now of course Elijah did not die when he was taken via a chariot of fire to be with the Lord, but it still is a beautiful way to look at the end of a life on earth for a Christian. Just being taken. I really love that!
He followed closely and he didn’t miss it. Even though it would bring grief, Elisha stayed close to Elijah. Sometimes we hang back when we should stay close. Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother, so even when it’s hard to deal with the things that grieve us, we’ve not alone. He is close. Close enough to collect our tears in a bottle. Don’t hang back when you know God wants you to stay close.
Elisha followed and followed and followed all over the place so he would be there when Elijah was taken. And in verse 9 Elijah asked him what he should do for him before being taken from him. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit. A difficult thing is how Elijah described this request! And what he asked for was what he received. The double portion he asked for is exactly what he got.
And when he turned back and returned the way they had both come, it was time for him to step into the new role that came with the double portion blessing he’d asked for.
Sometimes we ask for things and we just don’t really think beyond it. Not really. We know what we want, and we ask for it, and that’s oftentimes where our thinking has stopped. We have put it in park at that point, receiving what we want…but in reality, getting what we ask for may be the moment we need to put the car into drive or overdrive and get moving. A responsibility came into Elisha’s life when this request was granted. He was now the leader of the prophets and the hardships of leading and teaching, the actual work of being a prophet in this leadership role, on the heels of Elijah no less, that’s a tall order. Who can fill those shoes? Thankfully, God only called Elisha to be himself in this role, not a 2.0 version of his predecessor. And thankfully, that’s what God requires of us as well. You don’t need to be anybody else, there is no need for any 2.0 upgrades when God made each one of us unique and individual in the exact way that only He can.
But I want you to consider if perhaps you’ve asked for something, prayed about it, and gotten what you requested…and then have simply stopped. Hit pause. Put it in park. Things are now on hold. You’re living in the pause rather than living your life out in the way that the Lord wants you to.
Elisha had to go back the way he had come, but go back in a new role with this new mantle. And he had to be about this new role under this new mantle for the rest of his days. Do you think it was always easy for him? And do you and I ever avoid putting it back into drive and moving forward simply because we know it’s not gonna be easy? What if the answered prayer God provided was not just for us to hold on to and do nothing with…what if God has something for us to do with those answered requests? What then? Can we buckle up and get going and not give in to laziness, procrastination, or fear? Ever feel like it is just plain hard to live out the daily reality of that thing you prayed for - I guess that’s the real question I am asking. And if so, can you believe the overarching hope the Bible gives you that every promise of God will prove true for you, they are all yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord - can you believe the promise God gives to be with you, never to leave you nor forsake you? And can you do the thing He wants you to do, trusting fully in His goodness and faithfulness toward you? Or will you remain in that place where it’s just so hard that you don’t want to move on.
God has this thing for you - you prayed for it and put some skin in the game by faith as you asked Him for it again and again perhaps, like this was a prayer that you kept praying, not a one time prayer, but it was on your prayer list for a while. Now the answer has come and it’s go time and while you thought the great act of faith was what it took to ask and keep on asking in prayer…but now you see that it will take a great act of faith to step out into what this answered prayer holds for your life. It’s here! Finally! God answered my prayer! I’m thankful, I’m rejoicing, I’m overwhelmed and undone by His goodness toward me! And now, the journey has just begun.
Am I only talking to myself today or can anybody else relate? Has anyone else ever felt like they had to lean so hard on the Lord and choose to daily believe His promises yet again, totally by faith, as a response to answered prayers? That new mom who prayed as she battled fertility issues…now the newborn is here and wowza, this answered prayer is just the start of a new journey. The job with the amazing promotion and the best coworkers who are on the next level is now taking a lot of faith as you learn the ropes and bump up against things you’ve never dealt with before. The ministry you prayed about for so long is here, the opportunity has arrived and now you have to add your preparedness to that opportunity and do some things that are super hard in order to advance the Kingdom of God in this new ministry that the Lord has entrusted you with. Anybody?
When you feel like asking, “Well, what now?” I would say that the answer to the question what now is this: put your new mantle on, that’s what now.
If you know Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit within you. He will equip you, not ditch you. He’ll lead and guide you, not abandon you. The New Testament says the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is a work in us, it dwells in us. That’s ample power for what this new mantle, this answered prayer, will demand of you.
Don’t make the mistake of looking back at your former life, before the prayer was answered, looking back wishing you could go back there, wishing you had never stepped out and asked big and leveled up.
Listen - insecurity is normal for all of us when we are in new situations. When we are changing life roles. When a big prayer gets answered in a big way. But insecurity can be a signal for us - a signal that you are being grown, being stretched, in your faith and in your maturity in Christ. Insecurity does not have to have the last word. It can be a laser pointer letting us know that in this exact spot, right there where you’re feeling really out of your depth and vulnerable and the new kid on the block, right there is the place God is simply maturing you and where you can expect His strength to come in hot in the midst of your weakness. That’s all it is.
So, yield to the Spirit of the Lord. Do the next thing, and then the next. Don’t make the mistake of looking back at the former things, because the Lord wants us to behold Him doing a new thing. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings. Rejoice in what God is just getting started in your life! It’s a gift, this answered prayer, and hey…if you are listening today and you’re in the middle of some long time praying and now you’re like, huh, well if there is gonna be a lot of new faith required when God answers, maybe I’ll stop asking. I suppose you could do that and just stop. Stay stagnant, remain where you are, do nothing new. But wouldn’t you rather live the adventure that is your life when walking by the Spirit with your Good Shepherd guiding you, to the glory of your Father? (The answer is yes, btw…there is no alternative answer.)
Don’t stop now. Don’t go backward, cuz that’s like reverse potty training and yeah, that’s not a good plan.
Are you called to live like Elijah or like Elisha in your generation? Like Barnabas or Lydia? Like Ruth or Esther or Mordecai or like Joseph in Egypt or like Peter, moving forward even after heartbreaking, gut wrenching failure? Honestly, yes, you probably are called to live like the Bible characters…because you are a child of God, and so you are called to live like one. You’re called to be a disciple and to make disciples, to live a life of discipleship on both fronts, like a two front war. Your own discipleship and investing in others. Don’t stop now. Go and tell about Jesus and live your life for Him. He’s worth it! In eternity, you’ll never regret so much as one second spent for the Lord and His purposes and His glory and honor. The promise of 2 Kings is the all-encompassing promise of Elisha’s life. So please, don’t stop now!
Thanks for joining me on the podcast today - I’m super grateful for you and honored to have you as a listener. And the link to my daughter’s Etsy shoppe with Christian themed encouraging and super cute and modern items like tees, coffee mugs, journals, hoodies, etc is in the show notes. I’ll see ya next time! Bye bye.
Free access to the ROAR Marketing Conference - What's So Holy About the Hustle?
Jan's Speaker Request Form
Well hey there, hello to ya today. Hope you are blessed beyond measure (and I actually do mean blessed BEYOND your ability to measure all the blessings from the Lord to you). Today we are continuing to look at a promise from each and every book in the Bible. And we have made it to the book of 1 Kings. (Remember the kids' songs … 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles…that’s all the first and seconds.) 1 Kings is our landing spot today. Sometimes I think of podcasts or Sunday morning sermons or reading a chapter of a Christian book that aims to make me a better disciple of Jesus, I sort of think of them like I’m on a plane headed to my final destination (which is eternity with the Lord, right?) and the plane lands but I don’t disembark, I stay on the plane for a refuel and then take off again for the next leg of this journey home. I hope this podcast is like a bit of a refuel for you, and that you are, as much as possible, enjoying this journey home with the Lord. He’s a trustworthy pilot and I believe He wants you to experience the full depth of His love (even though it is impossible to fully know it, said the apostle Paul) but to know the depth of it as much as possible on this journey home where you get to live out, day by day, the Lord’s unique calling on your life. My prayer is that this refuel blesses you, not because of me, but because of the Lord Jesus and His tremendous love for you.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This episode is sponsored by the ROAR Virtual Marketing Conference. If you may be interested in speaking or podcasting from a Christian perspective, this conference may be just what you’re looking for. Grab access to the conference at the link above, and make note of the fact that there are paid options as well as a free ticket option. It’s happening soon, in mid-October, so don’t delay! I’ll see ya there! Now, on with the show. This is episode # 163.
1 Kings 8:56 from the Amplified reads this way:
Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, in accordance with everything that He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke through Moses His servant.
These are the words of Solomon during his benediction, which is part of the Scripture portion where he dedicated the newly completed temple. It’s a wonderful chapter, all of 1 Kings 8, and marks a beautiful moment in the history of Israel.
This verse seemed like the right one to talk about on the podcast today because it reassures us that the same God who kept His every promise to Israel, in total accordance with everything He promised through Moses, is the same God who keeps His every promise to us. And we know that all God’s promises are yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord, as it says in 2 Corinthians 1:20.
We can read the Old Testament and discover mountains of hope and assurance…or we can skim read it or skip it altogether and think that there is a vast sea of separation between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament.
But what happens when we choose to believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever? That there is no shadow of turning with Him?
How do we think then? And how do we live day by day as a result of that thinking?
Can we say, like Solomon did, blessed be the Lord? Can you right now, in this very moment and this exact place in your life, say blessed be the Lord! Helpful hint for ya today: you most certainly can, and you most certainly should.
Choose to believe that God is going to keep every promise He has made. To you. And as a result of your choice to believe that (even if you don’t feel like it’s true…we don’t all feel it all the time…belief is sort of like love in that it is a continual choice…you are normal if you have to choose to believe today and then choose to believe again tomorrow…) When we choose to believe that God is a perfect keeper of all His promises, then we can say, blessed be the Lord, and we’ll mean it. We mean it when we say that out of a place of belief, because the place of belief really is the place of trust.
And I’d like to note what Solomon said after he stated, “Blessed be the Lord.” It goes on to say, who has given rest to His people. In accordance with everything that He promised.
Isn’t that awesome?
Rest comes for us as part of God keeping His promises to us.
Rest.
If you feel weary today, and need rest, my prayer is that you will have what you need, straight from God. In whatever way best blesses you and brings Him glory, may He grant you rest and more rest and then some more rest. It may not come in the form of a nap, but God can give us rest in our inner being and renew and refresh us and give us renewed strength….may your strength be renewed like the eagle, as it says in Psalm 103:5.
Keep Your promises to the one listening to this podcast today, Lord, and give them rest that is perfect for them right now in this season of their life. Provide all that they need, and be glorified in this time of rest.
God knows just what He has promised to you. And He knows how to keep every bit of those promises to you.
It can be hard when we feel a bit stuck in the in-between. We know we’ve been given a promise, but it hasn’t come to pass yet, and we have needs and hopes and we are feeling like maybe we missed it…did we do something wrong? What’s going on, Lord? What’s up with this? (ever have a prayer time that sounds like that…your prayer is, I don’t know what’s going on and I sure hope I didn’t miss something…)
Those are the moments when it is hardest to hang on to belief, which is also hanging on to our trust.
Those are also the moments that can be real faith stretchers for us.
Faith that is untested is no faith at all. I’ve read that somewhere and I’m not sure who to attribute that quote to, but it’s a good one.
Faith that is untested is no faith at all.
We don’t need a flashlight at high noon in Tucson on a sunny summer day.
And we don’t need faith if life is constantly giving us nothing but ease.
If you are experiencing a moment of faith stretching, can I read today’s verse once more as a rock solid reminder that God will, absolutely and with utter perfection and precision, keep His promises? One of those promises is that He will never leave you nor forsake you, and I think that may be a promise that somebody needs to hold onto today…your God who loves you beyond measure or comprehension WILL NEVER leave you nor forsake you. You are chosen, not forsaken. You are His beloved. You are loved by the God who spoke the world into existence.
1 Kings 8:56 - Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, in accordance with everything He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He spoke through Moses His servant.
Not one word failed.
Not one word will ever fail.
All God’s good promise, which He has given us via the Bible, all of God’s good promise is unfailing and infallible. It’s certain, and it cannot fail. God’s promises are inerrant.
And not one word of God’s good promise to you will fail. Ever.
Choose belief today, even in, maybe especially in, those hard places, those faith stretching spots, and when it’s not high noon in Tucson and you need no faith.
Take heart, and remember that in this world you will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world. The words Solomon spoke in 1 Kings 8 during the dedication of the first temple are an encouraging reminder of the truth about God and His promises to us as we look toward the soon building of the third temple in Jerusalem. True, true, ever always true…God’s promises are true for you.
Thanks so much for joining me today, and hey, I haven’t asked in a while so I’ll ask today. If you are encouraged by The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, I’d be super grateful for a review or a rating or a share of the show. And if you have a women's ministry event coming up, or a moms event, or maybe even an online event, like a summit or conference, and you are looking for a speaker, I’d be honored to be in the mix, to be considered for those events. I’ve got a link in the show notes to a Google form - click that or pass it along to the women’s ministry leader if that might be helpful. Have a blessed rest of your day…a blessed week, and I’m praying that you have all the rest you need and receive an outpouring of God’s favor, grace and tremendous love today. See ya next time. Bye bye.
Well hey there, hello to ya and welcome to this episode. Today we will be taking a look at 2 Samuel, studying the word of God to find out what it has to say to us right here, right now, today, in the very place we find ourselves. There is no part of your life that God is careless about. He cares, and His care runs deep. And today, we’re going to see heartbreak versus loyalty within the pages of our Bible. I’m so glad you’re here!
ROAR Virtual Marketing Conference Link
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by the third annual ROAR Virtual Marketing Conference (happening online October 12-14, 2023…if you are a writer, speaker, podcaster, in some type of ministry or are thinking about beginning a podcast or hosting an online summit or other event, in women’s ministry perhaps, this event could be just the thing you’ve been looking for. I’ll be attending and it is something I am very excited about.) For information or to register just click the link in the show notes, or go to roarmarketingconference.com ROAR marketing conference dot com. Seriously, if you’re looking for marketing info from a Christian perspective, you gotta check it out. Now, on with the show! This is episode number 162.
Way, way back in the earliest episodes of this podcast, I remember mentioning that people’s last words are often chosen carefully and are paid close attention to. When we know someone is sharing their last words, we listen much more closely and with greater intention than our normal state of listening. Which is kind of like listening…kind of? With a question mark more than a period, if we’re honest. And sometimes we just don’t know that the words someone is sharing are their final ones, and when we don’t know, then we don’t know to listen closely.
Chapter 23 of 2 Samuel contains David’s last words.
When it came to this remarkable king, this man after God’s own heart, do you think those around him and those within his kingdom and even those outside of his kingdom whom he had influenced and impacted, do you think they listened to what he had to say? How much weight do you imagine David’s last words carried?
In a handful of verses from the pages of my Bible, the life of arguably one of the most well-known and admired figures from God’s word comes to a close.
I’m reading from the NLT today.
2 Samuel, chapter 23 -
These are the last words of David:
“David, the son of Jesse, speaks—
David, the man who was raised up so high,
David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
David, the sweet psalmist of Israel.[a]
2
“The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me;
his words are upon my tongue.
3
The God of Israel spoke.
The Rock of Israel said to me:
‘The one who rules righteously,
who rules in the fear of God,
4
is like the light of morning at sunrise,
like a morning without clouds,
like the gleaming of the sun
on new grass after rain.’
5
“Is it not my family God has chosen?
Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me.
His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail.
He will ensure my safety and success.
6
But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away,
for they tear the hand that touches them.
7
One must use iron tools to chop them down;
they will be totally consumed by fire.”
(David knew who he was, as indicated by what was just read. He knew how greatly the Lord had blessed him. He knew the Spirit of the Lord spoke through him. And he knew the difference between the godly and the godless. These really are lovely words to speak at the end of your days.) Continuing in chapter 23 -
David’s Mightiest Warriors8 These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite,[b] who was leader of the Three[c]—the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle.[d]
9 Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. 10 He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!
11 Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, 12 but Shammah[e] held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. 14 David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.
15 David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” 16 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. 17 “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men[f] who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.
(Remarkable! The battles these three, David’s top three warriors among his thirty mighty men, the mighty men of David, doing exploits that leave us astounded and wondering, “How can this be true?” And yet, true it is. Let God be true and every man a liar - His word is true. These things really did happen. What about you? What great exploits can you do for the kingdom of your God? Are you a prayer warrior? Then do it with all your heart, working as unto the Lord, expecting great results and powerful answers to those prayers. Never stop praying - never stop seeking the Lord’s will to be done right here on earth just as it is in heaven. And one day, your faith will become sight and you’ll find out how your prayers impacted people for all eternity. There is no doubt that a praying man or woman holds great sway in the Lord’s throne room of grace, where we boldly approach His throne to obtain grace and mercy in our time of need. When He looks, does He find one who stands in the gap? Who intercedes for others? Are you that one? Don’t stop praying. Never stop praying.)
David’s Thirty Mighty Men18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty.[g] He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three. 19 Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty[h] and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.
20 There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior[i] from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions[j] of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. 21 Once, armed only with a club, he killed an imposing Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. 22 Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors. 23 He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.
24 Other members of the Thirty included:
Asahel, Joab’s brother;
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem;
25
Shammah from Harod;
Elika from Harod;
26
Helez from Pelon[k];
Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa;
27
Abiezer from Anathoth;
Sibbecai[l] from Hushah;
28
Zalmon from Ahoah;
Maharai from Netophah;
29
Heled[m] son of Baanah from Netophah;
Ithai[n] son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin);
30
Benaiah from Pirathon;
Hurai[o] from Nahale-gaash[p];
31
Abi-albon from Arabah;
Azmaveth from Bahurim;
32
Eliahba from Shaalbon;
the sons of Jashen;
Jonathan 33 son of Shagee[q] from Harar;
Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar;
34
Eliphelet son of Ahasbai from Maacah;
Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh;
35
Hezro from Carmel;
Paarai from Arba;
36
Igal son of Nathan from Zobah;
Bani from Gad;
37
Zelek from Ammon;
Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;
38
Ira from Jattir;
Gareb from Jattir;
39
Uriah the Hittite.
There were thirty-seven in all.
(That was a list of names. Why is that important? Because you’re important to the Lord. Important enough that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Reading a list like this reminds us that people matter so very much to our God. And that means everyone you encounter matters to God. He cares about them, He cares about what happens to them, He cares where they spend eternity. And while I butchered some of those for sure, there were some tough ones on that list, God never gets our name wrong. He knows who you are. He knows where you are. And He knows where you fall in history. You matter, your place matters, and you are not forgotten. Your name is on a list, and once it’s written there it cannot be erased because the precious blood of Jesus bought you with a price. And if you don’t know that your name is written in Jesus’ Book of Life, you can know it immediately by praying by faith for Jesus to forgive your sins, by accepting His payment on the cross as the full payment for all your sins, and then give your life to Him fully and completely. If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved - that’s Romans 10:9 and it is God's honest truth. You can know immediately that your name is written in the book of life, and when the roll is called up yonder, you’ll be there.)
Can I mention that this chapter ends with the mention of Uriah the Hittite. There’s a story there, one of heroism on Uriah’s part and great heartbreak as well. Godly people really do ungodly things sometimes, as was the case with the death of Uriah as ordered by King David. One of his mighty men, as listed here. When you have an in-the-spotlight kind of life, as David certainly did, there is added possibility of great heartbreaks. Is it fair? Well, I suppose life isn’t fair, honestly. And so, if you are in some sort of a spotlight type of role, be sure to pray and ask the Lord to give you discernment, conviction, grace, compassion, empathy, wisdom and His protection in that role. That is a prayer you won’t ever regret taking time to pray.
And you know, for those of us living a “small” life, not one in the spotlight, just kind of normal (which we may feel is boring, but normal or small does not have to equate to boring!) - a small life may just be good for you. A blessing from the Lord. Don’t assume that a small life, a small ministry, a small role is a curse. I’m very serious when I say it may be the biggest blessing you never knew you had. In the spotlight, it gets warm. The spotlight is the hot light. And it can be so very hard. There is no shame in a small life lived well for God’s glory, for a small ministry that serves others and honors the King of kings. Maybe social media says it’s not big enough to be good enough. But that’s not what God says, and His opinion really is the only opinion that matters since it’s the only opinion that will stand at the end of all time. Uriah’s life was cut far too short, and it serves as an example for us to daily rely on the Holy Spirit.
So today we’re back to our series, Every Book A Promise, and here we are in 1 Samuel.
You know, I first thought we’d look at the life of Hannah and her son Samuel, because it’s beautiful and encouraging and just causes hope to spring forth.
But as I prayed over this episode, I landed on chapter 8.
In the Amplified, this chapter has a header title - Israel Demands A King.
Sometimes the results of the things we want the most are not so great.
And it’s really critical to yield to the Lord, to let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do in us and through us, and not just fight for our own way. The work of yielding is, at times, hard work. It takes effort on our part to bend the knee to the Lord, and let Him have His way fully and completely, while we choose to trust Him even when we know that our own desires may need to be placed on the altar, given fully to Him, and we step back and choose trust and gratitude and ask Him to give us a heart that wants what He wants for us. His ways are best, and what He chooses for us is best…but boy, it can be hard to get to the place of accepting that and yielding to His will when we really really want some certain thing.
Here we find the nation of Israel in 1 Samuel chapter 8.
Israel demands a king.
Samuel was a prophet, and in this chapter we find him older, verse one says Samuel was old, and he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. Verse 3 tells us that his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. Now that’s a sad, sad result. Those boys were not like their daddy. Isn’t that just so sad?
Verse 4 says the elders of Israel went to see Samuel and just told him, Hey, you’ve gotten old and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now give us a king, appoint a king over us to judge us and rule over us. Like all the other nations. (verse 5)
When we want to be like the crowd, like they have over there, and they have this and everybody else has it and is doing it this way, so that’s what I want too, that can be a sign that we’re on the wrong path, the wrong track. Cuz usually when everybody is doing some certain thing, it’s likely not honoring the Lord. What the world does, well, that doesn’t look like the Kingdom of God. Let’s put it that way. When, say, your kids want to do what everybody else is doing, do you just say yes, sure, go for it, I don’t care what you do, go on, be like everybody. Be a photocopy of the world. UHHH, ya probably don’t react that way.
And God doesn’t want us, His people, His Church, to look and act and demand the things of the world. Our citizenship is in heaven, it says in Philippians 3:20, so we’re here but as ambassadors, not as citizens. Pilgrims. Just passing through.
Now here’s what it sort of takes a turn as far as what we might expect God’s response to be. In verse 7 the Lord tells Samuel that the people hadn’t rejected him, but had rejected God from being King over them. Verse 9 from the Amplified says this, and this is God speaking to Samuel here: “So now listen to their voice, only solemnly warn them and tell them the ways of the king who will reign over them.”
That’s a powerful verse.
God’s response to being rejected by the people He’d rescued out of Egypt and given this nation to, like He made them into a nation, and His response to being rejected as their King was to let them have what they’re demanding but to warn them solemnly and tell them what is going to be life under a king. The king will reign over them, because that’s what kings do.
Verses 10-18 provide the record of Samuel’s warning to the people. The king will take your sons for these tasks and your daughters for these other tasks, and he will take the best of your fields and vineyards and your olive groves and your grain and your donkeys and your flocks and you will be his servants, and then one day you’re going to cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you on that day because you have rejected Him as King.
There is a twofold promise in chapter 8.
A promise of living with the result of what you demand, and by this I mean any area of life that we reject God’s Lordship and Kingship over, we can’t demand what we want, reject His reign and rule, and then expect Him to make it all right in the snap of a finger when we realize we don’t like the results of that which we demanded from God. (Now I believe per the New Testament there is grace but that comes with repentance, and that’s not always a theme that folks in the Church like to hear about. Often churchy people don’t like to repent. We like the grace, we like the forgiveness, but it’s kind of goes with repenting, doesn’t it?)
In the end, the people got their king. Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin.
And God did a profound work down through the lineage of the next king, David.
God gets done what He aims to get done, and we don’t really have the power to thwart His eternal plans…because guess what? He knows every word we speak before it is formed on our tongues so says Psalm 139:4.
So we don’t mess up and trash and thrash His eternal plans. We are created, He is the Creator, and we don’t have the power to ruin what He wills to be accomplished. But that’s not an excuse to demand our own way. It should be a warning that we don’t understand the holiness of God the way that we ought to.
God’s holiness reminds me that I should trust Him fully and serve Him honorably and repent when I find myself demanding my own way.
And when He solemnly gives me a warning about what will happen if He gives me that which I am pining and whining for…do I listen, or do I say, “Yeah yeah, just give it to me.”
So what’s the positive promise here?
That we can listen and heed and be blessed beyond measure, if we have ears to hear and hearts to understand. If we yield. If we say, “Not my will, but Yours be done in this area, in this part of my life, where I really want this, but Your will, not mine.” There’s a blessing to be had in those moments of yielding, a blessing that may well be unique to those situations.
You know, kings like the one they were demanding in 1 Samuel chapter 8, kings recruit. That’s evidenced clearly in this passage. He’ll take this, he’ll take that, he’ll take the other, and then he’ll take even more. Kings recruit. Sometimes people in other positions of leadership recruit.
But God, He doesn’t treat us like recruits, like a mass of numbers, because that’s not very personal or loving. Your God is so personal. Your God loves you so incredibly much. Isn’t that the reality of John 3:16 and 17? For God SO loved. That tiny word SO is awfully important, it packs a huge punch and gives us a mighty big glimpse into the heart of our Father.
God will have assignments for you, tasks that fit into what Paul told us about in Ephesians, good works created in advance for you to do. I think that’s in chapter two of Ephesians. Super encouraging chapter, by the way, Ephesians 2. And 3. Well, the whole book…who am I kidding, it’s powerful and man you need a boost about your life and if you matter in the whole scheme of things? Read Epheisans. It’ll boost ya!
Being recruited feels so very different than being granted a Kingdom assignment straight from the God who SO loves you.
No comparison between the two.
Man recruits. God assigns out of the depths of His great and unending love.
One feels heavy and burdensome and wearying. The other brings joy and nearness to the Lord and fits us. Like a cookie back in the shape of the cutter, ya know? Okay, this fits me exactly and perfectly, this is the cloth I was cut from, wow oh wow, this is not heavy and cumbersome and awkward. It fits. And feels like a gift even as I do the work of it.
Does that kind of make sense as a distinction? Recruit vs assign.
Yield to Him, ask Him for His assignments, the good works He has planned for you to be doing, and enjoy the truth that you are SO loved by your King. The promise of 1 Samuel for this series on the podcast is basically this: you will never regret yielding to your one true King rather than demanding what you want, and you will be blessed by the God who SO loves you each and every time you say, “Not my will, Lord, but Your will be done.”
Well hello again, and thanks for listening to this special PART TWO episode of the podcast.
In this episode I'm reading the chapter of Matthew 24 from the New Living Translation and encouraging you to be attentive and to be about the Lord's business. He loves us too much to pull His punches in His word, and this chapter has a whole lot for us to know about in order to live well for His Kingdom and His honor.
And as a little side note, my new podcast - The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt - is up for a podcast award & I'd be so honored if you'd cast your vote! Visit THIS LINK and vote for The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt in the category of Best Solo Podcast. Thanks so very much!
Here is Matthew 24 in the NLT
Jesus Speaks about the Future24 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. 2 But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
3 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?[a]”
4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.[b] 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations[c] will hear it; and then the end will come.
15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration[d] standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.
26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man[e] comes. 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.[f]
29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.[g]
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.[h] 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world[i]—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation[j] will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.[k] Only the Father knows.
37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Be attentive and make sure the two things that Jesus said we MUST do in this passage are on our to-do list and of the highest priority. When He says MUST, may we say, "Yes, Lord!"
Well, hello there! Welcome to the podcast!
As mentioned in episode #158, we're taking a brief break from the Every Book A Promise series so that we can look at a passage that the Lord put on my heart to share with you. A couple of weeks ago I covered this passage on my other podcast (The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt) and I mentioned on that show that I'd be sharing about Luke chapter 12 and Matthew chapter 24 over here on The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
This has been in the works for a bit, and I say that in order to hopefully prevent anyone from thinking that this content is to make a point or is in response to or directed at any one person in particular. IT ISN'T. I promise. Now that that's out of the way and there's no reason to wonder if this is a pointy stick being jibbed and jabbed at someone, let's get down to it!
This podcast is now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode number 159.
Luke 12:35-56
(read aloud in the NLT)
35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn.[d] But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.
39 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
41 Peter asked, “Lord, is that illustration just for us or for everyone?”
42 And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 46 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.
47 “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.
Jesus Causes Division49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
53
‘Father will be divided against son
and son against father;
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’[e]”
54 Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. 55 When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. 56 You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.
In the NLT, the header for verses 35-48 reads “Be Ready for the Lord’s Coming” and in the Amplified it reads “Be In Readiness”.
Be in readiness.
Live in a state of perpetual readiness.
Now, this is no easy task, no small order we find here.
Be dressed and ready for service. Keep your lamps burning. The oil often referenced in the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit. Be so filled with the Spirit of the Living God, be much with the Lord to put it very frankly, because that Holy Spirit oil is what will keep your lamp burning. No oil? No fire in the lamp. And if the lamp is not lit and burning, then we are not obeying the Lord Jesus and His command to us here in Luke chapter 12. If you do not spend time, and ample time, in the Word of God and with Him in prayer and thanksgiving (not talking about a Bible reading checklist here, but a personal relationship with the One who loved you enough to die for you). Talk with Him all day long, make a conversation with Him the thing you are doing as you drift off to sleep, pray and listen first thing when you awaken. Be dressed for service, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. You’d be paying attention, have certain things at the ready that the master would want upon his return, and if it were from a wedding feast, it would likely be a late return. Nonetheless, you’d be ready with what would please the master, ready to do your assigned tasks. That’s how active waiting should take place. Though the hour seems late, don’t slumber and don’t slack off. Stay dressed for service and be so much with the Lord, filled with His Spirit, that when He returns you are ready and waiting, and in your readied state of waiting you will be doing the things the Lord has called you to be doing.
What are those things for you? Probably not exactly what they are in my life. For example, my children are all adults now, so I do not have the same daily child-rearing things to do that I had to do earlier in my life. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all, but rather that solid relationship with your Father so that you know just what it is He wants you to be doing in this season.
This is how you will be ready to open the door and let Him in the moment He arrives and knocks. Be alert to the times and seasons in which we live. Eyes on Israel - very prudent to pay attention to what is happening in Israel in these last days. And you know, there are so many people in ministry who are talking frankly about the soon return of Jesus, I cannot think of a time this has ever been the case to this extreme. Where we see Matthew 24 coming to pass in all its varied aspects, and have church leaders who are not what could be considered out there on the fringe, stating openly that this is it, we are in the final hours. Children, even toddlers, are having dreams about Jesus and His return and there is a widening gap between those who are in the Church, who profess Jesus as Lord, this widening gap where some believe these are the last days and at any time we truly could (and I believe, will) see the beginning of the 7 year tribulation begin, a treaty that involves Israel that will be a 7 year promise type of treaty, and that’s the kick off of the final 7 years, that’s the book of Daniel and also Paul in both his letters to the Thessalonian church. We’re almost there, folks. And yet there is a large (too large!) number of professing believers who are not in belief about this very subject. They say it’s coming, but not now, later on down the road, there’s more time…and really to be fair, if they don’t search out the information about specifically Israel and things like looking at the number of earthquakes happening around the world, or looking into the state of the Euphrates River right now, and line this all up with the Bible, if they don’t know what’s going on, that would for sure contribute to not thinking we are so close. And often the one single verse, not the whole counsel of the Word of God, but one single verse that Jesus spoke, is their reasoning behind not believing this is the season of His return. Of course, that verse is that no man knows the hour or the day of the return of the Son of God. That’s a true verse, 100% true. But if we take it in context, and read all of what Jesus says in this passage in Matthew 24, all His words here regarding the end times, we would find that He is actually calling us to be ready because He will come at an hour when you do not expect it. He gives signs in this chapter to know that His return is very near, and Jesus said that when you see all these things, the end is near, even at the door. That’s verse 33 of Matthew 24.
I’m doing this episode of this podcast, and also of my original podcast The Burt (Not Ernie) Show about this topic, the signs of the times and the return of the King of kings, because the Lord put it on my heart to do so. To share on this. Right now. Without delay. To make short work of my obedience to what He called me to do.
In spite of those who don’t want to hear it, who don’t think it’s time just quite yet.
But it is time. And I hope you do hear. Things are advancing. That seven year treaty will be signed soon. As it says in Luke 12, when He comes He will reward the servants who are ready. If you knew exactly when a burglar was coming, you would not permit a break in. A servant who knows what the master wants but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions will be severely punished. But what if the servant thinks, “My master won’t be back for a while,”...the master will return unannounced and unexpected and will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful. These are the words Jesus spoke about being ready for His coming. So please, be ready. Be dressed for service. Keep your lamp burning. Be ready and waiting for His return and there will be a reward for you. It will be unexpected…so do your utmost to expect the unexpected. You must be ready all the time, it says in verse 40. Again, I use the word please…be ready all the time, starting at this time, this very moment, right now, today. Get ready, be ready, stay ready. The King is coming soon.
Lord, lead us as we serve You wholeheartedly in these last days. Show us how to pay attention to the signs of the times, the signs that mark Your soon return, and help us live ready and attentively, but not in fear or giving way to despair. Keep our eyes fixed on You, remind us of all You’ve promised, and keep us as the apple of Your eye as we are dressed for service, picking up our cross daily and following You, keeping our lamps burning, waiting for Your return. Save all who will come to You, Lord, and do not delay. Bring about a great end times harvest and move in the hearts and minds of men and women and children all over the world. Show us what we need to know, and by the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, enable us to do the things You want us to be doing at this moment in time. We still must go to work each day, and we want to do that for Your glory and Your honor, so lead us in doing our work well, as unto the Lord, even while we remain aware and watchful. May we be a blessing to those around us in the daily tasks we must do, and remind us to pray with boldness and great faith for the people in our lives who have needs, and who do not know You as their own Lord and Savior. May be remain dressed and ready for service continually, and never doubt in the dark what You have told us in the light. And Lord, work in the lives of Your people in Israel. Reveal Yourself to them as their Messiah. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and save and rescue as many as possible in the days remaining before Your return. Amen.
Thanks for joining me for this special episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. And I hope to see you back here for Part Two in episode number 160!
Well, hey there!
I'm so thankful you're here for this episode and I hope you stick around all the way to the end, because there is a very special blessing I'd like to share with you and speak over you as a prayer.
And here's a link to share any prayer requests (or to check out the Psalm 91 Pray It & Believe audio course or for an all-access pass to the latest prayer retreat online event), just visit JanLBurt.com & an option to text your prayer requests will be right there on your screen. I'd be honored to pray for you!
The book of Ruth begins with a heartbreaking story of loss and pain and moves on to a story of redemption and blessing.
It truly is one of the most beautiful tales the Bible has to tell.
Rather than have lengthy show notes for this episode, I'll just share some verses from the book of Ruth and allow you to listen to the podcast and be blessed by the message from today's text.
God has good for you, and I hope today's show is encouraging! I so appreciate you joining me and taking a look at God's promises and blessings for His people in this part of the "Every Book A Promise" series on the podcast!
Ruth 1:1-5 NLT
In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Ruth 2:12 NLT
May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.
Ruth 4:11-12 NLT
Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”
Well hey there, welcome to this episode of the podcast. As always, I am so thankful you are listening and we are continuing our look at promises in every book of the Bible. Today we are in the Old Testament book of Judges, and what we are going to find in this book is suitable to apply to our everyday lives, here and now, even though the events in the book of Judges happened thousands of years ago. Isn’t it great that God’s Word is helpful for us today, and isn’t dusty and crusty and inapplicable for us?
Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe Audio Course w/ bonus content just $7
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, which now plays in the Edifi app. This is episode number 157.
So first off, before I start on today’s promises from the book of Judges, I have to make a correction to the last episode on the book of Joshua. I misspoke and was wrong when I mentioned aspects of Biblical womanhood that could be found in Joshua. The references I was thinking of are actually found in the book of Judges, not Joshua, and so sort of like a newspaper when they run a misprint, this is a correction of my misprint or mis-speak, I guess. Totally my mistake, I was thinking the story of Jael was one book earlier than it actually is. And I certainly never want to share anything unbiblical, so the corrected info is that you can read about her in the book of Judges, specifically chapter 4.
In this episode, we are going to look at a few verses from chapter 6, Judges 6:14 first of all, then 24a and 34.
In the NLT, Judges 6:14 reads this way:
Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
This is the true story of Gideon being called to a huge task, a bigger than him assignment, by the Lord. The Lord told Gideon to go in the strength he had and to rescue Israel from their oppressors. God ends this verse by saying, “I am sending you!”
Ever have a moment like this? Where you feel like the thing God is telling you to do is just so big, how can you be the one to do it? How can you get this thing across the starting line, let alone across the finish line? And you may want Him to tell you He is sending you all sorts of folks to help you out, or to give you some kind of power or ability to do this work, or to maybe do something different than just tell you to go in the strength that you have (cuz man, I know at times my strength can seem like it’s so minimal, so miniscule, so minute…how can I do anything for the Lord?) God says go in the strength you have and firmly tells Gideon, “I am sending you.” The go is kind of reiterated here.
When God tells us to go, do we go? Or do we delay? Just for your own personal thought, do you go or do you sort of hang tight, hold off for a bit, maybe even be slow about going when you know the Lord means for you to go right away and to obey Him immediately.
In my life, I have found that when I obey the Lord and go when He says to get moving on something, He takes my small strength and He blesses me and my work, giving me what I need to accomplish His will. But I have had to get started in order to find out that He will supply what I need as I need it. Not sure if that is encouraging at all to you, but it has been true for me at times.
Verse 24 part a, the first part of this verse, says:
And Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the LORD is peace”).
So between verse 14 and verse 24, what happened exactly? In verse 16 God promised to be with Gideon, in verse 22 Gideon realized he was not talking with any angel, but with the Lord (there was an offering Gideon made and verse 21 says the angel of the LORD touched the meat and bread with the tip of His staff and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed it - an angel cannot accept a sacrifice, so in this passage the angel of the LORD seems to indicate a preincarnate Christ appearance. Gideon cried out, “Oh, Sovereign LORD, I am doomed! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”) The Lord told him that he would not die and then Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it Yahweh-Shalom, the Lord is peace.
Is the Lord peace for you today? Do you have the peace that Jesus promised in John 14:27? If so, praise God! What a gift! We can face so much and not be moved or shaken, our cages don’t get rattled and our stress is just right around nil when we are living with the Lord’s peace in and on our lives. But when we aren’t peaceful because we aren’t peace filled, I guess you could say, we can get rattled and stressed and live under life’s circumstances instead of being more than conquerors through Him who loved us, as it says in Romans 8.
God is today, this very day, Yahweh-Shalom. It is one of the names of God we find in the Bible, and it really is who He is. The Lord is peace. If you need peace today, peace of mind, peace in your heart, peace in your workplace, peace regarding a prodigal or a health diagnosis or peace in a relationship, peace at all, then God has what you need. You know one thing that I really love about podcasts is the ability to hit the little pause button right there on my phone and take a moment if I need to. Sometimes to jot down something, make a note in my phone, or to hit pause so I can literally pause and pray. This may be a good time to pause and pray and ask God to give you the full amount of the peace that Jesus promised to you in the book of John. Ask Him for what you need, do that regularly, and if you need peace, this is a really great time, the perfect time, to ask for it. I do believe He will give it to you, because it was promised by Jesus and God keeps all of His promises. Peace be unto you, and as I say that, I really do mean it and I have prayed for that to be your reality. Peace be unto you today, in Jesus name, my friend.
Judges 6:34 NLT - Then the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.
Now we see Gideon sort of stepping up and stepping out boldly. He’s done some very brave things just prior to this verse, tearing down the altar of the pagan god Baal and earning the disdain of a lot of people, his own people, those who were Israelites and were said to belong to the Lord, but were upset when their altar to their false god was torn down…if God calls you to be a dismantler or idols in your culture, in your family, and remember Gideon had to dismantle idols among his own people in his own town, so if God calls you to be a dismantler of idols in your ahem maybe your church, you may not be voted “Most Popular Church Member”. Just saying! Gideon was not the popular guy at this point. But he was the obedient guy, and what comes in the next few chapter of Judges reveals that God did a great work on behalf of all Israel via Gideon and his army (but it ended up being a pretty small army…also good to note, you may not have a ton of people in your corner. Maybe that’s uncomfortable, but not abnormal when doing Kingdom work at the Lord’s bidding.) And if you think it is offensive for me to even dare to hint that there could be idols among church people, well of course there can be! Money? Success? Family? Favorite sports team? Love of some kind of pleasure, maybe it’s Netflix binging and when you can’t do your binge you get really hacked off…might have an idol there. A litmus test for me, and I’m just speaking for me, not at all speaking to or about anyone else, hear me on that…I am not pulling a teeny tiny sliver out of your eye while I’ve got a 2x4 sticking out of my own eye. My litmus test for me, for my life, is if I can’t set it aside with total ease, just set it down and walk away, no matter what it is, then I have to take that to the Lord in prayer and ask Him what is going on, is this an idol or on its way to becoming one? The only thing I want to not be able to walk away from is the Lord. And anything that pushes in and starts to try and take over the spot that only God can have, Jesus’ place, the Holy Spirit’s place in my life, well that just has to be dealt with. Jesus said to cut off your right hand if it causes you to sin and so, yeah, He was pretty serious about dealing with things that hinder and hamper us. Anything that is moving into His place in my life, moving the One True God out and trying to move itself in as an idol for me to focus on, spend time and money and attention and give too much of myself to, an idol, well I need to be willing to cut that right out of my life, to deal with it so severely, with such a willingness to die to self and to have less of me and more of Jesus, that’s my own personal litmus test. And the severity with which I deal a death blow to the idols in my life is far faster and far more thorough and complete each time I do it. And the reference I gave of Jesus saying to cut off your hand can be found in Matthew 18 and in Mark 9, I believe.
In the remaining few verses of Judges chapter 6, we have the well known story of the fleece. Or fleeces, since Gideon prayed and asked for a specific answer regarding the fleece two times. Once he asked that God would prove to him that He was going to rescue Israel via Gideon by making a piece of fleece wet in the morning, even though Gideon placed it on the dry threshing floor. Sure enough, it was wet. The second fleece was Gideon praying and asking God to let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it was wet with dew, so likely he placed it on the ground this time and it was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew. I’ve heard different viewpoints on this many times, and I’m not going to get into a this is right kind of a lecture here, that’s for sure not my place, but I will share that there have been times in my life when I have had to make really big decisions, things that could impact me and others in serious ways for the long term, and I have asked God to give me the courage and the ability to do what He was calling me to do, and not to give in to fear or panic or peer pressure or anything that was not His will. But Lord, please show me clearly and make me brave and bold and I’m asking not to avoid doing what You’ve said to do, but I’m asking to make sure I am in the center of Your will. If this isn’t You, please tell me. And if this is from You, please confirm it. My own thoughts are not what I want to depend on, my heart is, as Jeremiah said, deceitful above all things. So Lord, show me plainly and clearly and I’ll obey You. When other people could be harmed by what I do, if it isn’t of the Lord and His hand of favor and protection isn’t on me and on them…well, I’ve at times asked Him to let me know for sure if this is the right way or the wrong way. And Gideon’s two fleeces sort of reminds me of those times in my own life. And if you feel that you have an assurance about something, the kind of assurance that only God can give…cuz Gideon didn’t need man’s approval or assurance, he needed it from God Almighty. If you need that, pray and ask for it. God loves His people so very much, we can go to Him when we need that assurance that only He is able to provide.
Thanks so much for joining me today as we continue discovering what God has promised to us in the Bible, and if you’re interested, I’ll share a link in the show notes to grab the Psalm 91 audio course with some bonus material that goes beyond just the audio sessions, it’s just seven bucks right now. And next week we are going to look at the book of Ruth. Such a powerful true story that holds for us so much hope, it’s nearly too good to be true. Nearly…because our God will truly overwhelm us with His love and His goodness if we are willing to receive it. Next time, Ruth will be our focus and I’d be so honored if you’d join me for that. Hope to meet with ya then! Bye bye.
Well, hey there. Welcome to this episode of the podcast. On the show, I am pretty dialed on the singular focus of getting the promises of God into the people of God. We should know what God has promised and we ought to live as if we not only know, but believe His promises. He meant what He said and He said what He meant. The word of God is living and active, it says in Hebrews 4:12 - and I truly believe there is no reason that it shouldn’t be alive and active in your life, in the lives of all who are disciples of the Lord Jesus.
The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 156. Let’s dig into the book of Joshua and discover what God has promised His people.
The Old Testament book of Joshua really is a critical portion of scripture that believers should read. If you’ve never read it, maybe you began a Bible reading plan on more than one occasion, made a New Year resolution to read through the Bible in one year, and you got sort of stuck somewhere in the first few books of the Bible, and never got to the book of Joshua, which is the sixth book in the Bible - well, I can tell you that you’ll find so much in Joshua. Are you wondering what Biblical womanhood looks like, as in what took place in the Bible? There are some women in Joshua that you can look at and sort of be prepared for maybe a bit of a different picture than you may currently have of Biblical womanhood. A while back on social media I saw an image with a skull and a large spike type thing driven through the skull, and it was drawn like a cartoon so not overly graphic, let me clarify, it wasn’t like gorey, just a cartoon image, and the verbiage was “Biblical womanhood”. That’s straight out of Joshua. Got a couple of women in this book who were heroic, they did valiantly, they exhibited wisdom and bravery and they did some things that were for certain a tremendous blessing to their people. So, maybe consider reading through this book if you never have. It’s really encouraging and also has some very honest reality check moments that are good for all of God’s people to know about. Pitfalls, and the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, it’s all in this book of the Bible. It’s very real, our Bible, and not all sugar coated. One of the reasons we can trust that God isn’t hiding things from us is because His book, the Bible, doesn’t hide anything. As it was, that’s how it’s put down on paper. Not prettied up and made palatable. Raw in its honesty. That should cause us to trust Him all the more, His willingness to tell it as it was. And when, in your life and in mine, He tells it like it is, that may just be the most loving thing He can do in that moment. Just some food for thought.
As we work our way through the Bible and look at God’s promises throughout, we’re going to look at a couple of verses from Joshua. And I’m going to hit the biggie first, right off the bat, then circle back to the second promise that I’m hoping will be an encouragement for you (even though we will look at chapter 21 first and then hop back to the beginning of this book…kind of going backwards today, you might say).
Joshua 21:45, from the NLT and the AMP
Not a single one of all the good promises that the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true.
Not one of the good promises which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel failed; all had come to pass.
The CSB says, Everything was fulfilled. Young’s Literal says, the whole hath come.
Now I know that not everyone loves words the way that I do. I read a fair bit, probably averaging 5-7 books a month that I finish, and I have several that I am sort of always reading. I’m always reading the Bible, and books like Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style or E.M. Bounds On Prayer, A.E.W. Mason’s The Four Feathers…books I’m always sort of flipping my way through, re-reading for the umpteenth time. But even if you don’t love words like I do, you might still appreciate the tones in these varied translations. All had come to pass. Isn’t that lovely? Everything was fulfilled. Uh, if that doesn’t spark hope, then what will? The whole hath come.That is the end result, the final outcome, for you in regard to all that which God has promised.
While God most certainly does call us to obedience and to faith, He doesn’t leave us holding the bag when it comes to His promises. It’s not on our shoulders to make the impossible come to pass, and we sure don’t need to help God out in order for His will to come to pass. Joshua 21:45 is a reminder that He finishes what He starts, and that He keeps all of His promises. And it also reminds us that His promises to His people are good. Not a single one of all the good promises that the Lord had given them was left unfulfilled. Not one of His good promises to them failed.
He is unfailing, this God of ours. The whole hath come. That may not be your reality in this moment, but it will be your reality one day. How can I say that with such assurance? Because I know the One in whom I believe, the One to whom I have entrusted so very much, the One who kept every good promise He made to the family of Israel, will He not also keep every good promise He has made to the bride of Christ? He will. Everything will be fulfilled, every promise will come true, all will come to pass, and the whole will come. For you. You know that saying, do not doubt in the dark what God told you in the light? Well, it’s great counsel. So don’t. Don’t doubt. Kick doubt to the curb. Put it on the trash heap and set it ablaze, burn it to ash, and then bury the ashes if you need to. Get serious about refusing to let doubt have room in your life, in your heart and mind. It’s toxic, it’s like poison, and you’d never want your child to ingest poison day after day, would you? And likewise, your Father does not want you ingesting toxic and poisonous doubt. Doubt is a dream killer, a relationship killer, a health killer, a faith killer, a hope killer, a peace stealer, and doubt has certainly wrecked homes, damaged families, forced people to give up on their goals, turn on one another, and left so much carnage in its wake. It really isn’t to be placated or tolerated. When it comes to doubt, give it no place in your life because it is up to no good, especially when it comes to the Lord. Doubt and Jesus are two words that do not belong in the same sentence, you might say. Unless your sentence is declaring Jesus the King and doubt as dead in His Kingdom.
Not one word of promise failed.
Not one word of promise will ever fail.
You know what I’m about to say, because I’ve said it so many times before…God is a perfect promise maker and a perfect promise keeper. He leaves nothing undone or half done. Perfection is how He operates. Not one word of promise to you will ever fail.
I’m going to hop back to Joshua chapter one and share a promise with you that is something of a glimpse into the heart of God for His people, I think. Chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 and I’ll read this passage from the Amplified.
Now it happened after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant (attendant), saying, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise (to take his place), cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. I have given you every place on which the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised to Moses.”
Very clear instructions were given. The people knew that God had placed Joshua in the leadership position, taking his place it says here, and they were now to cross over this Jordan into the land God was giving to them, to all the children of Israel.
And verse 3, I will read that again.
Does anything from these three verses jump out at you today? Like, wowza, the Lord is encouraging me! He is speaking to my heart. He is showing me something! And maybe, He is calling you to do something. To cross over some Jordan into the land of promise. Do you need to take a step or two or ten or a thousand to finish the walk into that place? If so, don’t delay. Just get busy walking! It’s kind of like God is just walking us home, in a way, and no I’m not saying if you cross whatever Jordan God may be asking you to cross that means you’ll be going home to be with Jesus super duper soon. I mean, we need to walk with Him and keep walking with Him, yoked to Jesus since His burden is light and easy. And when we are yoked to Him, we aren’t running away from Him, rushing ahead, or lagging behind because we are attached at the hip, ya know? So we are simply taking the next step and then the next one with Him, and it is a lovely way to walk out our days since His yoke is easy and His burden is light. You can hear Him speak to you, and He won’t have to shout to get your attention, because you are right next to Him, walking in step with Him, doing the things He preordained for you to do, as it says in Ephesians. And what happens when we walk with the Lord where the Lord wants us to go? He gives to us the things He wants us to have, and every good and perfect gift comes from the Father, it says in the book of James. Where He leads, your foot will tread. And where it treads, when it is at His leading, under His authority and lordship, is the place of promise for you.
There are so many promises in Joshua, I cannot share them all in this episode. And since this is a series of finding promises in each book of the Bible, I can’t right now do several episodes on this book but I can close out this episode by reading a few more promises in the hope that you will be encouraged and filled with renewed faith and hope in your own personal daily walk with the Lord.
Chapter one, verse 5 “No man will be able to stand before you to oppose you as long as you live. Just as I was present with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you.”
Verse 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God is giving you rest and will give you this land.”
Chapter 4, verse 22 Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
Chapter 5 verse 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This is the day I have rolled away the reproach (derision, ridicule) of Egypt from you.”
Chapter 5 verse 12 And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the Israelites no longer had manna, but they ate some of the produce of the land of Canaan during that year.
Thanks so much for joining me today to examine God’s good promises to the people who bear His name, whom He loves very much. It’s a blessing to talk about God’s word and His promises and I’m thankful for the fact that you’re listening today. You can also check out my new-ish podcast, and I’ll put a link to that in the show notes, and hey, if this episode encouraged you, would you share it with a friend or share about the show? And keep standing firmly on the solid rock of Christ Jesus, believing the promises in the Bible, because they are yours, my friend!
Well, hey there. Hello to ya and welcome to the podcast. So thankful you’re here. We are working our way through the Bible, book by book, and grabbing hold of a promise from each book along the way. So, by the time we get to the book of Revelation, written by John the Revelator (how’s that for a job title?), we will have stored up 66 rock solid promises. Every book a promise has kind of been my moniker for this, and I’m gonna say that a few more times between now and Revelation. Every. Book. A. Promise. For you, God’s got promises, and I am so glad you’re here today so we can take a look at your promise from the Lord in the book of Deuteronomy.
Susie Larson Closer Than Your Next Breath book Psalm 91 Pray It & Believe Audio Course
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This episode’s recommended resource comes from Susie Larson and her new book, Closer Than Your Next Breath. Susie’s books are always impactful and among those that I read and highlight and read again and underline and read some more and give as gifts and I’ve been very blessed to be on the launch teams for several of her books. This one is a good one, and I’m sharing the link to order in the Show Notes. When you start looking at ideas for book options or study options for your small groups or women’s gatherings this fall, keep this one in mind. Now, let’s dig into God’s promises here in episode number 155.
When I began looking into the book of Deuteronomy in order to find a verse with a promise to share with you on the podcast, well let me just say the pickings were the opposite of slim. There are so many wonderful promises in this book! And it is a great reminder that we don’t need to avoid reading the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, for fear that nothing in the Old Testament will apply to us today since we know Jesus and are under the New Covenant. Every jot and tittle of the law, the Old Testament, was fulfilled by Jesus - that’s what He said in Matthew 5:18. So when we read the OT, we can and should read it with hope, with the knowledge that Jesus fulfilled it all. I really had a lot to choose from as far as promises go when it came to this part of the Bible. So I want to encourage you to maybe just jot this down, make a note of it in your phone, text it to yourself so that you see it later on, but in Deuteronomy chapter 7 starting around verse 12 all the way through chapter 11, right up to verse 25, there are a vast array of promises. Promises to Israel, and one thing you and I can do when we see promises to Israel is to pray them - remind God of His promises to His people Israel, to the nation Israel, and pray for them to see Jesus as Messiah, for their land to be blessed, for all the things God has promised them to come to pass, and for the role Israel is playing in the end times to be seen clearly by a watching world. Keep your eyes on what is going on in Israel, because really if we think about it, the Bible came to us out of what God did in and through and for the people that became the Jewish Nation, the Israelites. It’s where Jesus lived and ministered. It’s the home of God’s chosen people. Jesus and the Bible changed the world, one life at a time, one moment at a time, down through the centuries. What nation is at the heart of the Bible? Israel. It’s more than just a tourist spot and more than just a spot on the map somewhere over by Egypt. In God’s story, it’s the heart of this world we live in, if you will. So, Israel matters. And praying that every promise God has made to the Israelites will come to pass is in accordance with the will of God as we read it in our Bibles.
Add Dueteronomy chapters 7-11 to your upcoming Bible reading, and pray for Israel as you are so led, and if there is anything promised therein that you feel led to pray over yourself, as one who is grafted in and has now become Abraham’s seed, which we read about in Romans chapter 11, then pause and pray those things over your own life, your loved ones.
Among all these promises I was reading in this book, I landed on a promise that you have most likely heard. It’s one of those verses that you may kind of already know, even if you don’t remember exactly where it is located in the Bible. And it is a promise that you and I are to KNOW. To KNOW this promise, know it like we know our own name, that would be really wonderful. Know it without a shadow of any doubt. And understand that the Lord your God, He IS God, the faithful God, who IS keeping His covenant and His steadfast lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.
I’ve kind of given it away already, what this promise verse says.
Let me read it to you from the Amplified and the NLT.
Therefore know [without any doubt] and understand that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who is keeping His covenant and His [steadfast] lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.
Got a couple of questions for ya based on this verse.
Do you love the Lord God Almighty?
When is the last time you considered this - like, your love for Him? Yeah, we talk about His love for us, and that is important and foundational! But it’s also good to think about how much you love Him.
Do you keep His ways?
What the Word of God says, what is written on the pages of your Bible, do you do what it says? More than read it, highlight a verse here and there, close the cover and move on but maybe don’t actually do what it says to do. Do you keep God’s ways?
Do you love God? Do you keep His ways?
(Which is a pretty natural response to loving Him and being loved by Him, honestly).
Do you know the Word of God well enough to really know what to do?
Can’t really do what it says and keep God’s ways if we aren’t all that clear on what the Bible has to say, am I right?
It’s not osmosis, this growing in our understanding of the Bible.
Do you know it well enough to do what it says?
And do you know it well enough to know what NOT to do? (also pretty important!)
If not, there’s a fix for that! Read it and apply it to your very own life, read it and then do what it says. Simple fix! And life-changing, too, I might add!
Without any doubt, understand that He is God.
This verb, is, it’s in the present tense here.
He IS God.
Not the God of yesteryear, not the God of down the road a bit. Now. He IS God.
Do you and I live like, act like, behave like, make decisions and choices like He IS God right now. At this very moment. He IS God. If we did make our choices and decisions and speak our words carefully and really live like He IS present tense God, what kind of result could we expect? How would our lives be changed if we lived those lives moment by moment like God is God. IS. Tiny Little word but huge importance in this verse.
I’m going to repeat something I said a few moments ago.
Without any doubt, understand that He IS God.
Live like that present tense IS God is really really real, like the most real thing in your life, and things are going to change for you, my friend. They can’t not change when you live with the continual understanding that He IS God!
Why am I emphasizing the present tense of this verb, you might wonder?
Because if He is the God of the right now, that means there is no later on to be applied to this promise.
This is not for “later on” (whenever in the world that might be…don’t we do this sometimes, think some promise from God is for later on, but we have no idea when that later on may be, and we end up just simply keeping God’s promises in a state of continual deferment…which is sort of like rendering them as inactive, sort of dead…and we know the Word of God is living and active, according to Hebrews 4:12…what if we stopped thinking so much in terms of “later on” as a way to play it safe just in case God doesn’t show up and keep His promises…what if we chose belief, and hey, if God opts to keep His promises to us on this very day, as in today, as in right now, well why not? Who are we to put limits or time limits on God? Let God be God, and do as He sees fit, when He sees fit! Might that not be a life lived in a state of belief, that could very well grow into chronic belief? Contagious belief? Yeah, “later on”...bye bye!) This is for right now.
He is the faithful God.
That’s in the singular. THE faithful God.
Not one among many. And many of us, we have some little g gods in our lives that need to go to the trash heap, need to be ground to fine dust in the Kidron Valley, need to be decimated and destroyed.
If something has no place in the Kingdom of God then it has no place in the life of one of the King’s children.
I am stating plainly that there is ONE GOD and He IS the faithful God.
He cannot be otherwise.
He is faithful, and whoop looky there, another second just passed and He is the faithful God.
The only God.
The one true God.
The Alpha and Omega.
The King of all kings.
The Great I AM.
There is none before Him, and none will come after. He is, He was, and will always be.
Do you know this God as your own?
If so, then this is your promise today.
He is the one true God, and will always be so far in your life.
He is the faithful God, and will always be faithful in your life.
Is.
The.
Two tiny words that bear so much weight on the way we think about God, and about how God behaves toward us.
Two tiny words that change the way we think when we consider them rightly and choose to actually believe that what God has said in the Bible is exactly what He means.
And what happens when your thinking changes?
Well, that’s when your life changes.
Because how you think is how you live, how you think determines the course your life takes.
You think rightly when you think according to the word of God, when you take every thought captive and make it submit to the word of the Lord. That’s what it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
And when your thoughts are submitted to the Lord, your life is, too.
This verse from Deuteronomy, it’s a biggie.
There is one faithful God.
And He expects His people, those who bear His name and claim Him as Father, He expects us to know and understand this.
There is one faithful God.
You don’t need to be out searching for some other form of a god to fill some void in your life. Because you have the one faithful God.
Take God’s word and consider it a balm, a healing balm, to place over the wounds you have in your life - in your mind - your heart - your soul. God is a healer, and His word is powerful.
I hope you are really getting this today. This is FOR YOU, for RIGHT NOW.
He IS keeping His covenant, His promises, and is loving a thousand generations of those who love Him and obey Him.
Now how’s that for a legacy, and inheritance to leave to your descendants? Ain’t nothing else like it, I’ll tell you what.
Love and obey.
Can you be about that today?
And can you add in some real faith that God will do as He has promised here?
Don’t wait another day, another moment, to choose to believe that God’s promises are true. Why wait? I cannot think of a single, solitary good reason.
Believe today, reap the benefits and blessings of that belief today, and keep on reaping for the rest of your days. And when you step into eternity, you surely won’t feel regret for believing God fully and leaving all the results of that belief in His capable hands.
The hands that bear the nail scars are the hands of safest keeping for your life, your hopes and dreams, your loved ones, and your every moment.
Lord bless you today and thank you for listening today.
Hey I’m also gonna add a link to grab the Psalm 91 Pray It & Believe audio course if this series of promises has been encouraging to you, then Psalm 91 is worth studying and praying through.
I’ll see you next time for a promise from the book of Joshua. Now, that’s a book that’s got a lot happening, a lot of proof of God keeping His promises. Remember those geometry proofs we used to have to write out? If you did them, you will never forget them. They are called proofs for a reason. It had to be provable, this process of solving the problems. You had to know the proofs step by step in order to prove you’d solved the problem correctly. Joshua is a book of proofs, in many ways. And we’ll dig into that next time. See ya then, my friend and have a blessed day!
Hey there! Welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast - getting the promises of God into the people of God one episode at a time
This episode has a special invitation for you - in October, the Come All Revival 2023 event is happening in Austin, Texas, and my fellow podcaster and speaker Courtnaye Richard is a pivotal part of this important and timely event. The tag line for this event says: The King is coming again. It's time to get ready from the inside out. My friends, Jesus is the King and He is coming again, and soon. Be sure to check out this event at the link in the show notes * Home | Inside Out Media (insideoutww.org)
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Verse - Numbers 23:19 NLT
God is not a man, so He does not lie.
He is not a human, so He does not change His mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
*Also note Numbers chapter 4, which has specific duties for tribes re: the Tabernacle and moving it when God led them to move. The Gershonite clan had the assignment of carrying loads, like the coverings and curtains for the Tabernacle, and so on. They also had a specific person they were responsible to, like giving an account, and they received their instructions from a select few people from Aaron’s lineage. (They did have a load to carry…but notice it wasn’t ALL the loads and they didn’t take orders from ALL the people nor did they give an account to EVERYONE. What can we learn from this? We’d better heed this lesson well, or we are likely to find ourselves wiped out, strung too far, weary and wondering why the load feels so heavy when Jesus promised that His burden is easy, His burden is light.)
- God is not a man. How often do we relate to Him wrongly? Yes, our Savior Jesus came to earth as a man, but still the God-man, the Messiah. Keep in mind that our God is still the all-consuming fire the Bible says He is, and since He is the same yesterday, today and forever, we don’t want to forget that He is the Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And because He is the Creator, not the created, He does not lie. A promise that God makes to us in the book of Numbers is that He does not lie. What does that mean for you today? Does it mean you can trust Him for what He has promised? That you can set aside the weight of the world that keeps resetting itself atop your shoulders? That you can be at peace, true and lasting peace, because you have this promise that your God does not lie to you? If you didn’t have much hope left when you queued up this podcast today, let me assure you that you came to the right place (anybody seen the film Hoodwinked? You came to the right goat! Well, the word of God is the place to go when we need hope. And we will always, always find it.) Your God does not lie. There’s your hope. I could end the show right here, with that as a blanket statement over anything and everything you’re facing right now, and it would be a big enough promise to carry you on to a place of real victory in Jesus and complete peace. And that, my friend, is just one of God’s promises to us in His word. Just one has this kind of impact! I’m telling you, when I say the word of God is life-changing & why shouldn’t one of the lives it changes be your life, I really do mean it and I believe it with everything in me.
- He is not a human, so He does not change His mind. Not gonna happen, He will not change His mind. His promises, they are solid. And the trust you place in God is never misplaced. He won’t flip flop around like people do. Isn’t that reassuring? To do a bit of a reset, to refocus and realize that He just won’t change His mind, and so you can take that concern off the table. Look, to be super blunt, let me say this: God is not going to change His mind about you or about the things He has planned concerning you. Rest!
- Has He ever spoken and failed to act? How’s that for a question! Well, has He? So far, how is His track record? There is a worship song on my Tidal playlist and the worship leader sings, “You’ve got a resume, Jesus. You’ve got a history.” And that is so true it should make us shake and quake in our boots, because so often we behave as if Jesus doesn’t have a resume. As if He doesn’t have this amazing history. Another line says, “Years and years of goodness go before me, miles and miles of mercy close behind.” Is that not the total and utter truth? Can you abandon your worries to this truth today - Jesus has a resume, He has a track record, and His history and your future are all tied up together. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever failed in any manner? Just think of His faithfulness. Can you ponder it for a moment and not be grateful, overwhelmed even at the evidence and the proof of His goodness that is all over your life?
- And now, the big finale for this episode…Has He ever promised and not carried it through? The answer is NO! And I want to challenge you today to take the lies of the devil and the doubts that crop up as a result of living in a messed up, jacked up, hurting and broken world and throw them onto the junk heap where they belong. Say this aloud if you possibly can - Has my God ever promised and not carried it through? Has my God EVER promised and not carried it through? Won’t He come through for me? Won’t He do it? He most assuredly will!
You have mighty promises given to you by a mighty God and you will see Him do amazing things in your day. Kick doubt to the curb and enjoy the fruit of living a believing life, because you are numbered among those who know their God and believe His promises!
Well hey, hello and happy giveaway winner announcement day! Yeah, that’s not an official federal day to celebrate I guess, but I’m going to announce the winners of the Celebrate 150 Episodes Giveaway. And we are on to the next book in the Bible, Leviticus, in this series where we are really just working our way through every single one of the 66 books of the Bible to deep dive into a promise from each book. Here we are in book number 3, Leviticus. This is a good one, really powerful faith-building stuff in today’s promise. I’m ready if you are! Let’s go…
Free Basic Pass to 2023 Homeschool Super Heroes Summit hosted by Kerry Beck
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. Today’s episode is sponsored by Kerry Beck’s Homeschool Super Heroes Summit, an online summit for homeschool families that will bless, equip, and encourage those who have chosen the home education lifestyle. Grab your free ticket at the link in the show notes (and fun fact: I’m blessed to be the prayer coordinator for this event and I will be hosting a live prayer room each day of the summit at 12 noon Central time - and I’d love to be able to connect with you there and pray for you in real time, so feel free to sign up and share this with anyone you know who might be interested.) Big thanks to Kerry for hosting this event year after year. Now, on with the show! This is episode number 153.
Leviticus chapter 26 is a promise chapter. In the NLT, it is entitled “God’s Promises for Those Who Keep His Laws”. So God’s promises play pretty predominantly in Leviticus 26. Now, disclaimer: we are under the New Covenant, thank You Jesus, and I surely do mean that, thank You Jesus, so we aren’t like the religious leaders or legalists who are all about the law. We live by faith, we have a living hope, and we are under grace, recipients of tremendous mercy, not sinning wildly, not grace abusers, not bratty children of the Most High God, not at all. Just not legalists. I’m gonna let you in on something, and so many of you likely already know this…the devil is a legalist. If he can find a way to gain some sort of legal access, like he’s got permission, has been given access, to invade some part of your life, he will take full advantage (and it is an invasion…he won’t stay politely in the guest suite. Invaders just invade, and they aren’t usually super polite about it.) Anywhere he can start to build a stronghold, he’s gonna do it. He’s a destroyer, for sure, but he is a legalist so he wants a legal reason to get all up into your business. So, what does that actually look like for us? Well, if satan can get you to be a legalist, to be religious more than having a relationship with the Lord, that’s a good start for the devil. He would like for all of God’s children to have our own set of adaptations and additions to God’s Word…like the Pharisees and Sadducees had in Jesus’ day. The ten commandments grew into more than 600 rules and regulations. If satan can’t keep you out of the Kingdom, he’ll put some serious effort into turning you into a legalist. And then, as Jesus said, what happens is we end judging others, inside and outside of the Church, and some things in our own life we let slide, we leave wiggle room, because we’re really doing pretty good at following the rules, now the rules may be based on the Bible, but the grace dissipates and do’s versus don’ts spring up in the place where grace ought to be. And then it becomes really easy to judge judge judge everybody else by that set of rules. But it’s a sliding scale, isn’t it? We so easily see the little tiny splinter in someone else’s eye and we can’t see clearly because we have a two by four jutting out of our skull. Is it time to yell, “Timber!” regarding that hunk of wood obstructing our view, cut it down, rip it out, ask the Holy Spirit for grace in place of legalism, and kick the enemy out by revoking his legal access to our life? If he can get at you legally, he will. He is, after, the accuser of the brethren (that’s you and me, my friend) who stands accusing us before the Father day and night. But when you live and walk and exist by grace and stand by grace alone, knowing and even saying out loud at times that you are clean by because the blood of the Lamb has made you clean, you are telling the devil he has overstayed his welcome, time to go. Bye bye.
I hope that is encouraging to somebody listening today. Your freedom in Christ is a big deal. Don’t trade it in for legalism.
Leviticus 26:3-11 NLT
3 “This is what I will do if you will live by my laws and carefully obey my commands:
4 “I will give you rain at the right time. The land will produce its crops, and the trees in the field will produce their fruit. 5 Threshing [a] time will last until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until planting. You will eat all you want and live securely in your land.
6 “I will bring peace to your land. You will lie down with no one to scare you. I will remove dangerous animals, and there will be no war in your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and you will defeat them. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies, 9 and I will be pleased with you. Your families will be large, and I will keep my promise [b] to you. 10 You will clear out old food supplies to make room for new ones.
11 “I will put my tent among you, and I will never look at you with disgust. 12 So I will live among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt so that you are no longer slaves of the Egyptians. I have broken their power over you and made you live as a free people.
Yeah, this is awesome. And we can apply this to our lives as disciples of Jesus. Because the Old Testament, if we look and pay attention, it is always pointing toward Jesus. What can we learn about God’s promises for us under the New Covenant from this passage?
First, we see that God loves us enough to warn us of the evil that is after us. And He is so kind, He tells us about the opposite, too. He promises provision, and uses the words “at the right time” which should alleviate our stress. He is a good, faithful provider. Do you need to trust Him more and believe Him better in the area of provision? If so, you are for sure not alone.
God goes on here to promise peace and protection. He mentions wild and dangerous animals, and He mentions war in their land, they will chase their enemies and defeat them. Hey, let’s look at that spiritually. We know based on what Paul told us about who we fight, and who don’t fight - principalities and dark forces in the spiritual realm, that’s who we are really warring with. Can we believe, based on Leviticus 26, that God will allow us to defeat our enemies? The answer is a bold, strong YES! Can we believe that we won’t have war in our land? Well, that comes with a nationwide obedience to the Lord, and we don’t have that happening here in the USA…and as I’ve said before, it is so helpful to remember we are Christians above all else, I just happen to have been born in America but I’m not one to say I am an American Christian because I am a citizen of heaven, as it says in the New Testament. My love of Jesus is far above and beyond the place I live. In this current age, I don’t know that God is breaking a promise if war were to come to our nation, ya know what I mean? We don't fulfill the criteria, we have so much heartbreaking vile sin in the US, maybe our baseline prayer for our country should be for revival, that millions upon millions would have Christ revealed to them. And that would be so beautiful, wouldn’t it?
Here we also find a promised blessing on the family unit. You know it’s a good thing to believe God for His very best for your family, and when your kiddos are younger and still at home, pray boldly and live Biblically, parent Biblically. Expect God to keep His promises, and there are promises about the family in the Bible. A lot of encouragement for us in God’s word, so if you are raising young children, ask boldly for all God’s promises for the family to prove true for you. That’s a big prayer, but man, God is so good at keeping His promises, let’s be so good at believing Him for that.
In verse 10, we sort of touch on provision again, but it’s like combined with the family blessing promise. If God gives you a large family, He is telling You He will provide. You’re gonna have to clear out the old food supply, you won’t even be able to use it all, and the new supply will be at your doorstep and you’ll have to put that in your storehouse. I think you could pray this in a variety of ways for your own life. “Lord, we need some more coming in provision wise for our family. You blessed us with these children, and You have entrusted them to us for a time. Help us to teach them Your Word, to speak of Your miracles as it says in Psalm 78, and to lean fully on the power of Your Spirit in our parenting. Give us all the provision we need, financially, with food and with healthcare and with our home and our cars and clothing and celebrating special days like birthdays and give us amply all that we need to raise them to know You and to love You and to be set apart to live fully for You, even once they leave our home.” That is how I would pray Leviticus 26 verse 10 if my children were still young and living at home. Pray like God is hearing you, and pray like He is answering you. Pray and trust, two really solid spiritual disciplines for Christian living in times when the economy is rough and society is pushy pushy pushy with things that are the exact opposite of what God wants for the people He created. Pray and trust today, and do it again tomorrow.
Verse 11 - “I will put My tent among you, and I will never look at you with disgust.”
He really is God with us. He is Emmanuel. He sees us through the righteousness of Christ, our filthiness becomes wooly white. God does not have to put His tent among us. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. This is a gift of magnitude we cannot fully comprehend. We ought to be the most grateful, thankful, joyful people on this planet because God has put His tent among us. This is a big, big deal! How blessed are we? Boy, we are crazy blessed. It’s so much blessing we’d prolly fall over and faint if we caught even a glimpse of what it looks like in the spiritual realm to have the Lord right here…has God not made great promises and then kept them all to His people?
Verse 12 - “So I will live among you and be your God, and you will be My people.”
Do you know that you are a child of God?
Like, know that you know? And has that knowing changed your thinking and changed your living? Children of God should live knowing how loved they are. They should love others well because they are secure in who they are, due to the love of their Father. Are you numbered among His people? If so, you are so very loved and God’s love poured out on you is going to keep on pouring out on you, in never-ending measure. Live loved. I think if we could do that we could change the world around us, ya know?
Let’s skip down to verse 40 -
40 “But if they confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—the treacherous things they did to oppose me— 41 I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt, 42 I will remember my promise to Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. I will also remember the land. 43 The land, abandoned by them, will enjoy its time to honor the Lord while it lies deserted without them. They must accept their guilt because they rejected my rules and looked at my laws with disgust. 44 Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or look at them with disgust. I will not reject or cancel my promise to them, because I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake, I will remember the promise to their ancestors. I brought them out of Egypt to be their God while nations looked on. I am the Lord.”
Now when we sin, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all our sin and unrighteousness when we confess it, it says in 1 John 1:9. Be quick to confess when you need to. That saying, keep short accounts with God, that’s good counsel. As quickly as you can, confess. Repentance isn’t a shameful thing; the devil wants us to feel like it’s shameful, but it’s not. It’s a gift. It keeps us clean. Take a shower when you need to, and repent when you need to. And then get the promised blessing! God will not reject or cancel His promise to His people. Because He is the Lord our God.
For our sake, oh man how He loves us, for our sake He will remember the promises He’s made. He brought them out of Egypt, the nation of Israel. And has He not brought you out of something? Some place that was bondage? Where you felt beat down, low, lost, forgotten, weary…has He not brought you out? He is good at that, and He does it for each and every person who will turn to Him and receive Him as Savior.
He is your God today, and He has heaped up these promises in the Bible, piled them up high as can be, and they are but a drop in the bucket compared to His love for you. I hope today you can rest in that love, be at peace in His love, pray boldly with newfound faith because of God’s love, and go to sleep tonight with ease and wake up refreshed and renewed due to the love God has for you.
Thank you so much for listening today, and remember the link for the homeschool summit and also it’s time to announce the giveaway winners…here are the names (not sharing too much like don’t want to be unsafe or anything, but check your DM’s on Instagram or Messenger on Facebook if you hear your like first name). Okay, had several prizes and several winners so hang on with me while I go through them now.
(Names removed from show notes...) Please check your DMs and that will be on it’s way to you soon! Thank you so much for the support with the new podcast and the milestone of 150 episodes of this podcast. It was a good time to pause and reflect and thank God for allowing me to even do this at all, so thank for listening and being part of getting the promises of God into the people of God. I’m truly grateful!
Now, don’t you forget that God’s promises for you are true today, tomorrow, and always! I’ll see ya back here next time as we take a look at a promise from Numbers. Bye for now!
Well hello again, welcome back to the podcast. Getting the promises of God into the people of God, one episode at a time. And right now we are taking a look at a promise from the second book of the Bible, Exodus. There is a bold promise here for us, so long as we are willing to believe God for it. Ready to dive in? Let’s do this!
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Know a homeschool mom who could use some encouragement? Check out the Homeschool Super Heroes Summit (get a FREE ticket here). I'm honored to be the prayer coordinator for this event, and will be live in the prayer room daily to take prayer requests & I'd love to see you there!
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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 152, and today’s show is sponsored by Jen Metzger, author of the book Joyful, Patient, Faithful - A 90-Day Devotional Book for Moms. Such a great book for moms of all stages and ages. Thanks, Jen, for writing this devotional!
You know, Exodus is an amazing book. There is so much in this book, I feel like I could have chosen any one of a number of promises. And they all would have been a great source of encouragement! I landed on a verse from chapter 14, because it just kind of jumped off the page at me. It’s a big promise, and as such it can fit into all of our lives in some manner.
I’m going to read from the Amplified today.
Exodus 14:13 - AMP
Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand (be firm and confident and undismayed) and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again.”
Okay, so this is a very specific promise that was made and then immediately kept by God directly to the Israelite people who had just fled Egypt following 400 long years. I want to acknowledge that, yup, this was a specific promise and it was kept to the letter, completely fulfilled.
But when we open our Bible and read it, it is so encouraging to read what it says, even in the Old Testament, and glean from it, learn from it, grow in our faith because of it, grab hold of the promises we find because God is the same yesterday, today and forever and every single part of the Word of God is given by inspiration from God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Hebrews 13:8 and 2 Timothy 3:16 tell us those things.
God did indeed make it so that the Egyptians who were chasing after them were not seen again after that day, since they were drowned in the Red Sea when God closed it up after all His people had crossed over in the middle of it on dry ground.
But is there a promise here for us, living some 2000 years after Jesus? So many thousands of years after Moses led them through the Red Sea?
There sure is.
First, a huge promise in this verse that is found all throughout the Bible is sort of couched in a command: Do not fear.
God’s commands are His enablements. That’s a saying that has been around for a while, and it’s one worth remembering. If He calls you to something, He will not leave you unable to accomplish it. He provides where He leads, and He enables us to do as He asks of us, or as He commands us.
When He tells us not to be afraid, He doesn’t then leave us to our own devices as we attempt to not be afraid in our strength. He really does make it possible for us to live fearlessly, to not be afraid. So it is a command, and it is a promise, and our God always, always keeps His promises.
Do not be afraid. Take your stand - be firm and confident and undismayed - and see the salvation which He will accomplish for you.
Another promise for us!
See the salvation which he will accomplish for you.
Two things here.
First, there’s that word will! Y’all know how I feel about that word. Will means will, all means all, and when God says He’s going to do something, we’d best take Him at His word.
Second, it says see the salvation the Lord will accomplish for you.
Just as He did at Calvary, on the cross, the Lord’s salvation is accomplished by His own hand, by His strong arm, and we don’t have the right or the ability to add even one teeny tiny iota to His perfect, finished work.
Likewise, whenever He does some kind of saving work in our lives, it’s HIS WORK. And so, it’s HIS GLORY and HIS HONOR.
Let’s make this applicable to our very own lives, right here, right now, in this very moment. Like, today.
We only have this moment, right? Because the next moment, the next day, next week, etc…it’s not here yet. So we don’t have it. And the past is just that, past.
We have now to apply the very word of God to our own lives and situations and relationships and circumstances. And we have now to praise God, to live grateful, to express thanksgiving, to point to Jesus with our lives and with our words.
You may get a bit nervous, like feeling kinda nervy, about the state of the world. Agendas that are so unbiblical pushing against you on every side. Wars and rumors of wars, well that seems like something that’s happening right now and could swamp our boats with waves of fear. Not because it’s unlikely, but because it’s such a real possibility. Right? We’re not leaning towards fear in areas that it’s unlikely. It’s right in those places where you know it could happen, it is more likely than not, that’s where we need to take the promise of Exodus 14, verse 13 and apply it like a balm. Make our belief of God and His promises the greater truth spoken over those things that push fear on us. The economy, coworker problems, need a big raise and haven’t gotten one in a minute, parenting is hard, not enough hours in the day…I could go on. It’s a long list, these things that can open the door to fear in our hearts and minds.
But God…
The Bible tells us not to be afraid, but to take our stand and be firm and confident and undismayed as we opt to believe that our God is still in the salvation business, and if He saved us from sin and death and hell, then He surely can save us from fear, and from any and every other thing, big or small, that is pressing in on us.
Can you choose to believe that today, my friend?
Can you lay all your chips on the table, let it all ride on red number 7, and just rest as you see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you?
I’d like to just simply pray this verse for you today, and ask God to do what He is so good at doing, what He does perfectly, and that is to save and deliver, to bless and protect, to favor and guide you in every single part of your life where you need Him to step in and be your strong, loving, powerful God.
Lord, thank You for Your word and the promises You’ve given in it.
Today we choose belief. Big, bold, daring belief that even in the things that loom large and seem scary, we will not fear. And we ask You to make us able to not fear - that Your commands would be our enablements today.
In our workplaces, we will not fear. In our families, as we raise our children, with aging parents, difficulties with siblings, when we are lonely or misunderstood, where we’ve been overlooked, slighted, or maligned - we will not fear. When we face health struggles, we choose faith over fear. In a difficult economy, and with the wild and horrible threats of war all around us, we will not fear. Though the earth give way beneath our feet, as it says in Psalm 46, we will not fear.
You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and You will do as You have promised.
So, Lord, today I ask that for the one listening to me right now, would You do as You have promised and banish all fear, even as You accomplish Your salvation? Rescue them from whatever and or whomever is making them fearful. Free them to walk in the light of Your love, unafraid, fearless. May they be firm as they stand on the solid Rock of Jesus. May they be confident, because their confidence and trust is rooted and anchored solely in You, Lord. May they be undismayed, no matter what the enemy or the world throws at them, because they know for certain that You are the God who saves - and You will be the God who saves them as often as they need it.
Thank You for Your Word. And that when You say will, You surely mean it.
May we live in a state of such total belief that nothing and no one can dissuade us. Make us immovable in our belief that You, O Lord, are the perfect promise maker and the perfect promise keeper.
Take each on listening today on a faith journey with You that leaves them speechless, awash in Your love and care, filled with Your wisdom, blessed to be a child of the Most High God.
And then, do it again and again!
Thank You for making a way for us to live fearless and free, bound only to You, experiencing Your salvation.
You are the One True God, and all our praise goes to You.
In Jesus Name - Amen
Thanks so much for joining me today on the podcast, and for allowing me to pray for you. If you’d like more prayer content, feel free to check out my newest podcast, The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt.
And I’d like to invite you to grab your ticket to the Summer 2023 Online Prayer Retreat. Tickets are just seven dollars, and you’ll get lifetime access to seven prayer sessions, a pdf download Study Guide, plus bonus content and I’d love to see you there.
Oh, if you or anyone you know is a homeschooler, I’m the prayer coordinator for Kerry Beck’s Homeschool Super Heroes summit, and there is a free ticket option that I’d like to share with you. That link, and the link to the prayer retreat, is right here in the show notes.
And the final thing I want to mention today is this: some of you know that I speak at conferences and summits and women’s ministry events, and I really am blessed to be able to do that. If you happen to be looking for a speaker for an event or summit in the coming months, please reach out to me at JanLBurt@outlook.com … and I have a new thingy I’m doing in addition to my speaking via in person events and online events, like Kerry’s homeschool summit… drum roll… I am creating women’s ministry event videos for churches and small groups to purchase at one flat rate, very affordable, and I am super grateful for this new avenue for women’s ministry. Just shoot me an email if you would like to know more, and if you have a certain topic you’d like covered, over the years of speaking I’ve custom written more talks than I can count, so I’d be blessed to do that for your small group or moms event or other event. I’ll reply quickly to your emails, and that is all my new news for today.
Don’t forget, God does not want fear to have any place in your life. I’m believing You will see His salvation accomplished on your behalf in powerful ways. He’s gonna keep His word to you, my friend!
Thanks again for joining me on the podcast, and I’ll see ya next time.
Well hey there, hello to you again. Thanks for being here today and also, before I get started with today’s promise I want to invite you to enter the giveaway for the 150th episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Amazon gift card and coffee gift cards and other prizes are in the honey pot, so leave a comment on the post I’m linking here in the show notes, and you’re entered. It’s that simple! Alright, today we are looking at something from the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and next week we’ll be in Exodus…maybe I should run with this and go through one promise from each book of the Bible. Yeah, I may just do that. Let’s check out today’s promise.
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Summer 2023 Prayer Retreat $7 Ticket
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 151, and it is sponsored by Katie J. Trent and her new book, Recipes for A Sweet Child - 36 Baking Devotions for the Whole Family (a book of creative, Bible based activities and you can learn more at the link right here in the show notes).
I tell you what, I really love God’s word. Which means I really love the promises God makes in His word. Genesis 22:14 contains a promise that many of us know, but we might not know the exact context of this promise, the where and how of its origin.
Jehovah Jireh. I’m thinking you’ve heard that before. And you probably know what it means, Provider. Jehovah Jireh is the Lord God who provides for His people.
So this is from Genesis 22 verse 14. I’m going to read it from the Amplified Bible today, and probably also from the NLT, and then look at the context because the situation all around this verse can really help us to be bold in our faith and in our praying and consistent and quick in our obedience to God.
The AMP says: So Abraham named that place. The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it ]will be seen and provided.”
Okay, some things to notice in this version but first let me read from the NLT:
Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Just a bit of difference between the two.
We find this in the story, the true story which is a one-of-a-kind true story, ya know? Abraham is on the mountain why? What’s he doing there? He is there with his son Isaac, the son God promised him and who came in his very old age, after the side step when he and Sarah put into place the plan for him to have a child with her servant Hagar, who was the mother of Ishmael…but later on, Sarah did have a son, Isaac, and now some time later, years later, Abraham heeded God’s call to take his son Isaac up on this mountain to, ahem, sacrifice him. On the journey up, just Abraham and his son at this point because he had told his servants to wait for them, they would finish this part on their own, and Isaac said to his father, not a direct quote here I’m saying it from memory of having read this in my Bible, Isaac said to his father, Father, the fire is here and the wood (because they brought those along with them), but where is the sacrifice? Like, dad, I see most of what we’ll need but uh what about the actual sacrifice? Where’s that? And Abraham answered and said God would provide it.
So up on the mountain, Abraham ties up Isaac, and hey not totally sure Isaac’s age, but Abraham was for sure an old man and Isaac likely was old enough to fight this process, ya know? But it does not look as if he did…did he allow himself to be tied up? Seeing his father raise the knife and maybe saw his own reflection in that knife? Isaac had a part to play in all of this too, and I want to make sure we notice his faith in God, how did that play out in his life? Do you think he ever forgot this moment?
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy[a] will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”;[b] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[c]
Even in this impossible thing, Abraham got up early in the morning to obey. Quick obedience even in the hardest thing of his entire life, hands down. What can you and I learn from this? How’s my obedience? It was a three day journey to get there (and hey, three days journey, three days Jonah was in the belly of the whale, both of which remind me of Jesus’ three days in the tomb…I often look for things that point to Jesus when I read in the Old Testament. It’s incredibly encouraging when we see glimpses of the Messiah, isn’t it? And when we see the faithfulness of our God, which we see here, it is of tremendous value and strengthens our personal faith.)
So this was a long journey knowing what lay ahead. Man, talk about a tough time, confusing, what’s God doing in all of this?
Then they arrived at the place God told him to go and Abraham built the altar, laying the wood in order and binding Isaac and placing him on top of the wood. Talk about do or die time, I think that phrase could have originated in Genesis 22. Wowza!
He reached out his hand, took the knife to slaughter his son. This is in the Bible, my friends! Like God does not sugarcoat and the Bible is not a board book for babies, ya know? It’s not lift the flap for a happy surprise. It’s just real, and often if we read it enough and read all of it, not just the parts we choose to read, but read it and study it, like Bible study involves some study (I have known of women’s Bible study groups that spent more time gossiping then they ever spent actually studying the Bible, so hey, word to the wise, that’s not the Bible study you want to attend, might want to be quick on your feet and find another one…)
Real study of the Bible takes us into real life, real fast.
At that moment, the angel of the Lord told him not to lay a hand on the boy, because God had seen Abraham’s obedience and his fear of the Lord. He didn’t withhold his son, the son of promise, and that promise came directly from God.
A few things we can note here - our children, they are not to be “off limits” to God. They do not come before the Lord in our lives, at least they ought not to. God knew Abraham’s heart, his total obedience, and so of course the Lord knew Abraham would completely obey in this hard thing, but this was on display for every single future generation via being recorded in the Torah and the Bible. It’s likely that all practicing Jews know this bit of history. Most all Chrsitians do, too. What does it show us, reveal to us, about God? He sees. He sees us obeying Him, even when it makes no sense, we cannot understand what He might be doing, we are confused, we are hurting, we are at a loss, and we cannot make this make sense to ourselves or to those around us asking us, “Why would a kind, good, loving God ask this of you?” He sees when we just obey, even when it’s costly, even when it hurts, even when it seems to be totally misaligned with who God is (like, this seems like child sacrifice and that is not of God, right? He abhors such a thing!). And we also see that it’s kind of like God said, Abraham, it won’t be your son, but it will be Mine. A foreshadowing of what was to come, of what Jesus would do at Calvary.
Yeah, the story surrounding verse 14 is tremendous. People’s stories matter, much more than we often realize. But God, He always realizes the toll things take, how long our journey to our own Mount Moriah can be, and how much we’ve sacrificed in our quest to be obedient to the Lord’s call on our lives. God sees, my friend. Please don’t forget that, not ever.
Abraham raised his eyes, and boom, there was a ram caught in the thicket. Born and raised in the briar patch for this very moment, you might say.
So Abraham called that place, “The Lord will provide”
When God says WILL, He means it!
Jehovah Jireh is the name given to God in this text. And we should make note of the names of God when we find them in the Bible. They tell us who He is, His character, they guide us in how we ought to pray based on who He is, because He is not a man that He should lie or change His mind and there is no shadow of turning with Him, so who He says He is, that’s exactly who He is. Often when I watch my sweet grandbaby, as he coos and chats I’ll say to him, “That’s exactly right.” Today I’m saying this to you: God is Jehovah Jireh, on your Mount Moriah, right there, after your long journey of obedience and the hardest thing you’ve ever faced, but you did it, you faced it, you laid it all down at the feet of Jesus. That is where God will provide. That’s exactly right, man. Don’t you forget that.
The true story of Abrham and Isaac on Mount Moriah must grow our faith and our obedience, our trust must lead to a trust fall with the Lord. Otherwise, what’s it for? Faith and trust are not for nothing, for no purpose. They are to be used fully, and will never be used up or worn thin. And so we need to put them to work, and work them out daily in our lives. Seen True Grit? Too thin, Rooster is a line from that movie and from the book - God never stretches His words til they're too thin. They are not and never will be see through. You know, it would behoove us to often remember that faith, hope and love will remain when all else is burned up and gone. And the word of the Lord shall remain forever. The word of the Lord shall remain forever.
What He has said here is not going anywhere. The word of the Lord endureth forever.
May it be said of you, and of me, that on the mountain of our God, He has always and will always provide. He is your Jehovah Jireh. That is a part of the word of God which shall endure forever. It’s true for you now, and will be true for you all of your days. Believe it, knowing for certain that it is true because God’s word says so.
Thanks for listening today, and don’t forget you can enter the giveaway via the link in the show notes and also thanks again to our sponsor for this episode. Katie J. Trent and her latest book Recipes for A Sweet Child - 36 Baking Devotions for the Whole Family. Take a look at that via the link I put in the show notes. And be sure to sign up for the Summer 2023 Online Prayer Retreat for just SEVEN BUCKS! It’s a crazy great value and I’d be remiss if I didn’t invite you to this event happening in late July of 2023.
Hope to see you back here next time and hey, don’t forget that this promise from Genesis 22 is your promise today. Bye bye!
Well hello to you, thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I am so excited to be sharing some pretty awesome promises straight from God’s Word on the show today, and this is a milestone episode…with some giveaways to celebrate and announcing the official launch of my new podcast, which is titled The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt. I hope you’ll click the link in the show notes to enter the giveaway (there are multiple winners who will win prizes, and I do love a good giveaway) and hopefully you’ll check out the new podcast (shorter form of content on that show, episodes are between 10 and 15 minutes long and of course, prayer happens in every single episode…so when you listen, you’ll also be covered in prayer.) And if you happen to leave a rating or review for the show, that gets you bonus entries in the giveaways. So, big show today. Big promises we’ll look at today. And ya know, with the Lord God Almighty, a promise made is as good as a promise kept. Let’s get started.
Enter the giveaway here!
Find The Prayer Podcast wth Jan L. Burt here! (bonus entries to the giveaway if you rate / review the new podcast! TIA!)
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 150.
So today on the show, we are taking a look at more than just one or two verses. Nope, today for this milestone episode we’re taking it a bit further and looking at a couple of chapters from the New Testament book of Matthew. And the reason we are going to do a sort of fly-over look at these chapters is because there is a whole lot here about God making promises and then boom keeping them, fulfilling them to the letter. These portions of Scripture show us that God will never fail to do every single thing He has promised to do, and when He starts to move, boy does He ever get things moving. No matter how wild these promises and prophecies may have seemed, especially were you to be considering them all and wondering, “How is this gonna work out? How is this possible? And that possible? How? Huh?”, these chapters show us that our God is not only the God who does impossible things, but the God who promises impossible things and then makes good.
In Matthew chapter 1, we first see the genealogy of Jesus listed from Abraham down to Joseph the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus. And as an aside, in this listing of ancestors of Jesus, we find some women mentioned specifically…so if you happen to be a woman who maybe feels as if you aren’t exactly sure if God has a meaningful purpose or place for you, these women being noted so specifically, like in parenthesis as to whose mother they were, that’s a way that the Word of God, the living and active Word of God as is says in the book of Hebrews, God’s Word tells you that you matter. And you matter because God says you do. We have Tamar, the mother of Perez and Zerah whose father was Judah. We have Baoz, whose mother was Rahab, and Boaz of course married Ruth who was the mother of Obed, who was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David. And the fourth woman mentioned in Matthew 1 was Bathsheba, and she is described as the widow or Uriah. Those few words remind me that God sees our deepest points of anguish, grief and pain, and He acknowledges them. He is our Comforter, and He is so good at giving us the comfort we need as we need it. He sees us, and every now and then, as a women, a female Christian, this is a very timely reminder.
Verse 17 in the NLT says: All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
Just from this verse, we can see how true it is that God is a God of order and not of chaos. The world, at large or our own small corner of it, can seem pretty chaotic. We can always turn to the One who is not chaotic and will always be a God of order.
Starting with verse 18 in Matthew chapter 1, the focus turns to the birth and early years of the life of our Messiah, Jesus.
Verse 19 says that Joseph planned to break his engagement with Mary quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly, after he learned of her pregnancy. And then, says verse 20, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him who the Child actually was, told him to give the baby the name Jesus, and that He would save His people from their sins.
Verses 22-24 say this: All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ “ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
So the promise, the prophecy, was originally made as we read it in Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10. And boom, looky here…God kept that promise. Pretty big promise to both make and keep, wouldn’t you say? Virgin birth? That’s a big one. Pretty impossible. Sounds like God’s specialty!
Chapter 2, verse 1 says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. Let’s read verses 5-6, from the NLT: “In Bethlehem in Judea…for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Juday, are not least among the ruling cities of Juday, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for My people Israel.’ “ Mic 5:2; 2 Sam 5:2
Second promise, prophecy, we find fulfilled here. Look how perfectly the Lord keeps His promises. They did not live in Bethlehem, but were there to be counted and registered and to pay taxes. Had to travel to the town that had to do with family lineage, and so there they found themselves as it says in Luke chapter 2, while they were there the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son, the Lord Jesus.
Now, after the wise men had altered evil King Herod to the newborn King of the Jews, he had a major freak out and sent his marauders (look, I am gonna call them that rather than soldiers cuz butchering babies is not something my hubs would have done as a soldier, so marauders it is) to kill all the baby boys two and under. Verse 13 says an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to get up, to flee with the child and his mother, to Egypt and to stay there until they were told to return. Joseph did what he always did, which was to obey right away. Verse 14 says that that night Joseph took them and left for Egypt. Let me tell ya, obedience matters. And the quicker you obey the Lord, the better. Just have your mind made up, be prayed up in this area, ask Him to give you feet that are quick to obey, to move at His leading and command, and to not delay or dawdle. You’ll be blessed by praying that prayer and living obediently, and guess what? Others will be blessed by your obedience too. Win win when we are fast in our obedience.
Verses 17-18, NLT: Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A cry was heard in Ramah - weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”
This happened just as Jeremiah prophesied it would. The Lord did not want those baby boys killed, so let’s make note of that important truth. This was foretold to Jeremiah so that when this awful thing occurred, and it was so awful, a cry heard in Ramah, weeping for her children who were dead, so awful, stand out kind of terrible moment in Israel’s history…and to be noted as one more proof of the Messiah, Jesus. Also, never doubt how far the devil will go in his outward acts of hatred toward the Lord. Here he acted through a man, King Herod, who evidently did not have much trouble responding to the prompts of satan to do his dirty work. Evil is real, satan hates Jesus, and there are people who do the devil’s bidding. Jeremiah’s prophetic words were proved true.
Now that’s just three astounding and pretty impossible prophecies, promises, that were kept to the tiniest detail just as the Lord predicted through His prophets, and then via the written record of His words as given to those prophets. We are starting to move into the realm of statistical improbability. We should be a bit amazed at this.
The last several verses from Matthew chapter 2 remind us that when Herod died, an angel appeared yet again to Joseph in a dream and told him to take the child and his mother back to Israel because those who were trying to kill the child are dead. Joseph didn’t hear this news via the grapevine, the paper landing on his doorstep one toasty warm Egyptian morning. He didn’t have to wait around and get the deets from some relative sending a message via camel or something. Nope. God sent an angel in a dream to tell him, time to go back home. And of course, per his character, verse 21 says that Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. Like, had the dream, got up and got busy doing what he’d been told to do. Man, he was not a dawdler or a delayer or a dream denier. He was a man of obedient action, and I have learned a lot about quick obedience and how the Lord speaks to His people who will listen and heed, from the life of Joseph. I want to obey like this! Like, challenge accepted…Lord, help me to obey like Joseph obeyed.
Verses 22-23 finish off this chapter: But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus he was afraid to go back there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. (Those who say it’s not a New Testament, new covenant thing for God to speak to His people through dreams, well, that’s one of those times when I want to use that sound byte, ya know the one, “Find it in the Bible…find it in the Bible…” Cuz what I see in my New Testament is God speaking through dreams, through angels in dreams and in visions, so there’s that…do with it what you will, my friend.”)
He left for the regions of Galilee. So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
That’s a lot of kept promises, isn’t it? Don’t you just love this? Isn’t this an encouraging reminder that He is gonna do exactly what He said that He will do, no ifs ands or buts about it. He gonna do it! He will. He really, really will. So reassuring and a huge boon to our faith. Like a super booster for faith enhancement. Do you believe better when you hear about fulfilled promises? I hope so! You sure should. This is who Your God is, His character is untarnishable. He said, and He means to do it.
So prophecies from Isaiah, from Micah, from 2 Samuel, from Hosea, and from Jeremiah all specifically mentioned here and noted as being fulfilled. So this baby, Messiah, gonna be from Bethlehem somehow and also from Galilee, a Nazarene and also somehow gonna be called out of Egypt? Yes, that’s exactly right.
Now what promise has God given you that seems impossible, like this does not and cannot add up, humanly speaking?
Is He a different God than the God of the Bible?
Are you willing to lean in and trust all the more for what He has promised He will do?
Because with Him, a promise made is a promise kept.
That is what I want you to see from this portion of Scripture for this episode of the podcast. Don’t miss the application for your life, for those you’re praying for, for your local church, for you and the world that is your world, where you live day to day. Don’t miss this. God’s got something for you, and you can trust Him to bring it about in His way and on His timetable. So good to know that. Matthew 1 and 2 teach us a whole lot, don’t they?
Now, I have a verse to share with you that is a promise God has made and that God is going to keep. This is for you, so I’m gonna read it and then pray it over you today.
2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT - And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Alright, let me read that once more. Gotta get loud sometimes, read it again sometimes, and get the devil off your back, outta your hair, out of your ear whispering his lies…so sometimes, we just need to read it again. Out loud. With some oomph.
And God WILL generously provide ALL (not some, but ALL) you need (not greed, not want, need). Then you WILL ALWAYS have EVERYTHING you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Some translations say you will have all that you need to abound in every good work.
He’s got you, and He is not in the business of letting go or dropping those He is holding on to. He’s got you now and He always will. You are safe in His hands, more than safe, you are engraved on the palms of His hands…so how could He possibly forget you?
In my course on Psalm 91 I say again and again that our job is to believe, and when we aren’t believing, we already done lost the whole ball game. That's why satan works so hard to get us to live doubting lives. You choose belief today. The Bible says your work is to believe the One whom God sent. Do that.
You will, according to 2 Cor. 9:8, be generously provided for in your needs. And more than that, you are going to have everything you need and plenty left over for what purpose? To share with others.
What do you have plenty of? And who are you sharing that with?
I have plenty of Bible journals from my daily morning study time, my time with the Lord when I have a pen and a journal open every day. And so, I have plenty to share with others.
That’s just an example of a way to share with others. You can post verses on social media, you can text friends that you’re praying for them, there is so much more that we can be sharing with others from the plenty that God gives us. Take someone to lunch. Make a donation to a ministry, add a bit to your tithe, sponsor a kid to go to camp, support a fundraiser, not everything will be a huge financial donation, but maybe a five dollar bill. You just be like Joseph and obey when God leads, and expect that you are going to have all you need and abundantly. That's the promise,a dn the Holy Spirit put this verse on my heart to add to this episode, to share with in addition to Matthew 1 and 2. Promises made are promises kept with our God. This promise, that He is going to provide all you need, generously, is a promise made and I am counting it as a promise kept on your behalf.
Can I repay this verse for you now?
Lord, I am coming to You in prayer today, on behalf of the one listening to this podcast episode right now, no matter where they are in the world, in the US, Canada, Kenya, Germany, India, Australia, Poland, Thailand, South Africa, the Philippines, France, Jamaica, UAE, Guatemala, Italy, Nigeria, Peru, Ukraine, Singapore, Brazil…places that I know people hear about your promises on the podcast…and places I don’t know, Lord would you right now at this moment let them know how close You are to them. You are right there, the One who sticks closer than a brother, the One who will never leave them nor forsake them. Show up in their life, in their world, today. Put Your hand of provision and protection on them. Cover them, may Your banner over them be Your love. May Your blessing and favor be on them in ways that comfort them, give them great hope, grow their love and adoration and trust, and Lord, move mountains. Do Your mighty miracles. Bless them richly, abundantly. Generously provide all they need, just as You have promised. Lord, I didn't pick this verse - You wanted me to share it with them. This is Your Word and it is for Your child today. Keep Your Word, as I know that You will. May they have starting now everything they need, and have it always, with plenty left over to share with others. And may they obey as Joseph did, right away, no excuses and no delays. Thank You, Lord, for hearing and answering my prayer on their behalf today.
You are worthy of all honor and glory and power and blessing and we praise Your name.
In the mighty name of Jesus I ask this, Amen.
It’s always a blessing to pray for you, and I really do mean that. It is a gift that we can give one another that is ends up being a privilege for the one praying.
Be sure to check out the giveaway links and I really do hope you win!
Winners will be announced by early July, because of different apps and the way new episodes do auto download to subscribers, and just because it’s summer and I want to make sure as many as possible hear about the giveaway. So early July if you win I will find you…if any of you know about the little girl Willa that we met on vacation poolside at a resort years ago… that’s a Willa quote I just did there - “No matter where you go, I’ll find you.” So if you’re a winner, I’ll find you, just like Willa said.
Thanks for making it possible for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show to reach the milestone of 150 episodes. I feel thankful and blessed and blown away, so thanks to you. There’s no show without you!
I hope to see you back here next time, and to have you join me on The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt (also, I added my name to the show title for two reasons: to link it to TBNES and also to not confuse it with any other podcast called The Prayer Podcast…to not be like stealing another show name since The Prayer Podcast seems sort of broad.)
Links to the new show in the show notes and let me know, like screen shot me your rating or review to JanLBurt@outlook.com or via DM and you’re gonna get bonus giveaway entries. Totally sort of bribing you to help the new show get that extra push, cuz platforms stop pushing your new podcast after a few weeks post launch, and I am hoping to reach as many as I can with prayer. Thanks for your help, it means more than you will ever know this side of eternity. I mean it when I say I am so very thankful for you!
See you next time! Bye bye.
Well hello there today, so thankful you’re listening to the podcast for this episode, number 149, and just want to let you know that I’ve got some details about the giveaway items to celebrate episode number 150, which is just about here. I’m giving away things like gift cards for coffee, Amazon, to an online Christian owned small business (who doesn’t like supporting the small biz world?) and some other things. Several prizes, one prize per winner to spread out the fun and your chances of winning. And I’ll be sharing a link to the post with the deets, the details, about how to enter. (Hint: it’s really as simple as leaving a comment on the post either on IG or FB.) So, that’s the news / housekeeping / update… and now, let’s dig into one of God’s promises, shall we?
Jan L. Burt (@janlburt) • Instagram photos and videos
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 149.
After wrapping up the series on Hot Topics, which hopefully encouraged you to lean hard on God’s promises even when it feels hardest to do so - now we are moving on to a promise that is full of comfort. And of course, full of hope, because most of us end up much more hopeful, more optimistic, after we’ve been on the receiving end of a whole lot of comfort.
I want to define the word “comfort” first, and then look at the promise from the Bible that offers us comfort.
Comfort: To soothe in time of affliction or distress.
- To ease physically; relieve.
to give strength and hope to
to ease the grief or trouble of
consolation in time of trouble or worry
a state or feeling of being less worried, upset, frightened, etc., during a time of trouble or emotional pain
Isaiah 51:12 (Amplified)
“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies
And of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass,”
This is the Lord God Almighty speaking in this verse, and it is a very comforting verse. But if we don’t listen to what God says here, if we refuse to take heed, I don’t know that we can receive the comfort He has for us.
God says this: “I, even I, am He who comforts you.”
When I am in a bad place, things have gone really poorly and I am feeling it. I'm down, I will say that when I am offered comforting words from say my husband, one of my children, a dear friend, it’s great. It makes a difference. When I get a surprise letter in the good old fashioned snail mail, like the mailbox, that is really comforting. An email, a text, also super comforting. A comment on a post, a podcast review or book review, yeah, all those are very comforting. I think if you are an author, a speaker, podcaster, or something like that, maybe even if you are a pastor, it’s not the worst idea to have a “Happiness File” where you put things that are encouraging, like positive reviews, notes, cards, etc. Not to be vain, I want all of that in Jan’s life to hurry up and die already! But to be a comfort and to remind you to keep going, keep serving Jesus, because words like that can very well be sent your way only because the Lord has put it on the writer's heart to send them to you. Don’t quit serving Jesus.
How much better is it, how much more amazing, when God speaks comfort to us?
And we can know that it is His will to comfort us because we have these words from the pen of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:4: God comforts and encourages us in all our troubles so that we will in turn be able to comfort others with the same comfort we have received. The Holy Spirit is referred to as The Comforter in John 14:26. So this is not a Jan-sized idea, comfort from the Lord. I am drawing directly from the Word of God and am not adding anything to it, so be encouraged that you have verses in the Old Testament and the New Testament to assure you that God wants you to comfort you. (And then, He wants you to comfort others…but not with your own means of comforting them, but with the same comfort He gave to you.)
God’s promise to you here is that He comforts you. “I, even I, am He who comforts you.” This feels pretty personal, doesn’t it? I think He wants you to take this promise personally.
He comforts you. Present tense, today. Also a promise that when tomorrow becomes today He will comfort you. This is an ongoing promise. On a continual basis, your God will comfort you.
I mean it when I say this feels personal and you should take it personally, because it is personal and it is personally meant for you. Right now. At this very moment. Take this personally.
Isaiah 51:12 goes on to remind us of the truth that whomever we fear in life, outside of the Lord God Most High, is not meant to be feared. You and I are to fear the Lord and not man. This verse asks why we fear a man, who dies, who is as destructible as grass.
Well, that’s a good question!
Let’s think on it for a moment and be honest in our thinking.
We tend to be fearful of people because we see what they can do to us. Cost us our jobs. Do us harm in some manner. Take something from us.
But if we step back and look at the bigger picture, the truest truth, are we trusting God above all else, or do we have a fear that God won’t take care of us in some way, shape or form and that is really what drives us in our fear of what man might do?
It’s June, summer time here in Kansas as I record this episode. And the lawn has to be mown (and technically I could say mown or mowed in this sentence used in this tense, but I am gonna go with mown) all summer long. Again and again. So, say I take a trip to visit the Flint Hills and I see natural grassland that will not be cut short all summer long. Contrasting my lawn and the grasslands, what’s the real difference come fall? At best, those grasslands will only grow for a season. And my lawn clippings? They are dead and done for as soon as the mower skims across them. So, that’s the point of reference God gives us. Fearing man is not sensible as believers, because they have the lifespan of a blade of grass in the final estimation of all things.
You cannot manage to go through life in this world and never come up against hard things. Hard things develop good character. Romans 5 says it far better than I just did, so read that chapter if you’d like to look into hard times and good character. Hard things are not always bad things. However, scary things are not something God wants you to live under with a sense of overwhelming doom and utter hopelessness.
That is not how you are to live when you follow Jesus.
Stuff happens. That’s a guarantee in this life.
What will we do when that stuff happens? Give in to fear, to despair, or receive the comfort that God is promising in Isaiah?
I am going to do my very best to choose the latter. And when I am really feeling the weight of something, I am going to lean fully on the Holy Spirit and ask Him to intervene, help me to be able to choose belief over fear, and then I will trust Him to do as He has promised.
Can you do me a solid and find someone to reach out to this week with something that will be hopeful for them?
How has God comforted you in the past?
Can you extend that comfort to someone in the next few days?
I think you may be surprised what God might do when you pass on His comfort to others.
This episode is a bit shorter than usual, but that’s probably okay since I’ve been long winded on the show recently!
As always when I drop a shorter episode, I am going to challenge and encourage you with this:
Keep your earbuds in as if the podcast were still playing (if you use earbuds…if you don’t, which I don’t, maybe improvise on this a bit). And use the remaining time that would normally be part of the podcast episode and spend it in prayer and also being quiet before the Lord, in a listening posture if you will.
This exercise is never going to add up to wasted or squandered time.
It’s so good to do this regularly, just you and the Lord, together in a quiet, focused setting where you are poised to listen and you share your heart with Him. I do hope you’ll do that today.
Thanks so much for listening today. Check out that link for the giveaway and also, along with the 150th episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, I’m dropping the first seven episodes of my new podcast, The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt.
The subject matter is pretty self explanatory and I hope you’ll check it out when it launches.
Have a truly blessed day, my friend, and remember that God’s promise to comfort you is a promise you can depend on, always, day after day.
I’ll see you next time.
Bye bye.
Well hello again, hey there. Hope you are doing well, growing in grace and knowledge and the love the Lord has for you and that you are abundantly blessed as you seek to follow Jesus. Today we are tackling the final subject in the Hot Topics series, and you don’t want to miss this one. We’re taking a look at the promise of the soon return of our Lord, Jesus. Let’s get started.
Summer 2023 Online Prayer Retreat
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 148.
Welp, I guess I just couldn’t end this Hot Topics series without getting into the hottest topic of them all. How close are we to the return of Jesus? The Second Coming.
When? How soon? How long?
So of course, the very first verse I’m going to share is from Matthew 24, verse 36, which says that no man, not even the angels, knows the hour or the day of Jesus’ return.
That’s a true statement, spoken by Jesus. And I am not going to deny the complete truth of that verse. It’s true!
Nobody knows the hour or the day. And that is not a point that can be successfully argued - like, this is the truth that Jesus gave us. And there is no wiggle room or getting around it.
So, in this episode, Hot Topic though it may be, I am not going to talk about dates or times specifically. Nope. That’s unbiblical, and so it goes right out the window and has no place here because the Word of God is the standard (as it should be for any podcast that is talking about God’s promises. No brainer, right?)
Next verse I want to look at also from Matthew chapter 24.
Verse 3 has the disciples asking Jesus this: “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” (This is from the NLT).
They are asking a very direct, super specific question. And we are going to take a look at exactly how Jesus answered this very direct, super specific question.
Since Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we can expect that He is telling the truth here in Matthew 24. So this is the truth, according to the King of kings, and we need to pay attention to His words.
Verses 4-8
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”
So, as I think about these four verses, what things can we identify as having begun to take place? (Note that doing this is paying attention to the signs of the times, not trying to determine the exact day and hour of His return..two very different things, and we don’t want to neglect being among those who are watching and expecting His return just because we are afraid that somehow that makes us the same as those who say “On this exact day…”)
Many have come saying they are the messiah, and many are still doing that. And keeping our eyes on Israel, we know that there is one there right now that is being propped up as their possible messiah, so yes we can put a check mark next to false messiahs coming to deceive.
How about hearing of wars and rumors or threats of wars? Big check mark next to that!
And thank the Lord that he told us not to panic at the prospect of wars, because these things have to take place. He doesn’t want us afraid - that’s never the point of prophecy or end times information that is found in the Bible. He wants us anticipating, expecting, and excited about His return, hopeful and sharing that hope with others. Any sense of urgency we have is really here to help us share with others, ya know? Wake ourselves up and then wake others up. When the flood came, all those outside the ark (not among Noah and his family) suffered. Is there anybody you can encourage to get in the ark, so to speak, and maybe encourage them to give their life to Jesus (that’s our version of being in the ark, as Christ followers). Who knows that a right view of end times details, as Jesus gave to us here in Matthew 24, could be the wake up call somebody needs to bend the knee and receive eternal salvation. So, it shouldn’t be the scariest thing in the world to talk about His return. It should be hopeful for us, and also make us hyper-aware that many, many people are not living in the hope that Jesus offers.
These things must take place, said Jesus, but the end won’t follow immediately.
Okay, good to make note of. Those two things that we can put a check beside because we do see those things in the world today, they do not signify the end. More is to come.
He goes on to say nation will war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Check check.
There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
Famines, sadly yes, in my lifetime I have seen via news sources more info about horrific famines than I would ever imagine possible. And I hate it, people starving to death. I really do mean it when I say I just hate it.
Earthquakes, big check next to this one. By looking at daily stats at earthquaketrack.com or earthquake.usgs.gov, we can see, in real time, the dramatic increase in earthquakes. In diverse places - all over the world. 25 over the course of the last day is the stat as I am recording this. Hawaii, the DR, Texas, Russia, Santa Cruz islands, Myanmar, Ecuador, Fiji, Puerto Rico, China, Turkmenistan, New Zealand to name a few. Yeah, we can put a check by this one. It’s happening just as Jesus said it would.
But all this, He said in verse 8, is only the first of birth pains. With more to come.
Women who’ve given birth, you understand what this means.
Birth pains get closer together, meaning they happen more frequently, last longer, and are more intense. That is the set-up Jesus gives for the end times before His return.
We meet the criteria for moving on to the next level of birth pains, you might say.
Verses 9-14
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
I think we can honestly say that persecution of Christians has increased and in many countries being a Christian is punishable by death. A study of the history of Christian persecution shows that it is on the uptick and is happening as Jesus said it would. Bible prophecy is always proven true by history, and always will be.
Side note, in Israel there was a recent proposal to enforce the punishment, or persecution, of Christians who share about Jesus with the Jewish populace. Up to a year in prison re: adults, or two years for those under 18.
Are Christians hated all over the world for following Jesus? Yes.
Have many turned away from the Lord and betrayed Him and hate one another? Yes. We have seen how the great falling away is happening. It just is. It’s real, it’s very intense, and it is hard to see occurring.
False prophets on the prowl to deceive many? Yes. Check.
Sin rampant everywhere? Uh, yes. Like ten thousand checks next to this one.
The love of many growing cold?
Gotta be honest as I think about this one. And once you get honest, take a hard look at things around you, and the answer is yes. Are people more loving in your world, your sphere, your workplace, your neighborhood? Or less? We can put a check here.
The Good News will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it.
We all know that this is more possible now, and is happening at a far quicker rate than ever before since Jesus spoke these words, due to the great increase in knowledge which has led to the ability to share with such rapidity, even from a distance. Can’t put a check next to this one yet, since I don’t believe every nation has heard, but we’re getting there. (I used to ask people who would say they wanted Jesus to come again soon, I’d ask if they were giving toward missions that are translating the Bible into the world’s languages, going to the farthest reaches, using technology to reach the unreached…cuz that seemed like a way to put their money where their mouth was, ya know? Want Him to come sooner? Put some dollars toward the work Jesus said would happen, and do it joyfully. Just sayin’!)
I’m going to read verses 15-28 and I’d love for you to just listen as I read:
15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration[d] standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.
26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man[e] comes. 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.[f]
So, will the Temple be rebuilt? Sure seems like it! This will be a truly terrible moment, when the tables turn and the one who seemed like he was going to take care of world peace and of the Jewish populace, demands to be worshiped himself and sets us the object of desecration in the Temple. The daily sacrifices will stop, and the time of the end of tribulation will be in high-gear. We know it’s that period Jesus is referring to when He says “there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began and it will never be so great again.” Unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. These will be very dark days. Now I am not going to hit on the rapture in this episode, but I will say this: I think the church should be ready to endure hard times, to endure to the end, whatever that end may be, to be committed to Jesus because He is so worth it. The rapture shouldn’t be a ticket out of here, it should be considered a glorious event and as long as we are still here, as His bride, as His church, let’s be willing to suffer for His sake.
False messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, even if possible God’s chosen ones. Okay, so if you read Revelation you find false prophets doing the miraculous and it will lead to great deception. And in the Bible, when it uses the words “God’s chosen ones” it is usually, if not always and I really think it is always, talking about Israel, His chosen ones. Gentile believers are grafted in, we are the church, we are part of the bride of Christ, Israel is His chosen possession.
And on that day when He returns, every eye will see Him and He will come like lightning flashes across the sky. This will not be a hidden event. It won’t happen in secret. So anybody saying it has already happened and you just don’t know about it is not being truthful. Jesus said it won’t be hidden, so it won’t be.
As the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
It’s safe to say the end is near. It’s biblical, even. We need to know the signs of the times so we can do the work with some sense of urgency. People matter. They matter to Jesus and so they ought to matter to those of us who follow Jesus. With no sense of urgency, we just get in a drift and go through life and we aren’t praying and seeking the lost and sharing on our social media and so on. It’s not urgent, and for Americans at least, then it ain’t gettin’ done. Let this be your reminder to apply some urgency to your praying for the lost. Invite that person to church or to Bible study. Who has God put on your heart? What has He put on your heart to do in regard to that person, or persons? Will you now do it? Please?
I’m going to finish this episode by reading verses 29-51, but first I want to mention that I have an upcoming online event to invite you to be part of. It’s the Summer 2023 Prayer Retreat. 7 prayer sessions, looking at what the Bible says about prayer and then actual time spent praying, content you can download and use in your own prayer time, and some bonus content. And I am following the Lord’s leading to make my offers super affordable, even to the point of being like dirt cheap. God said do it, and so I am just obeying. It’s $7, like cup of coffee $7 and you can access all the content forever. If you are interested, I’ll put a link. The event won’t be happening until later this summer (I have some stuff coming up first, so it will going live probably the third week of July, but you can get signed up anytime between now and then and I’ll mention it again in the coming weeks. And thanks in advance to everyone who is interested. Prayer changes lives, and I am a firm believer that one of those lives should be yours. And the lives of those for whom you pray. So I really hope you will join me for the Summer 2023 Prayer Retreat).
Now, here’s the rest of this chapter, Matthew 24:
29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.[g]
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.[h] 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world[i]—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation[j] will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.[k] Only the Father knows.
37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This has been a heavy episode, but so important. Let’s be about our Father’s work in this current day and age, and let’s not forget that He is indeed coming very soon.
Let’s live well while bearing all these things in mind.
Lord bless you, I’ll see ya next time and don’t forget, God’s promises are true for you today.
Bye bye.
I’m so thankful you’re listening, and my prayer is that you will be blessed and encouraged and reminded that God’s promises are true, and they are true for you. He gives these promises out of the depths of His unending love for His people, and He keeps those promises in the same manner, from the very depths of His love. We cannot separate the God who loves us from the God who keeps His promises to us. They are both true and cannot be untrue, no, not ever. With that, let’s jump into today’s promise.
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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 147.
Shaking.
This word could sum up so much of the last three years. If you’ve faced an illness, job loss, have parenting struggles, aging parents, financial concerns, the list is long… this word “shaking” can hit close to home. We’re shook, right? I’m shook.
It’s uncomfortable and it is unnerving, and this is a very real reason for grabbing hold of God’s promises and refusing to let go. The God who made these promises to you is not going to leave you, forsake you, let you down, abandon you or let go of you. He is holding you tightly and you can trust Him.
That’s what we’re looking at in this episode of TBNES.
There are a few verses we find in the book of Hebrews, which is located toward the end of the New Testament, that are going to kind of reframe this shaking issue that has been so real for so many of us. I do think it has hit us all in some manner. Here’s one example: I will order something that I’ve ordered over and over again for years and years, and I will be floored at how much it costs now. This is just one area that has such a broad impact on all of us, just one area. If we compile all the other areas where it’s been a long shaking season, it compiles into something that feels overwhelming.
Now the reason I mentioned the cost of just, well, anything and everything these days is because I don’t want someone to stop listening to this episode because they don’t think it applies to them. It really does apply to all of us. And I really don’t want you to miss what I’m going to share about shaking.
Because the promise of God’s shaking is too important for us to not know and understand, but also a promise we don’t always see as a good thing. But I think, based on the text we’re looking at today, God sees His shaking as very good, and I believe He wants us to see it that way as well.
Hebrews chapter 12, verses 25 through 29 from the NLT:
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.
Let’s do a quick recap of what came prior to these verses - God disciplines us as His sons, daughters, and it proves we are His children because He disciplines those He loves and punishes the one He accepts as His child. Heb. 12 vs 1-11 talk about this concept of God’s discipline being evidence of His love and of our sonship.
Verse 12 says, “So take up a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”
So when we are facing the discipline of the Lord, He wants us to toughen up, mark out that straight path. Nowhere does it say wallow in it, feel sorry for yourself, give up, sit down, pout. Nope. Take a new grip, it says, with your tired hands. God acknowledges you may well be very tired. But then He says to take those tired hands and adjust your grip. And the path you mark out, then and there with new grip in the midst of your own tiredness, ends up being a path so that those coming along after you who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
Can you see how the Lord is clearly telling you that what you do when you are disciplined and when you feel tired, weary, fatigued has a big impact on others? This is not exactly the American way…but it is Jesus’ way, so it must become our way.
Verses 14-24 tell us to do the work of living at peace with everyone, to work at living a holy life (for those who are not holy will not see the Lord…did you hear that? That seems important!) To look after one another so none of us fails to receive the grace of God (this is a big part of why I have this podcast and why I am starting another podcast, to do my little part in ensuring nobody within earshot fails to receive God’s grace.) And watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Ensure against immoral godlessness. And realize that you have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children whose names are written in heaven. There is no place else where it matters even a smidge for your name to be put down in permanent ink. When the roll is called up yonder, that’s where it matters that your name is put down. Life kicks us around and sometimes we need to be reminded that if our name is on heaven’s rolls, on the books up there, we can endure the kicking around as we await a far better day that is assuredly coming for us. You have come to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks of forgiveness.
That’s what comes first in Hebrews chapter 12.
And then we land on our verses about the promise of God’s shaking.
After all those awesome, like inspiring awe in us, reminders, the author tells us that we are to be careful.
When someone says to you, as an adult, to be careful, do your ears perk up?
This isn’t like your childhood when you let the words “Y’all be careful out there, ya here?” roll off like water on a duck’s back.
As adults, we take those words more seriously because we’ve seen a thing or two, as the Farmer’s commercials say, and we know others have seen stuff too and their warning could save our hide. So, we listen. And our decisions and our behaviors are modified when we listen.
What does verse 25 tell us to be careful of? That we do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. One is capitalized, and it refers to the Lord. Don’t refuse to listen when He speaks. His chosen people, the Israelites, did not get away with it when they refused to listen to Moses, an earthly messenger, a great man, a man more humble than any other, but a mere man nonetheless, they did not escape for refusing to listen to him. How much more will we, grafted in Gentile believers, not get away with refusing to listen to the Lord God Almighty? And it’s good to note here that when we shrug off God’s word, when we don’t apply it, believe it, adjust where He is telling us to adjust course, that is in His eyes the same as refusing to listen to Him. Thumbing our noses at God when He stoops down to speak with us. This is dangerous ground, and we have this stern warning so that we will know that, like the Israelites, the only solid ground beneath our feet is the Rock of Jesus, on Christ the solid Rock we must stand, or the ground could still open up beneath our very feet and swallow us whole. It’s a strong warning, but a good one.
Don’t reject, in any way, shape, or form, the One who speaks to us from heaven.
When God spoke from Mount Sinai, His voice shook the earth. And they were terrified! Covering their ears, crying out Moses to ask God to speak to him and he could pass it along to them because they did not think they could survive, like could not remain alive, if they continued to hear God’s voice. We don’t live in that kind of awe, reverence, astounded that this same God tore the veil so we could come directly into His presence as often as we choose to. We should be floored by this! Do we need a radical wake up call? Perhaps we do. Perhaps we need it so badly that without it we are in very dire straits. Or floating on the doldrums. Either image is frightening, and I want us to miss ZERO percent of what God intends for us to have in this life. One thing He wants for us, as made clear here in Hebrews 12, is to listen when He speaks. Pay attention. Listen well. Because verse 26 and 27 tell us that just as He shook the earth when he spoke at Mount Sinai, he makes this promise (this is the promise for today’s episode, so please check back in and listen up!) - Once again God will shake not only the earth, but the heavens also. A great shaking is coming, my friend. And in fact is already beginning. Does it seem like we are in a snowglobe and the hand shaking it just keeps on shaking and shaking? Like the girl in Finding Nemo, who wouldn’t stop shaking the bag, who shook her fish to death and yelled, “Fishy, why are you sleeping??” We’re in a season of shaking. God will do such shaking Himself, or at times allow the evil one to do the shaking, so that all that needs to be removed falls away. Good fruit remains, securely attached to the vine, who is Jesus. Fake fruit, bad fruit, and even so much of the junk that weighs us down and renders us ineffective for the Kingdom of our God, that stuff falls away in times of shaking. And you know, while it may be hard and seem kind of brutal in the midst of it, the end result is so good. When we step into eternity, we will never wish we’d hung on to the things that hindered us in our walk with Jesus. What will matter will be the Lord, and what won’t matter will be the things of this earth, which is destined to fire and will burn up, just as the Bible says.
How can God’s shaking be bad when the end result, the promise, is so good?
Verse 27 - This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.
Look, what we are dealing with these last few years is very intense in so many ways, in the physical realm and the spiritual realm. But it has a purpose when we view it through the lens of the Word of God. You are becoming unshakable. And only that which is unshakable will remain. Pain and struggle and difficulty become very different when we view them through this passage. What feels impossible to make it through becomes endurable, because God has given us the promise that on the other side of this shaking comes something far beyond our wildest hopes and dreams. In other words, it is worth it. Jesus is always worth it!
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. Verses 28 and 29 of Hebrews chapter 12.
Your God is a devouring fire. Would you prefer to endure this shaking now so that you can receive His unshakable Kingdom, or would you prefer to face the devouring fire that is our God? He cannot be less than He truly is, and He will not bend the knee to our whims and our fancies. He is who He is, and can be none other. He is an all-consuming, devouring fire.
And He is your loving ABBA Father.
When we live knowing that the One watching over us, taking careful note of all that is happening in our lives, is that devouring fire, it brings so much comfort. How can you not fully trust a Father who will be for you a devouring fire? This is the promise of God’s shaking, and while not always comfortable, it is a beautiful promise all the same.
Let Him do His shaking, and expect to see amazing things as you receive His Kingdom, careful to listen when He speaks and remembering that His discipline is your proof that you are His child.
I hope you can rest in the assurance of His love in ever increasing measure and trust even the longest, hardest, shakiest of days to Him, knowing that in His capable and strong hands, you are in the safest place you could possibly be.
Thanks for joining me for this Hot Topic podcast episode, and I’d like to share a few things about the 150th episode that is coming up very soon, in just a few weeks. My plan is to launch my new podcast, The Prayer Podcast, alongside the 150th episode of The Burt (Note Ernie) Show…which isn’t going anywhere, I’m still gonna keep talking about God’s promises here. The Prayer Podcast will have slightly shorter episodes and will focus on just one thing - you guessed it, prayer. And I will be praying over listeners regularly as well as sharing what the Bible tells us about prayer.
And I’m also giving away some fun things - gift cards to your favorite coffee shop, an Amazon gift card, and a gift certificate to a small business run by a fellow Jesus lover, and some other prizes too. You’ll hear more about how to enter the giveaway soon, so stay tuned. Oh, and the prizes will be spread out among several winners, just wanted to clarify that not all the prizes go to one winner. Spreading it around and honestly, as many giveaway prizes as I can afford, that’s how many I’ll give away. Episode 150 is a milestone and I want to say THANKS for being part of this show the last few years.
Well, hey there! Hello and welcome to this episode of the podcast, where we focus on getting the promises of God into the people of God, I.E. we move from knowing what God has promised in the Bible to living in a state of belief that what He has promised will prove true for us. I’m grateful you’re joining me for this episode and I’m excited to dive into another hot topic promise from the New Testament book of Ephesians.
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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 146.
Connect with Jan here:
Instagram @JanLBurt
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Facebook Jan L. Burt Author & Podcaster Page
Hot topics. Oh, to be sure, the church has had to square up against a whole slew of them through the centuries. And it is not always fun. The conversations can be challenging at times, when culture and the Word of God clash so intensely. But the hot topics I’m addressing in this series are ones that believers may kind of struggle with, oftentimes without even realizing that struggle. In the last two episodes of the show, we’ve talked about power (and yes, living in light of the power of the Holy Spirit and the power promised to Jesus’ followers in the Bible can be hard to actually do, especially when we find ourselves looking at the state of the world and the heartbreak so many people are dealing with and all the difficult and varied aspects of life in a fallen world). It is a faith stretcher to really believe God’s promise to give us the power to live out the Christian life in a post-Christian world, but the Holy Spirit will not fail us and so, faith stretching or not, it is worth it to make the jump from so-so faith to all-in faith.
We have also touched on the hot topic of the promise of forgiveness. The difference between feeling like forgiving someone and deciding to forgive them. Forgiving because God has forgiven you, forgiving simply because He has told us we must forgive. Because if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven…so it says in Matthew 6:15. Yup, that’s why this is a hot topic!
And today we are taking a look at the hot topic, and the promise God gives us in His word, about maturity.
I’m going to read to you some verses from the book of Ephesians, this book is a letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus. And then I am going to share some words that Jesus gave to the church at Ephesus in the book of Revelation. You know, at this particular point in time, when so much is going on in our world, I wonder if I could safely say that anything I read out of Revelation would automatically qualify as a hot topic subject? Probably. But these words to these churches can also be applied to us, today, in our churches and in our individual walks with the Lord, so hot topic or not, we are going to hit on them, directly and head on and without any wavering or watering down of the Word of the Lord.
Ephesians 4:11-16 from the NLT
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Ah, maturity.
The thing we so often emphasize to our teenagers. The thing we bemoan in regard to the “younger generation”. And something we don’t regularly apply to ourselves as disciples of Jesus.
But, let me tell you, based on this text and the words I’ll share from Revelation in a few minutes, we by golly need to apply them to ourselves. Or we may just find ourselves in a whole bunch of trouble.
God gave certain gifts to the church, and since they are His gifts to give to His church which bears His name and is known as the body of Christ, God’s Son, then I think we need to not negate those gifts and choose to live well in light of what He has given. And living well often means simply being thankful and not wanting something different than what we have.
He gave us leadership. This is good to remember. Leadership is not always perfect, and there are for sure some spiritual leaders who are downright abusive and the Lord isn’t about that. Just as we see again and again in the Old Testament, He does not play around for all that long when the shepherds fail to do what He considers their duty. So let’s just get that out of the way from the get-go. I agree with the Lord and with His word, and that includes Him stating plainly that there is a higher degree of accountability and a very high expectation of caring for the flock, as He says in His word. I don’t condone abuse because God doesn’t. I’ve been under leadership that could care less if you were beat down to smithereens and would even kick you when you were down there because keeping you down can keep you in your place. I’ve know leaders who sin like mad and teach others how to sin more deceptively and never, ever repent, apologize, or move on to maturity. So I do understand the struggles some of you may be facing, or have faced. But God has never led me in those ways, His will was never for those things and far worse things to be happening. And He led me on to safer shepherding, if you will, and some of why I could hear and follow where He led was because I refused to turn away from Him when man was leading poorly in the church.
Leadership is from God. Keep that in mind, and keep trusting Jesus. I promise, He is with you and He will never leave you or forsake you.
Apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers - these are from the Lord and He gave them responsibilities. To equip His people to do His work and to build up the church, His body.
Leaders have tasks, responsibilities. Do you have enough bandwidth in your life for those in these positions and roles to actually equip you and build you up? If you don’t, that’s a mark of immaturity. And if you do, I promise you will mature more and more, week by week, year by year. And that is what God wants! You to become a mature Christ follower. Immaturity is not of value in the Kingdom of our God.
So leadership bears the responsibility of equipping you, but for what? To do God’s work. God has things for you to do that fit in with His Kingdom agenda at this moment in time on His Kingdom calendar. In other words, you matter so incredibly much and your life, your time, matters, too. You are not leftovers, you are not sidelined. Your leaders are equipping you to do the things God has planned for you to be doing. So when you feel convicted or challenged or even encouraged by a message or an admonishment or something you hear in your small group, it may be part of God’s equipping so you can be about His doing. And to build up the church, which includes you. God wants you equipped but not without being built up. Isn’t that comforting to know? How you are doing, like really, how you are doing matters so much to the Lord that He has put leadership in place so that you will be doing well, built up, not torn down.
And this will continue until we are mature - now it uses these exact words… until we all come to such unity in our faith (not in our personal likes or dislikes, our hobbies, our meal preferences, what we do for our day to day work, where we live, no… unity in our faith. This isn’t one global amalgamated world wide religion kind of unity. Unity of our faith, our following hard after the Lord Jesus who died to give us true life and real freedom. Unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son. If you and I are not increasing and growing in our knowledge of God’s Son, we are moving in the wrong direction as His people. Are you growing? Every year, month, week, day you should be growing in your unity in the body and your knowledge of God’s Son. Do you know Jesus better than you did last year? Are you measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ? And if you happen to be in some area of church leadership, are you equipping and building up your people?
Verse 14 comes next and it tells us that THEN we will no longer be immature like children.
No longer immature.
Are you ready for this kind of Christian living?
Don’t answer too quickly, because you need to answer with utter honesty.
Are you ready for this kind of Christian living? There’s a reason this is on the hot topics list! Because it’s touchy and feels dicey and can take us out of our comfort zones and remove us from our ability t o exert control…but that control is only faux control, so really all it does is show us the truth.
We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.
Ahh, now we arrive at the promise that comes with maturity!
We will not be tossed and blown about.
How often have you felt that way? I’m thinking you could open TikTok, scroll your feed for a few minutes, and if your algorithm aims you toward content that is Christian in nature, then in those handful of minutes and thumb swipes, you can feel tossed and blown about by winds of new teaching. So this promise is a good one for us. We can apply it every day, and we need to not be blown around or tossed about. That’s exhausting! God wants us to have clarity, and He has given us the means to that end right here in this passage of Ephesians.
We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
Anybody need that? Look, there can be a fair amount of truth mixed in with the lies and we can get confuzled about which way is up, is this the best way to honor the Lord and love people well at the same time? In some arenas, there is zero confusion and it is easy as pie to know right from wrong. But there is deception at play in this world, satan used this tactic in the desert with Jesus when he quoted Scripture in just twisted enough ways to try and get the Son of God to do what he wanted rather than what the Father wanted. Do you think we get exempted from this stuff? We don’t. Satan is as Satan does, and what he does is take the Word of God and twist it just enough to try and trick us with clever lies. So,yes, this promise is one we need on the daily. And we can have it on the daily, provided we will grow in maturity.
Maturity matters.
Probably far more than we realize.
Instead of being tricked or influenced by clever lies that sound like the truth, we will speak the truth in love.
This is key.
We won’t be influenced, but rather we will speak with influence. You don’t get to know God’s Son more and more, better and better, and dodge the bullet of clever deceptions and stay silent, say nothing, hide in a corner like a mouse. Nope. You are called in this passage to speak the truth in love. And it goes on, you will grow in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of the Church. So, you get the promise as your own as you mature, find solid leadership to build you up and equip you, you are no longer tossed around and tricked with lies, and as you speak the truth in love you will grow more, in every way (not in a couple of ways but in every way) and will be more and more like Jesus (hello! Isn’t that the end goal? To know God’s Son and to be conformed to His image, literally becoming more and more like HIm? Yes, that is the goal, and it is a great life goal!) He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. Perfectly. He knows best where you will fit best, so as you yield to Him you will be led more and more by Him and will find your place where you fit perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
You will do your special work, in the way that only you can, and others are going to grow as a result. So the speaking the truth in love really is important. You are not called to hide away. You are called to speak the truth in love. The truth, not any old truth, not what feels right at the moment, but the truth (so you need to know what your Bible says or you won’t know what truth you are to be speaking) and to do it in love (not in hate, not in disgust, not in annoyance, not in self righteous piousness, not in a spirit of religion, but in love…sacrificial, generous, goes the second mile love). And then the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
And a healthy, growing, full of love church makes an impact on the people around it and the people within it. Isn’t that what we ought to want to take place? That’s what God wants to come to pass. Get on board with His program and see what He will do. Don’t ask Him to get on board with your program. No, take it from me, just skip that step and leave it in the trash bin where it belongs and get on board with what He is doing and what He wants to do next. And that’s all pretty well detailed in Ephesians 4:11-16.
And if you think it will be too hard or too outside your depth to speak the truth in love, and if you wonder how that will help you to grow in every way like Christ, bear in mind that what you teach most is what you know best.
Working on cars? You know it better than ever after you’ve taught it. The longer you teach, the better you know it. Teaching is just speaking the truth in love. When you don’t have an answer for something, you can commit to find the answer and then dig into the Word of God and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom that you need. He’ll lead you. And good church leadership will help you in this, too. You notice how per this portion of the Bible nobody gets off scot free? Everyone, leaders and laymen, pastors and parishioners, have a call to certain things? And will that call comes the assurance that there will be a day of reckoning, a day to give an account to the Lord.
Okay, home stretch here…Revelation 2:1-7 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His hands…I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place….Whoever has ears. Let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches….
Welp, that’s what Jesus said to the exact people whom Paul wrote the letter to…and what He says to us today.
He knows. Nothing is missed by Him. We cannot allow our hurts, even and especially our church hurts, to be a reason to just stop being His people. We can’t! We are not allowed to! Doing so is a luxury of sorts that we cannot afford. The price is too high. He will come and take away our lampstand. We won’t be His anymore. This is so serious, my friend! Whatever it takes, remain in the place of your first love. Love Jesus. Love Jesus. Love Jesus. And if you have turned away from your first love, do what the Lord says and consider how far you have fallen and repent. Do the things you did at first. If you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, then please hear. Harken to His call and respond.
Get it? Got it? Good.
That’s the end of today’s episode and I’m so thankful you’ve joined me for this third installment of the Hot Topics series. It’s hard, but it’s good. I have a Bible study idea that I call The Good Hard, and that seems fitting for this episode of the podcast. And hey, we are getting close to the 150th episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, and I am planning a fun event / surprise / giveaway for that episode so details to come.
I’d be so honored if you felt like sharing this episode with a friend or even with your pastor - it can be encouraging for those in Christian leadership to know that there are members of the church who are calling the body to live more like Jesus. Trust me, pastors need encouraging too. High five to the church leaders who are all in for Jesus and following the words of Paul in Ephesians chapter 4!
Well, hey there and hello to you today. I hope that the month of May is already a month of blessings, a time when you experience the goodness of the Lord in a whole mess of ways, and that you are able to lean in and draw near to Him each day of this entire month right here at the start of the summer season. And I also hope this podcast, specifically this series on Hot Topics, can be part of your daily walk with the Lord. I’m so thankful you’re listening to the show today as we discuss the second topic in this series…the power of forgiveness. Let’s jump right in.
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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 145.
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Well, here we are again taking a hard look at the hard parts of life in this world, but doing so through the lens of God’s Word.
His promises, they are for us and they for our good and they for His glory. Let’s treat them like we believe that. And handle them with care, if you will. Believing they are true, expecting results based on what God has stated in the Bible, and seeking His glory and honor, not our own. The servant is not greater than the Master, those are the words of Jesus, and they are words that help us when we struggle with forgiveness. I’m not talking about surface level forgiveness, where you paint with such a broad brush and have a “of course we all need grace and forgiveness” - while that is totally true, it can be hard to swallow on a personal level at times. So in total honesty, I will tell you that I have had to forgive and then forgive again and then a few more times the same exact person for one singular issue…because it was big. Bigger than me or my ability to just let it go, let it drift off into the vast sea of forgiveness…I needed help. God-sized help. I needed some promises about this hot topic. And I found them. And they did what God intended for them to do (as His Word always does, it never returns to Him void.)
There is an actual difference between forgiveness and the feeling of forgiveness. Feelings are so fickle, aren’t they? Sometimes our feelings are just basically useless. Nacho Libre quote coming at you: You are useless, Ignasio… Have you ever had a time when your feelings were so wrong, so off the mark, that by believing and accepting those feelings you ended up in a world of hurt? Like a whole mess came as a result of trusting in the soundness of your feelings. *Does it sound like maybe I’m speaking from personal experience? Cuz it should sound that way, since that would be the truth.
This is what makes forgiveness a hot topic, part of this podcast series. The vast difference that lies between Biblical forgiveness and the “feeling” of forgiveness. They are not the same thing. Sure, we know this. You already know this. And yet, we still struggle with the reality of it in our own lives, in those super hard places where we were so wronged, so damaged, used and abused, or our spouse or our kids or our bff or our parents or grandparents, our pastor…you know, people who mean so much to us, they were done wrong and man it can be a big hurdle for us to forgive what has been done to others by others. Cuz hey look, the horrors of the Holocaust were done to actual people by actual people…and a broad, sweeping, overarching decision to “forgive” the German War Machine is something, I suppose, but whatever that something would be it certainly is not forgiveness. We don’t need to forgive things. We are called by God’s Word to forgive people. And it can be so, so difficult.
Now, what about when you have forgiven, like you really truly have, but then out of the seeming blue, this anger arises and oh what am I to do with these emotions, they are strong and powerful emotions, and I already forgave! Why is this reemerging? Well, there can be a ton of reasons why it’s cropping up again, and what I have found is that often we really did forgive. And then, God allows a layer of something that needs healing in us, for our own good and for His glory, to show up, to appear, and then, by choosing to forgive yet again, there is like some maturity and healing and growth that takes place. God uses it for our good, and for Kingdom purposes because it invariably leads us to have more compassion, more empathy, opens new doors to minister to people (which is really a beautiful way to point them to Jesus, the One who holds their eternal life in His hands). So sometimes, for sure, we have to forgive. And then, forgive the same person for the long-past offense or crime against us (you can phrase it any number of ways - the wrong thing done to us or to our loved one). It can feel like we took several steps backward when that feeling came up again and we had forgive again. But what if it is actually a path to several big leaps forward? Not baby steps forward, but giant leaps forward? Spoiler alert: that’s actually what is going on in our spiritual life, our spiritual development, when we forgive the same person for the same issue yet again.
Forgiveness is a heart issue. But we don’t have to feel all warm and fuzzy in our “heart” in order to really extend forgiveness. We can feel just as upset after we genuinely forgive someone as we did the moment before we choose to forgive. Forgiving from our heart doesn’t mean we will “feel” some certain way; it means we choose some certain way. And that way is the way of Jesus, the One who died for us to receive forgiveness. If you struggle with the way you feel, don’t confuse that with having an unforgiving heart. Not necessarily the same thing.
Forgiveness is a decision. And it isn’t a decision we should put off until we have a change of heart or feel like forgiving.
Extend it today, because in light of the Bible verses I am about to share with you, it is a really bad decision to put off, even for one single solitary day.
Ephesians 4:32 says in the ESV - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
God forgave you. So you also must forgive.
Mark 11:25, the very words of Jesus, from the ESV - And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Forgive who? Of what?
Anyone. Of anything.
And then what?
Your Father who is in heaven will forgive you of your, in the plural, trespasses.
Matthew 6:15, more words in red, words Jesus Himself spoke, still referencing the ESV - But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Well now, there is some bit to those words! Like, ouch. I feel that. And it is painful. Jesus says I must forgive, because if I don’t, I won’t be forgiven. Those are His words. And I am pretty sure He was serious when He spoke them, and is equally serious about forgiveness today.
We have to do it, this act, this decision, of forgiving. We have to. We must. Because our Lord, our Master, our King, says so.
Matthew 26:28 - For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus speaking (from the ESV).
Think about that. How can we not make the decision to forgive when this is what it cost our beloved Savior? If we love Him, it should not be easy for us to refuse to forgive. Hopefully, as we grow up to more and more maturity in the Lord, we will be more and more unable to extend forgiveness, and quickly!
Luke 23:34, spoken by Jesus while He was on the cross - And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Oh, this just wrecks me. How dare I not forgive? Oh Lord, make me quick to forgive! When I don’t think I can do it, may Your Spirit move and enable me to! To only forgive, to always forgive. I need to live my life like that.
Matthew 6:12, from the Lord’s prayer - And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Jesus was teaching His followers how to pray (not a by rote, verbatim, able to spew it out each day from memory while scrolling Instagram or running through my to-do list, not even engaging as I pray… how to pray, not what exact words to say, cuz I’m not sure that by rote not even clued in stuff can really be called praying…) And so, as He was teaching them how to pray, this was part of that “how”.
Forgive. Just like you’ve been forgiven. Remembering to be grateful to God for the gift of forgiveness makes the act of forgiving so much easier. I have no right to hold a grudge, to refuse to forgive. I’ve been forgiven of so, so much. And I need to make the choice to forgive a part of my prayer life. Did you catch that? Lord, how should we pray? Teach us to pray!
Pray like this: forgive us, as we have also forgiven.
When forgiving is part of our praying, believe me you, things change as to how much sway our little old feelings have over us. It reframes things, and it refocuses things.
I have two more verses to share, both from the New Testament, and I chose them intentionally, because I think it is really a big deal to know what the early church was instructed to do about a certain topic and then for us, the modern church, to do what the book says.
Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV) - 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?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Some versions say seventy times seven. And I have read that the implication was one person sinning against one other person this many times in a single day…the new round of forgiveness would start again the next day. (And for the Jewish people, each day begins as the sun sets, so each evening would be time to let out that deep sign and begin forgiving again…as in, you literally would not allow the sun to go down on your anger since the new day was beginning as the sun was setting.)
Colossians 3?13 - Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.
It’s not my intention to push you around with the Bible, to shame you (because shame is a tool and tactic of the enemy, and God does not want His people to use satan’s means to try and accomplish His will, so there is no guilt or shame in this message today.)
I just want you to hear the Word of God on this very hot topic, and to know that you don’t have to feel like forgiving in order to actually forgive. It’s just a decision, it is a simple but important act of obedience to what our Lord has told us we must do. And we must forgive, or we will not be forgiven.
Oh yeah, this is for sure a hot topic.
But what promise for us, what hope for us, when we live forgiving others. We cannot even begin to imagine how the Lord will use the life of one of His followers who is so all-in when it comes to forgiving that they don’t know how not to forgive. What might He do with such a life?
You could be that one.
Don’t wait another day, another hour, if you know you need to do some forgiving. Do it now, make the decision, and watch God be honored and blessed and bless you in return, because He is such a generous and loving God.
Thanks for joining me today for Part Two of the Hot Topics series.
Hey there and hello to ya today. So glad you are listening to the podcast and hey, I am kicking off a new series on the show called “Hot Topics”. Not exactly the kind of things we might consider hot topics, per se, but some promises we find in the Bible that seem a little bit hard to believe in our very own personal lives. But these are promises God has given us in His Word, hard to believe or not. And I am excited to dig in and stretch our faith as we choose to believe that these promises are true for God’s people.
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You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 144.
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Hot topics.
I have to admit, I am feeling a bit hesitant about this… I mean, it feels awfully big to address the proverbial elephant in the room, right? And in the room of Jesus followers, well, I guess it feels sort of extra big.
The first hot topic promise we will look at is the promise of power.
Now, the reason this is a hot topic is simply because so many of us do not live with much, if any, power from the Lord in our lives. If we’re honest, we can admit that, right? But can we fairly lay the blame for our semi-powerless Christian lives at the Lord’s feet? Or should we say, with a lot of transparency and honesty, that the devil is really good at duping us into thinking either A) we are living in the power Jesus promised us or B) we don’t know what that ought to look like in our daily life, so we don’t pray and ask for it or C) it never really comes to mind at all.
Let me read you a verse from the book of Acts, chapter one, verse 8. The Amplified says, “But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses (to tell people about Me) both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
These are words in red, the very words of Jesus, spoken after His death, burial and resurrection, before He ascended to heaven. He said this, and I expect that He meant exactly what He said.
He didn’t misspeak.
That’s just not a possibility with the Lord.
So we know what Jesus said, and we know He meant it, so what comes next? For us to live in a state of belief that this is a promise for us and He will keep this promise to us, in us, through us.
Now, you do need to know Jesus as Lord and Savior for this promise to be your promise. And I think when you yield your life to Him, when you repent and receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life with Him, and then obey Him, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. That’s pretty Biblical. In the book of Acts, after Jesus ascended to the Father, the disciples and other believers, men and women, gathered in the upper room and when they were there, praying, and waiting for the Holy Spirit (which is what Jesus told them to do) then the Spirit came in like a rushing wind and they had flames of fire, tongues of fire on their heads, and they all received the Holy Spirit. In other places in Acts, we see the apostles praying that new believers would receive the Holy Spirit. I think you can for sure go to your pastor and have him pray for you to receive the Holy Spirit, and I don’t see in my Bible how that would be wrong. It’s the way the first century church did things, ya know?
Because the promise is that we will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. Now you may be thinking this was only for that select group of people at that time, and I want to share a verse from John, chapter 14, verse 16. And I’ll stick with the Amplified to read this for the sake of continuity. It says, and these are the very words of Jesus and in this portion of Scripture He had a lot to say, John 14, 15, 16, to His disciples but also to all who would believe on His name later on (that’s you and me, right). So John 14:16 says: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor - Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) to be with you forever.”
It’s always a good thing to prove the Bible by the Bible, if you would. When you find verses that explain other portions of the Word of God, that’s proving the Bible by the Bible. And that is what John 14:16 does with Acts 1:8. Jesus has asked the Father to give you the Helper, the Holy Spirit. And I don’t think you are the exception, the only child of God who gets left out. That’s really not how our God works, thankfully!
This really is your promise. And we really do want to kind of maximize this one in our lives. I mean, think about who will benefit once the people of God are all living in a state of Holy Spirit power. Your family. Your local church, and the global church. Your neighbors, your coworkers, your extended family, your community, your city and state, the nation, the world. This impacts so many people. Your circumstances, well, how can they get the best of you when you are living in those circumstances filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? The same power that raised Jesus from the grave dwells in you. (That’s straight from Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, Ephesians 1:19-20). The same power that raised Jesus from the grave now dwells in you. There’s a hot topic promise from the Bible, to be sure!
I mean, how do you like them apples?
That’s the power Jesus was talking about in Acts 1:8. Dead man raised up out of the grave power. There is no other comparable power in the world, in the universe.
It’s His intention, and that should make it our expectation.
I should live expecting that what the Lord has promised is going to be my reality.
Now it’s a hot topic, for sure.
But maybe that’s mostly due to the fact that we just don’t live in His power, for the most part.
Honestly, we are sort of lulled to sleep in a spiritual sense by the norms and stresses and distractions of our lives and of the times in which we live.
It’s almost automatic to be lulled, am I right? Don’t have to work at it, just sort of drift into a lull. Keep scrolling. Keep flipping through channels. Keep working on the next project, working toward the next goal in life… all these things can lull us to sleep spiritually. And when that happens, we give little thought to the power of the Holy Spirit in us.
And that seems like a win for the enemy, that dirty dog the devil.
I don’t know about you, but I am so sick and tired of the devil getting W’s. I would love it if he had no further marks in the Win column. When we live in the power and ability, as the Amplified says, of the Holy Spirit, all we do is win and all those tallies for the devil end up in the L column, all losses for the evil one.
For that to be true, you and I have got to get back in the game. Not bystanders, not spectators, but victors through Christ Jesus. More than conquerors in Christ. We’ve got big promises! Let’s start living them out. You know, in the Old Testament when the Israelites finally were ready to cross the Jordan River after forty long years of wandering in the desert, those men who were assigned to carry God’s Ark of the Covenant had to put their feet into the Jordan River, albeit at flood stage, so like think of a river overflowing its banks, and when they did that, out of obedience to the Lord, then the water stopped flowing and the Bible says it heaped up in a pile all the way back to a town called Adam. They had to get their feet wet, and then the promised miracle happened. Sometimes we haven’t gotten our feet wet. We’re angry at God for not moving us forward, for not keeping His promises, but our car is in the garage, in park, keys out of the ignition, doors locked, garage door down, and we’re inside the house. Is that a driveable car? You already know this saying, “God doesn’t drive parked cars.” Well, it can sure be true, can’t it? You may have to get your feet wet, get back in the game, He may be calling you to step out in faith. If He is, then just obey Him. And see what He will do next.
He wants to keep every single promise, you cannot convince me otherwise. And He also is bringing us to a place of maturity, making us more like His Son, Jesus. That’s sanctification. You don’t want your children to be thirty-five and acting like they are two. Neither does God, our good Father. Step out in faith if that is what He is asking you to do. And know that the promise He has made here in Acts chapter one, verse eight, is going to prove true. Believe it.
Expect to have power and ability in your life. Be a witness for the Lord, be part of the reach Jesus talked about here, even to the ends of the earth. Be part of that! The power isn’t about us, really. It’s about honoring our God, bringing Him glory, and reaching people for Him because He loves them. John 3:16, for God so loved. So loved! You know the verse as well as I do. Let’s love well and we do that when we love others, not when we love ourselves. (Can I say that again, because it kind of matters quite a lot…)
Acts 17 verse 6 in the ESV says: And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also..”
Okay, so obviously I shared a verse sort of like jumping in right in the middle of a movie, at a super critical and exciting part. So these believers had been making some waves (and anybody who ever makes a real difference in this world, maybe especially a good kind of difference, makes waves - that’s just the reality, the wave makers are the change agents, that’s just the way it is). They had made an impact, influenced some people, disrupted the status quo (the status quo has changed, son… that’s my movie quote for this episode…bonus points if you know what movie that is from…) These men have turned the world upside down.
There are far worse things that could be said about us.
I’d be honored to turn my little corner of the world upside down for Jesus’ name and for the Kingdom of our God.
But we cannot do that in our own might (which is basically nill). We need the power that comes from the Holy Spirit, and then we can do great exploits for our King.
This promise is for you today. And I hope that you can walk in the fullness of the power the Holy Spirit wants to pour out into your life and see people’s lives changed and God glorified. My prayer for you today is that you will receive power and ability from the Spirit of the Living God who indwells you, and that you will put the key of your life into the ignition, turn it over and ask, “Where we going today, Lord? Cuz I’m all in.”
Lord bless you today, and if this episode has encouraged you, I’d love for you to share it.
Connect with Jan here:
Instagram @JanLBurt
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Facebook Jan L. Burt Author & Podcaster Page
Connect with Jan here:
Instagram @JanLBurt
TikTok @JanLBurt
Facebook Jan L. Burt Author & Podcaster Page
Hello to ya today, welcome back to the podcast (and if you’re new to the show, can I just say how excited I am that you’re listening today?). You know, talking about the promises God has given us in the Bible is a privilege that I am highly aware of and so grateful for. And today, we are looking at a promise found in the book of Hebrews that will encourage us and bless us in so many ways. Ready to talk about? Let’s jump right in.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 143.
Hebrews 6:13-20 NLT
13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
14
“I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[c]
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Chapter 7, verse 25 -
25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save[e] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
These are incredible verses of encouragement for us!
Here we are, followers of Jesus in 2023, who can bank on the fact that these words are true for us. They are for us, and they show us that our God is for us.
It’s really easy to lose that truth, isn’t it? Sure, this is great stuff, but my life doesn’t seem so great right now and anyway, maybe this just isn’t meant for me, doesn’t apply to me.
Look, if it is for freedom that Jesus set you free, and it is according to the book of Galatians, then these verses are for you and they are not for down the road, later on, to give you hope that is far out there somewhere, but leave you hopeless in the here and now. That sounds like a ploy the devil, our sworn mortal enemy if you will, would use. Oh, sure, give ‘em some hope, but extend it out into the future, into a vastness… If we get on that path and stay on that path, eventually we will walk that path directly into a pit of discouragement. The Lord wants to encourage you now, as in RIGHT NOW. And when the future gets here, when later on become right now, He will encourage you again. But you don’t need to wait around until the time comes when God’s promises and His encouragement will be for you. This is for you, and it is for now, today, this very moment.
Do you think Abraham had any encouragement and blessing from walking as closely with the Lord as he did? Or do you think he only had despair as he awaited the fulfillment of God’s promise? Do you think we can learn anything from the life and the attitude of Abraham? Of course we can! Abraham waited patiently, and then he received what God had promised.
Good counsel, solid advice. If God has made you a specific promise and it hasn’t happened YET, keep waiting with patience, with expectancy, growing in your belief that what He said is what will be, and as you wait, keep loving the Lord with passion and fervency. When the promise is fulfilled, will it be sweet or will it be bittersweet? One of those is a better choice, by far.
It goes on to talk about binding oaths. Look, people used to take it really seriously when they used the words, “I swear!” And Jesus took those words so seriously that He said we should not swear by or on anything or anyone, but let our yes be yes and our no be no. Oaths must be serious then, right?
God bound HImself with this oath.
Think about that for a moment.
He bound Himself.
So that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. Can you even?
Like, why do we ever give ourselves permission to feed our doubts? To fuel our own fears? To wonder and then to wander? When The God who bound Himself with an oath did so in order that we could be perfectly sure He will never, ever change His mind.
A promise made is a promise kept with our God.
That’s who my God is. This God of the Bible, He has never broken a promise.
Vs 18 says God has given His promise and His oath.
These two things are unchangeable. It is impossible for God to lie.
Okay, so I guess if I had to get down to the heart of this episode, the one handful of words that I want to stick with you like glue, it’s this right here.
It. Is. Impossible. For. God. To. Lie.
Ain’t gonna happen, my friend. Ain’t gonna happen to you because it isn’t possible. Zero percent probability.
It is impossible for your God to lie to you.
Can I be more direct somehow? More blunt? More frank with you?
In the military, they say, “Permission to speak freely, sir.” and the reply is usually, “Permission granted.”
I’m speaking freely to you, and doing so with the permission granted by Hebrews 6:18
This is the truth. My question is, is this your personal truth?
How are you doing at living as if this is true for you? This promise that it is impossible for God to lie? How are things in that department of your life?
Listen up, buttercup; this promise is reality whether or not you believe it. It’s true, so why not just accept that and move forward knowing it as a fact?
Isn’t believing this a big, big part of receiving and living in God’s love? His very personal, completely unending love for you?
Let me read all of verse 18 once more: So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
Have you fled to Him for refuge? If you know Jesus, you have given your life to Him, received His payment for your sins, then you have indeed fled to Him for refuge. (And important to note here, if you have done that but have not yet been baptized, don’t wait. We have two sacraments, those are communion and baptism. Go ahead and get baptized as soon as possible if you have yet to do so.)
So those who have fled to the Lord for refuge can, and should, have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
Look, not everything has come to pass yet, right? So hold on! Keep holding on! Do not let go! And have great confidence because you aren’t holding on to thin air, to anything this world offers, to yourself or to your pastor or spouse or parents. You are holding on to hope, and that hope actually has a name. Jesus.
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
Strong and trustworthy. Not weak and unworthy of our trust. Do we act like this is true? Boy, we sure ought to. Nothing weak about our God. Nothing untrustworthy about Jesus. And it leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. (Talk about this briefly.) Here is what verse 20 says: 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Sometimes I really do think we forget how blessed we are, how good we have it, what has been given to us by Jesus. These verses help me remember what I am far too inclined to forget in the day-to-day.
Now we jump to the next part of the book of Hebrews, chapter 7, verse 25.
25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save[e] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
Huge, huge promise here. He, Jesus, is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him.
And He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
Did you catch that? Like, did that hit you upside the head and sort of rattle your cage and startle you? It should! Every time we read or hear this verse we should be startled!
He’s got you. And He lives to intercede for you.
He is taking you before the throne of the Father today and interceding for you.
Is that not great news? A great reminder that you never, ever walk alone through the things in this life, not one single thing and not for one single moment?
He cannot lie to you. That would be impossible. And He always intercedes for you. Which makes all things possible.
Once more for the folks in the back.
Hebrews teaches us that God cannot lie to you - that would be impossible.
And Jesus always intercedes for you - which makes all things possible.
Today, I want to encourage you to lean the full weight of your life, all the ups and downs and ins and outs of it, onto these verses. They are yours, my friend. And they are yours right now, today, in this very hour.
Thanks so much for listening today. I’d love to connect with you and you can find me via the social medias at the links at the top of the show notes for this episode. And to all who shared the last several episodes, thank you so much. Getting the Word of God spread as far and wide as possible is the goal, and I am very blessed to be a small part of what the Lord is doing in this world. See you next time and Lord bless you today!
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Well, hey there. Welcome to this week’s podcast episode. I’m the host of the show, Jan L. Burt, and I am thankful you’re taking the time to listen to episode 142. It is early April of 2023 as I record this episode, and we are in the midst of Easter week. And the Lord impressed Psalm 23 on my heart for this week’s show. I’m excited to jump in and talk about this well-known psalm and how it can bring us hope as we look toward Resurrection Sunday.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 142.
So for this episode, I’m going to read verses from Psalm 23, probably going to stick with the Amplified Bible today, and also talk about Jesus and the Resurrection and the hope we have. Hope that did not exist beforehand. You know, hope is kind of like gold in that it is valuable in a special kind of way. Like wedding bands, those have a special value, different than other jewelry. Hope springs eternal, that’s how the saying goes. And when it is hope based in Jesus, that’s the truth. Eternity is placed in the hearts of mankind by God as one of the many means He uses to draw us to Himself. He does not want anybody to perish, to spend eternity apart from Him (and apart from God, well, that means eternity in hell. Hell is a real place, sorry if you were taught differently, but the Bible makes it perfectly clear that hell is real and seriously, I am going to take the authority of the one who died for me over any other so-called authority. The founders, leaders, gods of other religions did not go from God to a baby to a man who was crucified, who went willingly to the cross, and rose again. Christianity is different in that regard, not like any other religious system that has ever been. And so, yes, I do believe that hell is real and has been prepared for satan and his demons and those who do not yield their life to Jesus don’t get heaven.)
Hope. It is critical for the disciple of Jesus. We need it, and He provides it.
Verse one - The LORD is my Shepherd (to feed, to guide and to shield me), I shall not want.
There’s that powerful present-tense verb! Not was, not will be at some point later on, but is, right now, currently.
The Lord is my Shepherd. He guides us. Isn’t that great news, hopeful news? Did Jesus stop guiding us after the Ascension? No! He is guiding us right now, and He is a very good, very trustworthy Shepherd. If you need guidance, He has it for you. That’s the first thing I notice when I read this psalm and think of Easter. I have guidance now, and I didn’t have that before Jesus saved me. Whenever I need it, I have it. Boy, that’s awfully good news!
And the Lord feeds us, His sheep, as He is our Shepherd. What areas of your life seem hungry or even starved? You’ve heard of attention starved children, right? Do you feel attention starved? Are you starving or even just slightly hungered in any part of your life right now? The Resurrected Jesus is the One who can feed you. You are not going to lack, you shall not want. I know that seems like too big of a promise for God to keep. We can all evaluate the state of the world, personal experiences, people who did not seem to be taken care of and we can use all those things as our legit reasons to just decide not to believe passages like this one.
But to what end? My New Testament says that he, or she, who endures to the end will be saved. Not she who punches out when it gets challenging to believe all the things the Bible promises. Pray on those things that try to trip you up, talk to God about those exact areas where you are tempted to doubt Him, let Him comfort you, speak to you on that issue, encourage you as in give you courage that you need to keep on believing even when it seems impossible, and then move forward with the Lord. That’s enduring. And that is a very different thing than many of us do when we bump up against doubts. When we work harder at enduring in our jobs than we do in our, say, marriages, our parenting, our friendships, and our walk with the Lord, that’s an indictment. Every one of us has heard that word indictment a bazillion times the last couple of weeks, and the reason is it’s a serious thing to be indicted. So, we don’t need the indictment on our own lives of working harder at enduring in our work or to run a marathon or our hobbies or or or than we do in our enduring with the Lord. One is vastly more critical than all the others combined.
He said he would feed you. Ask Him to, and be specific. I need this many dollars to pay the car insurance this month. Believe He will keep His word to you. And keep on loving Him, serving Him, enjoying being a child of God while you wait with expectation for Him to do the feeding. Won’t He do it?
And to shield you, to shield me. When you need some protection, some extra covering, He is the One who can take care of you by shielding you. He isn't saying He will send a shield to you but that He will shield you. I love that. He is close to you, right there with you in those hard times. The phone rings, you see the number, the stress starts to increase and guess what? He is there with you, in that moment, and He will guide you, shield you, feed you. And without the Cross, without Easter, you and I do not have hope for this promise. Easter changed everything, and shouldn’t it also keep changing things for us day after day after day until we finally see our Savior face to face?
End of verse 1 says I shall not want.
Believe this to be true, and true for you. God does not want you living in a state of want, feeling alone and maybe even something like an orphan. He wants you to not want, because He is taking care of you continually. He won’t miss some critical thing and say OOPS, my bad. That would be ridiculous. So don’t live your life as if the ridiculous were reality. It isn’t, it never will be. You shall not want. Because God says to. And because Jesus rose from the dead to finalize all of this, for eternity.
Verse 2 - He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
Sometimes, some days, we need rest. We need to take it easy. And guess what? Sometimes we don’t want to. We want Him to re-energize us to keep doing more, keep pushing forward, keep on keeping on. But what if it is time to rest, to be led by the still and quiet waters for a while? What if that is the season He has for you right now? It’s easy to be so used to being busy that we feel “off” when we slow way down, but when God says this is that time for you, may it be unto you as He desires it to be. There is a time for every season under heaven, and one of those times will be green pastures and quiet waters. Peaceful.
Easter is the ultimate promise of peace, the ultimate peace accord, the only one that will last and stand the test of time. Be at peace this Easter, because Jesus died to give you that peace.
Verse 3 - He refreshes and restores my soul (life); He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Whenever I run into the wall and I’m just done, and I need some restoring refreshing, well, I can actually have it. God isn’t offering it and then saying nah nah nah nah boo boo, you can’t catch me, you can’t have this. It’s ours! And it is continually, you won’t use it up if you have a need and then another one real soon. Life is hard. The Lord knows that. And so He has made provision. This is that provision. He will restore and refresh, and Easter reminds us of that perhaps more than any other time of the entire year, doesn’t it?
And He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
When you and I bear His name, He doesn’t forget that. He does things for His name’s sake. How much less would His name be misused, even defiled, if we really bore this in mind? He leads, so I need to follow that path of righteousness He is leading me on. Cuz it’s about His name, not mine. Would it be better for us if we thought about that more often? Do the right thing, go the way He leads, for His name’s sake? You bear His name as a Christian. Why not pause and reflect on that this Easter? Look what He did for you, for me, can we not follow where He leads and realize when we don’t follow, when we choose not to walk in paths of righteousness, we don’t represent our God properly? We slander His name? Let Him refresh you and restore you this Resurrection Sunday. And also, let Him lead you. Where He leads, will you follow?
Verse 4 - Even though I walk through the (sunless) valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod (to protect) and Your staff (to guide), they comfort and console me.
Jesus faced death on our behalf, and then He dealt death a final death blow.
When you walk through those sunless places, remember how He defeated death for you. When evil seems scary, don’t give in to even a smidgen of fear because Jesus secured the victory at Calvary. He is with you, literally the Spirit of the Living God dwells within you, and so, you need not fear.
He has His rod to protect you, let Him fight off your enemies and foes, and His staff will guide you, so when you feel that nudge, that tap of His staff to get you back on track, don’t get annoyed or feelings hurt or any of that. Instead, be grateful that you get to experience your Good Shepherd's love and care and attention to all the details in your life and allow these to comfort and console you. It’s a blessing to be bumped and reoriented by the staff of our Risen King. Not everyone has this blessing. Rejoice in it. Thank Him for it. It’s a tremendous gift that Easter ensures for us.
Verse 5 - You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
Sometimes, right in the middle of the mess, He is going to have you sit down to a feast. A well prepared meal, a well set table, in the presence of your enemies. Sometimes God shows up, shows off, and shows out by feeding us right where they can see it all. Let Him do what He will, when He chooses. Let Him handle things and often, the way He handles them will be very surprising for you and for your enemies. And don’t try to pretend you don’t have any enemies. You do. If not, then beware when all men speak well of you. Jesus said those words. If you are living for Jesus, you will have enemies. Let the Shepherd handle things. Let Him set that table for you to feast in their presence. Let Him.
And when He anoints your head with oil, when He refreshes you, when you are filled up to the tippy top and have a renewed vigor and sense of purpose, thank Him, then do as He leads.
Your cup will overflow. Easter is the perfect time to get blessed with an overflowing cup.
Verses 6 - Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell forever in the house and in the presence of the LORD.
This is the big one, the kicker, the finale of the 23rd Psalm
Surely.
Not maybe, not ifs here. Surely.
Goodness and mercy and unfailing shall (that means will!) follow you all the days of your life. All of them.
Celebrate this promise this Easter.
Then, you will be living in His presence all your days and will just one day move into His presence in eternity and will dwell in the house and presence of your Lord forever.
That’s Easter, my friend. Rising from the dead makes this your reality, now and forever.
Lord, may we stay near to You and depend on You and believe You for Your every promise. Your goodness toward us knows no bounds, and this Easter we celebrate You and You alone. Until we are blessed to be with you eternally, we will praise Your name and live for You in this life. May we be an example of Your love to a watching and hurting world, and may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven.
Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life and shedding Your blood so we could live forgiven and free. We glorify You this Resurrection Sunday.
Amen
Thanks so much for joining me today, and I hope to see you back here next time.
If this episode encouraged you, I’d love for you to share it. See you next time!
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Well hello there, welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. This week I’m going to share from a passage in the New Testament, from the book of Matthew, and it is one of the parables that Jesus taught. There’s a lot of hope in this parable, and we need that, wouldn’t you say? We need faith, we need hope, we need love, because these three will remain, as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. If we apply what Jesus taught in Matthew 25:1-13, I think our faith and our hope will grow, and our love will also increase. Triple threat, coming at ya from the Word of God today. Let’s check it out.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 141.
So, let me start off by mentioning that Matthew 24, which is one chapter prior to the text I’m referencing today, in that chapter Jesus was sharing about the future. He spoke on the last days, mentioned the book of Daniel, and His return, what we often refer to as His Second Coming. And at the close of chapter 24, the Lord explained pretty clearly what His servants, faithful servants as He put it, ought to be like. A faithful, sensible servant is one the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If he returns and finds that the servants, his servants, not those who serve themselves but those who serve the master, if he finds they’ve done a good job, there will be a reward. But if they have not done what the master finds to be a good job (so, it doesn’t say to do what you or I as His servants consider to be a good job, but to do what He considers a good job…) he will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
See Matthew 24, verses 45-51 if you’d like to read it for yourself. It’s brutal in its honesty, but isn’t that what a good, loving God does? Tells the truth, in its brutal entirety, to those He loves so that they can know exactly what He expects and what the end results will be, for obedience or disobedience? Yeah, it can be hard to read text like this, but it’s a loving reminder of the absolute truth given to us by a loving God who does not want to catch us unawares.
That is the text that comes just prior to the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, or the Ten Virgins (depending on which translation you are reading from).
In the NLT, it says:
Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight they were roused by the shout, “Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!” All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, “Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.” But the others replied, “We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.” But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, “Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!” But he called back, “Believe me, I don’t know you!” So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of My return.
Reading this directly on the heels of Jesus speaking about the master and the servants and the rewards and punishments that will come at that time opens our eyes to how seriously Jesus wanted the listeners to take this, and us as the readers of the Bible to take it.
We should take it seriously because it is serious.
And today is the day to step up and get real about the fact that Jesus said a lot, quite a lot, about His return. If He talked about it a lot, we should pay attention to it a lot.
Think of it this way: the entire book of Revelation, which is by the way the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to the reader so that’s pretty substantial, but the entire book of Revelation is 22 chapters of loads of prophecy. It’s a book about Jesus, right? Don’t let the scary parts scare you - because Jesus said in regard to the last days, end times things, not to be afraid. Luke 21, He says that exact thing. When you see these things happening, don’t be fearful. So I really hope you and I can trust Him so much that we will do as He said, and choose not to give way to fear. And it is a choice. If Jesus said not to be afraid, we don’t HAVE to be fearful.
In the parable I just read, there is a depiction of a Jewish wedding. Israeli weddings paint a picture of Jesus and His return. They really do. (Share a few details here)
Isn’t it incredible that thousands of years before He returns the Lord set up this type of wedding and it accurately portrays what His return will be like?
The Bible is always, always pointing to one thing, to One Man, Jesus. It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus from start to finish. And the ten bridesmaids, who were they waiting for? The groom. Who is the groom? If we are the Bride of Christ, then Christ is the groom.
We are waiting for our Groom’s arrival, and like a Jewish wedding, it will come with trumpets sounding.
When the parable mentions the bridesmaids falling asleep, because the hour grew late, that’s convicting, isn’t it? These ten were not five who know the Lord and five who don’t. Nope. Not five who go to church a few times a year, the Christmas and Easter services. Nope. These would be the ones who were paying enough attention to know the groom was on His way. All of them, all ten.
So let’s consider that for a moment. How are you and I doing at recognizing the signs of the times and paying attention to the current season we are in? Are we aware enough to grab our lamps and expectantly wait for what is coming? Or do we even know where we are on the Kingdom calendar?
We have to start there. If we totally miss the season we are in, thinking things will go back to normal, not much is going on right now, sure there are some things happening but you know, mostly it’s all okay, still got a whole lot of time left…well, I want to say that in the spring of 2023, even a modicum of head in the sand thinking can be deceptive and dangerous. Based on this parable, like deadly dangerous.
In this era of history, it is important to keep our eyes on Israel. What’s going on over there? You know, in the age of the Gentile church, when those of us who are not Jewish, have the opportunity to come to salvation through the Messiah, Jesus, we have had a long stretch where we haven’t kept our eyes on Israel. But when I read the Bible, in later days, things shift back to Israel. We want to be watching so we notice even the tiniest of shifts, and then we won’t be taken by surprise when things ramp up. You have to look, because our news sources don’t always talk about Israel. Right now, a lot is happening in Israel. Really interesting stuff, and it all lines up with the Word of God.
Important to pay attention to what is happening in Israel, in Palestine, in Iran, in Syria, etc. What’s up with their government currently? Got some heavy duty protesting going on right now. Key members of government resigning. Some working to pass laws that would end up with prison time for those who share Christianity with the Jewish populace. Red heifers that are being moved to Shiloh and are about two years old now. Important stuff that has to do with what Jesus said would take place right up close to the time of His return.
Caveat: I know He said no man, or woman, knows the hour or the day of His return. And that is unarguably true.
I wonder, though, if there are people who maybe reference that one verse and leave out everything else that Jesus said about knowing the signs of the times as His return draws near. He had some strong words for those who could read the sky and know the next day’s weather but had no clue about the things that matter most. What matters more to the church that bears His name than us knowing what season we are in and paying attention so we will not be caught off guard or un-ready when the Groom arrives?
Okay, let’s frame this through the parable.
Ten bridesmaids, all started with oil in the lamp. What’s the oil? Oil is usually representative of the Holy Spirit. Like, always I guess…no need to say usually because it’s always.
Keep your lamp filled with enough oil that if the hour grows late, like the announcement had come and the groom was on his way and he was delayed and they fell asleep in the streets out there waiting for him, so all ten were dialed in, paying attention, acted on the announcement, and none went home back to their own bed when the hour grew late and he hadn’t shown up yet. Asleep in the street while they waited - Jesus didn’t say anything about falling asleep while they waited. He is telling us it will seem like it’s taking so long, even when all the signs are there to announce His soon arrival. Are we gonna hang if it takes a long, long time?
And how are we going to hang in there? Only if we keep oil in our lamps. In that moment, we will not have time to say, “Hang on, I need to get prayed up right quick and make sure I have not been quenching the Spirit by my lifestyle, by my neglect of time with Him in my very own everyday life, I need a sec, almost ready, gimme a moment.” Peter, James, Paul introduce themselves like this: “I, Paul…I, Peter… I, James… a slave to Jesus Christ”. If we do only what we want and just flake out on what the Lord wants us to be about, can we refer to ourselves as slaves to Christ? Jesus is not going to say, “Oh, no worries. Take your time. Go find some more oil. Let me just work around your schedule, how would that be?” That is not what will happen. Delay? No good. Keep your own personal lamp filled with oil. Anything else? That will not work, my friend.
We have to have oil ready for when the moment comes.
Now, don’t shoot the messenger. It’s in your Bible, too. I didn’t write it, I’m just sharing what Jesus point blank, plainly said. He told us what He wants us to know, so we need to just do what He said.
The last week or so I have heard these exact words said over and over and over again by people in a myriad of different places, via email, instagram, and TikTok. These words: Get Your House In Order
And one man, a pastor from Ireland, shared that in conjunction with this parable. Keep oil in your lamp. Most important thing, right there.
When I see or hear or read the same thing again and again, I pay attention. This isn’t random, because our God does not do random.
That's why we can, and should, trust Him completely. Random is not a thing in the Kingdom of Almighty God. That fact right there is enough to give us great hope.
Couple that with this amazing, beautiful warning to keep oil in your lamp for this exact moment and then you will be ready when He returns for His bride, and you will go into the wedding supper of the Lamb. You don’t want to miss that, not for the world.
And it’s clear, you can’t share your oil with anybody else. That’s not God’s way, so it wouldn’t be the right way. You’ve heard it said that God has no grandchildren, that’s true. It’s your relationship with Him, and none other, that keeps oil, the Holy Spirit, filled up in the lamp which is like your life. Be much with the Lord, stay filled up with the Spirit of the living God. Don’t neglect Him, take time to be with Him, carve out that time. Put some effort into it. Pay attention, like if your personal time with the Lord costs you nothing at all, what are you really paying into it? How you can you pay attention if it costs zero of you? Something to think about.
Jesus will return for His church, His bride, His people. We are not alone, orphaned, abandoned. We have hope that extends beyond the reach of death, hell, the grave, illness, lack or loss, stress, poverty, and so on. Should we not be the most hopeful, the most excited, the most looking up with anticipation kind of people in the world? Yes! If you have hope, you should be hopeful. And if you need some hope, I know where you can access it. Be much with the Lord. Therein lies all the hope, the joy, the peace, the love, the comfort, the wisdom, the grace, the favor that you need.
Be much with your Lord. Because I can promise you, He wants to be much with you.
Next week will be a special episode for Easter, for Resurrection Sunday. Join me for that. And thanks for listening today, Lord bless you exceedingly, abundantly and fill you with hope, and fill your lamp with oil.
Thankful for you - see you next time.
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Well hey, a big old hello to you today. So glad you’re listening to the show today, and I hope … well, more than hope, I’ve actually prayed that you will be blessed and encouraged and shored up and bolstered in your faith as a result of this episode. God has so much in store for His people, and as we study His word, the Bible, and literally take Him at His word, we will find ourselves in our sweet spot. Not just saying that, I believe it. Every day, I believe it. The older I get, the more I believe it. Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The same Lord, the Way, the Truth & the Life, is going to keep His every promise. I know the One in whom I have trusted. He is good, He is faithful, He is powerful, and He is holy.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, playing now via the Edifi app. This is episode number 140.
Holiness.
Boy, I feel like I have said this so many times the last few weeks. Holiness matters.
Like, a lot. A lot, lot.
God called us to holiness, so we need to pursue that to which we have been called. Because the One who did the calling, He is the One who answered the call to go to the Cross in our place. I don’t want my life to be so focused on this life and the things of this world that I totally miss out on heeding God’s call to live a holy life. And hey, I cannot do that on my own. I have no ability to be holy in Jan’s own strength. Nope. I gotta depend completely on the Holy Spirit to work out holiness in me. So that ends up being my sweet spot to live out my life. Anything that draws me to the Lord and keeps me right there up close and personal with Him, I’ve grown to see that as a tremendous gift. Keeps me close to Jesus? Alright! I like that!
The call to holiness and my own in the flesh inability to answer the call to holiness puts me in a position to stay ultra close to the Lord so that He can work out His call to holiness in my life. It’s totally a win-win.
There is a verse in the New Testament book of Hebrews, and I’m going to read it from the King James Version today. It’s a powerful verse.
Hebrews 12:14 - Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
I’d also like to share it with you from the New Living Translation.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Here on TBNES I often mention that little word WILL.
It’s important to note that when a verse states that something will or will not happen, God really does mean will or will not. Will means will. All means all.
It’s crazy encouraging to remember that one simple truth when we find a promise in God’s Word. It fuels belief. Literally, fans it into flame. Sets our hearts ablaze within us.
And when God says will not? That should also set something ablaze in us.
A conviction to do, or not do, whatever God is instructing.
Disobedient children. Ever been around one? Ever been one yourself? When you find yourself surrounded by a pack of disobedient children, you become fully aware that nobody else is in charge, because once parents have abdicated their God ordained parental role, things get wild. Backwards. Out of sorts and out of control. All sorts of messed up. It’s not God’s order, and we know that He is a God or order, not of disorder or chaos. See 1 Corinthians 14:33 to read that verse in its entirety.
Disobedient children are unruly, living in a state of chaos.
It comes with the territory. If the shoe fits, and all that, right?
God is not one to parent us in a manner that has ever or will ever warrant our unruly disobedience. Period. If we disobey, it’s on us, not Him. He is, of course, the perfect Father. No way around that fact. Our unruly behavior is not His fault. It just isn’t.
If this verse from Hebrews is what He wants from us, and we don’t even try to obey, then we are, by definition, disobedient.
Work at living in peace with everyone (okay…everyone…okay, Lord…because You say so, I’m gonna get after this and trust You to help me where I need helping!) and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Work at this, my friend! Put in some effort. That’s what work is. Work has an actual definition, and we understand that as it relates to the place we go five days a week in exchange for a paycheck, health benefits, retirement plan, etc. We know what work is. We know what it means to work. We just don’t act like that word means what it means when it comes to our own personal walk with Jesus.
Am I stepping on any toes today? Hey, I’m probably stomping on your entire foot with this episode. Mashing all your buttons. Bringing up all kinds of emotions. But that is what God’s Word does at times. If you and I are never startled and kind of awakened from our slumber in some area of our life, we may not be allowing the Bible to penetrate our hearts.
If we can go to workday after day for our earthly provision, if we recognize and act on the importance of work as it pertains to this temporary life, why don’t work hard spiritually speaking, when it impacts eternal life? Not a works-based salvation, that is not a thing per the Bible. Jesus paid it all, and I want to be totally clear about this. I’m not ever going to advocate a works-based salvation. It’s 100% Him, I did nothing to earn my salvation or attain it. But after my salvation, I am responsible to spend time investing in my relationship with my Savior. And one way I do that is by reading, and believing, the Word of God. And in the Bible, here in Hebrews 12, I am flat out told to work at living a holy life. I am not given a pass to dishonor Jesus by my blatant, sinful, outrageously not-Christlike behaviors. Holy living is what I am called to, and that call does not in any way, shape or form negate that my salvation was obtained completely by Jesus at Calvary. The two don’t fight against each other. It’s about maturing in the Lord. Living a holy life matters because God said it does. In fact, He says that those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
This is so serious!
Will not.
God is not playing here.
We must follow holiness, as the KJV says.
Follow it. Get after it. Don’t let it be far off in the distance. Keep close to it.
Let’s view holiness properly, and no longer make excuses within the church or in our own lives for a lack of a holy pursuit. Can we all agree that in light of the Word of God, and in light of what Jesus did for us on the Cross, that holiness is important?
Follow peace. Keep pace with it. That’s a simple way to say live right, live holy. Don’t be lagging in this area. You can’t be a person of peace for other people, on their behalf, in their stead. But as far as it depends on you, be a man or woman of peace. Work at it, says the NLT. That sounds like effort.
Peace and holy living matter to the Lord. So, they both need to matter to His children.
Do we A) understand holiness and do we B) value holiness?
Our lives will reveal the answer to both questions. No need to try and hide it, this isn’t a test we can cheat on. Our lives provide the answer. It’s clear, like it or not.
If you are in hot pursuit of something, you are following it, right? If we do not value something, we are not going to pursue it, and certainly not with any fervor. Hot pursuit does not describe the lukewarm believer. People in pursuit of something are going after it to obtain it, to overtake it, to accomplish the end goal.
Let’s be like that - driving on the Highway of Holiness like it's the Autobahn and we’re in a Bugatti or a McLaren or an Aston Martin or a Gordan Murray. James Bond this thing, ya know?
Wear the tread off the tires. That kind of fervency!
Holiness. I think the Church and the world need a whole lot more of it.
A bit shorter episode today, but it gives you a few spare minutes to pause and pray and talk to the Lord about your current biggest, most looming needs and to listen for His reply, His guidance and wisdom and hope and His help.
And next time, in episode 141, we’re gonna dig into God’s promises and grab hold of hope. Kind of hope-dealer over here, that’s my goal. Keep living all in for Jesus, because I tell you what, on that day when you meet Him face to face, you will not regret for one millisecond that choice.
Lord bless you, see ya next time.
Bye bye
Connect with Jan here:
Instagram @JanLBurt
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Facebook Jan L. Burt Author & Podcaster Page
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents on Amazon
Well, hello there and a big old Happy Spring to you today. Anybody else glad that spring seems to be here, or almost here? I’m hopeful and praying that good things are growing and bearing fruit in your life as a result of what the Lord is doing in and through you, and the spring season reminds me of that. I’m grateful you are listening today as we think about, talk about, and hopefully also prayerfully consider how holiness makes an impact on us individually and as part of the corporate body of Christ. Let’s get going!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing via the Edifi app. This is episode number 139.
In episode 138 I shared from Psalm 30, verse 4, as well as Isaiah 35:8 and 2 Corinthians 7:1. Three fantastic verses from the Bible that kicked off the podcast series on holiness.
Psalm 30:4 KJV - Sing to the LORD, O ye His saints, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
Let’s rejoice in the fact that the God we love and who loves us is holy. This is such good news for us! He can’t suddenly stop being holy, right? And His holiness comes with assurance to us that He will not quote/unquote mistreat or mishandle the ones He so dearly loves. So good to know this!
Isaiah 35:8 NLT - And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there.
Who you walk with matters. Remember that!
2 Corinthians 7:1 Amplified - Therefore, since we have these great and wonderful promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness (living a consecrated life - a life set apart for God's purpose, in the fear of God).
God’s promises are true, and He wants them to be our reality. Maybe not all at once, all on the same day, instantly like our drive-thru fast-food society has gotten so used to…but true for us, nonetheless. Because of this, we should want to live a holy, consecrated life that really is set apart for God’s purposes.
Now let’s look at 1 Thessalonians 4:7, from the Amplified Bible.
For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness (to be dedicated, and set apart by behavior that pleases Him).
This verse gives us a working definition, like a one-sentence how-to manual regarding living out a holy life as a follower of the Lord Jesus.
First things first, it tells us that God has not called us to impurity.
Like, this could be a mic drop moment all by itself.
Definitions for impurity include: lack of consistency - contamination or pollution - the quality or condition of being impure - something that makes something else impure -
So God has not called us to a lack of consistency (hint hint - the way you live out your daily walk with Jesus is actually very important and is a purity issue - it matters enough to God to PUT IT IN THE BIBLE and so it ought to matter to His people, am I right??). He has not called us to contamination or pollution - so, let’s be careful and cautious and not let ourselves just get overrun by the world and it’s systems (and it has systems, like it or not, it just does - and many of those are not aligned with God’s Kingdom and His ways). And don’t be the one doing the polluting and contaminating. Like, if you are into really trashy music, if you play video games and the group you play with online uses garbage language and you kind of do sometimes too, say you drink too much (and for me as the daughter of an alcoholic who died in a tragic manner at age 47 while intoxicated, I can tell you that too much is probably a limit to be reached far below what you might think…it cost me and my family so much, I just think one drop of something that can cause the kind of lasting damage my dad’s death caused is too much. And before you quote Paul to me, when he told Timothy to take a little wine because since it was good for the stomach…well, if you need to use a verse like that, with it’s obvious and totally clear medicinal intent, if you use that verse to explain away or defend your consumption of alcohol…um, that says a lot and none of what it says is positive and maybe I can be the loud, bold voice encouraging you to lay off the sauce and go dry. Remember when we used to be more frank and bold about things like this, things that can literally wake someone up out of a stupor, show them that others can see they are on a bad, bad track and help them do a hard reset that changes their life for the better? Can we get back to that? I guess I just did get back to it. I’m not sorry! Standing at my dad’s freshly dug grave at age 15 - that girl ain’t sorry to be so frank in her speaking either. Too high a price was paid and it was never what the Lord wanted. Nuff said about that for today.) The quality or condition or being impure. God didn’t call us to that. What’s the state you live in? Hard question, important question. The quality of your life is determined by the condition or state in which you live. Is it pure, or impure? Something that makes something else impure - this could turn into a lengthy list of things God has not called us to. It’s okay, it’s good, it’s fitting and appropriate for God’s people to avoid things that make us impure. Don’t think I need to go into great detail, but some things we just avoid. God didn’t call us to certain things. And sometimes, just by taking a verse and breaking it down and actually applying it to our lives, rather than skimming over it, reading the entire paragraph as fast as possible, well that may not bring about the life change that God wants for us.
If He wants real and lasting change in our lives as a result of knowing Him and of knowing what He has said to us in His Word, the Bible, then we should also want that. Make our desires Your desires, Lord. And may we not miss the details that You’ve given us in the Word of God. Amen to that?
So what has He called us to?
To holiness, it says here in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 7.
Our God has called us to holiness.
To be dedicated and set apart by behavior that pleases Him.
I’m so glad this verse is this clear! Lest you think I’m just harping on you today, a harpy in trousers to quote True Grit, hey I’m not just bagging on you. This isn’t my own idea here, this idea of holiness. Good grief, no! I was a walking, talking disaster before Jesus reached down into the pit that was my existence (not exactly a life I was living, more like existing and drifting along on the byways). I did not know one single thing about holiness.
But God! Is He not mighty to save? Yeah He is!
Are you, am I, dedicated to behavior that pleases God?
Dedicated to it?
When’s the last time you were dedicated to something?
Sold out working toward a goal. All in. Committed. Could not be deterred or distracted. Focused. Dialed in. In the zone. Nobody pulling you off your A game. Dedicated!
When?
That’s how He wants us to be regarding the way we behave! Dedicated to behavior that pleases Him. And what doesn’t please Him? Go to the Word and see what it says. Sexual sins do not please Him. Filthy language and lying lips do not please Him. Hate in your heart, bitterness, anger, malice, wrath, speaking badly about others, manipulation (yeah, that makes the list… remember King Saul in the Old Testament, first king of Israel, before David was king? He manipulated on a grand scale and God did not take kindly to it). Stealing bits and pieces from your workplace, God’s not good with that. What the Word says, take it seriously and live accordingly and where it seems too hard to live per the Word of God, cry out to the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit of God to do it in you, through you, and for you and He will answer that prayer. You ask God to make a holy life your life and boy won’t He do it? Yes indeed, you’d better believe it. And in this era, this day and age, when the writing is on the wall and the signs of the times all point toward the end of the world coming soon and then soon and very soon we will meet our King, I’m completely serious about this, in this era, you and I need to live holy lives. Because without holiness no man, no woman, no one can see the Lord. That’s a direct quote from Hebrews 12:14.
I don’t think the Lord called me to do a podcast series on holiness at this point in time just because. It don’t matter, no big deal, no sweat off my brow, just whatever.
No, it’s not whatever. It’s critical mass. It’s the end game, and not the Marvel version. You are here on this planet now, and now is the time to understand that if you are not actively keeping oil in your lamp, then you are in for a rude awakening. (Read about that in the parable of the ten virgins - Matthew 25, verses 1 thru 13 - please take time to read it and pray about it…we just don’t have time to put this off.)
Holiness matters now, right now. Because now is all you actually have, my friend. You are not promised tomorrow. This matters right now. Be dedicated to behavior that pleases God.
And then you will be set apart as a person who knows their God. Isn’t that what we really want? And if we don’t want that, deep down, don’t we want to want it, as Christians? When our behavior sets us apart, we don’t have to stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign screaming at people because the people we work with, our neighbors, our friends on social media, in our small group, the people living in our own homes, our great aunt Bertha from North Dakota and our old best friend from third grade in Tucson, Arizona will see as set apart. As a peculiar people, like it says in Deuteronomy 14. Standing out, different. Marked by God and for God. That’s what holiness looks like. Does it look like that on you? Are you putting on holy living, like you put on your clothes each morning? If not, why not? And why not start putting it on right now?
Today I’d like to pray before I wrap things up, and I hope this prayer will encourage and bless you because that is truly what my heart desires. For you to be so blessed, so encouraged as you walk so closely with the Lord right now, in the very midst of this rough and tumble world and all the things it brings with it. Blessed right now and also a blessing to those in your life.
Father, I am coming to You today with a heart that is longing for Your people, Your church, to live holy lives. For us to be set apart and recognizable as people who know You, who love You, who live for You. May the one listening today receive a huge, heavy dose of encouragement from You. Pour out Your love on him or her - show them how great Your love is for them in a way that will mean the most to them right here, right now. And bless them with overflowing peace, no matter what is happening in their life currently. Bless them with joy, deep and abiding joy that cannot be altered or removed by anything outside of them. Bless them with good, godly friendships, with church homes that spur them on toward love and good deeds and holy living. For a desire to spend time with You every single day, in prayer, reading Your Word, enjoying Your presence, in praise and worship. Put Your hand on them, leading and guiding them in all that they do. Bring conviction where it is needed, and bring about real and lasting changes where they need to happen. We cannot do this without You, Lord. It is not possible for us to get it all together, to clean ourselves up, but with You nothing is impossible so I am asking You to do what only You can do, and make us people who are marked and noticeable as having been with You. Every time we have an encounter with You, Lord, may we be changed for the better. Let us be a blessing to as many people as we possibly can, and may we never grow so weary that we stop pursuing You. Give us the energy we need for our daily lives, protect each one of us, shield us and also grow us and mature us. Heal us, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and in any other way that will bring glory to Your name. Help us to remember that we simply do not know when our last moment on this planet will be, and to live well with each day we have. Stay near to us, Lord, and keep drawing us closer and closer to You. Sometimes the road seems rough and the walk seems long, but I am asking You to show us today that it’s really just You walking us home, and we can walk well and walk worthy when we walk it side-by-side with You. Make the yoke easy and the burden light for the one listening today. Give them faith to reach out and touch the hem of Your robe if that’s what they need to do. Keep oil in our lamps, Lord, as we await Your glorious return. And when harder times come for those who follow Jesus, as Your Word says they will, ready us, steady us, prepare us, strengthen us, and may we never forsake You because You have promised never to forsake us. Thank You for hearing my prayer today. Hear and answer, move and act, do far above and beyond I could ever ask, think or even imagine. And do it quickly, Lord, because today is the day I am asking and today is the only day we’ve got. Thank You, Lord. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
I hope you’ll join me for episode 140 and I’d be so blessed if you feel so led to share this podcast with friends or family or church members and also I’d like to invite you to subscribe to the show on whatever platform you listen to podcasts on. And I’m working on a little something that I’m hoping to give to you in the next episode, just a free item I’m creating that I hope will be a blessing to you, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
See you next time and keep on keeping on for Jesus, my friend!
Connect with Jan here:
Instagram @JanLBurt
TikTok @JanLBurt
Facebook Jan L. Burt Author & Podcaster Page
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents on Amazon
Biblical definition of HOLINESS:
The Hebrew word for “holiness” is qōdes, a word that highlights the realm of the sacred in contrast to everything common and profane. The adjective qādôš, “holy,” refers to God and what belongs to him. In various places in the Hebrew Scriptures, God is called by the title the “Holy One of Israel.”
The New Testament uses the words hagiazo, to “make holy” and hagio “holy” or “sacred.” Jesus is called “the Holy One of God.” And those who acclaim Jesus as Lord are called hagioi, or “saints.” As believers, we are literally set apart, made holy, because of our relationship with the one who bridges the gap between a holy God and sinful human beings.
Psalm 30:4 KJV - Sing to the LORD, O ye His saints, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
Thankfulness should be a key characteristic, a marker, for Jesus' followers. We ought to be the most thankful, joyful people on this planet.
And the remembrance of the holiness of God should inspire us to give thanks. (Keep this in mind the next time you attend a worship service and sing to the Lord Most High.)
Because God is holy, and cannot be unholy, we have hope and assurance that in all His ways toward us, He can be trusted. The holiness of God only adds to the faithfulness of God. How could an utterly, completely holy God do wrong, make decisions to harm us, deny of the things that matter most in light of His Kingdom and eternity? He is holy, and so He is good. And that goodness extends to us, His people.
Isaiah 35:8 NLT - And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there.
Who you walk with matters.
If you find yourself surrounded by evil-minded people, or by foolish people, you likely need to pause, examine your surrounding and your life, and determine whether or not you are really walking on God's Highway of Holiness.
Find people who are walking in God's ways and move on from those who are not. How can two walk together unless they agree, it asks in Ecclesiastes. How, indeed? You can love people who are not walking in the Lord's ways, but it isn't wise to walk side-by-side, hand-in-hand with them. And if you are walking hand-in-hand with foolish, evil-minded people, can I lovingly and caringly as...WHY?
2 Corinthians 7:1 Amplified - Therefore, since we have these great and wonderful promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness (living a consecrated life - a life set apart for God's purpose, in the fear of God).
This verse mentions God's promises. It also mentions holiness.
Do we want God's promises to be our reality?
If the answer is YES, then we must focus on our own personal holiness. Not perfection, but consecration.
Would you say that you live your life as one set apart for His purpose? And do you have a healthy fear of God, wherein He is reverenced as He ought to be?
Holiness matters so very much.
And a lost, hurting, broken world needs a whole lot of holy living by God's people.
Be sure to subscribe so you'll know when the next episode on this series about holiness drops, and thanks for listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
If you'd like to connect with me, you can find me here:
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Let's get back to basics.
What are the "basics" for a disciple of the Lord Jesus?
Get into the Word of God - read your Bible daily.
Spend time in prayer - talk to the Lord & listen quietly for His reply daily.
Don't forsake the gathering of the saints - allow iron to sharpen iron by spending time with other followers of Jesus.
And specifically relating to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, get back to the basics by finding out what God's promises are and live in a state of chronic, contagious belief that those promises are true and will continue to prove true for you.
In this episode, we look at Psalm 12, primarily verse 6, to remind us that God's promises have already been perfected and are trustworthy and certain.
Psalm 12 - New Living Translation
1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!2 Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues.4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”
5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor.Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”6 The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation,8 even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.
You have a hope, you have a future, you have a purpose, and I implore you to find a promise in the Bible that you can grab hold of, hang on to, and pray back to God in utter, sold-out belief.
Join me starting in episode 138 for a special podcast series on HOLINESS.
~ Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey there, hello to ya today. Hope you are doing well, growing in God’s grace, receiving all that the Lord has for you, blessing and encouraging others around you in your day to day life, just living for Jesus on a continual basis. Really, isn’t that what it actually means to be quote/unquote living the dream? And hey, just in case nobody has told you this today - you are pretty doggone fantastic. God put you in this world intentionally. He loves you so very much, and you are incredibly valuable to Him. That makes you one in a million. One in a zillion. I’m so thankful you’re listening today. Should we grab hold of a promise from the Bible and see what God has for us, those He so dearly loves?
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode number 136.
In the New Testament, there is this incredible, amazing, profound book. The book of Hebrews. It’s a winner winner chicken dinner kind of book, ya know what I mean? It grows me up whenever I read it, encourages me, emboldens me, increases my love for others and my heart for the Lord, it disciplines and it unites and it is powerful and so worth taking the time to read, to study, and of course to believe. When we read our Bibles, I hope that we end our time in God’s Word believing Him more than we did before we started reading. Like, that ought to be happening every single day. I actually mean this, not kidding at all, not just speaking fluffy words, but seriously. I mean this. Believe that what God has said in the Bible is exactly what He means. He meant it and He still means it. So, our job is to believe. To do the work of believing. And ya know what? That work of believing changes everything.
Hebrews chapter ten, verse twenty-three in the Amplified says this:
Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and faithful and trustworthy (to His word).
The King James reads this way:
Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised)
Now this is a verse to get excited about. I can stand on this one! And it is firm, it is solid, it will hold up under whatever may be pressing down on me. All I have to do is just what it says - hold fast. Seize it and hold tightly to the profession of our faith. The confession of our hope. Look, we need to be verbal and vocal about the Lord. I’m not talking about getting on a soapbox here, this is not about your social media presence. I want to encourage you, remind you, to say out loud to yourself, to the devil, to your little dog who is sleeping at your feet, say out loud that you are holding tightly, you are holding fast. Say out loud that you trust the Lord, that you know His Word is true, that His promises are for you, that the hope you have in Him is not misplaced, it is sure. It is certain. It is rock solid. And you will not be moved from your belief. Sometimes we need to say this to ourselves, out loud. Maybe even with our outside voices. Do you need to say it out loud today? Remind the devil of this verse. He will not, cannot win. The end game is finished. Jesus takes it all. Isn’t that great news? Seize it. Take hold of it, hold fast, hold tightly. And do it without wavering.
You don’t hope in hope; you hope in God! You don’t hope in circumstances, bank balances, the state of the union or the state of the world. You hope in the Lord! Jesus did not remain in that grave, my friend. He is not there. He is risen, just as He said He would be. That is the One in whom you hope. His name is Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. And that is why we hold fast to the profession of our faith WITHOUT WAVERING. Because He who promised is faithful. I’ve said it many times before, but it’s so true and such a great reminder that I’m gonna say it again. He is faithful, and He cannot ever for a single solitary moment be unfaithful. The Lord won’t just oops, by accident be only partially faithful. He is always going to do what His word promises. Do not waver in your belief. The place you put your faith roots down matters. If that place is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, King Jesus, then you have good roots. You will be like a tree planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in season and out of season, stable and rooted so that you will grow stronger in life’s storms, not weaker. You have the Living Water. Jesus holds the keys to death and hell. He holds the very keys to life. You have what you need, all that you need, for all time if you have Jesus. So you ought to hold fast to the profession of your faith without wavering. When Jesus returns He will have two names written on him - Faithful and True, it says in the book of Revelation. Those are His names! And they tell us who He is! Faithful. True. You are in excellent hands. No need to waver when the One whose names are Faithful & True is your Lord. Isn’t that great news?!
Those last few words of this verse in the King James are so, so important.
For He who promised is faithful.
You have probably heard that said many times. It comes straight from the Bible, right here in Hebrews 10:23.
For He, being God, who promised is faithful. Right now, He is faithful. Tomorrow, He will be faithful. And so on. His faithfulness won’t wear out or dry up or expire or anything like that. He is faithful and so He will keep on being faithful. God’s faithfulness remains. Isn’t that comforting?
It stays. It never recedes. It just simply IS.
Breathe easy today, my friend. For He who promised is faithful. That’s your promise. And it is pretty critical to remember this truth today. I have a feeling that some of you listening are facing some stuff that is not good, not fun, sort of just plain icky. This is a perfect promise for you! He who promised is faithful.
Your job is simply to seize and hold tightly the confession of your faith without wavering.
Do you remember what it was like, that moment when you first realized how much Jesus loves you, that He died for you, that He was holding out forgiveness and eternal life to you? Like, the moment when you went all-in with Jesus because you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He went all-out for you. He died to give you life. Remember what it was like to see that truth clearly, and to know it was yours?
Don’t let this moment today pass by without remembering what it was like. Because that right there is the confession of your faith that you need to hold tightly to. Seize it anew today and hold on for dear life. Let times of refreshing come from the Lord. Ask Him to fill you today with overwhelming peace and joy, and believe that His will for you is good. And rest in Him, right in those hard places of your life, you truly can find rest. You are allowed to rest. Did you know that? He has things for you to do, Kingdom work, for sure. He wants you to love people and to go to your job and work well, as unto the Lord, for sure. And He has rest and peace of heart and mind for you, too - that is also for sure. Some of you need to know that the Lord has given you permission to rest, and to enjoy that rest.
Look at how Jesus described the Sabbath in Mark chapter 2, verses 24 thru 28. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. You are allowed to actually rest, and taking a day of rest is something both the Old and New Testaments say is good for us.
Do what’s good for you. Do what Jesus told you to do. Obey Him because you love Him. Rest - have a weekly time of Sabbath rest.
That is a big change for some of us. But listen, I was raised by a mother who was a worker. Growing up, there were a lot of years, like a lot of years in a row when mom only had one day off a year, and that was Christmas Day. I really am not exaggerating at all, not even the tiniest bit, when I say my mother worked 80-100 hours a week, week after week, every single week. That’s a lot of hours. She lived on a few hours of sleep each day for decades.
Work was obviously a huge focal point in my family as I was growing up. Not a lot of recreation, basically no vacations. Mom’s recreation was gardening, and that is work for sure. Resting was hard for her. So her kiddos, all six of us, have each been workers to some extent. But you know, for me, I got sidelined when my heart problems came about. Now I still did far more than I should have, I just kept going and going, and it did get to where I paid a steep price. My recovery time from mid-week long days would get longer…and then it got to worse and worse. Now I have never been confined to bed, like I have been told by cardiologists and electrophysiologists I should be, and I believe that is because I simply by faith choose to believe God’s promises more than anything else. But I did hit a point when I was literally forced to slow way down physically. Some days, I struggle with that. I get upset. I want to find a way to be able to do more, force myself into some different state of mind…but this is not a state of mind, and while I live by God’s promises alone, I can’t force God’s hand and do all the things I used to do. In a way, I am in a sort of long term Sabbatical rest mode, I guess.
And my GRRR attitude at times, my desire to be able to do more and to quote/unquote improve my life by being able to do, do, do so much more…that has made it harder for me to actually rest in the Lord. Because the Sabbath rest isn’t just about catching a nap or chilling out for a couple of hours, maybe like sitting on the porch bird watching or something like that. It’s about God giving us rest. And when you are a worker, that kind of slow down and rest and just be with the Lord and receive from Him and just resting and knowing it is a gift from Him, well, it can be hard to actually relax.
Practice it anyway, even though it is hard. It’s good for you, I promise. And also, it’s been hard to have this forced slow down due to my health. I’d much rather nobody else ever face a health diagnosis like heart failure and be able to take that weekly Sabbath rest and not hesitate to enjoy it and really recharge the way God wants you too, I’d rather that happen than being made to take the rest while sort of fighting against it. If God has it for you, then trust Him enough to take it from Him, knowing it is for your good and His glory.
Because He who promised is reliable and faithful and trustworthy.
I hope you walk today in more and more of the love of the Lord than you did yesterday or the day before that. His love for you is so deep and wide and high and vast, you’ll never really understand it fully in this life. But my prayer is that you understand is as much as you can, and that you experience more and more of that love daily.
Thanks for listening to the show today, and hey, don’t forget, if God is for you (and He is!) then who can be against you? Remember that truth today.
See you next time.
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions by Jan L. Burt
Well, hey there! Welcome to this episode of the podcast. I am so very thankful that you have taken the time to listen to the show today. You know, listening is so important for any relationship. Parent / child, marriage, boss / employee, good friends are good listeners, am I right? And I think that is also true of our relationship with God. If we listen well, good things will come of it. Listen well to God’s Word by applying what you read in your Bible each day, what you learn in your small group, what the pastor has to say in his weekly sermon. Show you are a good listener by the application of the Word to your life. And also, during your prayer time, don’t just talk talk talk, say amen, and never slow down and listen. God may have something really important, terribly encouraging, challenging at times, that He wants you to know. So be sure to get quiet enough to hear Him (having a pen and a journal handy is super helpful for me - but I am a very wordy person, so it seems pretty spot on for me to listen well with a pen in my hand because I remember best what I right down, but if that is not helpful for you, ignore it and do what works). Today’s verse holds a whopper of a promise for us. It’s big, it’s vast, it’s important. So, let’s get to it.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode number 135.
Today we are going to look at one single verse found in the books of psalms, smack dab in the middle of the Bible. Psalm 62, verse 8. I’m going to read from the Amplified version for this episode.
AMP - Trust (confidently) in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us.
So, the promise in this verse comes attached to some things. First, we need to evaluate the state of our hearts and discern whether or not we are fully trusting in the Lord. At all times. And the Amplified Bible uses the word confidently as an adverb to help us really understand how we are to be trusting in the Lord. Confidently. By definition, that word indicates certainty and total trustfulness. Full of conviction. Having assurance. Confidently.
Trust confidently, full of conviction, having assurance, certain and totally, in God at all times.
All means all, doesn’t it?
When are we to trust confidently in the Lord?
Oh, only at all times.
Every single moment of every single day. At all times.
And we are also told here in Psalm 62 verse 8 to pour out our heart before Him.
Pour it out.
Don’t hold on to bits and pieces of the things that are weighing heavily on your heart and mind.
Do not hold back when you talk to the Lord about what’s troubling you, about what’s happening in your life and in your world.
If He didn’t want you to get it all out, ya know, like let’s get this totally out of our system, God would not have said to do this. He doesn’t mince words with us. He isn’t playing hide and seek with us. He loves us with an everlasting love. And out of that love for us, He calls us to pour our heart out before Him.
Jesus said in John chapter 14 that we will obey Him if we love Him.
Could it be possible that this directive to pour it all out, all that heavy stuff in our heart, before Him feels wrong in some way, and so we don’t really do it? Like, we kind of pour out our hearts during our prayer time, but only kind of. Not totally, since that could involve tears possibly at times or real, raw honesty that doesn’t feel very Christian sometimes. It can leave us feeling a bit exposed, maybe like shaky or wobbly.
And yet, God wants just this exact thing from His dearly loved children. And according to 1 John, that’s exactly what we are - dearly loved children.
We are safest when we are smack dab in the center of God’s will. No place else will ever be more safe, more secure, for us.
And one way we can know God’s will is to find out what He has told us in His Word. The Bible in this psalm tells us to pour out our hearts to Him and to trust in Him confidently at all times.
When we do those two things, we are in the will of God. We are safe. We are secure. Period.
And then, look out now, cuz here is where it gets really. And then, the promise comes.
God is a refuge for us.
IS.
A beautiful present tense verb.
IS.
God is a refuge for you.
Go ahead, turn to Him in confident trust right now today, whatever the case may be, like where you are dealing with some junk in your life, right in that exact spot, turn to God in confident trust and pour your heart out to Him. And then, just you watch Him show up as your refuge.
Your shelter, your protection, in a dangerous or difficult situation.
He is going to protect you right there in that place of distress.
And God will keep on providing you with protection and shelter for as long as you need it. This isn’t a promise with an expiration. Friendships can be like milk, and can have expiration dates but God’s promises are not at all like milk. They don’t expire or curdle or go bad.
They last. They prove true. And they always hold up, no matter what.
(Ask me how I know…)
God as your refuge means God is your recourse in times of trouble.
Recourse - think about that.
Legal recourse comes to mind when I try to think of how that word applies, where I’ve heard it used before.
Can you think of a better source of refuge and recourse than the Lord God Almighty? The One who was and who is and who is to come? The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end? The Great I AM?
Nothing and no one can stand against the power of our God.
You are not alone, you are not abandoned, you are not set aside, you are not forgotten, and you never will be.
Because God is, right now, today, in this very moment, a refuge for you.
And tomorrow, He will be a present tense, in that very moment, refuge for you.
You don’t walk alone through this life.
And you certainly don’t battle alone.
Put on armor of God, pour out your heart before your trustworthy Lord, and enjoy the benefits of being hidden away in your place of refuge.
Look, not to be too blunt here, but the truth is that so many of God’s promises are for us right now, here in this place, while we are living this life here on this earth. In eternity, in heaven, the new heavens and the new earth that are to come for those of us who know Jesus as Lord and Savior, look we won’t be needing many of the promises we find in our Bibles. When we can see Him face to face, when He makes all things new, when He wipes every tear from our eyes and all things are set right and there is no longer the impact of sin and death will be gone forevermore…we won’t be living by faith, because our faith will have become sight.
So today is the time to believe God’s promises. They are not for later on, down the road, after a while. They are for right now. And they cannot be used up or worn out so when you need this promise again in a couple of days, which is normal for me at least, been a day or so time to take up another one of God’s promises and choose to believe it, ya know? They’ll be plenty good for all of your tomorrows. But for your today, don’t leave them out of your life. Because they are for today. God wants you living in the light of His blessings right now, this very day. Jesus did not endure the cross and procure your freedom so you could wait around to live in that freedom, eh, ya know, maybe later one, next month I’ll really get serious and start applying this to my life, and kick my prayer time into a higher gear.
Well, how ‘bout now? Like, today? Right now? What’s wrong with now?
There’s a lot more wrong with, “I’ll get around to walking in the freedom Jesus offers me later on,” than is wrong with, “Today I am going to live in state of chronic and contagious belief - what God has for me can’t not be for me, and it is for this very moment in time.”
Which one honors the Lord more? Which one stretches and grows our faith more? Which one gives us a testimony that points to Jesus? Which option is the option God wants us to choose?
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
Isn’t that how the saying goes?
Well, today don’t be putting off what it says in Psalm 62:8.
Do it now, today, and get yourself the full blessing of this promise.
Let me end this episode by reading the verse to you just once more real quick.
And I will also add a link to a free prayer resource I created, oh golly, it’s been a few years back that I put it together, but it’s on the subject of prayer so it’s still not expired, right?
Psalm 62:8 - Trust (confidently) in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us.
Would you do that today?
And expect Him to keep up His end of the deal, because He always, always does.
Lord bless you, thanks for listening today and I’ll be back next time for episode number 136.
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents on Amazon
Join the email list HERE
To enter the giveaway, you can DM Jan via Instagram @janlburt
In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, we take a look at the promise we find in Isaiah 31:21.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will heart a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
God is fully aware that you have decisions to make in your daily life. And He has help for you regarding those decisions, those crossroads, those moments when you aren't exactly sure where to turn or which road to take.
This verse promises some key things.
As always, when we find a promise in the Bible we need to make a conscious decision to believe that exact promise.
Your level of belief is actually very important if you want to "level-up" in life.
You have an enemy, Satan, who never takes a day off and never misses an opportunity to hit you where it hurts. He only & always wants to hang you out to dry.
God never, ever wants that for you.
What you believe, what you have faith in, is the foundation upon which you build your life. It matters tremendously because it will either stop Satan's lies & manipulation & accusations... or allow those things.
Let's go for the stop.
Whether you go....
That's what this verse says.
Whatever comes up, whatever choices or options you have, you will (WILL!) hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Jesus often asked if His listeners had ears to hear. Clearly, listening well matters. We need to listen up, listen closely, listen carefully. We must listen in order to obey. "This is the way; walk in it."
Not "This is the way... but you do you, do whatever ya want..."
Listen to heed. Listen in order to obey. Remove the spiritual wax from your ears.
If you ask God for His direction, and He answers by giving you direction, then you ought to go that direction.
God wants to be involved in your life. He wants to give you the help you need, along with insight and wisdom and favor and blessing. This verse make that totally clear.
So, what do you want?
Life is too short & too hard for us to miss out on what God is offering us here in Isaiah 30:21.
Don't miss out and take a misstep.
Ask - Listen - Obey
God will keep His promise.
You can walk in that!
See you next time!
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional on Amazon
This special episode of the podcast focuses on a true story from Jan L. Burt's childhood when she broke into her babysitter's mother's house and did a whole lot of damage.
Jan shares some insight about coming to God as we are and not waiting until we "have it all together".
She also encourages listeners to be a blessing to others with a super-easy-to-do technique... that of listening well when they speak, and offering to pray for them when they are facing a difficult situation or circumstance.
Enjoy this episode and listen to hear exactly how a four-year-old managed to break into a house, and why she was certain something terrible would happen to her when she was caught.
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe audio course discounted to $14 for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show listeners.
2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year (instant access to printable digital download)
Well, hey there and hello to you. I’m so incredibly thankful you’re listening to the podcast today and I’m super excited to share some encouragement via one of God’s promises that we find in the book of psalms.
Take a look at the faithfulness of God with me for this episode and let’s just see what God does as we take Him at His word and believe His promises are 100% true.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 132.
The faithfulness of God matters.
In every moment, it matters.
And honestly, it may matter far more than we realize.
God’s faithfulness keeps everything going. Every heartbeat is thanks to the faithfulness of God. Every single time we take a breath, it is proof that our God is faithful. When someone texts you to let you know they care about you, are thinking of you, have just spent some time praying for you, guess what? God put you on their heart and His faithfulness is what actually moved them to reach out to you. God’s faithfulness is something that is so certain, we can miss it on the daily. And in spite of the fact that we so often just don’t see it, recognize it or acknowledge it but it keeps on being our reality, that in itself is proof of just how faithful the Lord God Almighty truly is.
Now, one thing that has been on my heart and mind a lot lately is this: holiness, God’s holiness. And how we, as His people, ought to be living our everyday lives as a response to His holiness and His call for us to be a holy people, a people set apart for His glory and His purposes. So that’s not exactly what today’s podcast is about, but I wanted to share that because I really doubt that I am the only one thinking about this currently. I’ve found that whatever God is doing in my heart, it is often being done in many, many hearts at the same time. If that’s you, be encouraged that He has a purpose in leading you to think about holiness, to be more aware of what you think and say and do and that He is always working on a zillion levels all at once. It’s a good work He is doing in and through you. You just keep leaning in, praying and listening and following His lead, and trust Him to finish every good work that He has begun in you. Cuz He is a finisher!
Today I want to read from the Amplified, Psalm 91, verse 4, the end portion of this verse. It says:
His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.
I’ll say it again, because it bears repeating: the faithfulness of God matters!
He IS completely faithful - this goes beyond a behavior that we might see or experience now and then. The utter and complete and unyielding faithfulness of our God is as unending as the vastness of the universe, but actually would far surpass that, even though we cannot comprehend it. Galaxy upon galaxy of faithfulness. He is, always and in all ways, faithful.
Does that stir hopefulness within you today? Or maybe you find yourself wondering, “How can that be true? How can it be true for me?” A mix of both, perhaps? Nodding your head in agreement as to the amazing faithfulness of the Lord and also hoping that same faithfulness will be true for you in a hard situation?
This very faithfulness is, to us, a shield and a wall.
Those are not my words, they are the words in this verse. And Psalm 91, well, it does not play. It’s in the Bible on purpose, intentionally, and we need to acknowledge that it is the truth, straight from the very Word of God.
And this faithfulness is a shield and a wall to us.
Okay, so in 2023, what does that really mean? Like, a shield? A wall? Those don’t mean so much to us. I’m not sure what I can liken it to for our modern day and age, but just think ultimate protection. What does a shield do? The intercept specific attacks. They protect from projectiles and from close range weapons. A shield can actively block dangers and attacks. It can also close lines of protection, kind of linking up with other shields, as a more passive form of protection.
Okay. Sounds pretty good to me!
What about a wall? Walled cities were places that were safe in days prior, we know that for sure. Think of all the places in the Bible that mention city walls, or think of those cities of refuge that a person could run to and be safe if an accident happened and someone lost their life - you were able to flee to a city of refuge and be safe there, behind those city walls, until it was determined that it was, or was not, an accident. If there had been no walled cities, those would have not been refuge places because the walls keep some things in and other things out, right? Keeping this in, while also keeping that out. Walls do that.
Other things do that in our day and age. Passwords and secure logins for your personal info. Key fobs for the car. Places to keep your valuables safe. Locks on doors. Security systems and doorbell cameras. Modern types of walls. This stays in here, nice and safe and protected, and the not so safe things can kind of stay out, on the other side of the wall. Good fences make good neighbors and all of that.
Walls also bring to mind the idea of fortifications, of a first line of defense. LOTR movies, Helm’s Deep, that was a walled city, protected.
God’s faithfulness is THAT to us. Protection. Intercepting specific attacks that are aimed directly at you. Protection from projectiles, and that can be words spoken to you, about you, over you. I’ve seen a social post that says something to the effect of, don’t worry too much about people that God removed from your life, He may have heard you mentioned in conversations where you were not present. And yeah, there could probably be some truth to that. If Psalm 91:4 is true (and it most certainly is true!), then there could be conversations that were about us but not with us, not to our face, we were not in that conversation but it was about us, and maybe at times God just sort of moves us along a bit and we lose contact with them or something. Could that not be a form of shield for us? Because words can have so much weight. You and I know it’s true, there is no point in pretending we are bad enough to let it all roll off like water off a duck’s back. I am not a duck. You either. We are not water fowl. Words can be heavy, can carry a lot of weight. And sometimes God just flat shields us from those weighty words. Anybody want to say amen to that? It is one of the best blessings of my life! (I had a time when I had to let a couple of folks know that I was not interested in any more phone calls - this was back before texts, btw - no more calls to let me know what so and so had to say about this, that and the other. And when I didn’t want to be part of the family gossip train, they stopped calling me. The opposite of Cameron in Ferris Bueler’s Day Off. He’ll keep calling me… Nope. The phone quit ringing and I was all the better for it.) Words can have weight and the faithfulness of God can protect us from weighty words. That is a blessing beyond measure!
Close range weapons. Projectiles. Need to be hidden away. Need to have some stuff, some enemy attacks, away from us. His faithfulness is a shield and a wall for all those things. Isn’t He good? And isn’t He good to you?
That is what you have in the Lord God Most High. So much faithfulness that it is a shield and a wall --- FOR YOU! Sure, this applies to every disciple of the Lord Jesus. And it right now applies to you. Don’t miss the forest for the trees. This promise is meant to be your promise. That is why you are listening to this podcast episode today. So you can hear and believe this specific promise for your specific life at this specific moment. This is for you. And that is really, really good news.
Here and now, in the middle of the first month of the new year, it’s yours.
For some of you, that’s what you needed to hear today.
I hope it goes from your ears right into your heart and mind. Let God soften your heart and like, literally, bless your heart (not like a southern saying, but really be a comfort and a blessing to you in the places of life where you most need it) and change your thinking with this promise. Because how you think, well, that’s how your life goes. The direction of your thoughts is the direction of your life. Think well. Think on these things, the New Testament says. Think on the truth of God’s Word and the truth of Jesus. Praise God for His truth!
Here today, this is when we praise Him for His faithfulness to us. Through it all, He never abandons His own. Thank Him for that! And make that thankfulness a sort of first fruit offering to Him at the start of this year. Be thankful, right from the get-go. For the next twelve months I am expecting Him to be faithful, utterly faithful, to you. And to me. I’m believing for that. I hope you can believe for that, too.
Don’t go to sleep tonight without reflecting on His faithfulness to you and the truth that it never ends and is all encompassing. Before your head hits the pillow, remind yourself that Psalm 91:4 is the reality of your life, because He who promised is faithful.
Your shield of protection and your protective walls before you, behind you, all around you. That’s God’s commitment to you and He never tells a lie (it’s actually impossible for Him to lie) and He does not deal in partial or half truths. (think of Flick getting the blame for the bad word Ralphie said in A Christmas Story). Aren’t you thankful you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother, a friend in God, and that He is nothing like even your very best earthly friend?
Because we are human, and deal daily with humanity in ourselves and in others, we can sort of do this by-product thing where we start to inadvertently attribute human behavior to God’s behavior. We sort of humanize the Lord, in a way. In our thinking. In our expectations. But that’s not right!
According to the Bible, that is not correct at all. We don’t conform the Bible to our thoughts, right? We conform our thinking to the Bible’s truths. To the Living Word. and the truth of the Word of God to us here is that God’s faithfulness is (present tense!!) a shield and a wall.
I need you to believe that today. Believe it now like you’ve never believed it before.
Jesus is coming for His Church (hear that, for HIS CHURCH, we belong to Him and it’s wise and prudent to remember that). Sooner than later, sooner than we think most likely. We should live believing Him fully because that’s how we will be ready when He comes. May He not find us doubting, but believing. May He not find us waxing and waning, but on fire for Him and living for His kingdom purposes.
When He comes, our faith will become sight.
This is our time for faith.
This is our time for faith-based believing.
As Jesus said Himself, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Isn’t it incredible that you can be one of those whom He was talking about? You can be one who has not seen Him face to face and yet believes.
This is your year for believing. To live believing.
Start today, with Psalm 91 verse 4, and believe.
Tomorrow, believe again. And believe even more of what the Bible says. Keep on that path, my friend, and you will not ever regret it, not for a single moment.
You will be blessed, said Jesus, if you believe without having seen.
Can you say this is your blessing right now?
Why not make it your blessing today?
Thanks for joining me today for this episode.
Hey, I have an audio course I created based on Psalm 91, and I am going to put the link for that in the show notes. It’s like nineteen dollars right now. (The option I have for this course does not allow me to use coupon codes but I was able to take $5 off the price, dropping it to just $14). Check that out if you might like some encouragement in living a life in a state of chronic belief.
I can tell you from experience, there is nothing like it and no better way to live.
2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year (instant access to printable digital download)
“The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional”
Well, hey there and hello! First of all, Happy New Year. More than that, blessed and filled to overflowing with God’s love and grace and mercy and guidance and favor to you. What a year it will be if we see God’s hand at work in all sorts of areas of our lives. And what honor He’ll receive if we live out 2023 intentionally, with our eyes on the Lord, seeking and doing His will, praying like we believe our God answers those prayers, loving others like we believe God loves us fiercely, as the apple of His eye. Why not make it just that type of year? I’m in. How ‘bout you?
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 131.
A new year.
Resolutions, recommitments, restructuring of all sorts of areas of our lives, renewal and revival and basically all the words that start with “re”.
We want the new thing.
We want hope, we want a good, good future. We want the betterment of our own worlds and the whole world. Hope is rekindled in the new year.
What does God’s word say about hope, about that search we tend to have for something new, something good, when a new year begins? We kind of do this at our birthdays, too. What are we looking forward to in this year of life, what hopes and dreams do we have for the upcoming 12 months, and so on.
Is it just foolhardy wishful thinking? Is it people being people, it is optimism rearing it’s head at this time of year? Or is it something God puts inside of us, this interest in and desire for the new thing?
I’m going to read a few verses, all from the New Living Translation, because there are some promises for us from the Bible that can be very, very encouraging to take with us into the coming year.
First, from the very last book in the Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter 21, so the very tail end of Revelation, the very last portions of the Bible, chapter 21, verse 5. Here is what is says in the NLT:
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
So, who is speaking here? The One who sits on the throne. And there is one King of kings, Lord of lords, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, the only One worthy to sit on that throne.
These are some of the last words in the Bible. There are 22 chapters in the book of Revelation, and this is from chapter 21. Jesus is telling us something important, because what people say when they are closing something out, like a book or a sermon or a speech, those words are more likely to stick, to be remembered, to be carried out with the person when they get up and leave the auditorium, much more likely to be remembered than the words in the middle of the hour long speech. Ted talks are short for a reason, right? That brevity lends to the sticking power of what’s being shared. It also forces the speakers to hone in on the key points and cut the fluff out (reminds me of Strunk & White’s book The Elements of Style…isn’t there a rule in that book about eliminating words?). Ted talks work for a reason. And the reason is, they are direct, to the point, cut to the chase, they get right to it.
God wanted us to read these words toward the end of the book of Revelation, and that’s where He placed them. So, we are kind of starting at the very end of the Bible as we start at the very beginning of 2023.
He who sits on the throne says to us, “Behold. I am making all things new.”
All really does mean all.
That chronic pain you’ve dealt with the last couple of years? That’s on His list of things that will be made new. Finances tight in this economy? Well, He’s gonna make that all new one day. Not sure what you do on the daily to serve your family, your church, in your workplace is making much of a difference? No worries, when He makes all things new you are going to know the actual eternal impact of what you did. Like the widow who gave two mites, which seemed like very little, Jesus may well reveal that what you gave was more than you know.
He also says that these words are faithful and true, they are accurate. The Amplified says they are incorruptible and trustworthy. That’s important for us to know as we roll forward into 2023. God’s words, and His promises made in His word, are accurate, true, faithful, not able to be corrupted, trustworthy. And His promise here is that He is making all things new. What He is telling you in the Bible is trustworthy and true.
And hey, if you need some encouragement, I can say that you can find so much hope and encouragement by reading the book of Revelation. It doesn’t have to be viewed as a scary book that we avoid reading because some of it is hard to understand and some of it seems stressful and some of it seems like it will happen in a whole ‘nother lifetime. It’s a book that holds a promise to the reader (and I am gonna let you read it to find out where it says that and what that exact promise is!) but there is so much hope about the future, our future, in eternity with the Lord, about His coming again and setting all things right, about the joy we will have in His presence. It’s actually a very encouraging book, and reading it could be a great way for you to garner hope as you begin this year.
Jesus has promised that He is making all things new. He is working on all the things! Isn’t that a great promise?? Behold this promise! Take a look at it. And then, choose to believe it. There are blessings that come when we choose to believe God’s promises.
In the Old Testament book of Ezekial, chapter 11, verse 19, we read:
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart.
Isn’t this an awesome verse? Look at the promises here! God is saying that He will do the impossible. Now, if you’ve ever known someone with a heart of stone, then you get my drift. It is the most miraculous thing to see someone go from a stony heart, like stubborn in a way that defies all ability to reconcile or reason with, from that to a tender, responsive, soft heart. It is a miracle of miracles! And that is what God does. He specializes in it. He does this every single day and it will never stop being one of my favorite things in the entire world.
And just a reminder, when we see a verse of promise in our Bible that uses the word will, it really does mean will. God does not play. God does not mince words or misspeak.
He says it because He truly means it.
He WILL give us singleness of heart. He will put a new spirit within us. He will take away our stubborn, stony hearts and give us tender, responsive ones in place of that old stony hunk of junk.
This is a verse you can remember when you are praying for people. We all know people who are hurting, who have hard hearts, who need the Lord in their lives. I mean, maybe you don’t know anyone like that, but golly most of us do. Because this world is hard to live in. That’s true for us all. So there are people who are hard in one or another aspect of their life, and we can pray and ask God to do as He has promised here in Ezekial, to give His people a singleness of heart (that’s a great prayer to pray over your local church for the whole coming year of 2023 - jus think what might come to pass if you prayed that over your local church every single week of this whole year… what kind of an impact might that have by year’s end?) And for those people who need the Lord, pray that God will keep His word as found here in this verse and soften their hearts, draw them to Himself, put a new spirit within them. What a beautiful way to invest in others and to pony up, ya know, and put our money where our mouth is. Like, if we believe God’s promises only in word, we probably aren’t praying for those promises to be true for us, or for others. Let’s be praying believers! Can we make this year the year we, as individuals, become praying believers? We believe God’s promises and we pray big, bold, daring prayers based on those promises. Let’s do this thing!
Now, from the New Testament book of 1 Peter, chapter 1, the very last part of verse 3 says this in the NLT:
Now we live with great expectation.
When we know what the Word of God says, and then live and pray with that knowing underpinning what we think, how we act, the decisions we make and most certainly how we pray, well, we are living with great expectation.
Not tiny, miniscule, itsy bitsy spider sized expectation.
GREAT expectation. Yeah, I think maybe God’s Word said it first and Dickens took a cue from the Bible. GREAT. EXPECTATION. (Dickens title is in the plural, ours is singular - we set all our hope on Jesus, and all our expectation is from Him. We don’t have a bit of hope over here in this religion, some over there in that self-help plan, a bit more in our own John Wayne pull yourself up by the bootstraps mentality, getting by with a little help from my friends over this a way… No, our expectation is from the Lord. Beginning to end, it hinges on Him. And remember the first verse from Revelation? Trustworthy and faithful.)
Hope resting firmly on Jesus is rock solid. That’s what we need, and that’s what we need to share with others.
I’m not saying you can never have a bad day. I am saying Jesus on the side is not the answer. He is the One who says to take up your cross daily and follow Him. He is the One who says the servant is not greater than the master. He is the One who rose on the third day and sent His Holy Spirit to be with us, in us, when He sat down at the right hand of the Father. That does not sound to me like a bit of Jesus on the side, Clyde. That sounds like the Great I AM as the Lord of all.
There is hope for you this year, because the Bible tells you so.
And there can be hope for those around you who are hurting, because you can pray for God’s promises to become their reality.
You can encourage your pastors, you can be a blessing to your coworkers, you can make a difference in the furthermost corner of the world because you know how to pray according to the Word of God.
The only thing that can stop you from praying is, well, you not actually doing the praying.
Start now, start today, start with this: Lord, who can I pray for right now?
Ask Him to remind you of verses with promises and hope to pray for people, and He surely will. Ask God to hear your prayers and to answer them, to be glorified in this hurting old world, and to be expand His kingdom and do a work in this world that makes a mark, makes a difference, ask that by the end of your life, the world would be a better place because you prayed and you believed God’s promises.
May 2023 be your year to leave this kind of legacy, this kind of impact. And may you be blessed in all your ways, in all you do, as you seek His kingdom first and foremost.
Lord bless you and thank you so much for listening today. I’m thankful for you and I’m praying for you (if you want to know what I’m praying for you, check out the link to the 2023 Prayer Planner… spoiler alert, I don’t pray small prayers for you. I pray big and I really do trust God to do amazing things for you as I pray based on His word.)
See ya next time! Bye bye.
2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year print book at Amazon
2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year digital download
2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year print book at Amazon
Well, hey there! So good to be with you today on this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are trusting fully in the Lord as we move toward 2023. My prayer for you is that you will know God better, hear the voice of your Good Shepherd more clearly, have more joy and peace and faith than ever before, and see the miraculous happening all throughout the coming year. Is that a big, bold prayer for me to be making on your behalf? Perhaps. But isn’t that what makes it a prayer worth praying from the very depths of my heart? Definitely.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 130.
Recently I have been reading through the later chapters of the book of Genesis, along with 1 Peter and Hebrews. And every single day it seems like the Holy Spirit shows me places where He wants me to yield more, trust more, believe more, grow up more. Looking at the life of Joseph in Genesis, from his childhood to his difficulties with his brothers to his betrayal to his time in Egypt that was anything but sunshine and roses, to be honest, I have been encouraged, convicted and challenged. That’s not always the most fun place to be in my walk as a disciple of Jesus, but it is always a healthy, good place for me to be. And so, as it says in chapter 4 of 1 Peter, I am finding joy in the hard things (that’s a very, very loose paraphrase, btw).
I’d like to read a verse from the NLT out of Psalm 18. Let me read verse 3 aloud to you.
It says:
I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies.
Here it is from the Amplified:
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies.
Very small differences between the two versions, but the Amplified Bible changes the tense a bit. From called in the NLT, past tense, to CALL in the Amplified, present tense. And the last portion - and I am saved from my enemies.
Right now is the moment we can call upon the Lord and be saved from our enemies. We have enemies, like it or not. The devil, of course, is our ultimate enemy. But so often, in my own life, I am my own enemy. I fear failing at some new thing so I sort of put it off, do some other stuff, work on this, fiddle around with that. But fail to do that thing I should get going on, fail to do it because I don’t want to fail in doing it. Anybody else?
I know that failure is not fatal, that failure is actually not doing anything. Trying at something, learning and growing and slowly at times taking baby steps forward, that is actually a part of success. Failure isn’t as big a deal as I give it credit for, when I frame it correctly. Failure when I am doing what the Lord calls me to do is falling forward, toward His good and perfect and pleasing will for my life. Failure is falling backward when I do nothing, try nothing, attempt nothing for God’s glory or for His Kingdom or for other people’s benefit. Failure, according to the book of James, is when I know the good I ought to do but do not do it.
So as I live out the last couple of days of 2022 and step toward the new year, which feels new even though technically it is simply turning the page on the calendar and not one single thing beyond the date change may be even remotely new at this point in time - as I live in this moment and move forward into the next moments of my life, I am choosing to remember this truth about failure. Because there are some things I need to work on, some prayers I need to pray, some tasks I need to be about, some people I need to love better, some dreams I need to dream with the Lord, and some nonsense and baggage I need to drop right here and never pick up again. And I am thinking you may need to leave some stuff behind too. Maybe you need to redefine failure for the new year. Maybe we need to, collectively, give each other ample grace while also extending that grace to our very own selves.
Back to Psalm 18, I’m calling on the Lord today and have plans to call on Him as often as need be in 2023, and I am believing He will save me from my enemies. Even if the biggest enemy is me at times.
I’d like to take a moment and pray a blessing over you for the New Year.
Lord, my prayer for each listener is that they will wholeheartedly, with fervency and devotion, love you more in 2023 than at any other time in their life. Would you be their strength, and not only when they face trouble or trials or difficulties or stress, but every single day. Be their strength as they parent their children, as they grieve losses, as they do their job week after week, in their finances, as they face what may feel like difficult economic times that are heavy and hard to bear, in their family relationships and in their ministry roles and even when they lie down to sleep each night, would you be their strength in those times to rest fully in you and be able to sleep and get the rest You want them to have? Be their rock, fortress, and rescuer in this new year. May they turn to you and take refuge in you as often as they need to. Be their shield, their high tower where they will be above the stresses of daily life and able to see things from Your point of view. Be their stronghold, a very certain help and comfort in their time of need.
You are worthy to be praised, Lord. May they praise You often and with great adoration. Save them from their enemies, whomever and whatever those enemies may be. Hear me as I pray today, and keep this prayer before You all year, one You will answer on their behalf again and again. Open dry paths for them to walk on when it seems as if deep waters are hindering their way. Where You lead, may they follow, and may they be blessed in that following of Your daily leading. Reach down from on high, rescue them, delight in them, bring them out into a broad place. Enable them to live clean lives before You, honoring You in public and in private, keeping the ways of the Lord. Help them to remain in Your Word, to spend time in prayer, and to be part of the local church that blesses them and is a blessing through them to other believers. Show yourself kind to them, and may Your kindness spur them on to kindness that overflows onto others. Save Your people who are afflicted, and remind them of the need to remain humble before You. Keep them from arrogance, foolishness, and haughty behaviors or thoughts. By Your power, Lord, they can crush a troop or scale a wall. As they do great exploits spiritually for Your kingdom, may You receive all the glory and praise. Bring them healing in every area that it is needed - emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually, relationally, and every other way that healing will bless them. Encircle them with strength, be their rock, make their way blameless.
Make their feet like hinds feet, stable and sure and able to climb on the heights - because we know that the high points of life require sure footing so we don’t forget You or Your blessings in the good times, or think we caused the good things of our own accord, or focus so much on the good life that we stumble due to not caring for those around us who may not be in a good times season of life. Make us able to stand firmly and walk safely in the midst of trouble. Set us securely on the high places You have ordained for us. Train our hands for the battles we fight, and to be in the fray and in the fight by praying for those You lead us to pray for. May we be able to bend a bow of bronze and see the prayers we pray through to fruition. Uphold and sustain them with Your right hand. May Your gentleness, Your gracious response to them as they pray and on their behalf as I pray this over them today, may Your gracious response make them great, for Your kingdom and Your purposes in this world that needs You so desperately.
Enlarge the path before them and make their steps secure so that their feet will not slip. They will pursue their enemies and overtake them this year. They will not turn back until their enemies are consumed. Satan will not have the final victory, and I am asking that he will not win in the battles they are fighting in 2023. Lord, with humility I am making this request on their behalf. Lord, do not deny me my requests today. May I be like the woman in Luke chapter 18 - like that parable You told about praying and not giving up, I will ask and ask and ask again like the persistent widow. Do not withhold from me answers to this prayer. Answer it again and again on their behalf, all throughout the next twelve months. May their enemies fall wounded under their feet, as it says in Your Word. Encircle them with strength for the battle, strength for whatever comes in 2023. Subdue those who come against them in ways that will not grow them, sanctify them, or honor You through them. Rescue them from contentious people, place them as the head and not the tail, may they be positioned for service among those who are Your people, Lord, and those who are in need of You in their lives. May they live in obedience to You, to Your will and Your call on their lives. And may they see the fruit of the Spirit in their life again and again and again, all year long. You, Lord, live. Blessed be Your name! May You, the God of our salvation, be exalted!
Rescue these ones for whom I am praying today. Life them above those who attack them and rise up against them, whether those are people attacking, circumstances attacking, or satan attacking. Deliver them from men of violence. We are Your people, we are a people of peace, and may we live in peace and at peace as far as it depends on us. We choose today to honor You with our lives all year long. We set this year before You and offer it to You before it even begins. And we give You our worship, our love, our adoration, our hearts. You are good, and You cannot be otherwise. You do nothing apart from Your lovingkindness for us. We give thanks to You, we praise You, O Lord among the nations, and we will sing praises to Your name all throughout this new year. Thank You for Your care for us, for hearing my prayer and answering it, for Your Word which teaches me how to pray and what to ask You for, thank You for Your steadfast love toward us and the mercy You extend. Thank You, and once again I say thank You.
This I pray in the name of Jesus, and may it be done according to Your Word. Amen.
I am always so blessed, so thankful, for the opportunity to pray for you. And I really do mean that. It is a privilege to pray for others, isn’t it? And one thing that gave me sort of a heart jump-start when it comes to prayer was the realization that I won’t need to pray when I am in eternity, in heaven, with the Lord. I am still going to praise and worship and adore Him, revere Him, honor Him. But He will set everything aright, He will make all things new, and He means it when He says in Revelation that there will be no more crying or death or pain and so I won’t need to lift those requests before Him since they will be gone forever. That realization moved me to pray with more fervency, more intensity, more longing for Him to hear and answer when I pray because I don’t have forever to be about this work of praying for others. I only have right now. And that’s, I suppose, why I am so thankful to be able to pray for you in this episode.
If this is something that blessed you, I have three things to quickly mention. One is my private prayer group on Facebook (and it is a private group because prayer requests are confidential sometimes and so it’s just a private group for that one reason). I do videos and pray in the group a couple of times a month, so it’s not an overwhelming amount of notifications from the group. It’s called Praying Through the Storm Online Prayer Retreat with Jan L. Burt on Facebook and the link will be at the top and the bottom of the show notes for this episode and also on my website, Jan L Burt . com.
Second is the new podcast I am working on. This one will be here focusing on God’s promises primarily, and the second one is called The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt, and it will be, you guessed it, about prayer.
Third, a resource I created for the new year (based on something I do each year and on something I did with a group of people via email in early 2022 that ended with so many people asking me to turn the content into a book of some sort, and so that’s what I did) is called The 2023 Prayer Planner. It’s 21 days of verses, devotional type content about each verse, and a prayer for each day with some journal type pages with room to pray and plan and take note of what the Lord is saying to you about the coming year.
It’s a way to give the Lord the first fruits of the year, as an offering to Him. And man, it is a great way to start a year. To begin with the Word of God as our foundation. If you’d like to get a copy, it is available as a digital download on my website, it is also on Etsy and TPT and as a print book to order via Amazon.
The price is between $7 and $8, depending on the platform where you buy it, so it’s not a huge financial investment per se but it is an investment that will pay huge spiritual dividends so check that out if you want to kick off the year praying and seeking the Lord intentionally and to grow your faith, your trust and your prayer life.
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Sign up for Jan's email list & get info about The Praying Podcast right here.
Well, hey there! Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - the podcast about God’s promises and the impact that believing and praying those promises has on our lives as disciples of Jesus. I’m so glad you’re listening today and my prayer is that this episode will be an encouragement to you, right where you are in your life at this very moment. Because wherever we find ourselves, our God is there, too. And whatever we are facing today, we never face it alone, thanks to the goodness of our God.
I’m trusting God is going to answer that prayer on your behalf as I share from Luke chapter one today. You ready? I’m ready. Let’s go!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 129.
Luke is a go-to book during the month of December. The first two chapters are just so rich, filled with the hope of Jesus’ advent, the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, the prophecies fulfilled. But sometimes we kind of wander in our thoughts during those Christmas sermons or during worship at church when we’re singing some of the Christmas songs we’ve had as part of our lives this time of year for as long as we can remember. Sort of second-nature and we just don’t focus or pay attention as well as we could, or should, ya know?
It’s good for us to remind ourselves to focus and renew our focus right in the middle of the sermon, shut down the continual to-do list that can start running in the background of our mind (without us even thinking about it - I mean, it just sort of happens!) and decide to listen with some attention, to be an attentive church-goer, take some notes (have a plan for that - use the notes app on your phone, bring a journal and your favorite pen, use the outline that may be right there in the bulletin you were handed). You are going to miss something if you don’t shut down and shut off the wandering thoughts that are all the things you need to get done because it is almost Christmas… spend that time paying attention to a message about the Christ of Christmas. Even if you feel like you’ve heard sermons from this particular text many times before, so? Listen. Take some notes. And expect the Lord to have something to say to you. Your pastor worked to put that message together, and God doesn’t intend for you to leave emptier than when you arrived. But you gotta dial in.
All of that to say, as I begin to read today’s passage, I really want you to listen. With your ears, but with ears to hear and a heart to understand. With a mind that wants to grow in your knowledge of the Word of God, with a desire to know Jesus better than you ever have before by the time this Christmas has come and gone. God loves to bless a heart like that. I mean that seriously, with all the sincerity I can muster. When we want to know Him better and better, well, don’t you think He will honor that?
I’m going to read some words from Luke chapter 1, verses 46 to 55. This passage of Scripture is known as The Magnificat. It is also known as Mary’s song.
This is a young woman, a very young woman, verbally out loud praising the Lord as she meets with her cousin Elisabeth, who was expecting a child in her old age… the one who would grow up to be John the Baptist, forerunner to Jesus the Messiah. Two women, separated by a wide age span, both expecting the unexpected at seasons in their lives that were pretty well figured out. Mary was engaged, soon to be married, ready to begin her new life as a wife and to step fully into womanhood and Elisabeth, an elderly woman, far beyond hope of having her heart’s cry of prayer for a baby to be answered. And here they were, stepping into the most vital, important roles of their lives. As a very young teen and as a very old woman.
The Christmas story reminds us that we are living with wisdom when we live with an expectancy of the unexpected.
As I read, I hope the Lord speaks to you about expecting the unexpected. Our God is still doing His profound and amazing work in this day, and I have a feeling He may just have something unexpected up His sleeve for you, for your life.
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has looked (with loving care) on the humble state of His maidservant; for behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God! For He who is mighty has done great things for me; and holy is His name (to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory). And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who (stand in great awe of God and) fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His (powerful) arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thornes, and exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent the rich away empty-handed. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, just as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
I was reading from the Amplified. And isn’t it just beautiful?
How do you, how do I, respond to the unexpected? Mary was going to deal with scorn, ridicule, accusations of infidelity and unrighteousness not just for the short term, but for the long haul. And this was going to be somewhat scary, a somewhat difficult path to walk, this pregnancy. She did not immediately know whether or not Joseph would divorce her or continue with the marriage as planned. She did not know in any way, shape, or form what her future held. Did she give way to fear or anxiety? Did she doubt the goodness of God toward her?
I can’t say she never had any anxiousness - I mean, every mother has some twinges of anxiousness when pondering labor and delivery, so that could for certain have crossed her mind as this pregnancy went on. But overall, I don’t think she had doubts, as in doubting or questioning God. And here in her song we see her talking about all of Israel being blessed, all Abraham’s descendants receiving what was promised. She wasn’t thinking about herself all that much, from what I can tell! She was too busy praising God and rejoicing in His faithfulness to His people, to the entire world, to think on her own self, her own problems. This is truly remarkable, isn’t it?
Here she is stating that God’s mercy is upon generation upon generation.
The times she mentions herself, it is with thankfulness and rejoicing and exalting the Lord.
Do you think our lives would look a bit different if this kind of response, this level of trust in God that rolls right on over into worship and thanksgiving and praise and rejoicing and thinking of the way this will bless others rather than thinking of the ways this will be difficult or trying for us, do you think our lives would look different with this kind of response?
If we thought of ourselves less? And rejoiced in God more?
Even when we don’t understand the unexpected things that come upon us, could we possibly try to stand on what we do understand - which is that we are in the hands of a trustworthy God, every moment of every day, and we really, truly can rejoice in what He is doing? Perhaps, maybe even especially, in the unexpected things He is doing?
And even if, even when, people don’t get it… like, they’re asking out loud or wondering to themselves, why would God lead you in that direction? Why would God do this in your life when it doesn’t seem like the thing that everybody else sees as the best thing for your life? Even when we are misunderstood, even if God is misunderstood (and based on the things we read in the Bible, isn’t God often misunderstood??), can we still rejoice and be grateful and celebrate in advance, celebrate ahead of time, the ways He is working to bless many, many people? Our lives do not operate in vacuums, and God is always wanting to bless people on an ever-widening scale. He has not stopped being in the rescuing, saving, redeeming, healing, restoring, blessing business. Why do we seem surprised when He does what He loves to do?
We ought to expect God to be about His work of redemption and healing and sure, conviction and guidance, because decent fathers discipline and provide guidance and instruction, right? We ought to expect it when He does the unexpected in our lives. We should believe that He is both trustworthy and very, very good, perfect in all of His ways, and thus we should believe Him for the unexpected.
There is hope for us this Christmas.
There is hope for YOU this Christmas.
God is on the move, but it may not be in the way you’ve been expecting.
But He is too good to merely meet our expectations.
He is so incredibly good that He fully intends to exceed our expectations.
May His work in your world, in your life, surprise you and provide you with exceeding joy this Christmas. And may you find joy and peace as you trust in the God who works in unexpected ways.
Merry Christmas to you - and I mean that from the very bottom of my heart. Merry, merry Christmas.
From Luke chapter One:
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord,
47
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48
“For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant;
For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God!
49
“For He who is mighty has done great things for me;
And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].
50
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him.
51
“He has done mighty deeds with His [powerful] arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And exalted those who were humble.
53
“He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54
“He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55
Just as He promised to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Sign up for Jan's email list & get info about The Praying Podcast right here.
Well hey there! Hello to ya today. Welcome back to the podcast, I’m incredibly grateful for all who listen. And I gotta say, a couple of episodes ago I think I must have touched on something that maybe a whole lot of believers are dealing with right now. I talked about James chapter 4, and how God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and really I looked at several verses from that portion of the Bible. I was pretty blunt, I guess you might say, and I was honestly a bit concerned that I might offend some listeners. But the opposite seemed to happen - I had some record setting download days, new listeners in record numbers, and a reach globally for that particular episode that went far, far beyond the norm for this show.
That is very interesting to me. I am guessing that people are feeling the same way all around the world. We just need more and more of Jesus as this world gets darker and darker. And I am presuming that’s why that episode, on James chapter four, was listened to in record numbers.
I think people want the straight truth from God’s Word, not all prettied up, but just what does it say and how can I live a life of belief, pray big and bold prayers based on God’s Word in this day and age. Because we don’t need to hear that it’s all gonna be okay just wait for the next election or the next economic boom or the next whatever that this world has to offer. We need to know that Jesus is always, always the answer, whatever the problem might be. We need encouragement from the Word of God because these last couple of years have been so incredibly hard, in ways we have not experienced hardship before. On a global scale. And so much of what changed in 2020 has not gone back to “normal”. I do not honestly think we are going to get that old life back. We are here now, and as it was in Daniel’s time, the writing is on the wall.
What we do with the reality we face now, well, that’s up to us. But as disciples of the Lord Jesus, I think we need to to stand firmly on the Word of God and we don’t need it sugar coated or gussied up or added to. We need Jesus, we need the Spirit of the Living God guiding us daily, moment by moment, we need the truths we find in the pages of our Bible, and we need to be a people of prayer. That’s what we need. And I think I caught a glimpse of how needed that is when I saw the response to episode number 126 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
So I gotta follow where the Holy Spirit is leading, and I’m gonna do that.
Today’s episode is step one of me following. More steps come after that.
I don’t want to serve up things that are not what is most needed in your life right now.
So, I’m going to share God’s Word via this show. And I’m praying about a second podcast, tentatively called The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt (because that is kind of a broad title for a show and in case it’s already another podcast title I think I will add my name to kind of not step on someone else’s toes.) I think God is calling me, at this point in time, to keep on hosting TBNES and talking about God’s promises in a way that will be frank and honest and helpful in this day and age, with the particular struggles and hardships we are facing right now, and add a second podcast to share Bible verses and to pray, like actually just pray on that podcast, very specific things based on the Word of God.
I’d love to hear from you about this, what you think, and you leave a comment directly on the podcast (I don’t get notifications from all the varied platforms, but you can leave a comment on the podbean page for TBNES or email me your thoughts at JanLBurt at outlook . com).
Looking forward to hearing from you, and looking forward to praying for you on the new show. But this show, it’s not going anywhere. Okay, let’s dig into Psalm 18, sound good?
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 128.
I’m going to read verses 31 thru 36 from Psalm 18, and I am referencing the Amplified Bible today. Listen as I read and then let’s dive deep into these verses.
31
For who is God, but the Lord?
Or who is a rock, except our God,
32
The God who encircles me with strength
And makes my way blameless?
33
He makes my feet like [c]hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];
He sets me [securely] upon my high places.
34
He trains my hands for war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;
Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.
36
You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,
So that my feet will not slip.
These verses pull no punches when they state that there is one God, He is a rock for us. The only God is the God of the Bible. That is offensive to a whole of people today. But I am pretty sure it has kind of always been offensive. We want, by nature, to have the approval of others when we go our own way, do our own thing. The God of the Bible does not allow us that luxury. For who is God but the Lord?
If He is Lord, then isn’t there lordship?
There is territory under His jurisdiction. That territory is the whole of our lives, and the whole of our hearts. That’s just the way it is when we follow Jesus. Lordship matters. It’s not a terrible idea to regularly remind ourselves that Jesus is Lord of all, and that we most certainly are not. Then, live like that’s the truth.
When you bump up against something, a desire or some speck of greed or selfishness, remember who is Lord and who is not.
Our God is our rock and He encircles us with strength and makes our way blameless.
That doesn’t really happen when we are living in our own strength…because then God isn't encircling us with His strength, ya know?
I want my way to be blameless, especially the older I get and the ickier this world gets. When I study Matthew 24 and Mark 13, for example, and I see things that for sure fit the description Jesus gave as birth pangs, I don’t read those chapters and think, “Gee, I wonder if I can goof around and not take the Word of God seriously and just do my own thing and put my head in the sand and not dig in and pray with fervency, not keep short accounts with the Lord, I wonder if I can dawdle and refuse to see that the things Jesus described are happening right now. Gee, I wonder if I can read my Bible and then totally flake out on what it actually says? Gee, can I do that and still expect God to make my way blameless?”
No. No I cannot.
If I want God to make my way, which is the entirety of my life, the whole of all the individual parts of my actual life the way that I am living it, for God to make my way blameless, I can’t refuse to believe the Bible. I just can’t. I can’t lapse in my praying, my communication with God Most High. I cannot forsake the gathering together of the saints. I cannot run around sinning sinning all day long, blatantly thumbing my nose at my Savior, and think I am gonna get this blameless life kind of guidance.
What do we really want, like, the most?
Some people really want success, comfort, prosperity, things that may not be God’s ideal for them. Do we want holiness unto the Lord? Do we want to know the Word of God so well that any attempt at deception will be noticed right away? Do we want His church to grow, to thrive, to mature? Or do we mostly want things that are all about us? The all about me myself and I lifestyle really does not fit well with Jesus' call on our lives, does it?
You want God to lead you in the way that is blameless? I hope so! I believe God wants us to want that, and that’s why it’s in the Bible for us to read and to apply. Like, we read it and it changes us because God intends for us to be continually bettered and made more like His Son Jesus. We are being sanctified, or at least hopefully that’s the goal.
Okay, verse 33… oh we’ve got a promise here. This is good, good stuff for us, right now, in this funky kind of world since 2020 and things turned upside down and have not turned right side up again. This is the kind of promise we need, like oxygen we gotta have it, and whaddya know, God provides what we really, really need.
He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];
He sets me [securely] upon my high places.
Yeah, that’s what we need. To be made steady and firm, sure footed, in the way that only our God can do. My prayer as I’ve been working on this episode is that you, and I, will be given hinds feet, that we will be able to stand firmly, not wavering, not waffling, not unsteady in any way, shape or form, but steadied and standing steady because God makes us that way. Treading safely on paths that can only be called difficult, paths of testing and trouble. Sound familiar at all? It does to me! Sounds like life on planet earth these days. Did ya blink? Well, wouldn’t ya know it, more bad news.
If I am going to stand in faith and pray big, bold, daring prayers for my friends and family in their hard places, I have to be able to stand firmly and tread safely. This is the promise of verse 33 from Psalm 18. It’s a keeper, isn’t it? Yeah, yeah it sure is.
And it goes on to say that God sets us securely on our high places. . That is the need of the hour, isn’t it? And as always, God shows up, shows off, shows out and meets our needs. I’ve said this before, but it is worth saying again as a reminder: God has not abdicated His throne. He is large and in charge and is not going to give any quarter to the enemy. He intends to make our feet like hinds feet. We will be able to handle this stuff because He will equip us. The Holy Spirit is never going to lie down on the job. You are in good hands, my friend, and thank God that doesn’t just mean you have Allstate insurance. The hands with the nail scars are the hands you are in. You will be set securely upon your high places. Things will be under your feet because the Lord has put you securely atop them.
Verse 34 says God trains your hands for war so your arms can bend a bow of bronze. He’ll equip you for the fight, and there is a fight, of course, because Satan is on the prowl seeking whom he may devour. Not whom he may snarl at, but devour. So God gets us ready and gives us promises and strengthens us. He never abandons us or forgets about us. If He is doing the work of training your hands for war, let Him. Let Him do that work in you. How do you become a prayer warrior? By warring in prayer. And that really only happens in hard times. You don’t start battling in prayer if life is a breeze. Let yourself be readied for the fight. Run your race. But run it well, ya know what I mean? Don’t apply the loser's limp as soon as it gets hard and say, “Oh I did the best I could but I just, oh, it’s hard and I’m not feeling it.” Run so as to win the prize, it says in the New Testament. Run your race. And I’ll be here spurring you on, reminding you that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.
35
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;
Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.
36
You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,
So that my feet will not slip.
The last two verses we’ll look at today - and aren’t they encouraging?
He has promised to give us the shield of His salvation - never forget just how wonderful it is to be saved. Jesus’ gift of salvation is the gift that keeps on giving, this ain’t the jelly of the month club and aren’t you thankful? His right hand upholds and sustains you - there’s a promise worth remembering! His gentleness, His gracious response when you pray, makes you great.
I may have, at times, wanted to be some kind of great… I am such an introvert, that this probably is like great at being the world’s best ever sit in your own home and read books as my form or great. But isn’t it wild to consider that God wants to make His people great? He has a form of greatness for each one of us, and we can attain it when we let Him be God and we get on out of His way. Let Him work. Let Him act on your behalf. Expert the Holy Spirit to counsel you, guide you, instruct you, remind you what the Word of God says, bless you, shore you up, strengthen you daily, and lead you on, step by step. He is literally walking you home. He wants it to be a wonderful long walk home. Let Him do His work in your life with the least possible resistance from you. Because your Father knows best. And He only wants the very best for you. Let Him make you great, whatever that looks like.
And He promises to enlarge the path beneath us and make our steps secure. Why? So that our feet will not slip.
Let’s start praying this verse and believing God will answer this prayer, like, over and over again. Lord, enlarge the path beneath me. If it is where You intended for me to be walking, as in living out my daily life, would you enlarge the path where my feet trod, just as Your Word says you will do? Will you make my steps secure? If I am not in Your will, would You show me and direct me to the right path? And will you keep me from any and all missteps. May my feet never slip, no stones in my path, no rocks in my shoes, no twisted ankles, no potholes on the path of my life.
That’s a good prayer, because it’s based on the Word of God. He put it in the Bible for us to read, and to believe. We show our level of belief when we pray. Did you know that? Your level of belief shows up in the way that you pray. That’s just the way it is. No way around it. If you don’t really believe what God has said in His Word, that becomes very evident when you pray.
Let’s pray with belief, with hope, with expectation, with trust, and with hearts that truly love the Lord our God more and more and more, as we get closer to eternity.
I’m going to go ahead and wrap this up today, but I do want to mention that if you’d like any info about the launch of the upcoming podcast, The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt, you can sign up on my email list and I’ll share two ways to do that. One is a quiz, which promise from the Bible is your promise, that link will be at the bottom of the show notes and also right at the very top. And the other way is via my website, that first page you land on, an invite to sign up is right there and I am going to change the wording for that sign up place to mention the new podcast so you’ll know you’re in the right place. And I don’t over email, I am not a hyper emailer, so don’t expect to get a whole lot from me when you sign up. But I am planning on sending out a link to each new episode of the new podcast, and maybe this podcast too, so that’s my big plan.
Pray some big, bold, daring prayers this week, and I’d love to hear how God moves in answer to your prayers. See ya next time!
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon). Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Well, hey there! Welcome to the latest episode of the podcast. I’m so thankful you’re listening, and my prayer for this episode has been for it to encourage and bless you right now, in the exact place you find yourself. Whatever is going on in your life as you listen today, I have prayed and asked God to show up in a way that means something special to you. And I’m trusting Him to do just that. Let’s grab hold of the goodness of our God today as we study His Word.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 127.
Psalm 145, getting toward the end of the book of psalms. It’s got some beautiful verbiage that is so helpful for us as we wait on the Lord in our individual circumstances that kind of challenge us, push and pull and yank us here and there, and we need to be able to hit pause and focus on God’s Word. So Psalm 145 gives us that opportunity. It’s like a reset, this passage, and after we read it, and hopefully in the reading of it comes some believing of it, you know as in taking God at His Word, and then we experience the reset. The peace that we’ve been promised, the hope we have in the Lord, the reminders that David provides us with in this psalm are just lovely, like in the truest sense of the word.
Let read verses 4-7 from the New Living Translation.
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
5
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
6
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
7
Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
Don’t we get a boost when we hear someone else sharing about what the Lord has done in their life? The process of telling our children, sharing God’s incredible acts, with the next generation is refreshing. And we see here in verse 4 that each generation is to tell its children, and then allow those children, the next generation, to proclaim God’s power. That’s just how it ought to work in the church. Telling the younger ones what He has done. Not remaining silent, but telling of His mighty acts. And if we can’t recall any mighty acts of God, that’s a whole nother issue. If He hasn’t done anything in our lives that we can recall, we need to be talking to the Lord about that. Have we forgotten? Has praise and thankfulness become too far removed from our daily lives and we just can’t find the good things God has done? Or, do we maybe need to study Jesus’ words in the New Testament, in the four Gospels, to check ourselves and make sure we’re not somehow thinking we’re in the Kingdom if maybe we’re not. If nothing has ever happened, in terms of God’s mighty acts, we need to be looking into that. And Jesus’s words in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are where we should start.
Let’s be thankful children of God who are in the habit, like habitually, talking about what He has done. Has He not done some miraculous things? When we start thinking back over our life and remembering, calling to mind, what He has done for us, it is hard to stop that train once it gets rolling. You’ll remember another thing God did, and something else He did, and oh wow, that one thing way back when, at the time I didn’t realize that was the Lord working on my behalf but now I see it more clearly and I’m so thankful. The snowball starts to roll, ya know? It’s the initial movement, getting the inertia going, that takes a bit work. But it’s such a good work, and so worth it. You’ll be encouraged and the next generation will be so blessed by this picture you paint of what God has done. And why can’t He do even more incredible things in their lives, among their peers? He can. I don’t think He has stopped doing what He loves to do, which is work in people’s lives and bring them into His kingdom. Let’s get excited about that, and let’s try to stay excited about it.
So that’s verses 4 and 5, talking about these things and meditating on His goodness, His splendor, His miracles. Just the majesty that belongs solely and singularly to our God. So much better, more beneficial in every way, as compared to letting the woes of life and the daily news reel be our primary meditation.
In verse 6 we read this: Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
Wouldn’t this world be different, in a good way, if God’s awe inspiring deeds were on every single tongue? If every person on this planet spoke out loud about God’s deeds, and proclaimed His greatness. Nothing would be the same. Not one single thing, I really do believe that. Everything would change, for the better. We can’t make that happen, that’s a big ask right there, a lofty goal, one we can pray for, but what we can do, you and I, is personally proclaim God’s greatness. And we should do that. A lot. A lot lot.
Verse 7 kind of feels like a promise to me - Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
Everyone will share the story of God’s wonderful goodness. That has not happened yet, but since this verse is in the Bible, I have prayed and asked God to make it a reality. That we would all share about His goodness, that we would all sing with joy about His righteousness.
Has it been your experience that the righteousness of Jesus has changed your life?
I want to bounce up to verse 1 of Psalm 145 - I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
We are kind of given a life purpose here. To exalt our God, our King, to praise His name.
Isn’t that the heart of true thankfulness? We recently celebrated Thanksgiving in the US and this verse is fitting for this time of year.
Each generation telling of God’s mighty acts. That’s thankfulness!
Are we proclaiming the Lord’s power? He has power, He is all powerful. Do we believe that? Do we live as if it is true? Do we ever talk about it? It’s not gonna be comfortable for everyone in your life, or in mine, to hear us share about God’s mighty deeds, His power, exalting and praising Him. Some people are not going to like it all that much. It will make some people uncomfortable. But what will do with that discomfort? Stay silent? Give people what they want and not do what God would have us to do, based on this psalm?
Do we fear God more than we fear man? Isn’t the fear of man a snare, a trap? Isn’t a trap or a snare a bad thing? I want to choose what’s better, and I will only find what is really better in the Bible.
He is yet to this day so powerful - let’s proclaim that.
And let’s meditate on God’s majestic and glorious splendor. The majesty of His splendor is so far beyond anything we can relate to, but we can still meditate on it. We should, because the Bible says to. It’s going to be good for me to do what He says to do in His Word. So I want to do those exact things. What’s good for me, God? I want to do that very thing.
He is majestic. He is glorious. And His splendor is beyond all ability to accurately describe.
He performs wonderful miracles. You know, salvation is a miracle. It took Jesus’ death on the cross to make a way, the one single way, for us to have our sin debt paid. That’s miraculous. Every person who knows Jesus is a living miracle. It’s just that simple. This week, start right there, with your own salvation, and praise the Lord for that miracle. I’m guessing more things will come to mind to thank Him for, more miracles will come to your remembrance. But start right there. Eternity with the Lord, fully forgiven, our sins removed as far as the east is from the west. Is that not truly miraculous? Thank You, Lord.
Waking up each day, seeing God’s creation, breathing air into our lungs, feeling our heart beat - these are awe inspiring deeds that ought to be on every tongue. May we not be a people who fail to share about His goodness. Somebody could be on the verge of something terrible, a crisis in their finances, their health, a relationship, work, under an attack from Satan that is so intense, they may want to give up. But they may not be showing it at all, now outward signs, cuz we’re so good at hiding our low places. You might share something that could give them hope, remind them of something they're forgotten about God ro reveal to them something they never knew about God. Just realizing God loves you and does not loathe or despise, that He really is for you… that can be enough to change a life. That could prevent a suicide attempt, in all honesty. And you can do this as part of your normal life, with your normal personality. You don’t have to go to seminary or try to figure out how to be like a preacher. You be you, and just mention something God has done in your conversations as He leads. Trust Him with the results, the way it could impact someone who needs to know God still does miraculous things. That’s really all there is to it. I read it can be described as sharing bread with a starving person because you were once starving and you now have the Bread of Life. That simple. That impactful. That important.
God’s people should be the most thankful people in the world. Nobody else on this planet should be more thankful than us. So let’s just get thankful.
And hey, if it seems like more than you can do, way out of your comfort zone to talk about what God has done, His awesome deeds, let me remind you that most all of us at some point or another, or lots and lots and lots of times, will share about our own awesomeness. Like the movie Bolt, the hamster yelling into the air duct vent, “If you're awesome” - doesn’t he say it’s beyond awesome, it’s be-awesome. Invented a whole new word. We tell those old high school football stories. We tell of our kids football stories. We tell of our favorite NFL teams football stories, and those are not our personal stories, I’m never on the field, right? What about work wins? Yeah, we share about those.
It’s easier to share those things, those awesome deeds, because there’s no real resistance. Nobody gets really, really uncomfortable. The devil isn’t likely to fight against that, cuz it can bleed over into those 1 John mentions, the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. If Satan has a chance at getting you to those places, he’s all for it.
We hold back sharing about God’s awesome deeds because there is resistance and discomfort, for us and those who are listening as we talk.
I’m an extreme introvert, and this kind of stuff is not my natural happy place. Sometimes the Lord takes us to places we would not go unless He called us to go. That can happen even in our conversations.
You will have some degree of push back, internal or external, if you start sharing about God’s awesome deeds. That comes with the territory. You get to choose, but I really hope you choose to do what Psalm 145 encourages us to do. Because as it says in verse 13, the Lord always keeps His promises and is gracious in all He does. He lifts us when we are bent beneath our loads, says verse 14. He satisfies our needs, verses 15 and 16. He is close to all who call on Him, to those who call on Him in truth. Verse 18. He grants the desires of those who fear Him, verse 19. He hears their cries for help, He rescues them, He promises to protect all who love Him in verse 20.
Verse 21 ends this psalm and it says, I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless His holy name forever and ever.
How will they know if nobody tells them about our awesome God?
All the promises I just read from this psalm are promises God intends to keep. Which of those promises do you most need right now?
Can you lean in, trust Him fully, and recount with thanksgiving a heart filled with praise, the miraculous and the awesome things He has done for you?
Let’s roll into this Christmas season with thankful and joy filled songs about His righteousness in our thoughts and on our tongues. Lord bless you, right here and right now, and continue to bless you and do awesome things in your midst.
If you happen to have any prayer needs that I could pray for, feel free to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will pray. I also have a giveaway to my email subscribers, feel free to sign up for that at JanLBurt.com and the next giveaway winner will be chosen at the very end of November and the December winner will be chosen on December 15th so I can ship the giveaway prizes to get there hopefully by Christmas.
Thanks for listening today. Lord bless you, and I’ll see you next time. Feel free to subscribe and get new episodes as soon as they drop.
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Click HERE for a free prayer guide.
I hope you are ready for some hope, some encouragement, and some truth from the Word of God. All God’s promises prove true. And every promise is yes and amen through Christ Jesus.
It’s gonna be a good one today. Ya ready? Alrighty - let’s go!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 126.
So today I am going to do some straight talk. Very, very straight talk from James chapter 4.
You know, I’ve discovered that when the Lord draws me to read any part of the New Testament book of James, I sort of brace myself. Sanctification and probably some discipline is coming my way. Anybody else ever feel that way? Like, “Oh, I’m going to James. Oooh boy, ooh yikes.”
I may as well just yield and let the Spirit of the Living God do what He needs to do. Teach me, reprove me, guide me, discipline me because He loves me, show me something in my heart and life where I am not quite where He wants me to be. Just lean into it, that is what I’ve learned to do.
So recently, like within the last couple of days, I found myself looking at the fourth chapter of James. James 4:1-7 in the NLT, I was journaling and praying as I read it and I wanted to share it here on the podcast because it ended up being such a blessing to me, I want to pass that blessing along to you.
There is a saying, blessed to be a blessing, and it’s really true.
Let’s just get rolling here. And this is a word for the season, for sure.
James 4:1 - What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?
Vs 1 - here we find the answer for the strife and angst in life. Is something eating at you, or at me? This verse gives us a source. And, it’s not somebody else or circumstances. It’s me. Yeah, so this is sort of why I internally wince when the Lord has me read in James. I’m gonna give an example that came to mind as I was reading through these verses. Regarding recent elections, can I share that in all honesty I kind of feel like this verse fits so perfectly? How’s my attitude? Am I confused by the choices people made and that is rolling right on over into frustration, anger, grouchiness, grrr. I gotta take those emotions, and emotions are real, but I have to take them and give them to the Lord. If I am not upset about the things that His Word clearly state I ought to be upset about, I’m gonna be off track. What is causing this, Jan? What’s at war within you? How irritated am I prone to get when I do not get what I want? This verse leads me to ask that question, and to let the Holy Spirit put a spotlight where He wants it. Sometimes that is uncomfortable. Okay…well, the deal I made with the Lord is that this is no longer my life, but His, and so if He wants to spotlight something that makes me feel uncomfortable, uh, it’s not my life, it’s now His and also, He was so far beyond uncomfortable when He went to the cross for me, it’s just icky how I sometimes get irritated when He is doing with my life the exact thing He said He would do upon my salvation. Take it from garbage and total trash and make it anew. James helps me get my head on straight when I’m seeing things through my own skewed lenses.
Verse 2 - You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.
Vs 2 - do I not have what I want because I have not asked God for it? It’s not a yes or no question, it’s more of a yes on the regular question. Did I even check in with God on this? If I never, ever ask Him for what I really want, then it’s likely that what I want isn’t something I feel comfortable asking Him for (ding ding ding ding - may have a problem here!) or I am just annoyed when I don't get it but I never asked. Sometimes we just didn’t ask, and we should ask. Why? Because the Bible says so. What do I want & why do I want it? Do I want something that belongs to someone else? What aspect of jealousy might be rearing its head in my life? Can my frustration show me something that is amiss, a place where I am jealous and maybe didn’t fully see it until the Word of God showed me what’s up. Is it important enough to me to take before the God of heaven’s armies? To enter the throne room of grace? To pray with importunity, as Jesus taught? If it’s eating at me so much that I am scheming to try and get, fighting and waging war for it, but I haven’t gone to the Lord about it, maybe this is a really wrong, off base desire or maybe I just forgot to go talk to the Father, to make my requests known with thanksgiving. Be sure you are asking God for the things you want. And letting Him give a yes or a no. That’s a safe place to live our lives, and this world is a hot mess and living in a safe place, oh, that’s a good plan.
Verse 3 - And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
Vs 3 - back to my political example… Do I want my choice of candidate to win because I want what I want for my own ease in life and my own pleasures, what will make things more comfortable for me and mine, or do I want that candidate to be in office in order to glorify God and advance His Kingdom purposes? You know, which is it? What is really in my heart? Jeremiah says that the heart is deceitful above all things, and so we need to let the Holy Spirit be the One to determine the worth of what’s in our hearts and to change our hearts desires if need be. We can’t make that change on our own, but He can. We do need to be willing to let HIm work. And how does my frustration and anger about not getting what I wanted reveal what I need most? My motives are pretty revealing. Lord, fix my eyes and thoughts and heart on You and get my motives in line with Your will. Amen to that.
Verse 4 - You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
Vs 4 - now the Word of God gets blunt. With frankness that would be deemed rude and even “un-Christlike “ James states that even our tiniest want to be friends with the world makes us adulterers against the Lord. He says it twice to bring the point fully home. God is no chump. He ain’t playin’. This is what He deems as adulterous behavior. Let’s get into agreement with Him and treat friendship with the world appropriately per the Word of God. Let’s make no provision for the flesh.
Verse 5 & 6 - Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
Vs 5 & 6 - God is serious about us being fully His. To be fully His requires faithfulness to Him. How would we react if God were merely hit and miss in His faithfulness toward us? It is nonsense to believe that our faithfulness to Him can be taken as lightly (and to our shame, it so often is). He opposes - OPPOSES!! - the proud. Period. And He gives grace to the humble. Also, period. Which will you have? Which will I have? Grace from God, or opposition from God? You and you alone get to choose. I choose for me, you choose for you. Let’s not slap God’s hand away when He is being generous toward us. He gives us grace generously, it says here. Accept that grace, and live with some humility. Man, how would this world look if people lived with some humility and less pride. We are prideful, as a human race, we really are. You and I, though, we can choose every single day to humble ourselves. And then the promise here is that we get grace. I want grace, because I really need grace, so I gotta do the work of being more and more and more humble.
Verse 7 - So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Vs 7 - here we find one of the most beautiful promises in the entire Bible. So humble yourselves before God (that word “so” indicates that we have weighed this out and have made our decision). Resist the devil and he will flee from you. WILL. Here’s that amazing word, will. You first humble yourself before God Almighty and then you resist , put some force and effort into that resisting, and the devil has to flee from you. He has to! This is an iron-clad promise. Do your part and God will most assuredly do His. He can’t break one of His promises. It is, after all, impossible for God to lie. He is not a man that He should lie. We read this in our Bibles and we gotta apply it to our lives if we want to live at the level God has in mind for His children. Level up. Humble ourselves, then resist the devil, and he will flee. Flee. Interesting word choice, and God could have used any word there but the word is flee. Satan turning on his heel and running straight away from you, from me. Don’t let the power of this promise be lost on you simply because you’ve heard time and time again. This is good stuff, good good stuff. God has good, good stuff in store for us in this life and for certain in the next life.
I don’t want to miss any of that, so I go to the books of James when He calls me to study the book of James, and I ask Him to change me in any and every way that He deems is in need of change. Change with God means improvement. We kind of look at it as a loss, but it’s always a win. Always an upgrade. Always an improvement. So I don’t want to avoid that. Show me the money. Show me the good stuff. If this is how I get what God has for me, so be it. I’m in. Let’s do this thing.
And as for the climate of the world right now, it’s not going to poof get all sorts of better. Because Jesus doesn’t have free reign in the hearts and minds of so many people on this planet. Because our enemy satan is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Not nibble on, not snarl at, but devour. Pretending that anyone or anything outside of Jesus the Messiah can fix what’s broken in this world is really just putting lipstick on a pig. Because what’s broken is internal, it’s the hearts of men and women, it’s sin. Prayer is going to do more to bless you, bless your family, honor your God, bless your church, your workplace, your neighbors, your country, elected officials, lawmakers, the whole wide world - prayer is going to do more to be a blessing than any candidate ever will. Election day is over for 2022 but you know, prayer isn’t over. Let’s be Christ followers who are such tremendous prayer warriors that satan hates it when we hit our knees and fold our hands and bow our heads in prayer.
That’s it for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Thanks for listening, God bless you and I’ll see you back next time.
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Praying Colossians 1 freebie
Well hey there, hello to ya today. So thankful you are listening to the show today. We’re talking about prayer, which is a hugely important aspect of the Christian life and is incredibly needed in this era in which we find ourselves living. And there is tremendous promise in prayer. The Bible has so much to say about prayer, it’s hard to overemphasize how much hope we have when we stand in prayer.
Paul, in his epistle, Colossians chapter one, that’s our text for today. I’m going to read from the NLT and then I am going to pray this passage for you. And in the show notes for this episode I’m going to attach a link for a pdf you can download that has the prayer I’ll be sharing on the episode, so you can access it on your phone or print it out and keep it with your Bible study items, use it in any way that would be a blessing to you and the people that you are praying for. I’ll put that link at the very top of the show notes so that it will be easy to access no matter what app or podcast player you use to listen to podcasts. I’m really honored to be able to pray for you today, and for the 125th episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, this seemed like a super fitting topic to focus on. Let’s jump into this passage.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 125.
So as I look at Colossians chapter one, I am going to read aloud verses three through fourteen, and I’m a quick reader so don’t get too worried that it’s gonna take me a long while to read this. I want to read it and then pray it. So as I read, would you listen closely, with some intentionality, and think about who you can pray these verses for? Who might God want you to stand in prayer for today?
We want to be disciples who in turn make disciples. A key aspect of the Great Commission, right? Prayer is one excellent way to focus on discipleship. Because you and I, we will grow in our walk with the Lord as we pray for others. And those others for whom we are praying are also going to grow in their life. It is actually a WIN-WIN. And we want as many wins as possible, especially when it feels like life kind of kicks us around a bit, knocks us down. Let’s get some wins, you know what I mean. Right here, this is a big WIN-WIN for us.
I’m reading from the New Living Translation. Colossians 1:3-14
3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
7 You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.[b] 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,[c] 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom[d] and forgave our sins.
Okay, this is quite a passage. Really so much here for us to believe God for in prayer.
Paul saying that they always pray for the recipients of this letter, can you even imagine what comfort that brought them? You know, when we pray for others, in a committed kind of way in particular, it really has an impact on them. It shores them up, it can steady them where they may not quite be feeling their sea legs ya know, kind of shaky and quaky. It is so good to know that we are not alone and somebody who loves Jesus is praying for us on the regular. It’s a really big deal, and my personal desire is honestly that we all have somebody or several somebodies who pray for us. It’s part of being in the body of Christ, and I really would love to see us get all sorts of fired up about praying for one another. What might change if we really leaned into that? Uh, yeah I actually think everything could change.
And when you pray for others, give thanks to the Lord as you pray. Like, the ability to pray and have our prayers heard by God is huge, so thank Him. And thank Him for your church body, thank Him for your praying friends and family, thank Him for all the things really. I could go on and on about what we should be thankful for.
Verse 4 - Paul is thankful for their faith in Jesus and their love for God’s people. Can the same be said of us? Does anybody see evidence of my faith in Jesus? Is it apparent that I love God’s people? I hope so. And does my love and my faith stem from my confident hope of what is coming for me in the future. Confident. Key word in this passage. Confident hope does not sound like, “Gee I sure hope so.” In Revelation, in His letters to the churches, Jesus said they’d forgotten their first love. When we remember what it was like when we first really got it, what this relationship with Jesus was really all about, man what a moment. Did we have an expectation of what would come in the next life back then? Yes indeed. That can still be our expectation and the source of our hope. God has things reserved for us in heaven. Isn’t that exciting? Hang on to that first love. Jesus is always, always worth it, my friend.
Let’s also pray that the Good News will continue to spread around the world. I have a shirt that says “Make Heaven Crowded” and I’ll be honest, I have some shirts that remind me to pray (and a lock screen for my phone that I created to remind me to pray), a hoodie that reminds me that making disciples and being a good disciple myself, those things matter. I have a shirt to remind me that Esther 4:14 is true, and one to remind me that the work I do in my writing and podcasting, it needs to be handled with care, if you will. Like not flippant, but really focused and prayed up as I do the things I do. Make heaven crowded - three words that might be kind of cheesy in the way that only Christian tshirts can at times be cheesy. But it’s important to me. I wear that shirt when I’m writing, when I’m recording audio content like this podcast. It’s for me, to remind me of something really important. People matter. And where they spend eternity, that matters to Jesus and so it should matter to me.
Now I also have a shirt that mentions it being too people-y outside and a sweatshirt that says homebody. I’m telling you, if you know you know. I love people, but the way God made me, I don’t refuel or recharge with all the peoples. I need to have time alone, and you know what, that’s the time I use to write, to craft out podcast content, to work on things for my next prayer retreat in my private Facebook group. To pray for dozens of people (and I have a prayer list with dozens of names on it) If God had not wired me to be okay, to even be in my sweet spot, without loads of people around me all the time, I don’t know that I could get done the things I do. So, how God wired you is part of how He will accomplish the good works He planned for you to be doing. Don’t get annoyed by the gift (cuz sometimes that’s a shady way of being annoyed at the gift giver). Pray and ask how this gifting fits in with how He made you and His good works that He prepared in advance for you to do. It’s really that simple. I used to think I was a really cruddy Christian because I got worn out by too much people-y stuff. Now, I understand it so much better because I prayed about it and the Lord showed me some stuff. He’ll show us some stuff if we pray and talk to Him about whatever it is we need to talk about.
This Good News about Jesus is bearing fruit everywhere and it is doing that by changing lives. Look, I’ve said it before and this here today won’t be the last time I say this. The Word of God is life changing. God is in the life changing business. So, why are we so surprised when a life is changed by the Lord? Why should that surprise us? It’s His way, so we should expect to see lives changed all the time. And hey, why shouldn't one of those lives be your life? You cannot possibly give me a good reason why not you. Why not you? Let God change your life and let your changed life bear fruit.
In verse 7 Paul mentions the person who told them the Good News. We are coworkers with every other Chrsitian who is sharing the Good News of Jesus. It’s not a contest or a competition. We’re working toward the same goal. Be a faithful servant of Jesus, yourself personally, and pray for others to be the same. And then, don’t let competition get in there. God’s got a crown for you and He’s got a crown for them. No need to compete because what are you competing for? You can’t obtain their crown and they can’t somehow work really really hard and get your crown in place of their own. Let’s pray for one another, and for the Kingdom to advance and take more and more ground. And let’s show that the Holy Spirit really has given us love for one another.
Now, verse 9 on have very clear and specific ways we can pray for one another.
First, don’t stop praying. Be committed in your prayer life. Take it seriously. You know, when Jesus prayed to the Father, He took it seriously. And we don’t always do that. So pray, don’t stop praying and take it seriously.
Next, ask God to give the people you are praying for complete knowledge of His will and to give them spiritual wisdom and understanding. Ask the Lord to enable them to live in a way that always honors and pleases God, and for their lives to produce every kind of good fruit (feel free to study the fruit of the Spirit and to ask for those exact things in the lives of the people for whom you pray). And the last part of verse 10 reminds us to pray for people to grow as they learn to know God better and better.
To grow, so this is showing us what growth as a Christian looks like, what maturity looks like. It shows itself as knowing God better and better. And it says to learn to know God better and better. Do you know Him better now than last year at this time? If you don’t, you may need to LEARN to know Him better. Sit at His feet in prayer, read your Bible and pray and ask Him to teach you (learning means being taught, right?) teach you to know Him better. Take time to listen, to be quiet in His presence, to write down what you are learning, because writing it down will cement it more in your heart and mind. Note takers are world changers. There’s so much truth behind that saying. Learn to know Him better. It’s not enough, my friends, to go to church two Sundays a month and that’s all the time you have for Jesus. That is not learning how to know Him better. Get serious about prayer, get serious about reading your Bible, get serious about heeding the conviction and leading of the Lord, get serious about the things the Bible says to get serious about.
Verse 11 - pray that they (those for whom you’re praying) will be strengthened with all God’s glorious power so they will have all the patience and endurance they need. Ask God to fill them with joy, and to give them a heart of thankfulness that always thanks the Father. Sometimes we are thanking Him in all things, but maybe not for all things. And I also gotta say, while it was not true at first like the first year or two dealing with serious heart problems, but for sure the last couple of years I can honestly say I have gone from thanking God in this situation to thanking Him for it. One result of perpetual thankfulness is that it spreads, and it’s a good kind of spreading. I want to be contagious with things that actually matter. A bad attitude, a complaining spirit, is so contagious. So is gratitude and thankfulness. Pray that those people on your prayer list will be thankful.
Ask God to enable them to share in the inheritance that only belongs to His people. For them to really, really know Jesus personally and to have the assurance of eternity with the Lord and not separated from Him. That’s the only way to obtain our inheritance, so when pray for them to share in this inheritance, we are seeking God to call out to them, to draw them with cords of lovingkindness, for their salvation. We want those people for whom we pray to live in the light. Jesus is the Light of the world, so let’s pray for people to live in the light and not to walk in any kind of darkness.
And be sure to praise Him for the work He has done in your life when He rescued you from the kingdom of darkness and transferred you into the Kingdom of His dear Son. Praise Him for purchasing our freedom and forgiving our sins.
Now that is how I pray Colossians chapter one for those on my prayer list. And to kind of make this grab-able (that’s not a word but for today, let’s pretend it is) I made a pdf you can download and the link is at the very top of the show notes and also down at the bottom with my other links, like to my private prayer group where we are going to begin a new weekly time of prayer and teaching about prayer so you can join that, it will go into mid December and then again in the new year, probably all of January and all of February. And also a link to my book A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents on Amazon.
Let me pray now for you based on what I put together in the pdf you can grab at the link. As I pray, just let the Lord comfort you and kind of lean in and choose to believe that He will answer this prayer on your behalf. He’s got blessings and favor and goodness for you and I hope, I really mean this from the bottom of my heart, I hope that no matter where you are in life right now that you can lean in and believe Him for these blessings. Trust again. Love the Lord anew today. Hope in Him and receive whatever it is that He wants to give.
Colossians 1 Prayer PDF
Prayer Retreat Group on Facebook
Prayer Journal for Parents on Amazon
Today let's take a look at
the book of Joshua. This book of the Bible is amazing. If you haven’t read it in a while, or possibly ever, well a lot of people don’t read that much of the OT (for a lot of reasons) but I have learned so, so much about who my God truly is in the OT. It’s a really wonderful book of the Bible.
So, Joshua chapter 8 verse 18 - and we are looking at this verse in the AMP today.
Joshua 8:18 - AMP - Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Reach out with the spear that is in your hand (and point it) toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” So Joshua reached out with the spear in his hand (and pointed it) toward the city.
It is remarkable to read the LORD speaking to Joshua in this verse. It sort of stops me in my tracks in a way when I see the Lord speaking to anyone! It’s a big deal! And I don’t think Joshua took it lightly - I think the sum total of His life proves that he did not ever take lightly the things of the Lord. Joshua was a listener. He listened well to His God. But starting off this verse with those words, Then the LORD said to Joshua, makes it personal. Don’t forget that He is a personal God for you and for me.
Then the Lord tells Joshua to take the spear that was already in his hand and stretch it out toward Ai. (Ai was the city they needed to take in battle, militarily, next). He may tell us at times to pick something up or to lay something down - He is our God, He is both Lord and Savior, so He has the right of way in every aspect of our lives, right? So yeah He can say pick up this and lay down that and so on. But He also will at times ask you to use what is already in your hand. What is in your hand today? For me, it is often a book or a pen. For most of us, a phone is in our hands a lot. But I am not sure that God’s very best for His dearly loved children is to be mind linked and sucked into a device all of the live long day, ya know? So before you say I know what’s in my hand! My phone! Just hold tight for a second and ask Him if the phone were not in your hand all the time what would be in your hand? I am not knocking anybody here - I am as guilty as the next person and I pretty much always know where my phone is (although sometimes I go out to run errands or take a long drive and I leave it at home on my desk on purpose so I can remind myself that there was a time we lived just fine, thank you very much, with no access to a phone. I was not afraid to drive across the country without a cellular phone. I remember it being referred to like this “answer the phone!” and not “let me check my phone”. The phone vs my phone. In my teen years it would have seemed pretty weird to say my phone rather than the phone. And so now and then I like to go backwards a bit, go old school, the old guard, and leave my phone by the wayside. So, no judgment from me on this - but I do caution you from thinking that the automatic answer to the question What is in your hand? Is “my phone”. Only allow that to be the answer if the Lord makes it really clear that it’s the answer.
Think about what might be in your hand if your phone wasn’t.
Joshua’s answer would have been, obviously because the verse tells us, a spear.
So what is the spear that is in your hand today?
What would you say is a key part, an integral part of who you are? Who you really are, not maybe who you have been told you are or feel like some expectation is on you to be. What is the spear you are already holding, a part of who you are, your God created identity that is intended by Him to be used for His Kingdom purposes?
Are we taking the things, all the varied and beautiful and amazing things that are in all of our varied and beautiful amazing lives, pointing them at the enemy and then seeing God move there? Like, right there?
Does that sound like - whew, way out there? Or does it kind of get you a little bit excited, like Yeah! Yes, I am here to make a Kingdom difference and so is she and so is he and so is my small group and so is my bff and and and. Because you are here to make a difference. If you know Jesus personally, then you are here to make a difference. And if any part of you kind of feels like MEH - she is a bit off today in this episode, Jan is reaching here, I don’t think all of us are here to make a difference, that’s a pretty sweeping and broad statement - well, I would point you to the NT book of John, chapters 14 15 16 specifically and just by reading say John 15, I think you would have a hard time not seeing that you and all who are in Christ, are here to make a difference for the Kingdom of our God.
It’s not beyond you because Jesus said it is the way it ought to be.
Joshua had a call on his life. He had a calling. When it was time to step up, he did. Now I don’t see evidence in the Bible that he was trying to step up before it was time, but every time it was time he was right there, ready and willing. And we have info about Joshua and his life in more than just the book of Joshua - we see him in Exodus and in Deuteronomy and Joshua.
He was always ready because he was always willing to do what God said to do. So pointing the spear in the exact direction the Lord told him to point it was easy peasy lemon squeezy for him because he already had the spear in his hand. The more you do the things God says to do, the easier it is to keep doing the things God says to do. (Can I say that again? It’s so true!) Say it again
So what is the promise here?
Let me skip down in chapter 8 of the book of Joshua and read verse 26 - “For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the spear until he had utterly destroyed the inhabitants of Ai.”
Joshua listened for the Lord and then when the Lord spoke he listened to the Lord. He did as the Lord said. And he finished it. With totality. Not with partiality. (sometimes I finish with more partial-ness than total-ness and when I do that, well, I am flat wrong).
He just kept holding out that spear that was in his hand, directly toward Ai, the next place they were told by God to conquer, and he did not withdraw his hand until it was done. The word Utterly here is fitting.
You have anything you need to be done with utterly? Have something you know God wants you to do but you are doing it partially and not totally? That’s okay! What won’t really be just okay is if you hear God’s Word today and then keep on not doing that thing totally. Don’t be partial anymore. Be total. Be utterly.
Sometimes we have got to do the thing God wants us to do and then the victory comes. That’s the promise I find here. To not be so afraid anymore. To just do the thing, Jan, and do it utterly. To slay the beast of partiality in my life and just do that thing with some ferocity, with totality.
Don’t put that thing down just yet, my friend. God may have placed it in your hand for this exact season, for such a time as this. Don’t even lower it. Keep your eye on the prize. That which the Lord has called you to point at the enemy, listen, until the enemy and all the inhabitants of the enemy’s domain are utterly destroyed - keep pointing and don’t drop your arm or even lower your arm a little teeny bit.
Make giving up a non-option. And believe that the utterly will come as you do the pointing at the enemy with what’s already in your hand for Kingdom work. That’s a great promise, isn’t it?
Be a Joshua in our generation and see what God might do!
Lord bless you as you continue to live believing God's promises are true for you - because they really, truly are!
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
InternationalPodcastDay
Today is a special day on the podcast - kind of an awesome day, a pretty cool day in the world of podcasting. Today, the day that this episode releases, the very last day of September 2022, is International Podcast Day. How fun is that? That there is a day when you can just throw up that hashtag, and if you are a podcaster just share, maybe a bit more broadly than you normally do - and I say that to say, would you share this episode today?
In this episode I share about one of my all time absolute favorite Bible verses and it was really in many ways a total game changer , a life changer for me in my parenting, even in my marriage, and in my understanding of how the Lord cares for me, how He takes care of me. He used this verse so, so many times to guide me in my decisions, my decision making. It’s just one verse from the OT book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 11.
If there is something God is calling you to do, or a time of rest He is asking you to take where it feels like you are pressing the pause button on things, go ahead and do it. God will bless it. He wants you to do that thing, so do it. He loves you enough to lay on your heart to do this thing, so do it. If you have people God has placed in your life who love you enough to tell you what you really need to hear, please listen. Take heed. He speaks to us through His word, the Bible. And remember when Jesus said it was better for us that He go away so that the Holy Spirit would come and remind us of everything we need to know, tell us things we need to know, guide us, counsel us. How amazing is it that God has all these things in place to lead us, to tell us what we need to hear, to bless us, encourage us, help us, protect us, for our good and for His glory. Do that thing.
Gonna get to the episode from Isaiah in a second, but I want to share this verse with you today. It’s from Psalm 55, Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken.
I’m going to read it again, and if you’ve listened to the podcast before then you know I often talk about that word will when we find it in a verse, in one of God’s promises, and this is a promise right? If we do the casting, cast your cares on the Lord, it says He will sustain us. I’m going to read it again and put emphasis on that word will. Because that really cements in my heart and mind that God means it. When He says will, He is not playing. He is not messing around. His will does not mean maybe. When He says will it means WILL. It is absolute.
So, I’m going to read it again. I want you to just listen and think about what cares you have that you need to cast on the Lord today. So, first of all, think about that. I mean that's the first part of this verse. It rings true to what Peter said about casting your cares, your burdens, on the Lord. And what Jesus said about taking His yoke upon you because it is gentle and light. I’ve heard people say that the OT doesn’t apply to them, and I’d be careful to go too far along that line of thinking. Some people don’t ever read the OT due to that way of thinking, so yeah, I’m here to say this verse applies to you. It’s in both the O and NT. God wants you to cast your cares on Him, so his enemy the devil does not want you to do that. Let me read it and you think on what you need to cast onto Him today.
Don’t try to kind of pretty them up, you don’t need to set aside a couple of hours to write them all out. This says cast. Think of throwing off a heavy burden. The very moment you can do that, take off those work boots, get off that cramped plane and stretch out your legs, you do those things as soon as you are able. This is similar. Cast those cares as soon as you are able. And how often are you able? Whenever you realize you are carrying a heavy care. Cast it then, don’t wait till a better time. This is the better time. If you feel like maybe, you don’t have time to do that right now, well, you have time to shoo a wasp away from you right? You don’t ponder if you have time right now. You move quickly. Casting these off of yourself and onto the Lord, chucking them, it doesn't take a ton of time. Like shooing that wasp away, chuck these things away. Just do as the Bible says! Once you do that casting of your cares on the Lord, what will happen? He will sustain you. What’s better than that, my friend?
And He will do it with complete ability, authority, and perfection. You can count on it.
He WILL sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken. We’re not righteous in ourselves. There is a zero percent chance of that. But God sees us through Jesus, we are literally gifted His righteousness. So, this promise applies to all who know Jesus, who have repented and received his forgiveness and made Him Lord. It’s our promise, and it’s beautiful.
That’s the intro for this episode, thank you for listening and don’t forget it’s International Podcast Day so please pretty please share this episode. Only comes around once a year!
Isaiah 40:11 (New King James Version)
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.
Have you heard the saying, “Find a need and fill it?”
There was a season of my life when I was going and going and going like crazy - doing all the church things and serving in every way I possibly could. But what I wasn't doing was asking the Lord what His specific will was for me in each area I was serving. Serving is in no way wrong (Jesus said so in Mark 10:45). But serving so much that you haven't been able to go to church or small group and worship the Lord...that's where I was at. God had to get my attention and show me that as the mother of young children, He would lead me gently everywhere He wanted me to go and serve.
I learned to talk to Him about every area service, and knowing that His word clearly said that if I was not being gently led, then I was out of His will made it so much easier to say no to some things and yes to other things.
Regarding "finding a need and filling it", it can be pretty easy to step into some form of service for a while, and then step back out of serving. But when we are letting God lead us gently in all that we do, we end up receiving a calling. And stepping out of our calling for any reason is, quite frankly, sin.
Learning this in my 20s as a mom of young children saved me so much frustration and fatigue. I served BETTER in the areas to which I was called. It was a win-win for everyone.
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
T
ake the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Luke 3: 1-3 (Amplified) - Now in the fifteenth year of [Emperor]Tiberius Caesar’s reign—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises available at Amazon
~~~ While God was doing a work of preparation in John the Baptist's life prior to the start of his ministry, He was also doing a work of preparation to the times & seasons, leaders & authorities in which John's ministry work would take place. God was setting the stage with perfection in the way that only He can.
~~~ The "leaning in" that we need to do during times of preparation is so terribly important. If you find yourself in this place in your life right now, don't become weary or annoyed; instead, choose to lean in and be a good student in whatever it is the Lord is teaching you.
~~~ God is good at time. Never forget this truth! God is perfect when it comes to navigating the times and seasons of our lives.
~~~ We do not need to try and strong-arm God in order to obtain His specific promises and His specific words to us. (See verse 3 above - the Word of God came to John...if it came, then it had been sent. Trust God to send you what you most need, when you most need it.)
~~~ The way to have a truly powerful ministry is to allow God to prepare you, trust Him to set the stage, receive the word that He sends you, and then act in obedience to that word He sent you. Make up your mind in advance that you will do whatever God says to do. What will you do when you get something from the Lord? I truly hope that you will choose to share it with others.
~~~ Three Questions from verses 10-14 (verses are listed below)
1 - What do I have that I can share today? (see verse 11)
2 - Am I doing my work or handling resources wrongly or rightly? (see verses 12 & 13)
3 - Am I content & would I be able to describe myself as "satisfied" with my lot in life? (see verse 14)
10 The crowds asked him, “Then what are we to do?” 11 And John replied, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do the same.” 12 Even some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he told them, “Collect no more than the fixed amount you have been ordered to [collect].” 14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Lord bless you as you continue to live believing God's promises are true for you - because they really, truly are!
Jan L. Burt
Find me here:
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
FromTheVault
Today we are looking at a NT verse from the book of Matthew, chapter 19 and verse 26. I will quote the NLT first, and it says, “With God everything is possible.”
Huge promise here. Huge.
Two things to note right off the bat:
1 - what’s the verb in this sentence? IS - That’s present tense, folks. So right now, RIGHT NOW, with God everything IS possible. IS. This is a present tense promise.
2 - God is not a liar.
This is really important to remind ourselves of, like, all the time. Every day. And you and I need to say this out loud. God is not a liar. Hey, devil, guess what? Lemme just remind you of this one thing, satan… God is not a liar. Hey, that fear that is creeping in? Speak to that fear and tell it this absolute, immovable, solid like a mountain sized boulder truth: God is not a liar.
Okay, so let’s think about your life right now. Do you have a health issue? Do you have a financial issue? Do you have relationship issues? Do you have problems at work? Is your extended family in a mess or in duress? Does your life look totally unlike you and your spouse or your friends thought it was gonna look like right now?
Let me just read once more the words of Jesus found here in Matthew 19:26 - With God everything is possible.
If it’s your health, it’s possible with Him. Your job your career - possible with Him. Your relationships - possible with God.
But remember, this verse covers over every single thing.
Don’t let your ideas about life get in the way of living the life God has laid out before you. We do it all the time - and if we just keep doing it, what impossibility are we going to miss out on?
He brings dead things to life all the time but we may be missing that in our own lives because we have failed to remind ourselves that the God of the impossible is our God.
This verse is for your present tense life, my friend.
And God? He does not lie to us.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (New Living Translation) -
"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
(and verse 7 of this chapter says: "Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, 'Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors He would give them...")
FromTheVault
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises available at Amazon
Key Points ~~~
We need to listen up - take notes - pay careful attention - and do whatever we are called to do when we study our Bible and sense the Lord speaking to us.
Don't be an inactive, indifferent student of the Word!
This promise is massive - it is so big that it leaves us no room to talk our way out of it or wiggle our way around it in order to avoid it...we must simply believe it.
The only way God's promises will not be for you is if you refuse to move with the Lord & instead just sit down on the sidelines. Do not sit out on your own life!
The promises of God should go hand-in-glove with our prayer lives. Appropriating God's promises is the real point of knowing God's promises.
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Well hello there, and welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast.
Take the quiz "Which Promise from the Bible is for You?" here
Take the quiz "What Kind of Mom Are You?" here
Today we are taking a look at four verses from Psalm 27, which is an excellent passage of the Bible to read if you are in need of some extra encouragement or some reassurance that God does hear and answer your prayers.
It’s one of David’s psalms, and those are always encouraging to me in part because they are honest and real and kind of raw. What a good reminder to be honest with God when we pray. He can handle our honesty! He made us with emotions, and He can handle us having emotions. But hiding stuff quote / unquote away from God when we pray, well, it really only harms us, and stuffing stuffing stuffing emotions is hard on us - look, He already knows what we are struggling with and how we are feeling. So let the words of Psalm 27 spur you toward more and more honesty and transparency with the Lord when you pray.
In today’s episode I would like to take a look at verses 7 through 10 of Psalm 27, and I am going to read from the NLT.
7
Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
8
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9
Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
10
Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.
Asking God, crying out to Him, almost pleading with Him to hear you as you pray - that’s heart cry praying, isn’t it? Be merciful and answer me! Sounds very much like a man crying out from the depths of his heart, and there is actually a boldness to this kind of praying. Now I am not saying you get to wag your finger at God and tell Him what to do. No, that’s irreverence and that is unbiblical. However, boldly asking Him to hear you, because you are in a bad way and you really need to be heard! That's boldly coming to His throne of grace to find help and to obtain mercy at your time of need (that’s from the book of Hebrews).
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me,” and my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Did you know that the Lord calls out to you to come and talk with Him when you are in those hard, long, taxing places of life? He does! In our modern era, we can so often miss Him calling to us because we are so busy, almost undone at times due to the hectic pace of life, and the constant scroll on our phones only adds to our inability to hear Him calling to us. Remember Elijah’s experience with the Lord, when the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake or the mighty wind or the fire, but was a still small voice, more like a rustling. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God of the Bible is the God of right now. He didn’t yell when Elijah needed to hear from Him, and He most likely is not going to start yelling at you and me today. We need to listen, to pay attention, to heed Him calling to us, saying, “Jan, come and talk with me.” and our response should be, “Lord, I am coming.”
We are not always the best about that, if we are totally honest and forthright.
We want Him to hear us and answer us right away.
But we don’t hurry to spend time with Him when He calls us to come and talk with Him.
Let’s have an attitude of listening well for His call, knowing that His Word says He will call us to come and talk with Him, and then let’s answer Him. Like, without delay. As soon as possible, just get busy about going to talk with Him. Put the phone away. Get somewhere quiet, even if it’s in your car or in the bathroom. Use the john, hit the head, to use old school dude terminology, and shut yourself away for a bit to talk with Him.
With.
Talk WITH Him.
Not at Him. Not just to Him. Not you talk talk talk and then go back to your work or grab your phone again or whatever.
Talking with Him is a conversation, it goes both ways. Talk to Him, yup. And also, be quiet and listen. He has something to say to you, if He is calling you to come and talk with Him. But, are you really listening?
In verse 9 we see what is kind of like David dumping out his feelings, like literally doing a pour out. Maybe that’s not an actual thing, but I like to think of it that way - do a pour out of all the things that I am feeling, thinking, my emotions that are screaming loudly and want to dictate my decisions and what I believe about God. Get that all out, pour it out to the Lord and just purge it. Don’t bottle it up inside.
Let me read verse 9 again - Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
This is kind of intense! David had so much emotion, he really was dealing with a whole slew of emotions and feelings that could have left him overwhelmed.
Don’t let your feelings make your decisions.
Take them to the Lord and do a full pour out, share it all with Him in prayer, and then hear what He has to say to you after that.
Just tell Him that you feel like you are on the verge of being rejected or abandoned, if that is how you are feeling. Ask Him not to leave you, but to be a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Ask Him to keep His promise to never leave you nor forsake you. And He never breaks a promise, because our God is a perfect promise maker and a perfect promise keeper.
It’s like a good cry, remember that my female friends, from your teen years? Cry it out. Have a good, long cry and then feel so much better. I’ve heard there is some science to prove why you feel better, that it actually releases endorphins after a good hard cry and also that toxins are expelled through your tears. It’s not a bad thing to cry! Maybe we could start normalizing the “have a good cry” again. I kind of would love that for all of us! How helpful would that be?
The God of your salvation is not going to leave you or abandon you. In fact, dare I say, the God of your salvation isn’t going anywhere! Hang your hat on that truth, my friend!
Verse 10 declares that even if my father and mother abandoned me, the Lord will hold me close. David, the psalmist, is making a very strong point here. He is speaking in extremes so that you can be 1000% certain about this - hope in this - rely on this - know this to be true - even if the craziest things happen in your life, your God, He ain’t going no where. He will not budge. Not one iota. His love for you, it will not stop. It will not cease. He is there, right there with you and that is where He will remain.
This is your promise.
And all of God’s promises prove true, it says in the OT book of Joshua.
In the NT we read that all of God’s promises are yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord.
So in the Old or New Testament, we are guaranteed that every single promise is true, will keep on being true, and will come to pass.
Today is going to be a slightly shorter episode of the podcast, but I want to mention just a couple of things real quick.
God is for you, my friend. He is more for you, more in your corner, than you may realize. But I am praying He shows up, shows off, shows out how in your corner He is this fall!
Hang on to Him, do the pour out as often as you need to, and listen to Him in your prayer time. He wants to bless you, and I am encouraging you to believe Him for the blessing today!
See ya next time!
Bye bye.
Well hello again! Thanks for joining me here at The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God, just stacking up those promises week after week, and praying that God’s people would be so given to belief, that our natural bent would be toward believing fully every single promise from God’s Word, that we would leave a mark, a holy mark, on our generation.
Get access to the Psalm 91 audio course here
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises available at Amazon
Wouldn’t that be an awesome legacy? To be able to look back in your old age, during those golden years, to pause and reflect and know that you truly believed God’s Word and you prayed big, bold, daring and sometimes perhaps even audacious prayers based on nothing in the visible realm but based on what the Bible says. Wowza, what an impact! What a legacy that would be! I want in on that, gimme some of that - more of that, please!
That’s why I do what I do week after week, so that you can have that kind of legacy. A legacy that is rooted in a Kingdom impact. And today, well today is a big day on the show because today we take a look at two verses from the prophet Isaiah that are astoundingly, incredibly remarkable. If we would just choose to believe these words from the Bible.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 118.
Alrighty, well here we are in the heat of summer here in Wichita, Kansas. And the Farmer’s Almanac says we are going to have an arctic kind of winter, snowfall above normal and hibernation temps. What a contrast from the blasting oven of heat that lies just outside my front door today, to think of cold that is described as a hibernation zone, glacial, snow filled. And that is the kind of contrast we see between Isaiah 55:10-11 and the way we often pray and what we do or do not believe God for in our actual, walking around lives. Blasting heat it’s an oven outside versus arctic hibernation winter temps. What it says in the Bible versus how I pray and what I believe is going to prove true as a result of how I pray. Often a very stark difference, if we are totally honest. But, is that how the Lord wants it to be?
Isaiah 55, verses 10 and 11 are ones you have probably heard many times, and portions of these verses are regularly mentioned when people pray. So if it’s familiar, well, that’s good - it should be very familiar to us. I know for me personally, I want people who will pray these verses over my life, over my requests, my needs, my emergencies, my future, my children, the work of my hands, my marriage, and so on like ad nauseum. Pray this, please! And pray it as often as you want to! I’m thankful for it!
Let me read it to you from the Amplified.
For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, making it bear and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me void (useless, without result), without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Anybody else get a little bit excited, pumped up, when you hear those words?
This is God speaking in quotes here in Isaiah 55. God is making this promise about His Word, and He has not stated this in secret, in a quiet corner, in obscurity. He has loudly and boldly proclaimed it and I believe, with all of my heart, that He wants us to take Him at His word.
He meant what He said here, and He said exactly what He meant.
We can know with absolute certainty the will of God when it comes to His Word accomplishing what He desires. And when we know for certain God’s will on a matter, we need to believe Him and we should pray in accordance with what His will is. It is a dangerous game, and total folly, to do otherwise.
We are not like a senseless animal being led around by a bit in our mouth, right? We are the ones who have this great opportunity to believe God’s Word, right here and right now, in the midst of this generation. And I promise you this: you will never regret believing God for what He has said in the Bible. Conversely, what you doubt Him for, where you refuse to believe, that may well become a regret that weighs on you for a very long time.
Because what we believe God for, especially when it comes to what we ask God for in prayer, has an eternal impact, one way or another. For good or for not good. Your prayers matter. And when you pray knowing that God’s Word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He desires and will succeed in the matter for which He sent it? Oh that’s big time praying, my friend.
That’s money, right there. That’s the good life, in the most literal sense that I know of.
Anybody here ever heard of the author Susie Larson? She writes books, like a lot of them, and she has a daily radio show and is a speaker. I really am blessed by her show, by her books, her speaking appearances. She is someone who lives life in the real world, prays boldly based on God’s Word, and believes the Lord continually, at times in the face of a whole lot of difficulty and at times with the devil throwing lies right into her face. There is one thing Susie Larson often says that is just so true, it’s kind of like once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it, ya know? She says that the devil always overplays his hand. It’s like satan can’t not over-do things! He just is so full of pride and loathing for God and is such a liar, like can’t not lie and cannot ever stop lying, that he overdoes things. Susie kind of describes it like this: you and I, we may be thinking that what’s happening in our lives, it’s just life on this planet. And so we just endure it. We bear up under it. We keep on keepin’ on. We may pray about it a little bit, but mostly we just trudge along under the weight of it because we don’t recognize it as an attack sent by the enemy. And then, one day, all of a sudden, something just a wee bit more happens (or maybe something kind of big happens). The thing that happens is linked somehow to what you’ve already been dealing with. For example, health issues. Finances. Maybe your children’s behavior. Like, just that one more thing and then, boom, you see clearly that this is the enemy and it is for sure from him and you know God is not expecting you to just keep taking it. You sort of take pause and realize that this is too much to be just life in a broken world. This is not just life; this is from the enemy. You realize this isn’t about growing the fruit of the Spirit in your life, this is a satanic attack and there is a huge difference in how we respond. I’m talking about a realization that this is something that God wants you to be out from under, and you know that by prayer you will be freed from this particular attack.
Satan has overplayed his hand. And now that he has overplayed his hand, it’s all over but the crying. It’s over, Rover. Done deal. Finito.
Have you had moments like that? When you just knew, in an instant, based on that one more thing, that satan was behind it and now you could see it all clearly, whereas if he had just kept quiet and left well enough alone, so to speak, you never would have known it was him and you would have just kept enduring it. He always, always overplays his hand. He can’t NOT overplay his hand. It’s like a temptation he is unable to resist, gnawing at him, until he adds just a bit more…and then, you see it all clearly and you seek God’s help and then it all turns around for you.
These verses from Isaiah are in direct contradiction to satan overplaying his hand. They give us the keys to overcome him, and we do that in prayer and often in fasting along with our praying.
When it rains, when it snows, the earth is watered. It’s not possible for rain to not water. God sends the rain to water the earth, causing it to bear and to sprout, to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eater. It’s a beautiful picture of how God sustains us. Jesus is the Living Water, and all who come to Him will never thirst again (as He said to the woman at the well). He satisfies spiritually, which is far more important and vital than our physical bodies. And God sends rain to make sure that things keep working according to His design, that we would have seed to sow, to keep on growing more and more food, to keep on harvesting, to keep on sowing more and more seed. And for bread to eat, which of course is a result of the harvest which is a result of sowing, or planting, which grows because of the rain that God sends for that purpose.
And what God sends the rain to do, that is what gets done. Period. It doesn’t get to talk back and tell God it isn’t interested in doing what He wants it to do. It just does as it was sent to do. The intention is fulfilled, always.
And guess what? That is how God wants us to see His Word. It works in our lives, it does what He intends for it to do, it is life giving and life changing and life sustaining. And it never stops working. God set it up that way!
And boy oh boy, I sure don’t want to be one who tries to undo God’s order for things. I don’t want to be a woman who pushes against the way God set things up. I want to honor my Lord, with my daily life, and I want to trust Him so completely that I feel weird not trusting Him. I want to believe His Word so much that I feel out of whack if I don’t believe. I hope you want that, too.
So we have this picture of how rain does what it is sent to do, how it waters the earth and provides seed and food.
In verse 11, God says, “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth”.
Oh boy, that right there gets me excited. Do you know what this means? It means that what God has said is EXACTLY what will take place. You can call it what you like, I’m gonna call it how it be. The word of God, as we find it in our Bibles, that is how it is going to be. Might as well get on board with that starting right now, today. It’s the truth, like it or not. So might as well choose to like it.
So will My word be which goes out of My mouth.
That is a promise for the ages!
How could I ever pray a tiny, small, faithless prayer when I could instead pray a big, bold, believing prayer that reminds all of hell that the word of my God always and in all ways accomplishes that for which He sends it?
The only way I can pray itty bitty snack sized prayers is if I choose to.
I choose NOT to pray teeny weeny prayers, thank you very much.
I want to see the will of my God happening all over this earth that He made, that He created. I want to see that! And so I pray what His word says and I believe that not one bit of it will return to Him void.
Because He says here that it will not return to Him void, useless, or without result.
When God says “WILL NOT”, isn’t it pretty silly for us to say, “Well, maybe it will but maybe it won’t”.
Silly is a nice way of saying, bordering on sinful to doubt God so much.
If you play with fire, what’s the saying? You will get burned.
Expect the Word of God to do what God sends it forth to do. Expect nothing less. You know the One to whom you pray, to Whom you have entrusted your eternity, the One who holds the keys of death and hell, he took them back from satan - do you think He can’t handle whatever it is you are facing? You’re probably not facing death as in you are already dead, as Jesus was in that tomb for three days, and you for sure are not standing in hell, which is a real place, the Bible has a lot to say about hell in the New Testament and before your time here ends you need to read the Gospels and see what Jesus said about heaven and hell. What you are dealing with isn’t too hard for the Lord. He defeated death and hell. Why are you afraid to pray and ask Him to deal with your hard places?
Don’t give in to that fearfulness and thus pray small, unbelieving prayers. Don’t be afraid; just believe, said Jesus to the man whose little daughter had just died. Don’t be afraid, just believe. I think you can do that today. I’m asking you to do that today.
His word will not return to Him without accomplishing what He desires (not what you and I desire, what He desires but remember when you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, acknowledging Him in all your ways, He will make your paths straight - and on that straight path, you won’t be wanting things that aren’t what He wants. Psalm 37:4 tells us to take delight in the Lord and He will give us our hearts desires. That is the Word of God, my friend, and Isaiah 55 promises that it will not return to Him void but will accomplish what He desires. Isn’t this great news!!! I love this so much!)
The last part of verse 11 says this - and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
When God says something can’t be done, that issue is settled.
Pay attention closely when you see Him say clearly that something cannot be done.
What cannot be done here?
His Word can’t NOT succeed in the matter for which He sent it. It CANNOT return to Him void, useless, without result. It CAN’T NOT accomplish what God desires.
Let’s pray like we believe God on this, okay?
Call me crazy if you want to, I seriously do not care. Crazy enough to get everything God has for me in answer to prayer based on His word? I guess maybe that may seem crazy to the world but it certainly should not seem crazy to the Church, to the Body of Christ. It should be the norm. We should be shocked by unbelief more than bold belief.
Let’s pray big. Start today. Or tomorrow morning during your quiet time. Before you go to sleep tonight. Pray big. Never cease in praying expectantly, knowing God intends for His word to fulfill what He has sent it for.
Thanks for joining me today on the podcast. I’m grateful for you listening and I’d love for you to share this episode if it blessed you or encouraged you or even challenged you today. Share it on your social media maybe, or mention it to a friend or your small group, those are some pretty easy ways to share the show. And if one person is encouraged, wouldn’t that be so wonderful? The prayer they pray may just be the one that breaks that family stronghold, that emboldens someone to do God’s will in some certain part of their life, that brings healing, emotional or physical or both, into someone’s life. The prayer someone prays may be the very prayer God answers and by doing so, totally turns your life around. So, yeah, please share this episode.
I don’t usually feel an urge to ask you to share, but this episode I can’t not ask you to share because it’s not about what Jan says, it’s what the word of God has to say and somebody as a result of a shared post or text or old school email, somebody is about to experience something with God that will bless them and encourage them and be just what they need at this point in their life.
Thanks for sharing the show, and God bless you. Praying for all my listeners, and you probably have a good idea of how I am praying for you after listening to this episode. I’m expecting God to answer my prayers and do mighty things in your life.
See you next time when we will jump back to Psalm 27 and take a look at the promises God provides us there.
Bye bye.
Well, hey there!
Welcome to episode #117 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where it's all about knowing and believing God's promises. Because that's where the life-change really takes place!
When you know in your knower that every single one of God's promises is true, you'll never want to go back to a life of doubt and wondering.
This week on the show we are looking at a couple of verses from Psalm 27, which was written by David.
Verses 1 through 3 read like this in the New Living Translation:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? 2 When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.
Verse 1 is a kind of call to not be afraid - no matter what.
He is our light. He is our salvation. He is our fortress. He will never stop protecting us from danger.
He will enable us to see clearly as He leads us. As our salvation, he rescues, delivers and protects us.
Nobody and nothing get to you outside of the Savior's permission. We see ample of evidence in the first few chapters of the book of Job. The enemy wanted to do far more to Job than he actually did, but was not allowed to because God stayed his hand. When God says, "This far and no farther," even our enemy Satan listens and obeys.
God has His hand on the thermostat of your life, and it will never get hotter than His hand allows.
When you forget this, you give the enemy access that God does not want him to have in your life. Doubting, or even simply failing to remember or call to mind what god has promised in His Word is just a hairs breath away from giving in to fear.
Fear screams loudly and gives the enemy a seat at our table. Once he sits down with us, he does what he always does: lies and lies and lies some more.
But knowing our God decides what does and does not happen to us, well, that takes away the devil's seat at the table of our life. It pulls back the chair and sees him to the door.
It keeps his fear mongering at bay and reduces it to dust.
Jesus sets a table for us in the presence of our enemies, it says in Psalm 23.
But it doesn't say our enemies are dining with us. So let's not accept anything less than our Savior giving us rest and peace in the midst of our enemies and our hard situations.
When your enemy comes to attack they will stumble and fall, it says in verse 2.
Let this remind you that God sees what is happening, and God cares.
Rest assured that God's got His hand on the thermostat and His eye on your circumstances, and He is always, always good.
Get a free ticket to the summit I'm speaking at next week here:
HomeschoolSuperHeroes.com/Jan
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
A very special episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show coming to ya today.
HomeschoolSuperHeroes.com/Jan
I had the chance to interview my dear friend Kerry Beck about a special event coming up in just a couple of weeks - Homeschool Super Heroes Week.
Now, don’t run and hide or tune out just because you heard me say the word “homeschool”.
There are some things in this podcast episode that are beneficial for all parents and even grandparents, and there are some pretty awesome freebies available too.
Kerry hosts this online event every year right at the tail end of summer and part of why she has it in late August is so that parents and grandparents can get a jump-start on the school year (whether that includes home education or not!) Her heart is to equip parents and grandparents who are Christians to train up the next generation to put on their “Bible glasses” and view the world through a Christian point of view.
It’s the time of year when families start thinking about fall Bible studies and jump back into family devotionals after the more relaxed summer months.
The world in which we are currently living is very different than the world was 100 years ago…or even 10 or 15 years ago!
It’s important to recognize the signs of the times in which we live, and to work diligently and with focus on training our children and grandchildren in the ways of the Lord.
This summit is designed to that singular end.
And the way that Kerry treats her audience is remarkable and unique, and it is always the highlight of my year to work with her through her events. I’m sharing Kerry’s vision for Christian families with you today on the podcast because I would be a really lousy friend to you all if I didn’t! She is offering a caring, encouraging, Biblically solid environment to her people via her email list and her Facebook group - so if you could use some encouragement in a safe, warm, welcoming place as you grow in your walk as a Christian parent, then this event is for you.
In addition to the speakers at this week-long online event, Kerry is opening up a prayer room so attendees can share prayer requests, pray for one another, and be prayed for. Is that not the best idea ever?!? Who doesn’t want to have access to a prayer room as we head into a brand new school year?!?
So, yes, there will be workshops that focus on homeschooling - but there are also going to be workshops on parenting, discipleship, prayer, and loads of encouragement for moms and dads.
There will even be a daily superhero of the faith that parents and grandparents can do with their kiddos. As believers, we have a Christian heritage and getting a little snippet of info about that to pass along to our children is truly amazing.
The keynote speaker will be talking about the importance of Christian communication and the art of communicating well.
And if you are a grandmother who is raising and / or homeschooling your grandchildren, Kerry offers regular ideas, resources and encouragement for you. (Also, if you are serving in the Church in any type of children’s ministry, many of the ideas and activities she shares will work well in that environment, too.)
This year she has several speakers focusing on special needs in children, and she is thrilled to be able to offer several workshops that can be of help to parents of special needs children.
There will also be the opportunity to ask questions for the speakers, and get those questions answered. For me, as an extreme introvert, when I would travel to a conference or convention, I would sit in the back, take lots of notes, and skedaddle immediately at the end of the workshop. But having the option to ask questions via an online summit takes all the “people-y” parts of a traditional conference out of the equation. So if you are like me, and you don’t usually ask questions when all the people are around, then this type of setting is for you.
And Kerry has made different options available to attend the summit, even with a totally free option. (If you can afford free, then you can afford this event!) Even if you are on a tight budget, and who isn’t in our current economy, there is an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy way to enjoy the summit.
Visit Kerry's website here:
HowToHomeschoolMyChild.com
Get a free ticket to the summit here:
HomeschoolSuperHeroes.com/Jan
In this episode from the vault, Jan shares several verses from God's Word along with an important reminder that God is in the promise keeping business, and He has every intention of keeping His Word to you.
Happy Listening!
FromTheVault
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Today I am going to read a bunch of Bible verses to you and let the promises of God sink into your heart, into your mind (which changes the way that we think and that, my friend, changes the way that we live).
God keeps all of His promises so I want to encourage you today to live like you know He is keeping all of His promises to you. To your family. To your local church. To the church all around the globe.
Okay, so let’s dive into God’s Word and get some encouraging news in our ears, in our thoughts, shall we?
First let’s start with some powerful and hopeful words that Jesus spoke. I am quoting the NLT for today’s podcast & let’s look at Mark 12:27 - Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
It is so, so important to remember, when we are making the big bold decision to really, truly believe God’s promises - to live a believing life - that we don’t base our belief on anything outside of the Lord. We aren’t mustering up more faith. We are simply deciding that we will believe what the Bible says to us. And so, this verse is just a great reminder that you don’t have to make God’s promises work out in your life, in your kid’s lives, etc. Nope.
There are actually many, many things in this life that are impossible - for man. For humans. For wives and for moms and for employees and for church members. Humanly speaking, there is gonna be stuff that is just not possible. But not with God! Aren’t these words from Jesus incredible?
Think for just a moment about what our Savior is actually saying to us. But not with God. EVERYTHING is possible with God.
So bring God into everything, then!
Never intentionally leave Him out of anything. You want the God who makes the impossible, possible doing all the things in your life, am I right?
Get a sense of Jesus, today, looking at you intently and reminding you, firmly but with great love and compassion, that it isn’t about mankind's ability to make this thing fly. Because God makes everything possible.
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) says this - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Oh wow - what a verse! What hope! What assurance! This is quite a promise!
He is promising that He will direct your steps. And guess what? You can pray this verse over your loved ones, your co-workers, your spouse, your aging parents, your neighbors. And also, pray this over yourself.
Lord, direct my steps. I know my righteousness and any godliness within me is thanks to Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Father, bless me and direct each step that I take. Stop me when I am near a misstep. Thank You for this promise of Your guidance and direction over my life, from now until my last breath.
It says that He delights in every detail of our lives. So guess what that means for us? How does that relate to us living in total belief that God’s promises for us are absolutely true and are being realized on the daily? Well, take every little and every big detail of your life to God in prayer. You can do that! You should do that! He cares so much - talk to Him. A lot! Often. All of the time. And remember, keep on remembering, He delights, not tolerates or endures or notices, but delights in every detail.
Oh this is a great promise. And a great prayer verse too.
Quick side note here - anybody else feel kind of like we are on the verge of just a huge prayer event in the West? Like people are going to start praying individually, as married couples, families, in small groups, church settings, at work, on college campuses, gathering among neighbors - online even. To pray. I have a sense this is on the horizon. If you feel that way too, listen to the Lord as to what He is calling you to do as part of that, I guess prayer movement you might call it? And keep track of, write down, memorize, put in your phone verses that you can have at the ready at any moment to pray. Praying God’s promises is really amazing. Like, will leave you amazed again and again.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) says - So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
A lot in that verse. First, God says to be strong and courageous and that sentence ends with an exclamation point. So - let’s just do what He says to do! Be strong. Be courageous. Exclamation point. I am guessing you have one or more parts of your life right now, at this point in time, where you can apply this. So go ahead and apply. Be strong. Be courageous. How? By resting in the Lord and knowing in your knower that He is going to keep His word.
Don’t be afraid. Think on Jesus and the fear dissipates, really it does! Do not panic before them, it says. Well “them” of course refers to their enemies. Don’t panic before your enemy.
And here is the reason why you don’t need to be afraid, don’t panic, be strong and courageous. For the Lord your God WILL PERSONALLY go ahead of you. Boom. Mic drop.
When God says He WILL do something, He most assuredly will. You just be about the business of believing He will do all He has promised to do. Let Him be about the actual doing of it.
He will personally go ahead of you.
How’s that for a promise that can give you some big time faith?
And the verse ends with this - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
I’m going to say that once more - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
He won’t. That’s that.
Revelation 21:4 (NLT) - He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying of pain. All these things are gone forever.
This is such a wonderful verse for us. I’m not going to deep dive into anything specific today - but we have had quite an 18 /19 or so months, all around the world. This verse is a balm for those who know Jesus. It’s key. It’s mission critical to remember there is a day coming when all the tears will stop. No more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Gone forever. I don’t even need to say more about this verse, this promise from Revelation, except that it is for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you don’t, you are welcome to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will reply. It’s so important to know Him, not know of Him, not just attend church, but really know Him. Not talking religion here. But true relationship with the Son of God, Jesus. I really do welcome you to contact me. Totally confidential and non judgmental. Just offering Jesus and how to have Him as your best friend forever.
Last verse today - Luke 1:37 (NLT) For the word of God will never fail.
Short and sweet. Doesn’t need explaining. No need for commentary. Just know that this is absolute and unchanging truth.
For the word of the Lord will never fail.
Anybody else need to know that today?
Take that thing, big and scary, and hold it up next to this verse, Luke 1:37. Does one seem bigger and one much smaller?
For the word of the Lord will - never - fail.
It won’t. It just will not.
Lord bless you today. I have prayed for you, all who listen to this episode, and I am going to continue to pray for you.
Live a life sold out for Jesus, a die hard for His promises, and just see what God might do in and through a life lived like that.
Find me on instagram @janlburt or on Facebook in the prayer group - Praying Through the Storm - and I have a book, a devotional, available on Amazon - The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises - with verses that have the word “WILL” in them. God does what He says He will do, and He never doesn’t do what He has said that He will do.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Prayer Is...
*Asking & receiving
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Enjoying being in our Father's presence
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Laying our burdens down & receiving Jesus' peace
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Interceding for others ~ for their benefit & God's glory
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Fighting the good fight of our faith
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Worship & praise & thanksgiving
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The most powerful force in existence
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There will be no prayer in heaven; the only praying we will ever do is here.
Keep prayer as one of your top priorities this summer, into the fall, and the coming winter.
When you neglect your prayer life, the rest of your life reaps the results of that neglect.
Here are some verses you can study to learn more about the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian.
- Nahum 1:7 * Psalm 33:18 * Romans 4:21b * Colossians 4:12b * 2 Kings 19:16a * James 4:2 * Philippians 4:19 * Genesis 18:14 * Matthew 15:26 * Luke 18:1 * Proverbs 30:5 * John 17:15 * Psalm 18:28b * Jeremiah 29:13 * Proverbs 3:6 * John 15:5 * Ephesians 3:20 * Philippians 4:13 * James 1:5 * Proverbs 2:6 * Isaiah 40:10 * Matthew 11:28-30 * Romans 8:31 * Psalm 86:7 * Psalm 65:5 * James 5:16 * Psalm 142:3 * Hebrews 4:16 *
Enroll in the Psalm 91, Pray It & Believe It Course here
Get your copy of A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents here
Psalm 91 Course - Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe Course with Jan L. Burt
Well hey there, hello to you today. So glad you’re listening to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today we are looking at some Bible verses that will encourage us in our praying.
Prayer is, I’ve heard it said, the language of heaven and for us right now, while we are living on this planet as we await eternity, prayer is how we talk to God. And in our prayer time, we hopefully make sure to be still before the Lord, quiet ourselves and listen. God will absolutely speak to us from His word, and His Holy Spirit is our counselor, so we want to be sure we are reading the word with a heart posture that listens to what the Word of God has to say, and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that His sheep would know His voice and the voice of another they would not follow (I believe you can read that in John chapter 10). So that indicates He intends to speak to us. Which means we need to be good at listening, right?
As we dig into some verses today, I hope they bless you and encourage you in your prayer life. Our God is a prayer answering God, and that is something to get excited about.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 113.
The first verse I want to share with you today is from the Old Testament book of Nahum. Nahum chapter one, verse seven. I’m going to read it from the NLT. It says -
The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
So the first thing I notice here is the statement, not the question, the stated fact that the Lord is good. Is. Present tense. He is good, today, right now. Whatever may be going on, God is good. Don’t forget that. He never ceases to be good, in the right now present moments of your life. And He won’t stop being good any time soon.
And because we know He is good, we can believe this verse when it promises that He is a strong refuge when trouble comes. And that He is close to those who trust in Him.
Look, if you tell me point blank that God is closer to those who trust in Him, then I want to be as close to Him as possible. If my promise is that the Lord will be a strong refuge when trouble comes, then I need to a) know that and b) believe that and live in the light of that truth when trouble comes into my life.
I cannot set up a world without trouble. Trouble is part of life here on earth. But there is so much hope in this one verse, isn’t there? The Lord is good, and that’s so hopeful! He is a strong, not a weak or wimpy or mediocre, but a strong refuge, a place of safety and security and strength, when trouble comes. And He is close to those who trust in Him. So, let’s get as close as possible to our God and trust Him with everything we’ve got.
Psalm 33:18 is another verse I want us to look at today. I’m going to stick with the NLT for this verse too and it reads like this:
But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
So the promise here is pretty clear, and honestly I love it when it’s this blunt. What has God promised? That He watches over those who fear Him, He watches over those who rely on His unfailing love.
What do you rely on during the course of a typical day?
That second cup of coffee? Encouragement from your spouse or significant other? Endorphins after your workout? Netflix to “not think about anything” after a long day? A glass of wine? (for my mom, it was black coffee and a smoke break and maybe a soap opera or two). Raw cookie dough is never gonna be able to offer us the hope that the Lord does. I know that you are already aware of that - but it can be helpful to say it out loud. You know how it gets kind of worrisome when they start saying the quiet part out loud? Ya know what I mean by that? When the “bad guys” (whoever the bad guys are in any given scenario) start to say loudly and with boldness and authority what they are going to do, saying out loud the part of their plan that is so bad it usually is only whispered about, when they start saying those things out loud, well, it’s another devil at another level, ya know? And sometimes when we say out loud the things that we know to be true but we don’t like to say out loud because it isn’t the cleaned up, prettied up, gussied up part of our lives as people who love the Lord - sometimes when we say the quiet part out loud, we get a little bit bolder. We get a bit more confident in what we believe, in what God has promised, in our praying, in our witness for Jesus, in our heart to love others well and to recruit for heaven. I mean, that’s kind of what we are to be doing, right? Have you seen the hoodies that say Heaven is my home - I’m just here recruiting? I love that! God’s Word tells me so much about who He is, and since I am going to spend forever with Him, I want to know the Bible as a way to know Him well before I step into eternity. And I want to remember that this world is not my permanent home, I am a pilgrim on a journey to my real home and I want to bring as many people with me as possible. When we say certain things out loud, we refocus and get bold about the things that matter most. People, my friends, people matter the most because they live on forever, in one place or the other. In heaven or in hell.
So when I say something that maybe seems like it should be whispered or kept nice and quiet and tucked away, when I speak it a little louder for the folks in the back, maybe that’s a good thing. Raw cookie dough, the smoke break, red red wine, Netflix binges, longer and longer vacations, the new boat, the new car, the new cellphone, the new wardrobe, losing ten pounds, winning that long-standing argument, the big bonus check or the new house can never be for you what the Lord alone has set Himself apart to be. He wants you and me to rely on His unfailing love. And He anchors that to this promise, and it’s a whopper of a promise, this promise to watch over us. God watching over you. His eyes are on you, He never removes His gaze from you, He does not sleep or slumber. He’s got you. Don’t jump past how amazing this promise really is. Rely on Him. The other stuff, some of it isn’t even bad stuff - but it’s not God sized stuff. It’s gravy, and that’s nice and all, but it’s not the meat and potatoes of life. Don’t sit around with a mug full of runny gravy when God has prime rib waiting for you. And if you’ve ever had really good prime rib, you know what I mean. Relying on Him and walking in this blessing of being watched over, at all times and in every situation, that’s the good stuff of life.
And when you pray, rely on the Lord. Take your burdens to Him in prayer and leave them there as if you really believe He is going to do something about all that heavy stuff. Relying means something, right? Rely on Him as you pray, and leave your prayer time unburdened because you’re not relying on yourself or on anyone other than the Lord God Almighty.
I’m going to share one more verse now, and it is from the book of Romans, which is in the New Testament. Romans 4:21, now this is actually the second portion of a sentence that began in verse 20, so if it sounds like I am reading part of it, well, I guess I am.
This time I am going to read from the Amplified.
being fully convinced that God had the power to do what He had promised
When you pray, be fully convinced that God has the power to do what He has promised. Now I’m not saying this is easy, at least maybe not at first, but the more you pray with this as your core belief, that He isn’t lying to you about these promises because it is impossible for God to lie, that He isn’t withholding good things from you because His word says that you will yet see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, when you pray as a man or a woman or a child who is fully convinced that God has the power to do all He has promised, and He has that power, oh yes indeed, you will be praying differently.
Ever hear someone who prays out loud and you just think, “Whoa!” They have so much faith. They seem authoritative when they pray!” They may be praying in belief, in reliance, in trust, with the authority that comes from Jesus. We don’t have authority to tell the devil nothing on our own, but when we pray in His authority, for His Kingdom to come and for His will to be done right here on earth just like it is in heaven, we are using the authority He gave us and we are using it rightly. You can pray for people to be healed of physical illnesses, and not just for the head cold. For cancer, for blindness, for heart issues, lung issues, not just for hangnails and the things that seem “safe” to ask for healing about. Pray for people to come to know Him personally so they can be freed from the ravages of a life of sin and have eternal hope that changes everything. Pray for God to open doors for you to speak into the lives of those who need to know about God. Pray for blessings at work so you have a platform to talk about the goodness of your God when people ask you (and some places, they gotta ask you first about your God or your faith and then you can answer them…well, pray for that.)
And when you pray, stay fully, not partially, but fully convinced that God has the power to do what He has promised. It’s His promise, it’s His word, so just ask Him to do what He said He wants to do. And be thankful when you pray. A thankful heart, an attitude of gratitude, is so valuable in the sight of God and man. Don’t you prefer to be around thankful people a bit more than super grumpy cranky complaining people? Silly question, isn’t it?
Okay, that is just about it for this episode, but I do want to leave a couple of things with you here as I wrap this up.
Prayer is big, it’s not just by rote at bedtime or before dinner. It’s so big, it’s this incredible gift God has blessed us with. Prayer is asking, for sure, and also expecting an answer. So it is asking and receiving. Nobody went to Jesus in the Gospels and asked and then just didn’t expect an answer. Nobody asks their boss an important question and then walks out of the room expecting nothing in reply. So prayer is asking, but don’t forget that you ought to expect an answer. This is the Living God you are talking to, and I doubt He wants you to leave your prayer time expecting little to nothing from Him.
I have a whole lot more about prayer that I could mention, but I will get back to that in the next episode and share some more verses with you. And if you would like to enroll in the audio course on Psalm 91, Pray It and Believe It, you can do that at app.hiro.fm/channel/psalm-91-pray-it-believe-course-with-jan-l-burt
I’ll put the link at the top of the show notes for easy access.
Pray big today, and remember our God is in the prayer answering business and His love for you knows no bounds. Ask Him for what you need. Pray for others who need what only He can give. Pray for your church family, for your pastor, for your children and your spouse and your coworkers and your neighbors. Pray. Rely on Him. See Him do great things in your midst because you took the time to pray.
See you next time!
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
Grab the eBook "So Long, Guilt & Shame" here
& sign up for the audio course "Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe" here
Well, hey there! Hello hello to ya today.
Thanks so much for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today we are going to look at a really amazing verse from the Old Testament book of Esther, and a verse from the New Testament as well. The Bible tells us we are to be doing the work of spurring one another on toward love and good deeds. I’m hopeful that the podcast today is gonna do just that. It’s so very important for you to know that you are not a mistake, you are not here by accident, but that a very intentional God who loves you so incredibly much has purpose for you, for your life, for your days upon this earth. So, let’s chat about that.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode #112.
So here we are, summer of 2022, and the book of Esther, specifically chapter four and verse fourteen, has been on my mind. You probably know this verse, it’s on artwork, social media posts, t shirts, it’s been everywhere like Johnny Cash, ya know? It’s very encouraging, this verse, but first I want to share with you a verse from the book of Acts that goes hand-in-glove with Esther 4:14.
Acts 17:26 says this - From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.
And that’s from the CSB.
So, from Adam, way back at the very beginning, that would be the one man God made all mankind from. And God chose our appointed times and the boundaries of where we live. You hear people say I was born too late and in the wrong land, but actually that’s not possible if we believe this verse.
The NKJV reads this way - And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.
God determined you would be living in this part of the world at this point in time. It’s very precise, very exact. He chose the boundaries of our dwellings.
You weren’t born at the wrong time. You weren’t born in the wrong part of the world. The right here and the right now, this is where God has you. He is perfect in all of His ways, we sing that as a worship song, but let’s make sure we live like we believe that He is perfect in all of His ways. And all, means all, right?
Esther 4:14, from the Amplified and then I’ll read it from the NLT -
For if you remain silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish [since you did not help when you had the chance]. And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this [and for this very purpose]?”
14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
It’s the second half of this verse that I was going to focus on today, but ya know reading it, the first half is crucial. If you remain silent, if you keep quiet, at a time like this…oh it is just so easy for me to kind of play it safe, I guess. To not be quite as bold and direct as I should be. Not talking about being a loudmouth, lipping off, just uncorked all the time. No, I mean when I know the Lord is leading me to write a certain post with some things that are harder to talk about, and rather than try to pretty it up to appeal to the masses, to keep people as comfortable as possible, He wants me to be more direct. Like, this is what the Bible says, So this is what I am going to share. When I fight against that, I do what this verse mentions. I’m trying to remain silent in a way when I want to kind of obey His leading, and kind of talk about that subject matter, but so vaguely that it’s not totally clear what I’m talking about. Knowing the will of God should not be akin to nailing jello to the wall. If He has stated something clearly in the Bible, in His book, His word, then it’s as clear as it needs to be. I can handle it well, I have to be loving and gracious and led by the Spirit of God, but I can’t refuse to do what He says to do, and say my refusal is because I’m trying to be loving and gracious. Truth and love, justice and mercy, these are things that are mentioned side by side in the Bible, and if He is urging me to talk about something in this moment, because this is the era in which I am alive, and I don’t do it… He can just as easily work out His will through someone else. It’s just crystal clear in this verse, and I need to stop dodging the hard things He asks of me.
I’ve heard it said that God is not sentimental, and we often are. He is more willing to move a Saul along and raise up a David while we can hang on to Saul when God has moved on. That’s convicting! And it’s convicting because it’s often true. I’m not convicted of things that aren’t true. That’s not how conviction works.
Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this? And for this very purpose?
Who knows? Well, our God knows. Those two sentences moved Esther to action and everything changed as a result. You may be the one to say the words that spur someone on to the greatest action of their life, or you may be the one who takes action that changes things for, in the case of Esther, an entire nation.
Does this maybe sound a bit like our culture in the US?
It sure does.
What’s your role? To speak with boldness on issues that will move someone else to do the scary, but right, thing? Or do you need to be encouraged by someone’s words and out of that encouragement will be borne your bravery, your actions that will impact others far beyond just your own corner of the world?
We aren’t here at this moment in time by accident. This is not by chance. We need to know that God is involved in the details and the specifics of our lives, and that He is well aware of what’s taking place, what’s shaping up, in the places where we live. ARe we praying about our role in this world? Or are we praying and asking God to bless us in this world? Not wrong to ask for Him to bless us, He loves to, His word is super clear about that. But are we asking how we can bless others and honor Him in our current culture? Taking a hard stand based on God’s word can be tough, but doing it in a way that is vulnerable enough to let people see who you really are, it can be hard to do. We have the New Testament as a guide for how to do the hard stuff of ministry. And as disciples, we are commissioned, not asked if we feel like it if we get around to it sometime before we leave this planet could we maybe…no, that’s not what it means to be commissioned. We are under orders from the boss, we are not our own bosses anymore. Our lives are hidden with God in Christ Jesus. We are not our own, we were bought with a price, and that price was the precious blood of Jesus.
He has the right of way in our lives. We are to yield to Him. So, He put us here at this time. In this country. And this stuff, specifically Roe v Wade, is happening right now. Would you be willing to pray about this moment in time, what’s happening now and what will happen in the coming months? It’s not my place to tell you what to do, that would not line up with yielding to the Lord. But the Lord did put it on my hard to cover this subject on the podcast.
I am going to share a bit of my personal testimony, and then I’d just like to pray for our country.
I was very, very liberal. Really like intensely liberal. Not raised in a Christian home, but raised by a single mom who was a feminist. She wanted her girls to be feminists too. She really thought it was going to help us, protect us from some of the hard stuff she endured and honestly she was rebellious against her parents and didn’t want to follow them in their walk with Jesus. My siblings would all agree with that, all six of us, and that’s not me dishonoring my mom. Not at all. She would have told you that straight up, just as she told so many people that very thing. So my husband and I, we live in Wichita and way back in the early 90s there was what is known as the Summer of Mercy. You may have heard of it. Wichita was, for quite a long time, the abortion capital I believe of the world. And that summer there were protests and they were intense and all summer long, like the main highway through the middle of town they had it blocked if you couldn’t drive, it was all summer. And one day while driving my car, my husband was in the passenger seat and he leaned over and he tapped the horn in support of the protestors, the pro life people. I went off. I mean, really went off. We were on the opposite side of the city from our home, our apartment, and I very nearly threw him out of the car and left him there. I was enraged. How dare he use my horn in my car that I paid for to support something I, an extreme feminist who was pro choice, I mean it was a long rest of the day. Because I meant it. Well, fast forward about a year and half later, the Lord had been working on my heart, doing all kinds of things, and that’s another story for another day, or a lot of stories I mean I was pretty hard hearted, really dug in, so it wasn’t just bam I saw the light. No. I was just a mess, way too hard for one moment to impact me. But about 18 or so months later, in a different apartment, I was watching a tv preacher. And I prayed for forgiveness for all my sins, and I really wanted to be forgiven, I did not choose my way anymore, I chose Jesus and I surely did mean it when I made Him Lord of all my life. I fully yielded the right of way to Him when I prayed that day. As soon as I finished that prayer, like boom said amen, I did a total 180 degree turn around in my thinking. One of the biggest things that I instantly thought differently on was this issue, a woman’s “right” to choose. All those years of being so dug in, so hardened, just vanished in one split second. Gone forever.
People who knew me then were pretty shocked. I was so different in how I thought, and subsequently the way I lived, the way I spoke, every big and every little thing was impacted, I had people tell me they knew God was real because how else could I change so dramatically, so instantly?
I just knew in that moment how my thinking on this issue had been so far off from how God views this issue. I understood what child sacrifice is to Him. How it breaks His heart. For the mother and the child, and the fathers too. I’ve never had hate toward women in this position, which is another sign that God did a powerful transformative work in my life. But I have had grief and prayed so much over this really terrible terrible evil, and it is an evil, you may never listen to me again because I just said that abortion is evil. I did not say women who have had abortions are evil or unforgiveable so that’s not what I said. The actual act, it is truly evil. God did not so totally and instantly change my mind because it’s not a big deal. My mind, my thinking, changed because God changed it. And I am not a one-off. What God thinks on a matter is really the end of the matter, and when we ask Him to change our thinking so that we follow Him as disciples, right we are the followers not the leaders, when that change happens, it is because He made it happen. I could not have changed myself. The Lord did it.
That’s my personal change of heart about this very relevant right now in June of 2022 issue. I have prayed so much for the unborn, for the women in this country who are so hurt, going through such difficult times, for all those who have been wounded by having abortions, that the church Jesus’ church would be a safe haven and a place of hope and healing for them. Yeah, I’ve prayed. I’ve prayed. And a few days ago, I stood in awe.
Not everyone feels like this is a hopeful moment. But it is. It is. Keep it hopeful for those who need hope! And you are allowed to rejoice and thank God for this miraculous change. This kind of thing does not happen. And it did happen. In the 49th year it happened. And what’s the 50th year according to the Bible? The year of Jubilee. Thank God for what He has done, is doing, and will do. And ask Him what you ought to do in this moment in time. You are not here by chance. He may well have something for you to do that will reveal His love and His hope to those who need it so very much right now.
Thanks for listening today, and thanks for praying today.
Our nation needs to be covered in prayer.
We need Jesus. We need more and more Jesus in America right now.
God bless you.
Well, hey there!
Thanks for checking out The Burt (Not Ernie) Show & this special episode with a release from the vault!
I hope it blesses and encourages you today & reminds you that the Lord's promises to you are sure, certain, steadfast and guaranteed.
Be sure to sign up for my email list at my website, JanLBurt.com, and get "The Runway" in you inbox as a way to be encouraged, renewed & refueled. I'm cheering you on as you live out God's good plans for your life!
Enjoy this special episode from the vault!
~ Jan L. Burt
~ ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 32 ~
Acts 2:39 - The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.
When God gives us something that we can grab hold of & hang on to & believe Him for individually (as in, just for us as His dearly loved child) it's terribly comforting. It's very personal.
When God gives us as His whole body, His whole Church, a promise, that's just plain beautiful.
And when God gives us promises that are generational - as in, for those who will come after us (specifically our children and our grandchildren and so on) --- well, that is something else entirely!
When you spend time in prayer for your children - which I hope happens every single day - don't fail to utilize and make the most of the promise from this New Testament verse. I want to encourage you to use this verse in your beseeching (and if your prayers aren't exactly "beseeching" the Lord for specific things for your offspring, I guess this is your challenge to make sure they become "beseeching" prayers!). Please be willing to pray God's Word back to Him on behalf of your loved ones. Don't miss this!! It delights Him when His children know His Word and speak His Word in prayer. Praying in this manner reveals that we believe His Word is true. It reveals our faith in Him when we pray His promises in belief.
Ask God to give you specific promises for your children. And be sure to write those promises down where you will see them often and pray them often.
Be sure to put them down in ink, not with a pencil. God's promises are not able to be altered or erased, so don't treat them as if they might be "erase-able" by writing them down with lead rather than with ink, if you get my meaning.
Have you ever met a kid who just sort of keeps on this type of rant: "But you promised! You said you would do that! You said! But you said...!!!"
Believe it or not, we need to behave a bit more like this in our prayer lives and a whole lot less timidly. (God's Word tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in our time of need --- check out Episode #1 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show to hear more about that verse from the book of Hebrews).
We need to become more importunate in our praying.
Let's look at these words from Jesus when He taught His disciples about prayer:
Luke 11:5-10 (NLT) - Then, teaching them more about prayer, He used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this - thought he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you as for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
Luke 18:1-8 (NLT) - One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," He said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!' " Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?"
Definition of IMPORTUNITY: persistence, especially to the point of annoyance --- shamelessness --- lack of modesty --- urgent request
In the King James Version, Luke 11:8 uses the word IMPORTUNITY where the NLT uses the phrase "shameless persistence".
This is, my friend, how the Lord Jesus TAUGHT His disciples to pray. And it is how He wants us to pray.
Quick Side Note for Those Who Do Not Have Children
You are a child of God. There is nobody - and I do mean absolutely nobody! - on the outside looking in when it comes to the Kingdom of God. I want you to take it from me - take this from me right now and don't set it down somewhere...take it and hold on to it, please! - You are not an outsider. You are absolutely and insider in God's Kingdom. You matter. Did you hear me? I said, YOU MATTER!!! Having or not having children does not mean you matter more or less - and this podcast episode is a promise for those who don't have children just as much as it is for those who are parents. Remember, you matter! There are no outsiders in God's family. You truly do matter. Ask the Lord to lead you to godly friendships, to places where you will not feel as if you are on the outside looking in, but are on the inside inviting others in to join you. Don't give up hope - pray to the God of all hope to give you a place where you can know you belong and not feel as if you are merely tolerated. Don't resign yourself to staying on the outside and looking in longingly...that is not what Jesus died for. Never forget, you matter!
Now, let's take a look at the remainder of the promise in this verse.
This promise is for all whom the Lord our God will call.
There is a sense of the future tense in this verse. This is for all who will ever be called by the Lord. And we know that He wants everyone, as in all of mankind, to be saved and none to perish, so He is calling out to everyone. We can pray big prayers based on this promise!
Pray God's promises and pray them again tomorrow and then the next day and just do not stop praying!!
God's promises are for you ... & for your family... & for your circle of influence. So pray that way, believe this promise because it is 100% the truth.
Jan will be speaking several times at The Homeschool Mom Summer Summit - you can grab your ticket to this online event HERE (and there is a 100% free ticket option - WOOT WOOT!)
In the New Testament book of John, we find several places where Jesus used "I Am" statements. These verses reveal to us who He is, and offer us tremendous hope as we discover what God has promised to us, His dearly loved children (see 1 John & Ephesians 5).
In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, Jan shares a true story from her grandfather's gardening days that serves as a reminder that God may very well surprise us when we follow His lead and make the changes He is calling us to make. The end result of our obedience is often as unique and unexpected as spicy tomatoes!
Shutting doors, as well as opening them, is His role for us as disciples of Jesus - and this episode will remind you to stop fretting about a door in your life that is swinging shut. He knows what He is doing and is always trustworthy!
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & the audio course "Psalm 91- Pray It & Believe"
Homeschool Mom Summer Summit Info
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & the audio course "Psalm 91- Pray It & Believe"
Well hey there, thanks for checking out the podcast today. In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show we are concluding our look into the promises we discover in Psalm 37, an awesome psalm penned by David (and I really do mean awesome, that’s an accurate word to describe Psalm 37).
Today we are going to look at just one verse and I’d like to share a bit with you from C.H. Spurgeon and E.M. Bounds. Ready? Let’s jump in.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and this is episode number 109.
Psalm 37, verse 37 - from the Amplified and the CSB.
Amplified says this: Mark the blameless man (who is spiritually complete) and behold the upright (who walks in moral integrity); there is a (good) future for the man of peace (because a life of honor blesses one’s descendants).
Isn’t that a remarkable verse?
There are so, so many times when I just am flat in awe of how much is packed into one single verse from the Bible. It literally astounds me!
There are answers for us in all the things we face daily. And regarding this verse, I’m going to share how one verse can literally change the course of our lives. My hubby and I, we had quite an experience some years back. Now, I’m not going to dive into details because, according to what the Apostle Paul lays out very, very clearly in the New Testament, sharing details just is not right. So, in a broad and very generic sense, we had a situation and it involved our work in ministry. Things got difficult, went kind of sideways, you might say. I’m not gonna say we were right and someone else was wrong but I will say that we were deeply hurt by all that took place. This was on the heels of my mothers death, just boom right on top of that. We knew the Lord wanted us to handle this time with decency that would bring honor to His name. That was far more important than “winning” or than being understood or any of that kind of thing. And honestly, the body of Christ is precious to the Lord, and we really truly did choose to simply be silent, bite our tongues, and rather choose to be totally misunderstood and possibly even slandered and maligned rather than put some kind of a mark on God’s big C church. The bride of Christ is to be spotless upon the day of Jesus’ return, right? We did not want to put any kind of spot where Jesus says, “Keep that spotless.” Basically, we applied the words of Psalm 37 verse 37 here in the Amplified. We wanted to walk in moral integrity, we wanted to be the man, and the woman, of peace and to live a life in honor, in spite of our own feelings and hurts and mourning and all the things that come with hard times. And if you did not know this, being a disciple of Jesus comes with hard times! Some of those hard times involve fellow Christians. I feel bad sharing that with you if you did not already know that. And if you’ve been on the other end of those sorts of hard times, let me tell you that I am so sorry, and I wish it were different, but please please do not walk away from the church or from Jesus, no matter what. And no matter how things shook out, even if there was like a fit of anger and words were said, by you or by others, that you wish you could take back, even if you shared too much with people (because when we are really hurting and start to talk, it can come out like a torrent, like a flood, and things can come out that are so far beyond what we ever intended to share… our pain needs to come out, and the Lord is always always there to listen as we just share honestly with him, David did it all the time we find in the psalms) but if you maybe went too far in what you said and it became gossip, guess what? There’s grace for that! And healing and God’s goodness and His great love. Don’t let any of those things keep you from the Church or from the Lord, please. We can’t always be perfect, or why would we need a Savior? But we are being sanctified continually, so we can expect to get better and better and become more and more like Jesus. So, there is no condemnation here on this podcast - because who am I to condemn someone when there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So, in this case, we bit our tongues and felt like we would rather be misunderstood than to even hint at causing any type of division or gossip or anything like that, and we were in grief, so we knew our words could become a flood pretty quickly, so we kept quiet. And you know what? God has done such a healing work in us, for us, and for those around us. It has been one of the most incredible seasons of our lives, these last several years, and I could have totally missed it had I not stayed close to Jesus, taken my heart heaviness to Him first and foremost, walked through it by staying in the Church, and just simply believing that if God put it in His word, I could trust it to be the best way for me to live out this hard place in my life. My husband, he handled it even better, like a bazillion times better, than I did. God’s word, it works. It does what it says it will do. Because God keeps all of His promises. He never fails, and He never will. And so, His word never fails, either.
If you are in a hard place right now, and especially if that hard place involves other believers, can I encourage you to stick super duper close to the Lord? Like, He should be your oxygen. Always with you, a breath away, your life source. And stick with the Church, because it is His Church, it is His body, we are the bride of Christ. Do that today. Just for today, don’t live in the yesterdays and don’t fret about all the possibilities of your tomorrows. For today, stick close to Jesus and stick with His Church. Then, do it again tomorrow. Expect the Lord to bring healing and comfort as you stay in His word, spend time in prayer, and as you keep believing that the body is your good place, these are your people, and you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Here is that same verse from the CSB.
Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the person of peace will have a future.
A bit shorter than the AMP, but it drives the point home well, doesn’t it? Take a look at some people in your life, in your world, find some Christ followers who live well. Who you could say handle things rightly, would fit the description of being blameless. Not perfect, that isn’t what this means - but how they doin’ at living life in those hard places? How’s their tongue? Find the people who mind their tongue and honor the Lord in the hard places. And also in the sweet spots. Some people don’t end up on the struggle bus until they start to do well, and then, well, it’s all downhill from there. Am I right? So watch the blameless and observe the upright. And emulate them! Learn from them! Take a lesson, and heed it! For the person of peace WILL have a future.
There’s the word will, four little letters that just make me smile. Because when God says will, He really does mean it! He will do all and every bit of what He has said He will do. The person of peace will have a future. There’s the promise for us. Be a person of peace, even when it seems hard and you would be justified to just let fly! Be a person of peace, because then you will have a future. The AMP says there will be a good future for you and your descendants will be blessed, so that’s like a heaped up kind of blessing. We need to go after those, and grab hold of them. Blessings upon blessings, well those promises are worth a bit of tongue biting, aren’t they?
Now I’d like to share a word or two from Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I have this wonderful study Bible with sermon notes from Spurgeon, and boy does it learn me a lesson or two!
Spurgeon says regarding Psalm 37, “I feel no chains in my religion, for I am free, and no one is more free. He who fears God and is wholly God’s servant has no chains about him; he may live as he likes, for he likes to live as he ought. He may have his full desires, for his desires are holy, heavenly, and divine. He may take the full range of the utmost capacity of his wishes and desires and have all he needs and all he wishes, for God has given him the promise, and God will give him the fulfillment of it.”
He was referencing verse 4, which says: Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires.
Isn’t that greatly encouraging? God isn’t telling you to stubbornly will yourself to hate what your flesh loves. He is telling you that He aims to help you put to death any and all sinful desires, what your flesh loves, and He has amazingly good things in its stead. He gave you the promise, and He will also give you the fulfillment of said promise.
God is, by nature, a chronic giver. He will give you what He has promised, and He wants you to believe Him for it.
And I’d like to end this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show with some words from E.M Bounds. Mr. Bounds wrote so much on the subject of prayer, and I love the intercessory work of the Church, so let’s just look at a couple of things he said.
“The providence of God reaches as far as the realm of prayer. It has to do with everything for which we pray. Nothing is too small for the eye of God, nothing too insignificant for His notice and His care. God’s providence has to do with even the stumbling of the feet of His saints. “For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” Psalm 91:11 -12 His care reaches to the smallest things and has to do with even the most insignificant matters that concern men. He who believes in the God of providence is prepared to see His hand in all things that come to him and can pray about everything.
“While God’s providence is over all men, yet His supervision and administration of His government are particularly in the interest of His people. Prayer brings God’s providences into action. Prayer opens the way when it is shut up or hampered.
“It has to do with food and clothing, with business difficulties, with interposing and saying from danger, and with helping in emergencies at opportune and critical times.
“We have an impressive lesson on divine providence in the case of Elijah when he was sent to the brook Cherith, where God actually employed the ravens to feed His prophet. He was an interposition so plain that God cannot be ruled out of life’s temporalities. Before God will allow His servant to lack bread, He moves the birds of the air to do His bidding and take care of His prophet.”
Okay, so that was a long quote.
But wasn’t that good?
Have you considered prayer in this way? That you are inviting God to step in and via His providence change things, intervene in the big things and the little things, remembering that nothing is too small or insignificant for His care? Such a great reminder when it comes to the why behind our praying. We pray because we believe our God hears and answers, right? We want to experience His care that reaches to the smallest things! And so, we pray. And we can pray about everything. Prayer brings God’s providences into action. It opens the way. Oh that we would pray as much as God would have us pray! How would our world, and even the entire world, be changed? We will never know until we set to work at praying! Want to live the miraculous like Elijah did? Pray for it, in the big and the little. Not just for the healing from cancer or for a job for the unemployed, but for daily bread in a way that just boggles the mind and shows off who our God is (like bread delivered by ravens) and for a heart willing to be the only one who saw that daily provision from ravens beaks (like Elijah), and that if the brook dries up, the God to whom you pray will speak to you about where to go next… even if it is to a place and a person quote / unquote outside of where you think the provision will come. He takes care of His own. Pray big, bold, daring prayers - and pray those prayers even over the small things, the daily things. Why? Well, why not? Why not look and expect to see the hand of God at work in the dailies? Some of your greatest blessings, some of the praises from your lips, may come in response to your prayers for the things you often think of as small.
Okay, that’s all for episode 109 - and I’d like to mention that I am a speaker at the upcoming Homeschool Mom Summer Summit. I’m speaking three times at the summit, but I will also be going live in the summit facebook group several times, like a minimum of three times, and I’ve got some giveaways and lots of stuff as part of this. So if you homeschool, if you know any homeschoolers, check it out. Link is in the show notes and also I’ll make sure I have that easy to find on my website, which is just my name, Jan middle initial L Burt dot com.
I’m speaking on these three topics:
Character Training That Lasts a Lifetime
Managing The Mayhem
A Time of Encouragement for You, the Homeschool Moms
I would be so honored to have you check it out and listen in to my workshops. I’m always so blessed to be able to love on the homeschool community, and honestly if any of these sound interesting to you even if you don’t home educate, please take a look at this summit. There is a free option, and it allows you access to the summit sessions on a daily basis, so you’d want to take a look at each day’s offerings and then pick a couple to watch / listen to on that day. It’s an online summit, which is nice. And I for sure has some tech issues with my recordings, so as always, I keep it very very real because it’s not a contest, it’s just life. Let’s do life together, cheering one another on, and get on with the tasks God has entrusted to us.
Check out that link and sign up, share it with friends, and have a beyond blessed day today.
I’m thankful for you, and I am praying for all the podcast listeners. Thanks for being here.
See ya next time for episode 110!
Bye bye!
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & the audio course "Psalm 91- Pray It & Believe"
Well, hey there! Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - where the promises of God are what we focus - you know, knowing what God’s word says is one thing, and believing what God’s word says is another thing and I really love it when both of those things come together and we both know what the Bible says, because Biblical literacy is so incredibly important, and also believe what the Bible says. When we believe God's promises, and we begin to pray in accordance with those promises, amazing things take place. Both in us and around us.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 108.
Continuing our look at the promises God gives us in Psalm 37, today let’s read verse 34 and then skip down a bit to read verses 38, 39 and 40. I’ll be reading from the Amplified today and I am thinking I may share from my Spurgeon study Bible in the next episode, because between C. H. Spurgeon and E. M. Bounds, I learn so much. But the real benefit of learning something isn’t about the learner knowing that something, but about the learner sharing that something with others. (Which may be a good bit of encouragement to somebody today… what do you know a lot about that you could share with others? I mean, even if you think your subject matter is only interesting to a tiny, very niche group of people, well the beauty of living in this social media age is that through hashtags, you can share that good stuff with just the right people and bless them - so, that’s an aside but maybe it will bless somebody today).
Psalm 37, verse 34 Amplified -
Wait for and expect the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
[In the end] when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Waiting isn’t my favorite. But the older I get, the more I embrace the wait. I can look at it as an annoyance, or as a time of expectation. And when I live expectantly, it yields really good things in my life. God’s blessings are always worth the wait. And His promises to us are worth the wait. Because God’s promises are for sure His promised blessings. So while waiting may not be my favorite, receiving the blessing of the Lord kind of is my favorite.
Wait for and expect the Lord and keep His way.
So while we are that waiting season, sitting there in the waiting room, He wants us to keep His way.
What does that mean?
Well, simple version: it means to do what He says. That’s obedience, right? And as a mom, I can tell you that delayed obedience, angry door slamming having a fit obedience is not really obedience that parents want. Like, you might do what you were told to do but you also might end up in a whole new bunch of trouble from the slammed doors and the yelling and all that. Parents know what I mean. I’ve said this before, but it isn’t gonna hurt to say it again. Don’t be a bratty child of God. He loves you too much for that. Love Him back. Obey Him. What He says, that you do.
And then, He will exalt you. Let that play out however He chooses. David became king of Israel, first the king of Judah and then of the entire kingdom, all of Israel. He was obedient. He waiting with expectation and he kept the Lord’s way. I’m not going to be a queen, but I will receive some level of inheritance from God. That’s the promise, and I really do believe this promise.
Now this verse also says that when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Again, I cannot say specifically what that will look like in your life, or in my life, but there’s a promise here. Jesus said that nothing hidden will fail to be brought out into the light. This is just something God brings about as part of His character, His nature, who our God simply and totally is. It will happen, and you’ll see it. But I do want to encourage you to be a forgiving person, to pray for those who have hurt you or wronged you. To put them securely in the Lord's hands and let Him do His will, and you be quick to forgive and not to let any root of bitterness begin to take hold. Any bitter pill to swallow, maybe we should just spit out and not swallow it, ya know?
Let’s read verses 38 through 40 now, and I’m still reading from the Amplified.
As for transgressors, they will be completely destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39
But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their refuge and stronghold in the time of trouble.
40
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
Now these are the final three verses from this psalm, this is how David closes out this powerful portion of Scripture.
He tells us, like not the only time David says this, that transgressors will be completely destroyed. I’m not in David’s head, so I can’t say for certain, but he had a heart for people, he wasn’t heartless, I mean he is known as a man after God’s own heart, but he wants the reader to understand this. Time doesn’t stretch on forever with no accountability. When it’s time to pay the piper, you gotta pay. (And if you don’t know that story, about the pied piper and the children and what the cost was for what the people in that community wanted… yeah, it’s interesting. Paying the piper is usually very unpleasant.) There will be a time when the transgressor, the one who is not going to honor the Lord with his or her life, who is going to go their own way and damn the torpedoes kind of thing… a time of the Lord’s dealing with them always comes. The future of the wicked will be cut off. Those two words, cut off, tell us everything we need to understand about the way God will deal with the wicked. He wants all men and all women to come to repentance, to know His son Jesus, and to step into eternity under the blood of the Lamb. That's God’s will, and it is made clear all over the New Testament and frankly all over the Old Testament too. God is patient and He is so loving, but He cannot just ignore wickedness and transgression. David is honest in stating this, but David is not unloving or cruel. Honesty is not always cruelty, no matter what current culture says.
Now David contrasts this for the righteous, and as followers of Jesus, our righteousness is in Christ alone. Here’s what he says, and this is our promise, it is contrasted with what is coming for the wicked. The righteous will receive salvation from the Lord. He is their refuge and their stronghold in times of trouble.
Does that not bring you big time comfort? What a promise! You and I, we get to have God be our stronghold in our times of trouble. And our refuge. It does not get better than that when you’re facing something hard. This is real world, walking around doing your daily life, comfort and hope here. God’s promises are not for some floaty on a cloud kind of life, which who has that anyway? God’s promises are for the life we are actually living. He cares, and because He cares and is so attentive, He has made promises. Our job is to believe the promises. To believe Him. In my course on Psalm 91, this is something I talk about. The work of believing, and it is work, but it’s the work Jesus said the Father wants us to do. So, let’s do it. Let’s do the work of believing.
Now, let’s look at verse 40. The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
Do you need some rescuing in any part of your life right now? Then this is for you. He helps and rescues - both those words, both verbs, are in the present tense. It will happen in the moment that you need it. Not just in the past and not just for the future. For now. Right now.
He rescues from the wicked and saves them.
Don’t need to add a whole lot to that because it is as plain as day. The only way it wont’ be true for us is, honestly, if we refuse to believe. If we, by our lack of belief, basically imply that God is lying. He’s not - spoiler alert! He’s not. And He won’t, no not ever.
And why does verse 40 say God rescues and saves us from the wicked? Because we take refuge in Him.
This ain’t automatic. AUTO matic it is not. We have to take that refuge. Claim it, take it, believe it. I am taking refuge in God in the midst of this hard situation. My heart failure diagnosis? Oh, yeah, I daily take refuge in God. I live, I dwell, in His presence. I decide to be much with Jesus, talk with Him in prayer throughout the day, I read the Bible daily and I have a journal I keep notes in and when I pray, I ask for the things that are there on the page of my Bible. I choose to believe what the Word of God says over and above anything else, anything the Cleveland Clinic team asyas, Gods’ Word is over that. The test at the electrophysiologist shows this - I gotta take refuge in my God and believe that His Word is the final Word. God’s say is the final say. So I’m not ever sitting around lecturing people on an issue that I don't really understand. I know what it means to live on God’s promises. I know what a medical sort of death sentence is, I’ve heard those words difficult and tricky to treat, best to try and manage quality of life over the next few years. Sobering words, right? But God’s Word needs to be the most sobering of all. His truth is the actual, eternal truth. You and I, we can live as if that’s our reality or not. I hope you choose to live in a state of refuge in your God, because then you get the promise of being rescued and saved and helped. This works, my friend. Living a believing life works. Ask me how I know. God doesn’t have some special blessing on me that makes this all work out for me. Nope. This is for all His children, and 1 John says that that is what you are, His dearly loved child. Take that refuge in your God and get these blessings because the blessing of the Lord changes everything.
Thanks for spending this time with me today on The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. And if you’d like to check out the Psalm 91 audio course, the link is in the show notes and my prayer is that is doesn’t just encourage you, but that it changes you because the Bible, because Jesus, that’s life changing and why not your life? Why not?
I’ll be back here for episode 109 next time - thankful for you, see ya then. Bye bye.
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe Course with Jan L. Burt - Jan L. Burt - Hiro
Jan L. Burt (@janlburt) TikTok | Watch Jan L. Burt's Newest TikTok Videos
Well hey there! Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God, so that we can believe them, trusting the Lord more and more, day by day, and live in a state of trust, resting in the goodness of our God. And then praying from a place of belief and trust and rest. That is the “why” behind this podcast, behind every single episode. And I am incredibly grateful that you’re listening today. My prayer is that you will be blessed, refreshed, encouraged and be refueled for the actual living of your life when you finish listening to the podcast. God’s word is life changing, and I think your life is the perfect life to be changed and bettered by the word of God today. Let’s get to it.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode #107.
Recently on the podcast, we’ve been looking at promises God gives us in Psalm 37. This is a psalm written by David, and his psalms hold so much raw and honest truth - they remind us that we can talk honestly to the Lord about the things in our life that are painful, that are unfair, that are overwhelming. And David also reminds us to be thankful, praise-filled people. I mean, the people who know the Lord should really be the most praising people on the planet. We have so much to be thankful for, even on the hard days. And this psalm, as we land at just about the midpoint of this psalm, it has some really awesome truths for us that should make us a whole lot less nervous or uncertain or unwilling to talk to God about the stuff in our life that needs His touch, His intervention, His hand and His blessing and also to live more thankful lives. This is not me lecturing anyone at all - nope. This is me reminding my very own self to be thankful daily, and to stay thankful in the ups and in the downs.
Let’s look at three verses today, Psalm 37 verse 25 and then verses 27 and 28. I am going to read these verses aloud from the Amplified.
I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous (those in right standing with God) abandoned, or his descendants pleading for bread.
Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell (securely in the land) forever. For the LORD delights in justice and does not abandon His saints (faithful ones).
So we for sure have a couple of awesome promises to look into here.
Verse 25 is a verse that my husband and I have been quoting for decades. Like, when we were young parents and had loads of medical debt and just were living paycheck to paycheck, we never stopped tithing and giving literally because we believed promises like this one. We just believed! We would speak it out loud, thank God for this promise in our prayer times, and when we would have something looming in the future that was likely going to be beyond our means, our finances, to take care of, we would remind ourselves of this promise. So, it’s kind of a personal one for me, you might say. Like, I have a lot of memories of choosing to stand in a place of belief based on the words we read in Psalm 37, verse 25, and you know what? Never, not even once, did this promise not prove true.
Our God is always, always true to His word.
Verse 25 says - I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous (those in right standing with God) abandoned, or his descendants pleading for bread.
I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor their children begging for bread.
Never.
What a bold word, that word never. When someone uses the word never, it can seem like an exaggeration because honestly it is sometimes. But not here, David is not exaggerating. He is stating that never in the course of his life, and think of some of the things he saw in his life - on the run from King Saul for 13 years, living in caves with hundreds of men alongside him, as the leader he would have held some measure of responsibility for feeding them, right, and also what about the care of their families? We know from reading in 1 and 2 Samuel that David took that seriously, the care of his men and of their families. Just thinking about that one aspect of his life, and reading this verse that says he has never seen those in right standing with God abandoned or their children, their descendants, begging or pleading for bread… well, never means never. David never saw it because it never happened.
So, ask ourselves how is our standing with God? Are we in right standing with Him? That really comes through Jesus, and then we of course want to continue to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him and that includes obedience, right? So if that is how we are living, won’t this promise become our promise?
Yes, it absolutely will.
Speak it, pray it, believe it. In this verse, never really does mean never. You, your descendants, will not be pleading for bread - you will never be abandoned by your God.
That is the kind of promise that the whole world is seeking.
The world so much wants peace of mind and freedom from worrying about things like provision. The whole world is full of people who want to know they won’t be abandoned or forsaken. We look for it in relationships and in the workplace and in friendships and we want it from our families and our friends and even from our neighbors. But really that can only come through the Lord, because He is the only one who can make such a big promise and then keep that promise.
I hope you and I can grow, day by day, to trust Him more. For His provision, literally for bread for ourselves and for our descendants, our children, our families, and also that we will not be abandoned. This is a promise filled with so much blessing, just the peace of heart and peace of mind it brings is worth more than gold, ya know? And I do want us to believe it. And to receive the full measure of blessing that comes with that belief.
Verse 27 - Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell (securely in the land) forever.
Don’t be in the camp of people doing evil things. I don’t think you need a diatribe about what is actually evil and what isn’t. The New Testament tells us not to even be around things that have the appearance of evil, so that says it best. Like, even if it appears evil don’t be around that. How down in the weeds should we go with this, you might ask? Well, Jesus took this stuff so seriously that he said if your eye causes you to sin, you would be better to gouge it out and be blinded in one eye than to give in to that sinful living and if your hand causes you to sin, to cut it off and be maimed but not in sin. So this is pretty serious. Jesus was saying, take this seriously. And yet, we really don’t. How far down in the weeds should we go? Well, how far do you need to go before you take it as seriously as Jesus said to take it? That’s how far you need to go.
Depart from evil - leave it, don’t stay with it, don’t remain there, just depart. That doesn’t indicate a later return. God wants this to be far from you because you walked away from it on a long term, permanent level. Be a departer, then.
And instead, do good.
Again, you don’t need me to tell you what is good. You already know. It’s all over your Bible, too, so the good you ought to be doing is going to jump off the pages to you so long as you are opening it and reading it. Want to know what good things God wants you to do? Open your Bible and find out.
And once you join those who have departed from evil and now are doing the good works your Father wants you to be doing, you will dwell securely in the land forever. So, to take this literally, in the very land where you live, in whatever country on this planet that may be (and there are people all over the world who listen, last month there were people from 49 countries who listened to the podcast, and that is just awesome, isn’t it? The big C church around the world is who will spend eternity together, and I love that we have some kind of connection here on this earth via things like podcasts) You will live securely wherever you dwell. Take this promise seriously, because it is in the word of God in order to be believed. And when we believe a promise from the Bible, we are taking it seriously. This is your promise. Believe it! And believe it for your workplace, too. You will dwell there securely. And pray it over your local church, because our leaders, our pastors, the people we attend church with, need to be covered in believing prayer. You can be the one doing that praying, and God will hear you as you pray. You will dwell securely in the land. Such a good, good promise for us.
Verse 28 - For the Lord delights in justice and does not abandon His saints (faithful ones); they are preserved forever but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
The Lord delights in justice.
Our God is not in the business of ignoring injustices.
He delights in justice.
He sees, and He will set it right. He is merciful and wants people everywhere to come to salvation and experience His forgiveness. But He delights in justice, so a time of reckoning will come. Somebody may need to hear that today.
You have an eternal promise here, that His faithful ones (if you know Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the one way to heaven, the one way to receive God’s forgiveness, then you will be preserved forever). In these three verses, we find promises to sustain us in this life, in the right now, and promises to sustain us for eternity. Aren’t God’s promises amazing? And isn’t the One who makes these promises generous and kind and merciful and benevolent?
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
God says this, clear as day, and He means it. He does not love for wickedness to increase and continue and spread from one generation to the next. He just doesn’t. And when He says there will be a cut off point, well, then, we can be sure that it will be so.
It’s important to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And it’s important to do those things in full the sight of our children. And then to encourage them to do the same thing. What we teach our kids matters, folks. Character matters. Having good character and teaching good character.
You can trust that the same God who did these things in the life of His servant David will do them in yours. He is no respecter or men, meaning God does not pick and choose who He will care for and bless and when and where He will or won’t keep His promises based on us as humans, our status, our achievements, our prosperity, and lineage. The kingdom of God isn't like Harvard. Having a great grandparent who was a such and such and a so and so does not make a hill of beans worth of difference to God. These promises are yours so long as you know Jesus as Lord.
If you do, then believe them. And watch God keep His word to you.
Hey, my course on Psalm 91 is available and I’d love for you to join. The link is in the show notes, (Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe Course with Jan L. Burt - Jan L. Burt - Hiro or you can check it out on my website, just scroll down a smidge on the page that comes up when you go to Jan L Burt dot com or use the Google and search for Psalm 91 Course Jan L. Burt and it will come right up. It’s an audio course, each lesson drops right into your app where you listen to podcasts and as a special offer to a group I am part of, a prayer group to be specific filled with prayer warriors who believe God’s Word with everything they’ve got, as an offer to that group I have discounted the course pretty significantly but this price will only be around for a couple of weeks. I’m speaking at an upcoming summit and before that takes place in June the price will go back up to $37 but through the first few days of June 2022, it’s all the way down to just $21, so like a total steal at that price. I’d love for you to join me for this course. Not much I can think of than really understanding and believing the huge promises we find in Psalm 91. Life changing for you, life changing for everyone you pray those verses over, life changing on pretty much every level.
Thanks for listening, and do not forget these promises are for you. God will keep His word and you will never be abandoned and will always be provided for and will dwell securely in the very place where God has you right now.
See you next time!
Jan L. Burt (@janlburt) TikTok | Watch Jan L. Burt's Newest TikTok Videos
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe Course with Jan L. Burt - Jan L. Burt - Hiro
Psalm 37
New Living Translation
Psalm 37[a] A psalm of David.
1 Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. 2 For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. 6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
7 Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. 9 For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.
10 Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone. 11 The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. 13 But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right. 15 But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16 It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. 17 For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the godly.
18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. 19 They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.
20 But the wicked will die. The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field— they will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers. 22 Those the Lord blesses will possess the land, but those he curses will die.
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. 26 The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly.
He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die. 29 The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.
30 The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong. 31 They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.
32 The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them. 33 But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.
34 Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.
35 I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil. 36 But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!
37 Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. 38 But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future.
39 The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.
Jan L. Burt (@janlburt) TikTok | Watch Jan L. Burt's Newest TikTok Videos
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
Well hey, hello again! Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, the podcast about God’s promises. And hey, those promises are for you, and they are for right now. Not just for later on. Isn’t that good news? Let’s check out a couple of those promises on today’s show.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode #105.
Psalm 37, verses 21 thru 24 from the Amplified.
21
The wicked borrow and never repay,
but the godly are generous givers.
22
Those the Lord blesses will possess the land,
but those he curses will die.
23
The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
The wicked borrow and never repay. So, yeah, let’s not do that. Pretty plain and simple. Sometimes the Bible is so clear, it just outright tells us what God thinks on a matter. It does that a lot, actually. This is one of those places.
But the godly are generous givers.
Ya know, God is so generous. It is almost mind altering, like kind of blows your mind how generous He is. Nobody has ever been a giver like our God. Generosity is one of His hallmarks, He gives so big. Let’s be known as His people in part by our generosity. This doesn’t have to just apply to money, but time, how generous are we in our praying, like praying for others. And others beyond me and mine, ya know, my kids and my spouse and my friends and my BFF from middle school and that is it. That’s my prayer list.
I’ll just tell ya, I have had quite a prayer list over the years. And not just now, like oh you’re in the empty nest phase so you have time to pray. Well, I learned how to invest in prayer when my kids were at home and we were a homeschool family and had ministry work we were doing and during deployments, during illness, yeah. There is time for prayer, and praying generously for others is really an incredible ministry, and it is ministry that is so needed. Is there any way in your life in which you could become more generous in your prayer time? The Lord can guide, He will show you if there is something He wants to grow in you in this area, so if He leads you, be sure to follow. And think about other ways that you can be generous that go beyond just finances.
Those the Lord blesses will possess the land, but those He curses will die.
In the last episode I mentioned letting God do His work of dealing with the wicked, and that applies to verse 22 as well. He says those He curses will die. You and I do not need to be running around dropping curses on people. Like don’t do that. I am actually very serious. Just don’t. Not gonna deep dive into details on that today but I want to remind you that God takes seriously evil in this world, and He handles things. Perfectly and justly. He is merciful and He is just and He is loving and He is holy and all those things are always true of the Lord God Almighty. So those He curses, not those we curse, but those He curses will die, says this verse. Let that be that, and be careful with your words, with any cursing flowing off your tongue.
Those He blesses will possess the land. Look, the land is not the same for us as the Israelites who actually inherited a chosen place, the Promised Land. But God has things for us that He gives us, He gifts to us. Places for us to posses. Not places for us to get by, to just endure. But places where we can really be at home. You can pray this, and really I hope you do pray this, over where you work, who you work with, where you live, where you vacation, your church home, your loved ones homes and workplaces, even your hobbies. Ask God for the good land He has for you, whatever that quote/unquote land might be.
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
This is such an awesome promise!
We are godly because we know Jesus. He imparts His righteousness to us. And that’s how this promise can be ours. He will direct your steps. Expect it. Ask Him for it. Depend on it. And don’t panic and freak out that I’m going the wrong way. Look, if you are going the wrong way unintentionally, He can let you know. Ask Him to always do that, and I believe He will. Isn’t that what this is telling us? And if you are going the wrong way by choice, with a lot of intention behind that choice, don’t expect God to be about the business of blessing that. An attitude, a spirit of rebellion, is never becoming for a child of God. Kill that off if it’s a thing in your life. But understand that if you’re not just bucking His authority and jamming out to “You Can Your Own Way”, then He will direct your steps. This is a great promise!
He delights in every detail of your life, so you’re never boring to God, you don’t annoy Him, when asking Him about this detail or that choice or any number of things. It’s not too big and it’s not too small. If something were too big or too tiny, this verse wouldn’t be true because it says He delights in EVERY detail of our lives. We are not on our own, out here just trying to get by. No! Our God is here with us, delighting in every single detail every single day. Take comfort in that and talk to Him about the details. I mean, if it brings Him delight, man, that’s incredible!
If you and I stumble, and hey it happens and that’s part of living in this world, He says here we will never fall because He is holding us by the hand. Think of a toddler, just learning to really walk well, they have like those wobbly chubby legs and not only do they not have their sea legs, they don’t legs for level ground when they just are getting started with this walking business. So, mom or day hold their hand. And they kind of wobble, start to go down, but they can’t really fall because you’ve got their hand. You keep them on their feet even when the road is rough. They don’t fall because you are the hand holder and you are in charge of keeping them from falling.
That’s the promise here, and we can live like this is true. Yea, I may stumble but I ain’t gonna fall. My Lord, He holds me by the hand. And He is not going to let me go. I’m good. I’m safe. It’s not up to me to do the impossible, be perfect, never ever stumble, but it is up to me to trust that what God has said to me in Psalm 37 verse 24 is my promise, my truth, my hope and my assurance.
I can rest assured in this assurance because that’s what assurance does. It provides peace and rest, even in the tough moments. Rest assured, though you stumble, you will not fall, for your God holds you by the hand.
Be sure to join my free online prayer retreat group, it’s on Facebook, the link is in the Show Notes or just search Praying Through the Storm Online Prayer Retreat. We are doing some praying in there, leaning in hard to God’s promises, and it could really be a blessing for you. So check that out, come join us and expect blessing. It’s always a place of blessing, any place that is about praying and believing God’s promises. Praying Through the Storm Online Prayer Retreat on Facebook. You can also find me on TikTok at @janlburt.
So glad you’ve joined me today. See you next week for episode 106.
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
Well hey there, welcome to the podcast. Gonna do a bit of getting some of God’s amazing promises into the people that He loves so much. That would be you! Getting the promises of God into the people, fighting the good fight, the spiritual fight, for freedom in Christ. Grabbing hold of your true identity, you are who God says you are, period - that’s the truth, hang on to that! Don’t let go of that! That’s really what The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is all about.
Thanks for being here today. I’m so honored, so blessed, to share with you from Psalm 37.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode #104
We’ve been diving into Psalm 37 on the show and today we are looking at a few verses, 17 thru 19, from the New Living Translation.
Let me go ahead and read those three verses.
Psalm 37, 17, 18 & 19, NLT
17
For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the Lord takes care of the godly.
18
Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
19
They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.
First promise we find here is that the strength of the wicked will be shattered. And remember that when God says will, He means it. He never says will and acts like He said maybe. No, will means WILL. So the strength of the wicked WILL, absolutely will be shattered. And you and I, we don’t bear the responsibility of ensuring that God’s promises come to pass. So you and I do not have to go about the task of shattering the strength of the wicked. I mean, say you are a judge, well you for sure have a vital role in society and God has placed you there, and some of that will include versions of dealing with wickedness. But for most of us, this is not the world in which we live and work, right? We have to simply trust God, and He is always and totally worthy of our trust, trustworthy is our God, and let Him do His will His way. In His timing, which is never the wrong timing. It’s never delayed, even when we feel like it is. It’s never wrong when God steps onto the scene and deals with some sort of wickedness. And the burden for that timing does not rest with us. The next promise is that the Lord takes care of the godly.
You and I, we are not godly in our own right. Any righteousness we have, and we do have it according to the New Testament, is in Christ and because of Christ. So this promise applies to us. It can be ours, any day of the week. Now keep short accounts with the Lord. Don’t be a grace abuser, ya know? Repent. Desire to live a life that honors Him and to just be yielded to Him day after day. We live in God’s grace but we don’t take God’s grace for granted.
The Lord takes care of the godly.
Is He going to not do this? This very thing that He has promised to do, will He not do it?
It’s pretty ridiculous to think He wouldn’t do what He has pledged Himself to do.
You’re going to be taken care of. I’m gonna say that again. You are going to be taken care of. And not just any old care, but God’s care. There’s nothing like it in the entire world. And here it is, promised to you.
Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent.
Well that is good to know. Good to stand on this truth. And it is the truth, the absolute truth, because it is in the word of God and we know that it is impossible for God to lie.
Like, He can’t. And both the Old and New Testament tell us that nothing is impossible with God, all things are possible. But one thing that is not possible? The impossibility is that God could ever lie. One thing - one impossible thing in an endless realm of impossibility…lying.
My friend, God has not and never will lie to you.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It’s literally His name. Not a character trait, but who He is. And we know God keeps His word. His promises are kept promises and always will be kept promises. So, He will take care of the innocent.
Not my job, nor yours, to figure out how He should do that. He said He would, and He will, so I want to be expectant of it but not griping about how I don’t like how long it’s taking or I saw this on the news so that means God isn’t taking care of the innocent, or what about Hitler, and so on. We cannot put God on the same plane, the same level, that satan is on. Evil is not from God. But sometimes people, even Christians, even God’s own people, will kind of put Him there. He does not plan and He does not do evil. That’s not His bag - that lies at the feet of another, but not at nail-scarred feet. Know what I mean?
Have enough faith to believe that He will do what He promised.
And they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
This is eternal. Not temporal. And that’s the kind of promise we have to lean into, ya know? Push past the now, what you can see with your eyes, and think about the next life, what comes next. Eternity. This is an eternal promise God is making to the innocent. Maybe some of what we see in the world is hard to understand, we can’t exactly make peace with it, but it helps when we remember this life is not all that there is. This is a beautiful and comforting promise. Satan will usually want to cause discomfort in the face of a comforting promise. Satan will often want to try and make something seem ugly when it is in fact something beautiful from the Lord. But we are not unaware of his schemes, and so we can learn to see beyond the right now and stay expectant about what comes after.
They will not be disgraced in hard times. Even in famine they will have more than enough.
This is a whopper of a promise. Ya know, have you heard about food shortages or anything lately? If not, you probably will. There is a storm brewing, my friends. And you may be in the camp of the new head of Twitter is gonna really make things better but I want to remind you that our hope cannot be in the dudes in charge of the Tweets. It needs to be in Christ alone. Do I love free speech? Sure. Do I depend on it for my eternal destination? Nope. First things first, and it’s always Jesus first. So to tie that into this verse, Psalm 37:19, man can try to pretty this up over here and also mankind as a whole can be dirtying things up over there, and we as the people of God, whom these promises are for, can rest in those promises no matter what is tidy here and dirty there. Food shortages are going to happen. Famine. That’s a horrible, horrible thing, ya know? And in light of the promise that even in famine the innocent will have enough, well first off we want to be among the innocent, so know Jesus as the One who has obtained the needed cleansing for sin that makes us innocent in the sight of God, that’s numero uno. And second, knowing this promise is for us, well then let’s be in prayer that more and more people all around the globe will come to know Jesus as their own Lord and God, as the disciple Thomas said when he saw the resurrected Jesus face to face, he said, “My Lord and My God” - not just the other disciples Lord, but his. Let’s pray that becomes a global reality, spreading and spreading every single day. And then pray that this promise, of having more than enough with food shortages taking place to still have more than enough, let’s be praying that over people worldwide. I’m serious about this.
Look, I take God’s promises so seriously that I pray them in this manner. You should too. If someone says that’s kind of silly, don’t ya think Jan? I’d say, “You got a better idea?” What’s a better idea than simply taking God at His word.
Aren’t those the moments in the gospels when Jesus was in awe? When He was so taken at His word that it was utter belief, ain't’ no room for disbelief? Let’s be those kind of people. Let's just try to have our Lord be in awe of our huge, huge faith. I mean, that’s a pretty terrific life goal if you ask me.
And it’s kind of my personal goal. But I hope you make it yours, too.
Okay, so what’s coming up? My course on Psalm 91! Audio based content, super easy to consume, just listen right in your podcast player, like where you are listening to this right now. One click and that’s it. It will release on May 15th (that’s a Sunday, so if it drops like a day earlier don’t be surprised). And it’s going to encourage and challenge you to pray big, bold, daring prayers based on what is promised to us in Psalm 91. I’ll be sharing the link to sign up here on the podcast and in the Show Notes as soon as it is up and running.
Next time we are going to look at verses 21 to 24 from this same psalm, Psalm 37, and keep growing in our steadfast belief that every word of God proves true.
He has amazing things He has promised to you and I am so glad you are getting all that He has for you in this life.
Thanks for listening, please hit the subscribe button and if this has been encouraging maybe share it with a friend. You’ve been listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now on the Edifi app.
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
Hey there, my friends! Welcome to today’s episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where we focus on getting the promises of God into the people of God, one episode at a time.
I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and I gotta tell ya - I’m so glad you’re here today.
Let’s dig into God’s Word.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 103.
So, here we are in Psalm 37. We’re looking at two verses today, 9 & 11, from the Amplified. I’d love to read them and then take a look at what they hold for us.
Because the Word of God always is holding out something to the reader, to the believer. It holds out hope, life, peace, encouragement, wisdom, clarity, insight for the actual living of our lives. You got a problem? Don’t turn to Vanilla Ice to “Yo, solve it.” Turn the pages of your Bible and see what God is holding out to you through His Word.
Psalm 37, verses 9 & 11, from the Amplified.
For those who do evil will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
But the humble will (at last) inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity and peace.
Isn’t it good news to know that God has said, just flat stated as a fact, that those who do evil will be cut off?
And will really does mean will. What God intends to do, that’s what gets done.
Jesus dealt with the penalty of sin and death at the cross. It is paid in full for all who know Jesus as their own Savior, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Evil will be dealt with. Think for a moment about those words, evil will be cut off. This is clear as day, and it’s right here in the Bible for us to be encouraged. Like, take courage from this! Evil will be cut off. Cut off. Severed. A permanent and irreparable separation. God is loving and patient and desires all mankind to come to Him and yield to Him and become part of His kingdom - but not everyone is going to do that. And God is not unjust, oh no, He is just. Justice is His, and it’s not some separate part of His character that pops up now and then. It’s who He is, He can’t not be just. He is the God of justice. He is the Righteous Judge. And so we can count on the fact that those who do evil will be cut off, He will deal with evil. And His dealing will be perfect because He is perfect, it will be completely just because He is just. He can’t be otherwise.
But for those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
As a child of God, and that is what you are according to 1 John 3:1 and John 1:12 and Romans 8:16, among other places in the Bible, as God’s child you have an inheritance. But like an underage child, you don’t get all of that inheritance just yet. There are things stored up for you in eternity, and right now you may be like, “Aww, man… I wish I could have those things now!” but once you get there, with the Lord, and see the inheritance He has stored up for you, you won’t be sorry that you had to wait. And a lot of it, you get right now. There is no end to the things that really matter in life being yours right now, and in ten seconds still yours, ten minutes, yours again, ten years, oh yeah! Still yours!
The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard both your heart and your mind - that’s a big inheritance, my friend. Listen up here, here’s the thing - we often think the touchy feely material things are the parts of our inheritance that we want the most, those are the important things. But are they? Or, when we get to heaven and we walk on streets paved with gold, will we see that the very thing, the materialism of our culture, the very thing we strove after and so wanted God to give us more and more of will literally be under our feet? Is there a huge takeaway in that? If it will be under our feet for eternity, which is a long time ya know, should it go right there under our feet in this life, too? Put it in its rightful place and don’t elevate when God wants it under our feet, in a place of submission so to speak, like money and things and stuff can’t rule over us when we are in His kingdom. We can rule over it. It yells and screams and demands that we pay attention to it, work harder for it, give money money money money, MONEY more of what it wants. But we can make the decision to not give in to its demands and let it be under our feet, we won’t bow down to it and we won’t reach our hands up high grabbing for it - we will not chase after it any more than we chase after the concrete in our driveway or the asphalt in our cul-de-sac.
And yet, in spite of it being under our feet for all eternity, God still blesses us with the things in life that make life sweet. Isn’t He good? He is so good? Hold it all with open hands and never let worry consume you - tell God exactly what you need and believe, like actually totally trust Him, to take care of you. That’s also part of your inheritance and it can never be taken from you.
Do you know what people, now I’m talking about people who do not know Jesus here, what people would give to have permanent peace in their life? Security? Deep times of refreshing rest? Abiding joy? A salve for the difficulties of life in this harsh world? A lot, they would give so so much. And that’s all part of your inheritance that you get access to right now.
The humble will inherit the land (so this portion of Psalm 37 seems to be telling us that we can expect good things in this life - and it also tells us God wants us to be humble). Anybody else here need to work on their humility factor? I just wish I could like get some IG stories type things of Moses, because he was the most humble man to ever live (that’s scripture, so that’s just the truth). I think of Moses when I think of godly and God-honoring humility.
When we are humble, there is an “at last” inheritance that will come into our lives. At last. That indicates that it will be so great, such a blessing, when it comes to pass. Get humble, stay humble, and trust God for that at last moment. It will come, because He has promised that it will.
And the last part of verse 11 says that the humble will, in addition to the at last moment of inheriting the land (whatever that may look like, the Lord knows what your piece of the pie, piece of the land needs to be) - the humble ones will also delight themselves in abundant prosperity and peace.
When I see that word abundant in the Bible, it stands out to me. Our God is such a God of abundance. I mean, over the top. Grace? Oh it’s abundant. Forgiveness? As far as the east is from the west - that’s pretty abundant forgiveness. I could go on and on, but you get what I mean. He gives abundantly. So here He promises that the humble will delight themselves in abundant prosperity (okay, so humble folks aren’t like gaudy, flaunting their wealth, they actually can be both prosperous and not come off as haughty, so that’s another awesome benefit of our humility - we remain approachable and we can love others well - it’s pretty hard to do those things when you aren’t humble. Combine prosperity with lack of humility and ouch, kinda just yuck, ya know? God’s children should not be ouch and yuck people.) And an abundance of peace.
This whole world wants wants wants peace. Folks fighting for world peace. For peace in their homes. With the in-laws. On that committee. At the car dealership, trying to buy a car and it is not a peaceful event - but man, it can be! I’ve done it, it sure can be! We have an inheritance of an abundance of peace. Something the world so needs. It is because of who our God is, it’s Jesus.
Can you live in the actual peace of God in order that people who don’t know Him may come to know Him just because of your abundant peace?
Can you live in a place of true humility, no matter what your station in life may be, in order that people will be drawn to the Lord? Oh real humility is like a magnet, it does a lot of drawing. Might not draw everybody in your life, but that’s okay, magnets only attract metal, not plastic or shrubbery or paper. Just metal. That's how magnetism works. And you aren’t for everybody, but you’re not for nobody.
So live in peace, because that’s your inheritance. It’s yours! Grab it! Take it! Be blessed by it! Stay humble, wait for the Lord, expect His daily provision, and know that at the right time the God of justice will deal with all evil. And look forward to the inheritance that is awaiting you in eternity. It’s gonna be so, so good.
Thanks so much for joining me today for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app - which you can download via the app store on your device.
And be sure to check out my book on Amazon if you are looking for a new devotional or if you are a parent and you’d like to grab the 60 day prayer journal, just search Jan L. Burt on Amazon and boom there I’ll be.
See you next time to look at verses 17 thru 19 of Psalm 37, and also got something special for ya next week so be sure to check in and see what that is.
Well hey there, hello to you today.
It is April, and that means we are nearing Easter Sunday. Resurrection Sunday. For Christians, the greatest holiday on our calendar. A time to ponder what Jesus obtained for us on the cross, total and complete forgiveness and a life of freedom - Galatians 5 tells us that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free and He doesn’t want us under a burden of enslavement to sin ever again. Stay free, my friend! That is the Lord’s will for you this Easter season, so grab hold of His will and live in it. Live fully free in Jesus, because of what He did for you.
We also think about the resurrection at Easter. The tomb is empty. Remember that! We have a living Lord, and that should give us daily hope. Hope that transforms. Because if Jesus is anything, He is certainly transformational. Our God transforms lives every single day. One of those lives is yours, my friend.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 102.
So how does Easter fit with Psalm 37?
Let’s get into that.
I’m going to read verses 5 thru 8 from the NLT
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
And let me read it in the Amplified Classic, it’s worth the time to read it once more.
5 Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
6 And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.
7 Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.
Okay so there is some word usage in the older version, the Amplified Classic, that isn’t the stuff we normally toss around when we chat. But isn’t it good? Roll and repose each care of your load on Him.
Look, our God never ever asks us to pretend that we don’t have heavy loads in life. Some days are just heavy, ya know? Here, right here, the Lord acknowledges that reality and offers a solution. Roll each and every care onto Him. Take a repose. I love that! Can you do that today? Can you remember that part of what Jesus did for us at Calvary was to obtain rest? Hebrews chapter 4 is all about God’s rest, and how we are to enter that rest. Honestly, I’d love to put together a study on rest from Hebrews 4. Maybe I will. I’m looking into a way to create courses that are audio based, because video takes longer to consume and we are living in a podcast friendly world, audio is kind of king as far as consumption. We can listen while doing the dishes, listen and drive safely, listen and go on a run. So to have course content not be all video and pdfs, which are great, but to be able to say access your course content right on your preferred podcast player, whatever app you use… I am seriously looking into that. And hey, rest is a big need. So don’t be surprised to see this coming your way soon.
Jesus has rest for us. And it is not like an afternoon nap, awesome as those can be, this is His perfect rest for us. Man, I always want the perfected version of something, the Jesus version, over the world’s copycat kind of version, ya know? So of course, it is this rest, Hebrews 4 rest, Psalm 37 rest, that I am after. And I want it for you, too.
This week, as we look toward Easter, can you make the choice to commit everything you do, your way today and all your ways tomorrow, to the Lord. He gives us this incredible promise here, that when we commit everything we do to Him, He will help us, He will bring things to pass for us. This isn’t a vending machine God type of promise. This is better. This isn’t junk food that can sit on a shelf for a dozen years and still be edible. This is life giving spiritual food, this promise means that if what we are doing can be committed to the Lord, will honor Him in some way, is fitting for you or me to do as an ambassador for Christ here on earth, He is going to do something in return. I want that! I want His blessing on what I do. I am guessing you do, as well. Roll your load onto Him, trust in Him, and see what He will do. Watch Him bring to pass things that you cannot bring to pass on your own. When the blessing of the Lord is upon what you are busy doing, there is nothing like it.
And at the same time, we get this promised rest. So rest and blessing, both. Does that not sound like Easter? It does to me!
Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act. That’s verse 7 in the NLT. Do you think, in those hours between the death of our Lord Jesus and the discovery of His empty tomb, do you think there was some stillness? You know, when grief is heavy, and that would have been the heaviest of all grief, when it is heavy there is a point when you kind of stop. You just are. Not doing, not exactly thinking, you just are. A stillness can come in our grief that is unlike any other kind of being still. It’s not a slow down, ya know. It is more like the world keeps moving and turning and that does not seem like it is what should be happening. My world has stopped. And it feels so abnormal for the rest of the world to continue on. Yeah, I suspect there was some stillness taking place. And it was the Sabbath. They were being still and could do nothing but wait. Think on that - there was nothing they could do but be still and simply wait. They didn’t even really know what they were waiting for! The women, they were waiting for dawn after the Sabbath ended so they could go to the tomb. But ya know, that’s not hope filled waiting. That’s waiting in tremendous grief. Honoring the Sabbath, and being still, waiting in their grief.
Can we be better about our waiting on the Lord? We know what happened three days later. The resurrection is the reality that we live in daily as disciples of Jesus. Can we be still and wait patiently, but also expectantly? I think we can. It tends only to evil doing.
Don’t fret. Don’t fret over wicked people, even when they are prospering. Psalm 37 says just don’t. Don’t do it. No fretting. And God even gives us a reason not to fret. Because it only leads to evil. It only leads to harm.
Ya know, it is a whole lot easier to let my mind, my thoughts, go toward some measure of fretfulness when I don’t think about this verse, Psalm 37 verse 8. My fretting is only going to lead to evil doing. To harm. Well then. Maybe I need to just not fret!
And this is meant to safeguard us. Our God is too loving to just let us meander down the road of fretting and worrying and fussing over whatever. I mean, I could make a list right now off the top of my head of wickedness and evil doers that are really doing actual harm in the world en masse right now. But God says, don’t fret. Don’t fuss. Don’t spend your day worrying. Don’t be a worry wart. He wants me safe, and for whatever reason, maybe this is one of those things that in the spiritual realm, the stuff happening that we cannot see with our eyes, maybe stuff happens when we fret. And so God, in His infinite and never ending love, warns us not to do that. If He says it only and always leads to evil doing and to harm, well, as children of God, we don’t want to be on a path that leads to evil. We don’t want to do something that we know leads only to harm. We are the harbingers of peace, of joy, of hope, of life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are not those who bring harm, who trot along paths toward evil.
Isn’t it amazing that God makes sure we know what the result will be if we fret? He didn’t have to tell us that. He is well within His authority as God to just say, No - do not do that. Period. And don’t ask why, just don’t do it. I said so, that’s that.
Parents do some of their parenting like that, I mean, I sure did. Sorry to my kiddos for being a schmuck!
He went out of His way to give a cause and an effect.
We are foolish to ignore that.
So what does that mean?
This.
For the next few weeks, up to Easter and then for a set amount of time afterward, would you join me in this challenge? To not fret. Not to worry.
When you find yourself worrying, make yourself stop, remind yourself that God says it only leads to harm and evil, and you want no part of that. Write Do Not Worry at the top of your to do list or your planner or put a reminder in your phone to go off five times a day.
It’s not that hard to remind ourselves to stop with the worry. We have all the tools to make the reminding process a breeze. Set up some things, some stop gaps, and join me in this. I personally am going to start today and continue on through May 5th, a date easy for me to remember, and maybe you can pick a date that you can easily work toward, and I am going to not give over to fret or worry or subsequently fear of any sort, cuz often when I worry it is linked to fear. I have a heart failure diagnosis and sometimes umm I feel my heart doing something and my portable EKG can tell me what that something is, usually not something good. Even in those circumstances, I am committing to you that I am not gonna worry or fret and it will be my daily habit thru early May. And guess what? By that time, it will become for me a habit and worry will be much less of a thang, an issue, than it is right now.
I’ve done this before, at the Lord’s leading, and it was one of the most transformative things I have ever ever done in my walk with Jesus. Literally changed my life because it literally changed my daily thinking, my daily stress level, how I spent my time and ya know I’m reality not kidding. It changed my life. I’ve heard others say it changed theirs too.
So, you in?
Easter is the perfect time of year to do away with the fretting. Cannot think of a better time. To get free of this thing that pretty much everyone deals with, doesn’t that sound awesome!?
Let’s do it.
I will create a pdf that you can print out and use with this challenge, this no fret for X number of days challenge. I’ll put the link in the show notes, add it to the main page on my website, which is my name Jan L Burt dot com, and I’ll send it out in my next couple of weekly emails, 3 Quick Things with Jan L Burt (you can get on that list at my website too).
And I actually just came up with that idea of a study on rest from Hebrews chapter 4 as I was recording this today, so I think I’ll work on that. As an audio course. Because a life of rest and no fretting, well, that sounds like something super great to me.
Okay, that’s it for today. Thanks for joining me and jumping on the no fret train with me today. Looking forward to hearing how God responds and provides and blesses you in the coming weeks. And He will, His word promises as much and He never ceases to stand behind His word.
Hit that subscribe button and if this has been beneficial to you, please share this episode. There is probably some kind of share button on your podcast player you can hit real quick.
Thanks so much for that!
You’ve been listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, which is part of the Spark Network, available via the Edifi app.
Remember, God’s promises are true. And they are true for you, today.
Scott Macneil of Cross City Church in Freson, CA
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
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Well hey, hello hello to you today. Jan L. Burt coming at ya with some beautiful promises and encouragement from Psalm 37. As we draw close to Easter, which is in just a few weeks as I record this in late March of 2022, it’s one time of year when Christians really seem to think about all that Christ has given to us. What He secured for us at the cross. What our eternal reality will be. We have a renewed sense of hope, we look forward to heaven, and we are leaning into the things of the Lord in fresh and expectant ways.
And so, here I am ready to share with you from one of my favorite portions of Scripture - Psalm 37. Now if you haven’t read this psalm in a while, then I think you are in for a treat. And if, like me, it is one of your favorites, a go-to psalm if you will, then you’re gonna be ready to go for this episode. The next couple of episodes will be looking at this psalm, because there is a wealth of promise here and as we near Easter, promise and hope are kind of watchwords. We’re looking for all the things that bring hope, all the promises God has made to us. And in this psalm, my prayer is that you will find both of those, hope and promises, in overflowing, overwhelming abundance.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 101.
Psalm 37, in the CSB, has this title: Instruction in Wisdom (the Amplified has a longer title (Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked)
That gives us a great description, doesn’t it? We have an idea of what we’ll gain from reading this psalm, and that includes wisdom and security. Most of us, after the last couple of years in particular, are ready for all the wisdom God wants to give us and we wouldn’t say no to a whole mess of security from the Lord, either, ya know? Plus there’s like this extra info we are going to get about the insecurity of the wicked. So reading through this psalm, like the whole thing, will talk about wisdom, our security, and how God deals with the wicked. Today we are going to look at verses 3 & 4, first from the Christian Standard Bible and then I will also read from the Amplified.
CSB - Psalm 37:3 & 4 - Trust in the Lord & do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord and He will give you your heart's desires.
AMP - Psalm 37:3 & 4 - Trust (rely on and have confidence) in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed securely on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.
You may already know verse 4 pretty well, like basically from memory. It’s quoted often because it’s an amazing verse with an amazing promise. But we are going to power through both verses and sort of level up on our belief today. Can you commit to that along with me, that you are going to believe what’s written in these verses, and choose not to disbelieve it? And if you don’t feel like you can make that as a long-term commitment, that level of belief, can you believe just for today? Okay, awesome. I’m sure you said, “YES!” so let’s go! Let’s get it!
Verse 4. Trust in the Lord - Trust, rely on and have confidence in the Lord. Notice how God does not tell us to do good, just do good, do better, be better, come on. (Anybody have parents that followed the just be good, just do better model of parenting? Did it work well? Probably not because it’s really difficult to just be good, do better…based on our own willpower. Willpower falls short almost every time, but Holy Spirit power never ever falls short, no matter what.) So God doesn’t start with,”Jan be good. Do better, Jan.” Uh, thank You Lord that You start with, “Jan, trust Me. Trust in Me, in My ways, in My character, in My faithfulness, in My holiness and My mercy. Rely on Me and have confidence in Me. Then, Jan, once you are really trusting in Me and in My ways, then you are able to do what is good.” See, whe are to trust in the Lord and do good. Not do good on our own, in our own limited and all too human strength. The good we do in this world stems directly from the God in whom we trust. The more trust we have in our trustworthy God, the more good we are able to do. Does that take the pressure off a bit? I hope so because this is one powerful promise!
And never forget, God’s promises are for His people, His children. He means for us to believe them, to live our lives based on the reality of His promises to us coming to fruition. Not just here and there, willy nilly, sometimes or on occasion. But all the time, every day, we can live in the reality of His promises.
That’s the first part of verse 3, and honestly just with that much alone we’ve already been given such an incredible promise. I get excited when I see God’s Word opening the way before us for real life change. Not being Pollyanna-ish about this either. This here is life changing. God’s Word still works to change lives. Why shouldn’t one of those lives be yours? And why shouldn’t the Word of God, the promises of God, change our lives again and again and again? For the better? This is such a strongly held belief on my part, it is why I do what I do. I hope you believe this, my friend, because I’m telling you, God wants you to believe that what He has promised you in the Bible is for you, it is yours. Your enemy is who wants you not to believe it, and he is not to be trusted or listened to.
Second part of verse 3 - dwell in the land and live securely, feed securely on His faithfulness. That’s both the CSB and the AMP, what I just shared. You and I, we get to dwell in the land and live securely. We can feed securely on our God’s faithfulness. What feeds you? The news? Social media? Fears? Real security is not found in riches, not in wealth, not in your work title or position, not in podcast download numbers. It is found in the faithfulness of my God to me, of your God to you. And is He not always, eternally faithful? He is, and cannot be less. Dwell there.
What do I mean by that? That’s home. That’s where we live, you and I. We live in the sweet spot of life where we trust in our Lord, we fully rely on Him, our total confidence is in Him alone, and right there, when we dwell there, we are secure. Can’t add any more to our security, since it is already filled to the full in Christ. Dwell there. Live there. Let your security be in your God, and expect His peace to surpass all understanding. Dwell in the security of the Lord God Almighty.
Verse 4 - CSB - Take delight in the Lord and He will give you your heart's desires.
This is such a simple, straightforward promise that we struggle to believe it. Seems too easy, too good to be true. Like, that’s it? I just take delight in God and He will give me my heart’s desires? Uh, yeah. That’s actually what it says. See, you’ve heard this before, but let me say it again anyway. Your delight in Him will flood your life, flood your thinking and your feeling, your emotions, your behavior, all of it. Delighting in Him leaves little to no room for delighting in self, delighting in the big 3 from 1 John - the lust of the flesh, the lust eyes, the pride of life. If we kid ourselves and say we delight in the Lord, we are delighting ourselves in the Lord, but there is all this lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride…well, that’s not a total giving over to Him. There is not room for the big 3 when all the room is consumed by the Lord. Delighting yourself in Him, enjoying His presence, loving your time with Him in prayer, in the Word, really making Him the only thing that really matters in your life, well, that is delighting in Him. So how could your heart’s desires be misaligned with His heart’s desires if you really, truly delight in Him? They won’t be. There will be no mismatch. So yes, He can give you your heart’s desires. Because your heart belongs to Him, so you won’t be wanting all the things that line up with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. Won’t drool over that certain car or that dream kitchen you saw on Pinterest or have all this pride in the way your project turned out at work or in your kids sports achievements. It’s gonna be really difficult to continually feed the flesh when you continually delight yourself in your Lord. It’s also important to remember that your flesh, it ain’t goin’ with you into eternity so it don’t care about that; the priority of the flesh is always here and now, that’s what it’s screaming for and it don’t have no need to stop it’s screaming cuz this here life, that’s all the flesh has got. Which is why the NT tells us to crucify the flesh and all its evil desires. Crucify, not anesthetize. Kill it off, finish it off. Don’t rock it to sleep with a lullaby.
I hope that brings a smidge of clarity about how to delight yourself in the Lord and then to believe that He is going to give you - give you - what your heart desires. Right now, my heart desires to have an expanded reach to talk about God’s Word, specifically His promises, and to write about prayer, promises, and the huge benefits of daily Bible study time on a personal level. I do think those are in line with God’s heart and so I am expecting Him to expand the reach I have in those areas - my speaking, my writing, podcasting, what I share on social or YouTube even on my Pinterest boards. Can I say that was always what I wanted most? If I’m honest, no. But dwelling much with Jesus, being much with my Lord, altered my life which impacted my number one wants.
In the AMP, verse 4 reads like this: Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.
Petitions of your heart. Are there maybe some things we will never, ever get in this life, this side of eternity, unless we petition God for those things?
I think it’s very possible, and I think James in the NT tells us that exact thing when he says you have not because you ask not.
So very true so very often. What are you petitioning God for? Are you praying, asking Him for the things that are in your heart? If you, say, want more income because you want to work less overtime so that you can spend more time with your spouse and kiddos, are you asking Him for that? If I want a traditional publishing book deal, am I asking Him for that? If you want your health to be improved so you can dedicate more time and energy to your favorite local ministry, are you praying and petitioning God for that?
The word petitions in Psalm 37 verse 4 is not accidental. A petition can take some serious asking, some effort, think about the door to door sign this petition efforts that you’ve seen happen. Get to a million signatures or something like that. Takes a lot to get the petitioning done, right? So this is not a bullet prayer, an arrow prayer, a real quick, “God, please help!”. This is more dug in, dedicated. Are dedicated in your praying, in your asking, in your petitioning? If not, get dedicated.
Always expect God to answer, absolutely. And also, always be willing to go to the mat in prayer and petition. Both/and, my friend, both/and, not either/or.
Next week we are going to look at verses 5-8, and dig into more of what is promised to us in Psalm 37. It’s incredible, these promises the Lord God of all creation makes to us. And all we have to do is believe. Can’t we do that? Oh that we might believe the Word of God with a level of belief that would honor Him. That's my prayer this week, that we will believe in honorable measures. Let’s honor Him with our very lives and one huge way to do that is to live a life of belief.
Hey, if you wouldn't mind leaving a review of the podcast, that is super helpful for reach and growth. And if you’d like to skip on over to Amazon and grab one of my books, my 60 Day Prayer Journal for Parents or The Power of God’s Will, 40 Days of God’s Promises devotional those may be beneficial for your prayer time or just an encouragement in believing God’s promises, just search Jan L. Burt in Amazon and should show right up.
Lord bless you this week as you continue to walk in belief and see the promises of God play out in your life in powerful, amazing ways. Won’t He do it? Oh, yes He will! You can’t stop Him, so might as well join Him!
I’ll see ya next time!
You’ve been listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app.
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
IMPORTANT UPDATE re: last week's show notes...
(I learned that the bulk of the show notes were "cut off" on some podcast app platforms, so I wanted to re-share the info about the podcast I recommended last week right at the top of this week's show notes. I'm also sharing the links to the podcast I mentioned in this episode. Here they are!)
LINKS to The Reclamation Podcast ~
Sign Up — Tony Miltenberger (twmilt.com)
Reclamation Podcast — Tony Miltenberger (twmilt.com)
Reclamation Podcast: Reclaiming Good Practices for Faith and Life | a podcast by Tony Miltenberger (podbean.com)
Reclamation Podcast — Spirit & Truth (spiritandtruth.life)
Find him on Instagram @twmilt
LINKS to Hope Along the Journey ~
HOME | Hope Along The Journey
Via Apple Podcasts - Hope Along The Journey on Apple Podcasts
(2) Hope Along the Journey | Facebook
Well hey there, hello to you. Welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - the podcast all about getting the promises of God into the people of God. I’m Jan L. Burt, host of the show and your fellow Jesus following disciple, and this week is kind of a big deal because we’re crossing a milestone by releasing the 100th episode of the podcast.
Doing some celebrating over here, just rejoicing in the fact that the Lord has seen fit to allow me this platform to share about Him, about prayer, and more specifically about believing His promises.
That’s what I do here and I plan to keep doing more and more of that.
So, welcome to episode number 100! I am so thankful you’re here today!
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 100.
So as I was thinking about the 100th episode of the show, I was kicking around ideas of how to make it, well, sort of “bigger” for this special milestone. Ya know? It just seemed like that made sense. But then, I paused. And thought about the fact that God’s promises are as big as they can possibly be, they are all as true as they have ever been, and I figured I need to simply put the spotlight, the focus, on God’s promises for this episode.
I cannot make them any bigger than they are, any truer than they are.
But I can put a spotlight on them, one at a time, week by week, just as God has called me to do since I began podcasting. I can ask you to believe they are true for you, today, right now… while at the same time acknowledging that they cannot become truer than they already are.
My heart is just for listeners to grow in their belief that every single thing God has promised is completely true, and to trust Him more and more, with that increasing trust leading to a deeper understanding of how to live our daily lives knowing all God’s promises will come to pass. Not one will ever fail, because our God can never fail and so of course His promises are perfect promises. It’s a pretty amazing thing, this path the Lord put me on and I’m truly thankful for every episode, every connection with people, new friendships, growing in my own personal life as I get out there and do the thing each week, being a disciple and also trying to help disciple others, and having the chance to sit with the Lord and let Him examine my heart to reveal whether or not I personally fully believe all that He has promised. So it’s been growth, for sure, and if God is leading you into some venture that has a lot of growth involved, I can say from personal experience that you don’t want to miss out on that. Do it. Follow hard after Jesus. And then one day you’ll look around and discover so many amazing people following hard after Jesus, too, that you’re able to link arms with. Making Jesus famous, what a privilege. Helping people trust Him more, what a privilege. And having my faith stretched along the way, well, that’s icing on the cake. Gravy on the side. A blessing that I will be eternally thankful for.
Last week I wrapped up a series on Romans chapter 8, and what a powerful chapter of the Bible that is!
This week, I’m onto something new.
I’ve got some verses to share with you from the NT book of Luke, chapter 4 of that book, and I’ll be reading from the Amplified today. So let me first set the stage, give you some background or context clues about what’s happening in this chapter before I talk about promises. And prayer, that’s like a dynamite combo, you know, praying God’s promises. Things happen, faith explodes, mountains are leveled, and discipleship, well there is a level of sanctification that happens as we pray. When we pray together, there is some discipleship that hopefully occurs. It unties us, which is something Jesus prayed over the entirety of His church, so we want to see that taking place. And it truly does help cement God’s promises in our hearts and minds, like an anchor to the soul, when we pray the very things He has promised in His word. So, I’m looking forward to this episode since it’s got two of my most favoritest things ever. Prayer and the promises of God.
So in Luke chapter 4, we first see Jesus led by the Spirit into the desert, where He was tempted by Satan. And He overcame each level of temptation with the Word of God. When Jesus said, “It is written…” He meant it. Like, as in, believing that God’s Word trumps all, is the truth at all times and in every situation, and maybe just maybe I need to be better about speaking it out loud when I run into something hard, something painful. Temptation can even be things like being tempted to hold off on forgiving someone until just ya know a little later. But when I speak a verse about forgiveness out loud, that temptation is measured against the Word of God and it is found wanting. God’s word is always powerful and always effective, and that is very good news indeed.
Jesus then went back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, as it says in verse 14, and began teaching in synagogues. Let read verses 16 through 20 - 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),
19
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”
20 Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him. 21 He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.”
This is a powerful moment. And there is a zero percent chance that it was random. Jesus always did the will of the Father, so we know this exact time to announce His ministry and the fulfillment of the prophecy from the book of Isaiah, was the right time.
When I read those verses, what jumps out to me is just a stunning image of who our God is. As it relates to prayer, it reminds me that I need to pay attention to my attitude, I guess I’d call it, and remember, remember well, who it is to whom I pray. This is God Almighty. Just as the eyes of all in the synagogue were intently fixed on Him, may our hearts be intently fixed on our God when we pray. It’s a lofty goal, I mean, our minds wander, the dog needs to go out and then we check our phone and then we reply to a text and then, well, we try to finish up our prayer time. This happens, right? But I don’t want to quickly wrap up my prayer time. I want to remember the One to whom I am speaking! We are coming to a King!
Didn’t John Newton write, “Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring.” ?
Can we well bring large petitions, supernatural sized requests, if we’re in a hurry to wrap it up? Would we stand in the presence of an earthly king, or leader, president, chancellor, and check the ‘Gram? I think we would leave our phone somewhere else. Instagram would have nothing on the one to whom we were in the presence of. So, when we pray, remembering to Whom we come, the King of kings, it actually helps us to pray better, to pray bigger, to pray more effectively, to pray bolder and ever increasingly bolder prayers day by day.
He rolled up the scroll and sat down. Once all eyes were fixed on Him, then He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.”
Wow. Can you imagine this moment? Wow!
But look at what comes next.
There were those who got snarky. Ever run into anyone snarky? Jesus did too, so He is the One to go to when that happens because He knows what you need in those moments. Turns out, rather quickly, things got a bit intense. Let’s look at verses 24-30.
24 Then He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was not sent [by the Lord] to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and not one of them was cleansed [by being healed] except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 As they heard these things [about God’s grace to these two Gentiles], the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. 30 But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way.
Sometimes when God’s Word is shared, the people will be filled with a great rage. And some of those people may be church folks. It happens! So as I said a second ago, you want to go to the One who knows what that is like. You don’t have to trust yourself in those moments. Trust Him! He’s got what you need in that situation.
They got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. But passing miraculously through the crowd, He went on His way.
This is awesome.
Now I looked up some images to get an idea of what the cliff may have looked like, and it looks like something you don’t want to be tossed off of, hurled on over.
Verse 30, But…. miraculously… two fantastic words of promise for us.
In that mess, that emergency, that yuck thing, scary thing, dangerous thing, intense thing…. Can the Lord have a “But… Miraculously” moment? You better believe that He can!
But - take a pause, take a breath, it isn’t over until He says it’s over. Sometimes that little word “But” can be the most comforting word in the entire world. But!
He has a “But” for your issue, my friend. It’s a promise! He will never not have the final say and so we want to always, always invite Him into our lives and yield to Him, like give Him the right of way, so that His way will be the only way that things go. I want to go His way, not my own way, not someone else’s way. I want His will to be done, because it’s the best. Period. Not a question, maybe sometimes it’s the best. No, it is always the best. Period. So I want that. Like Napoleon Dynamite, “I want that'' except I don’t want a corny ship building kit along with my knock-off Tupperware order. I want God to speak the word “but” into my life wherever He wants to, and then I want to see Him do the miraculous.
Here he just passed through the crowd.
When was the last time you were able to just pass through a crowd that was bent on killing you?
This is the One in whose name we pray. Do you think we understand His power, like, on the regular, when we are in prayer? Or could we grow in this?
You have prayer promises that you have not even scratched the surface of and there is no time like the present to grow in your prayer life.
I’d like to pray over you today as I wrap up this episode, but I’d also like to share a couple of things first. Have you signed up for my email list? I have giveaways and I sometimes send out a 3 Quick Things email with just a few things that will encourage you, bless you, and hopefully glorify the Lord. Something new will be coming soonish, and my email list is going to hear about it first. And I do have several giveaways coming up in April, so join my list at JanLBurt.com - just scroll down a bit and boom, there it is. Secondly, I’ll be a guest on a podcast soon, it’s the Hope Along the Journey podcast with Mark Dawson, and he really does a tremendous job of reminding people of the hope we have in Jesus during our difficult times. We sometimes in the church play nice, in a way, and try to pretty things up, right? With Jesus, we don't need to fake it til we make it. We get to come to Him in prayer as we are, and as we go through the things of life, many of which are very difficult, we can have hope along the way. Our hope does not disappoint when it is rooted in Jesus. So, check the show notes for the link to Hope Along the Journey and subscribe. Such great content and so encouraging and really, really real. How important is that right now? Beyond important. Be sure to check out Hope Along the Journey. I’ll be sharing more about this ministry in the coming weeks. Good stuff, such good stuff.
Can I pray for you today? It’s a privilege, so thanks for allowing me the blessing of lifting you before the Lord.
Lord, today I come to you on behalf of every single listener. Father, would you speak Your Word into their lives, their exact situations? Right now, just where they need to see Your hand, to experience Your peace, to grab hold of Your hope, bring that to them. Today. Don’t delay, Lord! Move and act quickly in those places where it is most needed. You know what is on their heart, what is weighing far too heavily. Work there, Lord. Bring healing, deliverance, protection, peace of mind, steadfastness, friendships and discipleship, and do it all from the depths of Your unending lovingkindness. Where they need a turnaround, do it, Lord. Miraculously do what only You can do, and we give You all the praise. There is none like You. We are coming today to a mighty King, the king of all Kings, and we bring with us large petitions. We lay our needs and our burdens and our fears at Your feet, and we know You will bless us. Favor every listener, shower them in Your grace, pour out Your love and mercy, may Your goodness in their lives overflow and may rich abundance be theirs. Then, Lord, do it again tomorrow. And again and again and again. I ask this in Jesus name - Amen
Thank you so very much for joining me today for episode 100 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. And I would be so thankful if you would consider leaving a rating and / or a review of the podcast on whatever platform you listen, it is so helpful and makes a big difference in the podcast’s reach. Thank you for that! And I also want to invite you to subscribe to the show. I’m thankful for you and believing God has amazing things in store for you right now, in this very time.
This is The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, playing now on the Edifi app.
Hope to see you back here next time! Bye Bye!
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey hey, hello to you today. Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - a podcast with the singular focus of deep diving into every big and every little thing which God has promised to us in His word. We open the pages of the Bible, read what’s written there, discuss it and then we choose to believe that
what it says is there for us. Right now, today.
Because God’s promises are for His people, and we want to grab hold of everything that He has promised us.
I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and you’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 99.
So, it’s sort of a big episode today. It’s like the closer for the series on Romans chapter 8, and anytime we wrap up one thing we’ve been working on, we should try and do it well. The ending of one thing is also the beginning of something else, and so it stands to reason that how one thing ends is how the next thing begins.
Ending on a sour note usually means we start the next thing with a sour taste in our mouths. So let’s work to end this series well. Paul had this fantastic way of ending his letters on a high note, and while Romans chapter 8 doesn’t mark the end of the book of Romans, it is a transition into chapter 9, so it’s like a mini-ending, of sorts.
Romans 8, verses 37, 38, and 39 - I’m going to read from the Amplified - Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us]. For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And from the New Living Translation - No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This sounds like a great way to end this chapter. Talk about ending on a high note!
Verse 35 talks about all these things that are completely unable to separate us from God’s love. Things that we face on the regular & things we face less often - things like calamity (we’ve seen a whole lot of that the last couple of years), hunger, destitution, danger, persecution. These things are the painful things in life, and Paul lists them here for that reason. Because they are on the extreme end of the hard stuff of life. There are a lot of things not on this list, and those things are still difficult, still hard for us and hard on us and hard on the people that we love and care about and do life with. But he hits on the worst case scenario because he really, really wants us to understand that even these things, even the very tippy-top pinnacle of the hard stuff cannot, cannot, absolutely cannot separate us from Christ’s love.
That’s the springboard that launches us into verses 37-39.
Yet in all these things, and all really does mean all by definition, it does not mean some, so be aware that in your mind, in your thinking, it is possible to kind of switch out all for some or most… you have probably experienced this, where you don’t outright disbelieve something God’s word says, but you may categorize it, thinking, “Oh that’s so true, I hope that happens in my life sometime in the future.” or maybe, “Yes, that’s true! I am praying for that in my children’s lives or for my closest friend at work” but you never pray it or believe it for your own life. For you. This is common! I think to some degree, in some manner, we all do this kind of thing & I would love to see more and more people kind of nip that in the bud, when their thoughts do that little switcheroo, and instead say, “Oh no, this is for me because has promised it and He is not a respecter of persons, so I’m not excluded and I’m not on some heavenly wait list, I can pray this for my children and my dear friend and also for myself - there’s room at the table for me. God’s promises are big enough for all His followers, so thank You Lord that this word is my word today.”
All really does mean all, and so verse 37 tells us that in all these things, no matter what the “these things” are on any given day, we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us.
This is big news. Like, the biggest news story in my life right now should be this. No matter what, I am more than a conqueror (how cool is that? More than a conqueror? As if being a conqueror, conquering all these things, weren’t enough, God promises more. I am more. That's so good, you know? I am more! More than a conqueror in this exact thing that is hard, that is painful, that is taxing. So much promise here. And when we find a promise of this magnitude, we also find so much hope. And remember, our hope does not disappoint us when it is hope from our Lord.)
How does it sound to you to be promised that you will gain an overwhelming victory?
Think about racing against Usain Bolt. It kind of would be a given that he would have an overwhelming victory. Not like, “Hold on folks, they need to look at the tape and determine who actually crossed the finish line first… this is too close to call with the naked eye!” No. Not like that at all. Like this - this runner won the race by actually lapping her opponents multiple times! Usain Bolt won his races soundly, decisively, without question. He even slowed up a bit at the end of many of his races to cheese for the fans and the cameras! He won so overwhelmingly that he could kind of take it easy and really enjoy himself as he came across that finish line. How great is that to think of in spiritual terms? I want that! I want to be able to enjoy my time on this big blue ball because I know I am promised overwhelming victory and so I don’t have to strain and worry and fret. I can run my race from victory, not hoping somehow I manage by the skin of my teeth.
Overwhelming victory. It is yours, it is mine, this is our promise. Let’s simply believe it today.
Verse 38 tells us that nothing, nothing whatsoever, can separate us from the love of our Lord. Kind of reiterating what was said in verse 35, but sort of looking at it from a different angle.
Death, life, angels, demons, fears for today or worries for tomorrow, not even the powers of hell. Okay, pause for a sec on this… not even the powers of hell. Don’t give zero thought to the powers of hell, or you’ll never spend time praying to bind satan and his evil demons and their work at wrecking on you and trashing your life. Pray for other people too, that the work of satan would be utterly destroyed, so stunted that it is unable to have any growth or make any impact. We have an enemy, if it were not so Jesus would have never talked about our enemy the devil. But he is a defeated enemy. For us who know Jesus as our Lord, our Savior, our Master, we who are disciples of Christ should pray with some serious God-given authority. Because not even the powers of hell can ever separate us from God’s love. You can’t be separated from it because you are so immersed in it that is in literally in Him that you live and move and have your being. You and the love of God are inseparable. Isn’t that just great news?!?
No power from anywhere, above or below, or anything in the whole of creation will ever be able to separate us from His love. We really are wrapped in His love, safe in His care, and when we live in a state of utter trust that God cannot and will not do anything apart from His lovingkindness toward us, we live a whole lot free-er. And Jesus wants you free, always free, every single day. It is for freedom then that Christ set you free, so do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. That’s from the NT book of Galatians. And that’s really a key thing to know.
You’ve been freed. Set totally free. And that’s Jesus’ will for you, to be free, which is why He did the work of setting you free. So, stay free. And be a freedom fighter. Help other people experience the freedom God has for them.
The tremendous love God has for you was revealed through Jesus. What more could be done than what He did on the cross? He loves you. And that is the final message of Romans chapter 8. God loves you so much, so very much. You are free. You are safe. Nothing can separate from His all-encompassing love. This is the good life, folks. So let’s not live as if it is anything but the good life.
Hang your hat on all the promises found in Romans 8.
Your God will not fail you & your God is a mountain moving, life changing, promise keeping God.
I need to tell you about a podcast that I recently discovered, it’s The Reclamation Podcast with Tony Miltenberger. I have been loving this podcast. I’m not sure I can do an adequate job of describing it in short order, like I need to use my words because there is a lot he covers on his show. But I had to share it with all of you because if you’re listening to my show, then you’ll want to listen to The Reclamation Podcast. Living your life as a follower of Jesus will only be bettered if you dial in and subscribe to The Reclamation Podcast. Look it up, or check the links in the show notes. I’ll also link on my social media in the coming weeks, probably more than once so nobody misses it. It’s good stuff. Please check it out, I think you’ll be encouraged and receive some excellent equipping. You know I mentioned in episode 98 the idea of a runway, you land and allow me to refuel if you will, to disembark some things that need to get off your place, and to onboard some stuff that needs to go with you on the next leg of your journey. That’s just my role in the body of Christ, and sharing about The Reclamation Podcast is one more way to make sure I’m doing the work of The Runway (and can you tell that’s going to be a catchphrase? It’s keeping me on mission, that phrase, and it will help you to know what to expect whenever you drop by my website or podcast or social media. What happens on a runway is what will happen via all my platforms. And today I hope that you feel refueled and ready for takeoff.)
LINKS to The Reclamation Podcast ~
Sign Up — Tony Miltenberger (twmilt.com)
Reclamation Podcast — Tony Miltenberger (twmilt.com)
Reclamation Podcast: Reclaiming Good Practices for Faith and Life | a podcast by Tony Miltenberger (podbean.com)
Reclamation Podcast — Spirit & Truth (spiritandtruth.life)
Find him on Instagram @twmilt
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I’m Jan L. Burt, find me at my website Jan L. Burt dot com, and this show is part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app.
I’ll see you next time for episode # 100.
Bye bye!
theburtnoternieshowpodcast
janlburtdotcom
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Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well, hey there! Hello to you today - welcome to TBNES. I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and I am kind of your go-to gal, your resident expert, if you will, about God’s promises.
Did you know that God has some very specific, very reassuring, very exact promises for you? He really does, and I’d love to help you discover what those exact, perfect, and specific promises for your life actually are.
Currently on the podcast we are doing a series on the promises we find in Romans chapter 8, and this is the ninth episode in the series, with just one more to come next week as we wrap up this awesome series.
Have you ever felt unsure about your future? If you’ve ever had that sense of self-condemnation (or maybe been under condemnation from someone else) or been living your life under the gun, feeling somewhat separated from God but wanting to live at peace, and to get out from under that weight of being pushed around spiritually speaking, or rather, feeling like your face is being pushed down into the mud… If you’ve ever dealt with anything even remotely similar to what I just described, then today I’ve got some good things to share with you. (And news flash - if you’ve never been there before, wow, I’m in awe, that is amazing! But you may know someone who has felt this way, and after listening today you can probably pass along some encouragement to somebody who could use it - so I hope you’ll stick around for the show today.)
Here’s what’s coming your way in today’s show ~ a good, hard look at Romans 8, verses 31 thru 35, and a whole lot of tangible ways to live with God’s promises as your daily reality.
How can I say that and be sure it’s gonna be true for you? Well, since my diagnosis of heart failure in 2016, I have been, as in literally, living on God’s promises. When cardiologists who are renowned tell you that you shouldn’t be able to get out of bed, that kind of gets your attention. No woman that I know of wants to be in her mid-40s and live out the rest of her days barely able to get out of bed.
But God, every day, every step of the way, as I believe His Word, really choose to stand on His promises and to believe what He has to say above and beyond any and everything else, well, He has given me a life that is rich, full, exciting, blessed, favored - I really am living a good life, all because I believe God’s promises.
I’m here with the singular mission of getting the promises into the people of God, so they can truly live a believing life.
And I’m so glad you’re here to grab hold of God’s promises along with me today.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 98.
In episode 97, we ended with verse 31 from the eighth chapter of the book of Romans. And I’m gonna do something I don’t usually do, which is to start an episode with a verse from the last episode. We’re going to begin with verse 31 today, because it was the perfect ending for last week and it’s also the perfect beginning for this show.
I’ll read that verse first, as a stand alone, share just a couple of things, and then go back and read all of the verses for this episode.
Romans 8:31, from the Amplified Classic Edition: What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]
Who can be our foe?
In the AMP, not the Classical Edition, just the Amplified, it reads like this: What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?
And that’s the version I referenced in episode 97.
Who can be our foe? Who can be successful against us?
When we really take a good look at what God has to say in the Bible, in His word, remember it’s His word, not man’s word, and so when we open our Bibles and take a good, hard look, not a quick scan, but a good read, well after that good look, that good read from the previous verses in Romans 8, then comes the promise of verse 31. After reading whatever portion of the Bible you are in during your daily quiet time, or whatever name you might have for your time with the Lord and in His Word, after that, you can simply believe that the premise of this particular verse, Romans 8:31, is totally true for you. Whatcha gonna say after reading what you just read? I hope that you say, “My God is for me. And I cannot truly have any foes that can stand against the power of My God, against the promises He’s made to me. My God is for me, so nobody, no demon, no devil, nobody at all, can be successful against me.” I really believe that when the Bible says even your enemies will be at peace with you, and that is taken from Proverbs 16:7, that’s exactly what it means. Somebody may want to be your foe, but you can stand on God’s word and pray that they will not be able to be your enemy. Think of the Israelites, when the man named Balaam was trying to curse them when they were getting close to the Promised Land, and he couldn’t. Not for any amount of money, and he had been hired to curse them and he really did want that payout, not from any different vantage point, no matter how hard he tried, and people will try hard when they got a case of greedy-itis and want that payout whatever it might be, he still could not curse them, but could only bless them. (You can find that in Numbers 22). God is not a man that He should lie - so when the Bible says that nobody can really be our foe when God is on our side, that’s pretty interesting. And living in a rough and tumble world, that makes me want to grab this verse, and grab it with the express purpose of holding on to it, believe it over my own life, and see it play out for real.
So now we’ve had another look at this verse all by itself, and now let’s add in some more verses.
And as I read them, be sure to listen and hear what God is promising to you in this passage. Because His promises are for you and for me, they are for us, right now today. So right now today, we don’t want to miss out on them!
Romans 8:31-35, Amplified Classic - 1 What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]
32 He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]
34 Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?
35 Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
(AMP - 31 What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us? 32 He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself]. 34 Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us. 35 Who shall ever separate us from the love of [d]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? )
In the intro I mentioned feeling uncertain regarding the future, and I also mentioned condemnation. Self-condemnation or having another person condemn you in some manner. Guilt and shame can be pretty condemning. Peer pressure can feel like condemnation. Expectations to be all the things in every arena of life can feel condemning, can’t they?
This hunk of the Bible has something for us that is intended to help us, not just give us a case of “the feels” for the next half an hour or so. Jesus’ ministry was never about “the feels” - and I’m sure there were people who were only there cuz the crowd was there, and they had warm fuzzies as part of being in that crowd. That does still happen, some people will talk bad about you but when they are with you, they are kind of warm and nice and really seem to like you. Then, right back to not liking you and saying stuff about you to others that is not nice at all. The Holy Spirit in you can actually give them “the feels’, some warm fuzzies. And so they may be really enjoying being in your presence, but it’s the Spirit of the Living God who dwells within you that is creating the environment that allows them to feel different when they’re with you. Anybody ever have a sense of confusion about why that is sometimes the case? It’s not all that uncommon. So, that’s just an example of how there could have been people praising Jesus on His way into Jerusalem, and then yelling for His crucifixion a matter of hours later. The Feels are kind of that way.
But Jesus, He never wants us to only have temporary and fleeting and ever changing feelings and being led by those changing temperaments of the crowd around us, right? So we can, as disciples of Christ, read this passage, and have it bring about life change that goes far beyond quick touchy feely experiences.
God really wants us to get this point: don’t live fearing all kinds of things all of the time. Don’t constantly worry about the future, about what may happen, what if my needs don’t get met, what if what if what if? Verse 32 boldly tells us that God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for you, for me, and then it just flat asks us to really answer this question - so, really, you and I need to answer. When God asks us something, who are we to not honestly answer Him? That does not turn out well, according to the book of Job, so I want to answer the question. After reminding us that He gave all, God gave us His Son Jesus, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
Will He not? What’s your answer to that?
What does it say about our level of trust in God and all of His promises to us versus our level of trust in the devil and all His lies when we don’t really believe our God will freely and graciously give us all that we ever, ever need? That sounds harsh, maybe…but isn’t that really what the dealio is? We are trusting the devil more than we trust God if we live continually doubting that verse 32 is going to really be true for us. Don’t trust the liar and don’t trust the lies. Make the decision that Romans 8:32 is the truth, and then make the additional decision that it is true for you, permanently true for you.
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself].
That’s verse 33. You may feel that condemnation at times, we all do, it’s not avoidable, ya know? But it doesn’t have the last say. It’s gonna come, but it doesn’t have the right, the authority, to stick around. It will stay as long as you leave out the welcome mat. But at any moment, you can bar shut the door on condemnation. Well now, Jan, I don’t know… I mean… well, alright, I can already guess what you might be thinking. But just let this verse be the final word on that condemnation. And let it be the final word on self-condemnation, too, since for many of us that’s the more intrusive culprit in our thoughts, in our lives.
You do not have authority over God. Right? Me either. He declared you blameless. He put you into a right relationship with Himself. He justifies you. You are His chosen one because He did the choosing of you. Now, who will bring any charge against His chosen one? Hmmm. Bar shut the door of condemnation. Grab that welcome mat and yank it right out from under the feet of condemnation and self-condemnation. And just say, Romans 8:33 as you slam that door shut. God’s Word becomes the final authority and the governing truth of our lives when we apply it in this manner. Change your thinking, change your life.
The next verse goes hand-in-glove with verse 33, and I’m going to read it and I’d like you to just let it sink in as it pertains to any type of condemning you might be dealing with. Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us? The question is, really, there is just One who would have the authority, the right, to condemn us once we’ve been declared blameless by God (and this is a salvation issue - the way is Jesus, there is no other way) - but who else but Jesus has the ability to even bring condemnation before the Father for those who are in Christ? And Jesus isn’t going to do that. He sits at the Father’s right hand and He actually intercedes for you, for me. So He isn’t interceding for us and in the same breath calling for our condemnation. He didn’t die and rise again so that we could live in worry and fret and fearfulness that we could go from life to death, which is what His condemnation would be, no no no. We have gone from death to life, and Jesus is not in the business of life to death. He is always, only in the death to life business. So the only One who could authoritatively condemn you will not do so. This is the truth. Herein lies your promise, and indeed it is yours so long as you actually just believe it.
Now we are arriving at the last verse for today, verse 35 - Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
That’s a list now, isn’t it?
Who or what can separate you from the love Jesus has for you? From the Father’s love for you? From the Holy Spirit, who lives within you, from His love?
Suffering? No.
Affliction? Also, no.
Tribulation? Nope.
Calamity? No, sir.
Distress? No.
Is the devil, the chronic and pathological liar that he is, going to come at you via all those avenues and try to make you feel (and remember, if you feel feel feel it, you can start to believe believe believe it totally, even when it’s just a big fat lie). He wants to hit you with affliction and then immediately start hitting you with his classic lie that you are not really, truly, fully loved by God. Lies!!!
These things are in this fallen world, and you will experience them. And they have no power over your God or over His unending, overflowing love for you. The pathological liar who is destined for hell does not get to speak his lies into this area of your life any longer.
Persecution? Don’t change God’s love for me!
Hunger? My God still loves me with an unending love.
Destitution? Peril? The sword? Love, love, love.
Unsure about the future? Stand on this today - you are loved with an unending love.
The love God has for you is engraved on the palms of the hands of His dearly loved Son, Jesus. The love God has for you is the mark of the Holy Spirit upon you that identifies you as His own to all the forces and powers of evil and darkness in the spiritual realm. You’ve been claimed as one who belongs to the God Most High. And you will never be unclaimed.
Now I know I stopped at kind of a midpoint with verse 35, but that was intentional.
Next week we take one final look at Romans 8, to see the remaining promises in this chapter. And as only Paul could do, this ends on the highest of all high notes.
It’s like we’ve been preparing a runway and the plane is circling, ready to land. We’re gonna land the plane in episode 99, and we are going to let some things disembark from our planes cuz we ain’t taking them with us for the rest of our life’s journey. Some other things, they are gonna board our planes because they are like treasure and we are loading up on treasure for the journey. And while you’re on that runway with me next week via TBNES podcast, I’ll be sharing some things that are like your refueling. That’s my job, my friend, to prep the runway and you just land the plane, I’ll help some things disembark and then have some other things get on board while I refuel your big ole jet airliner. And then I’ll clear you for takeoff and see you off for another jaunt. Then next time, you swing back by and land again for another refuel. That’s literally what this is all about.
Getting the promises of God into the people of God, one refuel at a time.
In the meantime, I’d like to invite you to grab a copy of my book, The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional via Amazon (link in show notes or just look it up real quick and throw it in your cart for your next Amazon order). Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and next week I’m going to feature a show sponsor, which is a podcast whose host I was blessed to meet this week in Nashville at the Spark Podcast Conference, there with the Digital Ministry Conference and the NRB was taking place - good stuff, so be sure to subscribe and not miss that special sponsor that I really want to share with you about. I’ve got a few things coming up that will be a blessing, so it’s gonna be good.
Thanks so much for joining me, this is Jan L. Burt signing off - you’ve been listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app.
Lord bless - see ya next time.
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well, hey there! Hello hello to you! So glad you are here for this episode of TBNES, the podcast where we work at getting the promises of God into the people of God where they belong. Because if you believe what God has promised, guess what happens? Your thinking changes. And your behavior, as in your actual way of living, changes too. The way you look at people and circumstances and blessings and struggles - all of that changes too.
It’s so important to mind what we think, to pay attention to not just what we say we believe, but what we truly believe, what we live by, what thoughts govern our decisions, our actions, our behaviors and our responses.
And via this podcast, we really do allow the Word of God to renew our minds and impact every aspect of our lives.
I’m Jan L. Burt and you’re listening to TBNES, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 97.
Last week, in spite of losing my voice and really just struggling through the week to speak at a summit I was part of and working on the podcast, which involves a lot of talking which is hard to do when your voice goes bye-bye, but I just asked the Lord to make it not the worst and I just did the work and released episode 96. In that episode, we took a look at a few verses in Romans 8 as part of this current series, and we honed in on verse 28. Such a well known Bible verse, and one that brings basically light, like a bright spotlight, into the dark places in our lives. And that’s how things can feel sometimes, ya know? Health diagnosis can feel like a really dark place. Job loss or maybe you’re of the age where your parents are older, maybe they are no longer living. That can really be a dark place, I mean grief as a whole is just heavy darkness and there isn’t really a fast forward button you can push, you can’t jump ahead 15 seconds and then jump ahead a bit further. Nope. We each grieve in our own way, at our own pace, and it isn’t always linear, this whole grief thing, is it? We go this way and then that way, from step one to step five and then back to step two. You have to just go through it. Not get through it, not put your head down, try to file it away somewhere and get so ultra busy with the things in life that can easily become busy busy busy, that’s not healthy grief. Not get through it, not even really work through it, but be much with the Lord as you just go through it.
If I am going to deal with a Red Sea in my life, a Jordan River in my life, I really want to go through it holding the Lord’s hand. I don’t want to go around it, fly over it, and I only want to cross on a boat if the boat has Jesus there at the stern. If He is walking on a dry ground path through the sea, that is where I want to walk. That’s my route if that’s His route. If He is walking on top of the water, then I also want to be atop the waves because that’s where my Jesus is and I want to be with Him, as in much with Him, every single day. And if He is in the boat, even asleep on a cushion, then I want to be in that boat with Him. When He says, “Cross to the other side, Jan” then that’s that. And when He says, “Stay here on this shore for a while,” then that’s that.
And this week, we get to look at three verses from Romans chapter 8, verses 29, 30 and 31.
Can I read those verses to you from the Amplified Bible today?
For those whom He foreknew (and loved and chose beforehand), He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (and ultimately share in His complete sanctification), so that He would be the firstborn (the most beloved and honored) among many believers.
And those who He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (declared free of the guilt of sin); and those whom He justified, He also glorified (raising them to a heavenly dignity).
What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be (successful) against us?
Wooo! Wow. Did you hear that?
So right on the heels of Romans 8:28, we read these three incredible verses.
As we talk through these verses, bit by bit, grabbing all the promises we find therein, let’s start back in verse 28 for one sec. We know with great confidence that God who is deeply concerned about us causes all (not some, but all) things to work together as part of His plan for good for those of us who love Him and are called according to His plan and purpose.
For those whom He foreknew (hey, just don’t forget that he knows you and He foreknew you - He knew what would break your heart to the point of crying out to Him, and I am talking about a salvation experience here, like your heart gets so broken by the astounding grossness of your own filthy sin that you cry out to Jesus - and God knew just when that particular breaking would happen for you.) Fall on the Rock and be broken or it will fall on you with a crushing weight, kind of with a final death blow. That’s from Matthew 21, verse 44. A broken heart leading to repentance and salvation found in Christ alone is a good, good thing.
You and I, we were foreknown. There is a comfort in that. You didn’t slide into the Kingdom when they weren’t looking, and if people have made you that way, just remember that this verse states clearly God foreknew you. You are in His family, the family of God, because that’s where He wants you. Foreknown. Really, let that comfort you.
That word “foreknew” means loved and chosen beforehand, so ya know what? Ya know what, devil? Ya know what all y’all who treat me like trash, who use me to get what you want but then toss me aside (anybody listening today who has ever, ever felt like this?) Ya know what? I am loved and chosen beforehand. Beforehand! You cannot possibly be an afterthought when God loved and chose you beforehand. These are your promises, my friend! And you have got to know that you know that you know these promises are your truth. Truth matters. God’s promises need to be your truth. Loved and chosen beforehand. Boy, that’s so good!
And not only that, but God predestined you and me to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. As we walk the path of our lives, as we run the race set before us, we are actually in the continual process of being sanctified. Being made more and more like Jesus. We will ultimately share in complete sanctification, Jesus said He didn’t lose any which the Father gave to Him, and He is gonna get us there right on time and we will be in good shape upon arrival. No damaged goods sliding into heaven. Nope. Sanctification is your promise, and it is even now taking place. He intends for you to look like His Son. And doesn’t God get what He intends to get? Um, yeah. Jesus is going to be so celebrated, so honored, as the firstborn among MANY who are believers. And you are one of that many.
Predestined, chosen and loved beforehand, being sanctified. Oh you’ve got some good things being spoken over your life today, my friend! You need to live like this is true for you. Because - spoiler alert - it is 100% true.
And those who He predestined, He also called. Okay, so I am called. And you are, as well. Called. When we know that we have been called by God, we walk with our head a little higher, with some pep in our step. We are called! And we can never be un-called when it was God who did the calling. So we walk with some assurance that we are going to get to our destination, not just our final destination, not just the end game, but also getting to every other destination God has in store for us in this life, here in the land of the living. And He does have destinations. There are stopping places, for sure, and also there are places where He will have us pick up the pace and get to moving forward.
And since you know that He called you (and you should know that because He says so right here in the eighth chapter of the book of Romans!) then you need to know that He also justified you. To be conformed to the image of Jesus, God’s Son, you can’t be all filthy with sin. Rolling around in it, that’s not fitting for your calling. God justified you, He declared you free of the guilt of your sin, and so be wary of sin infiltrating your life. Now we all sin, of course we do, but don’t roll around in it. Don’t play patty cake with it. Avoid it, mature and grow beyond childish ways, keep praying to be delivered more and more, on a continual basis, from the grasp of sin.
Basically I’m saying don’t willingly go on back to the stuff God delivered you from. He has a better way for you. You’ve been called. That’s an honor, it’s a privilege, and it is also a responsibility. So ya know, act like it.
And those he justified, He also glorified. You can live today with a level of dignity that corresponds to who you are in the Kingdom of your God. Dignity. It matters. A lot, actually. Think about what it means to be dignified, to live a dignified life. Sometimes that means we don’t dignify a certain situation with a response, with an emotional response. Sometimes it means we are the quietest person in the room and sometimes not the quietest. A heavenly minded dignity should permeate the lives of all who have been predestined and chosen and called and are being sanctified and are justified because it’s a mark of God’s hand on our lives.
Now, here is verse 31, our final verse for today.
What then shall we say to all these things?
This level of promise warrants some kind of a response, doesn’t it?
What then shall we say to all these things?
If God is for us, who can be (successful) against us?
You got an answer for that there question? Cuz I sure don’t. I cannot think of one person on this planet who can be successful against me in light of all we just read. It cannot happen. Not should not, not I hope not, no. Cannot. Nobody, not even the devil himself, can be successful against you.
Did you know that? Did you really, really know that?
You need to know that.
In that big meeting tomorrow, when your teenager is in some kind of rebellion and you are frazzled by it, when inflation is high and wages don’t seem high enough.
Who can be against you?
Who can actually be a success in their fight and attacks and scheming against you?
Nobody. Nobody at all, no not ever, nada.
Isaiah says no weapon formed against me shall prosper. It doesn't say it will not be formed against me, that would be an untruth and there is no untruth in the Word of God. It is gonna form, because the devil hates those who love Jesus. Bottom line, he always lies and always hates and so he isn’t going to wake up one day and be like, “Hey, I’ma stop lying and no more hate in my little black heart.” No. He does what he does. Think of the line from the original Jurassic Park movie, when Dr. Alan Grant says, “The other kind just do what they do.” and he was talking about the meat eaters, well, they eat meat. Not very comforting for the little girl he was talking to, but it was the truth boiled down to an explanation that was necessary. No sense dwelling on why meat eaters eat meat, because there isn’t a solution to that. Just surviving that reality. Well you and I get to do a whole lot more than just survive this reality.
Those weapons, no matter how many or how varied or how well thought out or how intense or how sneakily they come at us, none of them will prosper.
And no one on this planet can be a success in their attempts that are against you. Because your God is for you, He has called you, He is sanctifying you and making you more and more like His dearly loved Son, He foreknew you and loved you and He chose you, He called you, He justified you, He is giving you a level of dignity that is so far beyond this world, it’s eternal dignity fit for His eternal Kingdom.
That’s who is for you. That’s who is for you.
And that wraps up this podcast episode about God’s promises for you.
Now hey, hang on for a second - if you are encouraged or blessed or both by this content, would you leave a review or share this episode with somebody and if you are interested in reading my devotional The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises you can find that on Amazon. And be on the lookout for my course on Psalm 91. Praying this psalm over your life, your loved ones lives, it is a forever game changer and every believer needs to do a deep dive study on this psalm. You’ll pray better and more effectively, you’ll have more of a mind at peace, those people you are praying for will see God’s hand moving in their lives, and you will do nothing but benefit by taking this course. That may sound like quite an outcome I’m promising, but it’s a promise founded solidly on the Word of God so I make that promise with boldness. And I want you to step up, take the course, and see things move and improve in your world.
I’m off to Nashville for the Spark Network Podcast Conference and I am expecting to learn so much, and to implement what I learn as soon as I get back next week.
But don’t worry, episode 98 will drop right on time, just like the usual.
Hope you’ll be back for that as we look at a few more verses from Romans 8.
Thanks for listening - praying for you, appreciate you, excited to see God opening new doors for you on the regular.
You’ve been listening to TBNES, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app.
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey there, hello to you and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God, one podcast at a time. I’m so glad you’re here!
Today we are continuing our look into the eighth chapter of the New Testament book of Romans, and we are landing on some really big verses in this episode. In fact, for many believers, one of today’s verses may well be the most quote/unquote popular verse they know.
Romans 8, verses 26, 27 & of course, Romans 8:28. It’s not so well known for no reason! This verse, and the verses that surround it, are of tremendous value to those who follow Christ. And anything of tremendous value is worth investing in, right? Our time, our thoughts, our response, our prayer lives, our level of belief. As we get started today, can I just encourage you to be ready and willing to hear what these verses promise?
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 96.
This series on Romans 8 has been so good for me as I’ve worked on each episode. And I’ve gotten some really wonderful feedback about this series, so I’m thankful I followed the Lord’s leading and began this series. My prayer throughout this series has been, and continues to be, that we will be better because we better understand what the Bible says to us from Romans chapter 8. To think better because we know better. To love better because we better know the Father’s love for us. To pray better because we better understand the promises found in this portion of Scripture. To believe for better and better things, because Romans 8 teaches us that the Lord God Most High does indeed have better things for us than we have previously experienced. (And that’s true no matter what good things you and I have already experienced - there is always more that God has in store. Once we step into eternity, being in the never-ending presence of our Savior, well that will be one amazing day, won’t it? So even when things get tough here in this life, we know that we have incomprehensible goodness coming in our future. But I also want to say that I believe there is so much good for us yet to come to pass right here in the land of the living, as it says in Psalm 27:13)
I hope this series on Romans 8 has been encouraging to you - and after this episode, we will have three more episodes looking at promises we find in this chapter. But today, well today is a very special episode. There is a rich, treasure trove of hope for us from the verses I am about to read. Ready? Let’s go!
Romans 8:26-28, from the Amplified:
26 In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of [a]God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
Now in the few verses just prior to these Paul was talking about hope. All of creation is longing for the day when Christ will be revealed. And we who have hope in Christ are always, in some measure, hoping for what we have not yet received. We have not arrived, we are still living on this earth and haven’t gone on to be with the Lord in heaven yet. We aren’t hoping for what we already have, because that would not make any sense. But a person hopes for what he or she does not yet have, as it says in verses 24 & 25.
The first thing we want to take note of from verse 26 is that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. I’ve got weak places in my life - in my thinking, in my behavior, with my tongue (anybody else ever say stuff that just is wrong? I sure do!). Weak places, that’s where the Spirit of the Living God comes to us and helps us. Don’t skip past this too quickly! It’s so important to really get a hold of this. He helps us right where we need some helping, and the Bible tells us that we need help in our weakness. Paul is not mincing words here, so let’s actually accept what the Bible is saying. We sometimes want some help for x-y-z…in our finances, maybe, or in our health. With that certain coworker, in some aspect of our relationships, maybe in our marriage or with our siblings (cuz that all changes when you grow up, am I right? Siblings as adults is sometimes like a bag of cats - just watch out, it can get scratchy and wild!) And those are all things to pray about, to seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance and help with. But in this particular passage, it is telling us that we need help in our weakness. So, in your work stuff, perhaps you are mainly praying about things from a “Help me deal with this difficult person - guide me as I prep for this big presentation - bless the work of my hands and give me favor and increase.” Really good things to pray about! I mean, everything is a good thing to pray about when we see God as our loving, caring, good Father, ya know? But that’s not exactly “weakness”. Lord, I need a raise. A struggle, a need? Yup. A weakness? Well, not necessarily. So we need to first off, acknowledge we have weak spots and then be willing to let the Holy Spirit be the Lord over those weak spots. Come to me this week, Holy Spirit, and help me in my weakness. That’s just simply agreeing in prayer with what this verse says. And it’s good to pray according to the Word of God, to get yourself to fully yield to the sovereignty of God by praying for His will, as He has revealed it in His Word, to come to pass. His will be done in your life, in my life, now. In the right now. That's solid praying right there.
And this verse continues with some direction about our praying, our prayer life. And it should be a prayer life. If your praying doesn’t have some life to it, if it feels dead, it isn’t what God would have it to be. He wants it alive, full of hope and excitement, with time to ask and seek and knock and time to listen to hear what He has to say to you.
When we don’t know what prayer to pray, or how to offer a prayer to the Lord, this verse promises that the Spirit will help us. As in, He sorts it all out perfectly. He gets the right thing across the finish line at the right time. He is never late, He is never forgetful or absent-minded, and He cannot fail in any aspect of His work. If He promises that He knows our needs (and He does), if He promises to help us in our weakness (and that’s exactly what He promises), if He will intercede for us at just the right time (and He surely will do just that) then we can, we must, stand on it.
It’s not a crime to be weak, my friend. To have times when you have no clue how to pray, you just know you need to pray. And the Holy Spirit can do something - He wants to do something - He is going to intercede for us. Don’t fear weakness. Fear prayerlessness far more than you ever fear weakness! A prayerless life for the believer is not good, it’s like poisoning your own well and then wondering why in the world you feel sick all the time. But when we don’t know how to pray, when life has knocked the wind out of us, we can easily end up not praying. Ask the Holy Spirit to do as He has promised in these verses, to intercede for you and to make that intercession line up with the will of God.
Let’s read verse 27 again - And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of [a]God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
If you sense the Lord is searching your heart, can you remember this verse rather than panic and get uneasy during the searching process? Think of it as more of a search and rescue, He is searching your heart and He is always ready, willing and able to rescue you - it’s more of a search and rescue than a search and recovery. When you hear on the news that some type of search, maybe after a tornado or other natural disaster, transitions from rescue to recovery, a loss of life is indicated. God is not in the loss of life business. He is in the healing, restoring, delivering, blessing, forgiving, offering grace and mercy, discipling, rescuing business. Think of those times accordingly when you sense the Lord searching your heart.
Let Him search! He knows what the mind of God is, and that’s incredible to have as a sort of covering over your life, because He knows the mind of God in any and every situation or circumstance or relationship or health problem or financial problem or global pandemic problem or inflation problem or can’t find a job problem you have today, may have tomorrow, or will ever have over the course of a lifetime. Let Him do that searching! And let Him take what He finds as a result of the search. He will take it, lifting that burden from your shoulders (provided you allow Him to do that!) and He will then intercede for you, on your behalf, from that place of knowing fully, exactly, perfectly and completely what the will of God is.
Oh the searching is only scary when we look at it in the wrong light! It’s actually so, so good! You are blessed, my friend, when the Holy Spirit stands in intercession for you. You want that! You want Him to intercede for you and then to do it again tomorrow if you need it again tomorrow. He is interceding on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
Now, lemme ask you, how’s that for a promise???
And now, we arrive at Romans 8:28.
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
God has a plan.
Did you need to hear that today?
God has a plan.
Not just a plan for the entirety of the world, as a whole, in large part, for the masses.
Of course, this is my Father’s world & as Creator, as Sovereign, He has an overarching, all-encompassing plan. Of course He does! If not, how could He be the God of all creation, the One Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To Come?
But you and I, as individuals, He has a plan for us too. For me. For you. No child of God is left out of His plan. None who is in the beloved can be out of the plan. He doesn’t forget anything or anyone, not for a millisecond.
God has a plan.
And He causes all things to work together as part of that plan for good for those who love God and are called according to His plan and purpose.
There is so much in this verse. One sentence, and a handful of words, and the way we look at our lives and every moment of our lives, is changed. (Like the quote from the book The Four Feathers, “Three little white feathers and the worlds at its end.”) Well, regarding Romans 8:28, a handful of words and nothing is at its end!
This verse changes the way we view life, the way that we think, and subsequently the way that we live.
Do you live in belief? Do you live what you would call a believing life? Or do you live more in the land of unbelief? Not the land of make believe, but the land of unbelief.
No Christian should remain in a place of unbelief for too long. Short stops in that place, my friend! Get about the work of believing; the way you get up and get dressed and head to work in the morning, as a habit, with no mental arguing back and forth about the merits of going to work each and every day verses the risks involved with such a daily venture, which could, after all, result in something awful taking place. Why, anything could happen today, say, on the way to work or as I grab my morning cup of coffee, and then there is the first hour of the workday, who knows what that may bring! How will I survive it? I don’t think I could endure it if that first hour was at all challenging, difficult, taxing, or wearisome. Nope! Not going to work today. Maybe when my employer gets me an iron clad guarantee that I won’t have any stress or struggle or any problems or hard tasks whatsoever, then I will go back to work. Until then, work is too risky.
Newsflash: many of us treat faith in this manner.
It seems risky to believe that a promise like Romans 8:28 could really be true. What if it doesn’t prove true for me? This seems dangerous, maybe even foolish, to really be one of those people who live their days believing that God works out all things for their good, so long as they love Him and are called according to His purposes and His plan. Well, I just don’t know if I can go that far today. Maybe tomorrow I will try again; but today, I’d better play it safe, not take any risks, and just wait for God to increase my faith if He actually wants me to believe His Word.
Listen, I have to tell you, God really does want you to take Him at His Word, by faith. And you don’t need to wait for more faith to come along; you need to believe based on the faith you already have. When Jesus was asked to increase the faith of His disciples, did He not respond by telling them that so much that was seemingly miraculous, utterly impossible in our own strength, could be accomplished by faith the size of a mustard seed? Oh, that’s exactly what He said. And I’m guessing that you and I both have that amount of faith at the very least.
The verse Romans 8:28 is a favorite when we pray for others; not exactly a go-to verse when we pray for ourselves. We know it by heart and can recite it at any moment, but we may not believe it, even as we speak it.
Yet, we desperately want it to be true - and not only true, but true for us! Now! Today!
What if it can be true for you today? What if it is true? What if?
What wonder, what possibility, what dreams open up to us when we believe this verse is indeed 100% true for you and for me, right now, at this moment?
God has a plan. He has a plan for you. A plan to work all things, and that little three letter word all really does mean all, nothing left out or forgotten or oops, all except for that part…no, it truly means all things will work for your good if you love the Lord your God (and oh I hope that you do!) and are called according to His purposes.
If you meet those two conditions, then Romans 8:28 isn’t merely a promise from the Bible; it is your promise from the Bible.
What does it mean to be called according to God’s plan and purpose?
Paul was called to be an apostle of Christ through the will of God (1 Cor 1:1 & Romans 1:1 that was kind of his resume, if you will). 2 Timothy 1:9 says we are called with a holy calling. John 6:44 states that no one can come to Jesus unless God calls him, so if you are a follower of Jesus, you’ve been called. In Matthew 22 we read about many being called and few being chosen. Have you responded to the Lord’s call to surrender your life to Him? If so, you know what it means to be called by God. It is His will that none should perish, but that all should be saved. He made the way to salvation possible and His desire is for all mankind, every single person on this planet, to answer His call.
I don’t want you to think that this is something only certain disciples of Jesus get, this being called.
Are you walking with Him day by day? Well, how could you walk with Him without that calling? It’s certainly not our flesh that allows us to follow Jesus! Our flesh won’t be in eternity with us, so it has no reason to deny itself! The here and now is all the flesh has, and it wants for nothing beyond the here and now.
But for those who have been called and who, much like Zaccheus, responded when the Lord said, “Hey! Come on! Come along with me, follow me, come down from that tree - I need to dine with you today, I have some things to share with you.” Much like that instance, we who are called according to God’s plan and purpose have this promise, this unbreakable promise, that all things will work for our good.
I don’t need to pretty this up and describe how “good” could mean this, that or the other and might feel pretty doggone bad. Um, that sort of bothers me. And it bothers me because we can so easily, so quickly, so readily excuse away God’s word and God’s promises with that kind of thinking.
Who is helped by such talk? If you have lost a loved one, it’s not helpful to say ridiculous things like “God must have needed them more than you needed them.” What? That’s a terrible way to try and comfort someone who is deep in grief! You’d be far better off to just sit with them in their grief, just be there but be silent than to say things like that.
The good promised here is inherently good, it is the kind of goodness that originates from God and it just cannot be explained away as bad is good in opposite world. He loves you so very much and He has so much good for you. Nothing He does is ever outside of His unending love and loving kindness toward you. He is for you and He is not ever against you. And He is working, right now, all things for your good. This is a positive!
God is generous. God is kind. God empowers His people. God is faithful. God is trustworthy. God is love. The Great I AM has promised that He is deeply concerned about you and that He is working all things to work together as a plan (He does not do random!) for good for you.
Don’t lose hope, my friend. Hang on to your hope because it will not let you down or disappoint you. Hope in your God, and expect to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. In your land. In your life.
Romans 8:28. What. A. Promise!
As I wrap up today’s episode, I want to mention a couple of things - voting for the Spark media podcast awards closes at the end of February, so get your vote in today for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I’m nominated for best female podcast and I’ll put the link to vote in the show notes. Spark Media Podcast Awards - Vote Here for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Best Female Podcast - THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE!!!
And also, I’ve got something new coming up soon. A course on prayer, specifically on Psalm 91. I’m going to have some options for founders to join my course early at a discounted price of $25 rather than the $50 it will normally cost. If you’d like to be a founder, please let me know by emailing me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and just say founder info in the subject line and put your name and email address in the body of the email. I will send out some info via my email list in the next few weeks, so you can sign up for that and keep an eye on your inbox when the course goes live at the founder’s rate. Visit my website JanLBurt.com & scroll down just a smidge and drop your email and you’ll be on the list! Hope you’ll join me, cuz it’s gonna be good! Don’t miss this lower rate because this course is life changing, I really do mean that, people have used those exact words to describe it. Growing your prayer life can change everything so please be part of the Psalm 91 course.
Next week we are going to look at verses 29, 30 and 31. Don’t miss it, be sure to subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen and feel free to leave a review, too.
Thanks so much, I appreciate your support and your continual listens. And for all those who listen to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show in countries other than the US, I am so glad you are listening and if you happen to be in a country that is well difficult for Christ followers or maybe is enduring difficult things right now, please know that I see the list of countries that listen and I pray for you. You are not alone, and you are not standing alone. Praying for you, and then praying for you some more. The Lord sees. And Romans 8:28 is for you, it is for you. Praying you will see it come to fruition even at this very moment.
Thank you for joining me here!
Jan is a speaker at the Life Skills Leadership Summit - grab your tickets HERE!
Spark Media Podcast Awards - Vote Here for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Best Female Podcast - THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE!!!
Well hey there - hello again to ya. So glad you’re joining me today for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. We are looking at a couple of verses from Romans chapter 8 - verses 16 & 17. This is the fifth podcast episode in our series on Romans 8, and I must say today’s verses are good. Good stuff coming your way. I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, author, speaker, homeschool veteran, ministry leader, and an award winning podcaster…but really I’m just a woman running hard after Jesus on the daily, trying to encourage people to believe God’s promises as I run my race and press on toward the prize of the high calling I have through Christ Jesus, my Lord.
The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 95.
Romans 8, verse 16 & 17, from the Amplified Bible reads like this:
The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit (assuring us) that we (believers) are children of God.
And if (we are His children), (then we are His) heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance), if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.
Alright, well now, that’s quite a bit packed into two verses.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating - God’s Word holds within it more hope, more promise, more of the very breath of life, than we can ever use up or exhaust. It is quite literally inexhaustible. Which is absolutely incredible to think about. We don’t have much in this life that fits that description, that meets that qualifier. But God’s Word holds within it all things inexhaustible. Need hope today? God’s Word has it. Joy? Peace? Love? Truth? Guidance? Clarity? Strength? Understanding? Wisdom? Practical knowledge? It’s all right here, ours for the taking, if we would but open it, read it, and believe it.
So let’s really, truly believe these words today.
The Holy Spirit, who is of course God - not kind of God, not partially God, and not merely the third member of the Trinity (and yes, there is one very popular, even famous, modern day preacher who stated that exact thing in one of his books…and it’s not maybe who you might think, not somebody super charismatic, but someone you might label as more conservative - and look, that’s just dangerous to say. The Holy Spirit is fully God, and He is not to be trifled with. So that’s what I call to mind when I read about the Spirit of the Living God in the Bible). The Holy Spirit who is fully God, and in whom there is no shadow of turning, and who so graciously tells us that He is no respecter of persons (your rank, your popularity, your position, your whatever don’t matter to Him - He does not respect you more or less based on such things, and frankly, being the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies…um, we’re never gonna move His needle with such things.)
If you feel like you are praying from a small place, from a low estate, from a funk, from a rough spot, don’t stop praying! Pray more! Pray bigger, bolder prayers than you’ve ever prayed before from that exact place where you feel small or in a funk. Because your God is not a respecter of mankind. And your low estate is just the runway for the take-off of a miracle. Let Him be glorified in your big praying. Don’t pray small when you feel small. Feelings are fickle, like people’s tastes. Fickle things don’t rule over the life of a child of God.
The Holy Spirit testifies and confirms (hey now, if God confirms something, who on earth can un-confirm it? Yeah, nobody that’s who. That ain’t happening.) He testifies, and He cannot lie, it’s impossible for Him to do so, so if He testifies about something, well then that’s it. Done deal. Finitio. And in verse 16, the Holy Spirit does both the testifying and the confirming, so there isn’t any wiggle room and there is no getting out of this promise. See what I’m getting at here? I’m painting this picture for you that is the absolute reality in God’s Kingdom, and I want you to accept it, to believe it, as an absolute reality in your day to day, walking around life.
He testifies and confirms along with our spirit to assure us that we who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah, as Savior of the world, we are children of God.
Is this a promise, or is this a promise?!?
I’m going to read this verse again and I just want you to listen and then to do what the verse says, to be in agreement with the Spirit that you are a child of God (provided you know Jesus personally, that is - this is a conditional promise in that it only applies to those who are in Christ, who are saved, who believe on Him for forgiveness and eternal salvation).
So if that’s you, as I read, you sort of give a nod, something like you answer in the affirmative. And hey, if you can, if you’re in a place where you can do so, answer out loud. Yes, Lord. Amen, Lord. Like, when you do that, you are talking to the devil and he must , must, must flee when you resist him. Actively agreeing with the Word of God is resisting the devil.
Romans 8:16 (AMP) - the Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit (assuring us) that we (believers) are children of God.
Amen to that!
If God says we’re children, that He has testified that’s who we are and He has confirmed that that’s who we are, then that is who we are.
Alright, I have hopefully laid a solid & firm foundation for verse 17.
I just want to mention a couple of things here before I continue - if you would consider voting for this podcast as part of the Spark Media awards, I’m nominated for best female podcast and voting is open through the end of February of 2022. I’ll put that link in the show notes. Spark Media Podcast Awards - Vote Here for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Best Female Podcast - THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE!!!
And also, I’ve got something new coming up soon. A course on prayer, specifically on Psalm 91. I’m going to have some options for founders to join my course early at a discounted price of $25 rather than the $50 it will normally cost. If you’d like to be a founder, please let me know by emailing me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and just say founder info in the subject line and put your name and email address in the body of the email. I will send out some info via my email list in the next few weeks, so you can sign up for that and keep an eye on your inbox when the course goes live at the founder’s rate. Visit my website JanLBurt.com & scroll down just a smidge and drop your email and you’ll be on the list! Hope you’ll join me, cuz it’s gonna be good!
Okay, back to verse 17. You ready? If you’re not, you better get ready. Put your lap belt on, cuz this plane is gonna take off. And you do not want to miss this flight. Okay, ready?
Romans 8:17 (AMP) - and if (we are His) children, (then we are His) heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance); if indeed we share in His suffering, so that we may also share in His glory.
It’s settled that we are God’s children, and according to 1 John, we are His dearly loved children. Some of us grew up in homes where we were children, but maybe didn’t feel loved, let alone dearly loved. This truth is vital for us as disciples of Jesus. You gotta know that you know that you are dearly loved as a child of God. And God, who is faithful and who does nothing outside of His lovingkindness, is the One who dearly loves you.
As His child, you are also an heir. A fellow heir with Christ, and you get to share in His spiritual blessing and inheritance. So what does that look like for us? Well, you can take something in the Bible and you can pray it and you can expect that it won’t be an unanswered prayer. The Word of God does not, will not, cannot return to God void, but rather it will do, must do, can’t not do (to use a double negative) what He has sent it forth to do. Speak God’s Word out loud. This is part of your inheritance as an heir. Speaking, praying, God’s Word, out loud, changes things. In your living room and on the other side of the world. We can’t neglect our inheritance, our spiritual blessings, and think we are living in the fullness of all the Lord wants to give us.
We can pray, “Give me the nations, Lord, as part of Your Kingdom!” and we can expect Him to move and act, to rescue people from the lost-ness that floods this world. Your prayers, and mine, can build an ark that offers rescue, deliverance, hope, and protection from the floodwaters engulfing this planet.
Don’t believe me? That’s alright! I don’t want you to believe me; I want you to believe the Word of God.
Try this: each day for the next 30 days, for one month solid, read and pray out loud Psalm 91. Now you may get to about day 6 and be like, this is monotonous, what am I even doing? But keep going. By day 30, you will not be the same. You are going to find yourself praying that over people and situations and circumstances all the time. And things are gonna happen. Mountains will start to move. Grace will begin to flow. Take the Kingdom of God by force, as it says in Matthew 11:12. Take it by standing in prayer, by praying God’s Word, by choosing to believe that every single promise God has made is absolutely, unequivocally true for you, and all He has planned and purposed and in store for you will be yours. Nothing less! Shalom - that word means nothing missing, nothing broken.
I’ve just given you a plan to start seeing God work and move in your life, and it can change the entire trajectory of how you live out your days on this planet. Do it by faith if you must, and by that I mean you may not be feeling it when you start praying Psalm 91 out loud on that first day of the 30 days straight. That’s okay! Be strong enough and courageous enough (see Joshua 1:9) to just get started. Trust God enough to do this even if you don’t feel like you can totally trust Him in all the things just yet. Try it! And in the words of the movie A Christmas Story, I double dog dare ya. I really will be such a goofball as to double dog dare you to do this if it will get you to try it! Don’t have a lot of belief in this kind of thing? Well, here. Take some of my belief and get started with that. Like, this is an heirloom seed, not GMO, it will take root and it will grow and it will bear fruit and that fruit will be seed-bearing, in season and out of season, like a tree planted by streams of waters whose fruit never fails because it’s roots go down deep into the nutrient rich, well watered soil and it never winters, it just keeps on producing. That’s what I’m giving you - an heirloom seed of my belief for you to start with. And just wait until you see what God does from there!
Again, he is no respecter of persons. You can have as much Jesus, as much of all He has promised, as you want. As you like it, so be it. So ya know, why not go for the gusto? Why not? Let’s just ride this sucker for all it’s worth and live all the way into the grave…not exist until the grave overtakes us.
It does say in verse 17 that we gain this inheritance in part by sharing in His suffering. You and I are going to suffer. It’s an untruth to say that when you come to Christ you never have hard times again. Oh, you do. Some will break your heart! When people reject Jesus and you understand the eternal, forever consequences…that will break your heart. In the church body, as Jesus and Paul stated so clearly, there will be wolves and they come in to mislead the flock and even to devour the sheep. You may be made fun of, treated badly, because of your belief in Jesus and in God’s Word. But those who don’t know Jesus, they suffer too. We suffer from victory, as a part of procuring our spiritual blessing and inheritance. They suffer with no victory on the horizon, because without Jesus even the greatest earthly victory amounts to nothing other than something akin to another notch on the devil’s belt. Ya know the saying, “Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em?” Satan’s got ‘em, and he smokes ‘em. He does what he can with every opportunity he gets and he is not going to leave anything on the table.
Suffer for Jesus, or suffer to give Satan what he wants. Really, there is no other option. There is no in-between.
Your suffering when you know Jesus, as a child of God, comes with the promise that you will share in His glory.
Now think on that for a moment.
Christ’s glory, and He is willing to share it with us. With you.
This is a promise among promises.
This is beyond our ability to understand or comprehend.
And yet, this is what God is offering to us today.
And it is for today!
Today is the day you are listening to this podcast, so today is the day that God planned for you to hear what these verses from Romans 8 have to say.. And that means, today is the day He wants you to believe this is for you, to step into it, and to receive all He desires to give you as His dearly beloved child.
Thank you for joining me for part five of the Romans 8 series, and don’t forget to get on my email list at JanLBurt.com for info about being a founder for the course.
Next time we are looking at verses 26, 27 and 28.
Yup, it’s time to talk about that oft quoted, so famous among believers verse, Romans 8:28. And we’re gonna discuss it in context with verses 26 & 27 because we want to know all of what God says so that we can get all of what He has promised.
Don't miss next week. Invite your friends, subscribe to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, all that stuff. Big week on the show for episode 96 so make plans, make some room in your schedule, to catch that episode.
I’d love it if you left the show a review & thanks in advance for doing so.
Praying God’s richest and fullest blessing and favor over you this week, and expecting Him to do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond all you could ever think, ask, dream or imagine. Wont’ He do? Oh, I do believe He will!
See ya next time!
Bye bye!
You’ve been listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app.
Jan is a speaker at the Life Skills Leadership Summit - grab your tickets HERE!
Spark Media Podcast Awards - Vote Here for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Best Female Podcast - THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE!!!
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Spark Media Podcast Awards - Vote Here for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Best Female Podcast - THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE!!!
Well hey there, hello again. Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - the podcast that puts the promises of God into the hearts & minds of God’s people. I’m Jan L. Burt, author and speaker, podcaster and prayer retreat leader, and I am so glad you’re here today. We are taking a look at the promises we find in chapter 8 of the book of Romans, and believe me you, there are indeed some wonderful things promised to us. The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 94.
Romans 8, verses 13, 14, & 15. These verses are our focus this week, and they are hefty. There is some meat on these bones, ya know? This is not like baby food, and that’s a good thing because we don’t want to be spiritually immature. We want the meat of God’s Word because we are feeding, consuming, ingesting, as spiritually mature people. In the physical realm, we all begin as newborns and we grow from there. We grow in every way. Now I am going to share a very personal story about one of our children, and how as a newborn she did not grow. She was less than her birth weight at 11 weeks of age. It was scary to say the least, it was a huge relief when at 12 weeks she regained her birth weight and as the remainder of her first year went on, her development was something we did not take for granted, let me just put it that way. What was automatic and not given too much thought with her siblings was reason for celebration and rejoicing and a huge relief to us as her parents. We celebrated weight gain in ounces because we had to focus for so many weeks on weight gain (and weight loss) in grams. Grams.
So if I seem passionate about this week's subject matter, and about the promises that hold so much hope and life and vitality and purpose for us as the Lord’s people, part of my excitement is linked to this very real life experience we went through with our baby. Nothing could have prepared us or readied for that season, but nothing can take away from us the empathy we have, the compassion, the care for others going through similar situations. It was hard fought, our daughter’s health, hard fought in terms of what we did, what we tried, how many doctors we saw, and also very hard fought on our knees in prayer.
When I say that we do not remain infants, we all begin there but we don’t remain there and we don’t want to remain there, this personal situation with our newborn is what immediately comes to mind for me. It’s not a joke to me when I say that I don’t want anyone to remain a spiritual infant. Babyhood is not a forever stage of life. Our daughter could not stay 5 lbs forever. One of two things was going to happen. Improve and grow and get bigger and live. Or, not improve and not grow and not get bigger and not live. That was it. We did not have other options. And it’s not an unrealistic expectation that followers of Jesus would grow to spiritual maturity. In fact, it would be unrealistic for believers to remain in the infancy stage. Any pastor worth his salt would tell you this. Sometimes we need to be told, in the words of oh so many ‘80s parents, to “Grow up!”, ya know? You can read about this concept in 1 Corinthians 3, in particular verse 2. I’ll put that in the show notes because it is worth reading. Paul penned these words, and they are in the canon of Scripture, and so we should do as it says and be happy when we are fed spiritual meat rather than milk.
So that’s our framework for this week’s episode and I’m reading from the Amplified Bible today, Romans 8, verses 13-15. Here’s what it says:
13 for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever. 14 For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!”
For if you are living according to the impulses of the flesh, you are going to die. Look, if somebody has been telling you that the Word of God is, like, genteel, they didn’t tell you right. Now one of the fruits of the Spirit is gentleness, but the Bible always speaks pretty frankly. This verse shows us the way to die, the path of death. It’s good to know! Don’t want to walk that path, so thank You, Lord, for giving us this in Your Word. But if you are living by the power (ooh that’s noteworthy, by the power of the Holy Spirit) you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, and you’ll really live forever.
You know that you are living by the Spirit’s power how? When you are habitually (hey, that actually means this should become a habit, second nature, so listen up now and find out what it is you should be so good at habitually that it’s automatic) - habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body. And then you will really live forever. I don’t want to kind of live, to sort of live, to semi live. I want to really live, fully live, totally live. And here’s how I get to do that, by habitually putting to death the flesh (like, kill off and just annihilate, decimate, crucify your flesh - that’s what this means, my friend!) That is the way to live. Don't walk a path that leads anywhere other than where God wants you to go. Where He leads, then you follow. And He will always be leading you toward life and never be toward death. That’s an overarching promise from the Bible for you and for me. That is for certain God’s will, and sometimes we struggle, we feel like we don’t know what God’s will is. But this much, this right here, we do know. We know it absolutely and with utter certainty. So, walk this path. Live, and do that living by putting to death sinful deeds.
I could spend a whole lot of time talking about what exactly those sinful deeds might be, what all does this verse entail? Well, I will probably write a blog post about this on my website JanLBurt.com, because it’s important. This isn’t just hey don’t covet what your neighbor owns, don’t steal from your employer, don’t live as a hard-hearted unforgiving person. It can be a lot of things - how’s your thought life? Not talking about, say, lustful thinking or something along those lines, but do you think well of yourself? Do you talk to yourself in ways that you would never talk to someone else? That’s sort of what I’m thinking could be a big issue for many of us, not the quote/unquote big sins but ones that are still super damaging, but not always readily addressed. So I’m adding that to my work calendar and I’ll be writing that, doing a lot of praying over it, and look for it soon at my website.
Okay, so in verse 14 it says that all who allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Now, language matters. Verb tense - well, that matters. The way I just said it is how we kind of think of it. But the tense is actually continual. In the Amplified it says, “For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (emphasis added) This isn’t a one-off, not one and done. Are we continually allowing ourselves to be led (hey, that means we’re not in charge - we are not leading the way - if the Spirit is leading then we are to be doing what? Following. And let’s try to follow closely, think about a war zone and you need to follow your CO… you gonna fall behind and just risk it? No. Just, no. Follow closely and attentively and with a good attitude!)
Like a litmus test, you will know if you are a child of God by this evidence. Are you allowing yourself to be led by the Spirit? Not one time I allowed the Spirit to lead me and I came to Christ and received His salvation. Are you right now, today, still allowing Him to lead? Don’t say Yes to that if you aren’t actively following where He is intentionally leading.
Verse 15 - we may need to break this power packed verse up a bit. For you are not - oh boy, Paul is preaching now! He is telling us who we are not (and that is one of the main purposes of this podcast - look, we have got to know who we are and who we are not according to the Word of God. This is not optional! To mature in Christ, you gotta know this stuff!) For you are not - let’s listen up because this should be like key for us. Okay, who am I not? Not only do I want to get excited about who God says that I am. I want to be excited about who the Spirit of God says I’m not. (Like the kid who is defending himself against the accusations of some other kid, we can as children of God say to our accuser, “I’m not!”) Know who you are - know who you are not - and know your seasons, your times in your life. I cannot overly stress how vital, like your vital signs kind of vital, those three things are!
For you have not received again a spirit of slavery leading to fear. You are not a slave. You are not an orphan. You are not meant to live in fear. You are a free man, a free woman. You are a child of God, dearly loved and well looked after, you live by faith in the Son of God. Because you know that all God’s promises for you are true, they are all yes and amen through Christ Jesus your Lord. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Anybody else just love the Word of God? I mean, we take these three verses and we discover a wealth of treasure. Then we open our Bibles and read a chapter or two and do it again the next day. It’s like a gold mine that can never be depleted or fully exploited.
But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons.
It’s verses like this that help us understand what it means to have Jesus as Lord of our lives, living on the throne of our hearts. You’ve received Him and you have been adopted. You’re in, baby! Don’t you dare forget that!
The Spirit produces sonship. You wanna challenge whether or not the Spirit of the living God can do what only He can do? Don’t question the Spirit’s power. The Spirit produces sonship. That’s comforting, that’s hope, that promise for today and for all the future. This is good stuff!
By which we joyfully cry, “Abba! Father!”
Having God as your Father should move you to joy. If you cannot get joyful about this, then what on earth can you possibly be joyful about?
Your sports team winning a championship? Your fat bank account?
Landing your dream job? Buying the classic car you’ve wanted since you were a teenager? Losing twenty pounds? Those are treasures, sure, but they are not The Treasure. Those are gifts, but they are not The Gift. Those are special, but they are not The Special One.
Here is joy, my friend. Joy for you and for me. You have a Father. He is God. Be joyful about that!
Take these promises, these truths that are for you, and believe them today. Don’t skip to the next podcast on your playlist and forget about this.
This is not forgettable stuff. Bear it in mind, all week long this week, think on it over and over. And next week, I’ll be back here for episode 95, Romans 8 verses 16 & 17, and those are powerful. They can change your life, those two verses, and I really do mean that. Your life can be changed by the two verses we’ll look at in the next episode. So, come hungry. Come expectant. Come ready to see the Lord move in your life based on what He has to say to you in Romans 9:16-17.
I’ll see ya then!
You’ve been listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app.
See you next week!
Bye bye.
1 Corinthians 3:2(NIV) - I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) - For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Spark Media Podcast Awards - Vote Here for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Best Female Podcast - THANKS FOR YOUR VOTE!!!
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey there, hello to ya today. I’m Jan L. Burt, host of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, and I am so glad you’re joining me as we look at a couple of verses from the New Testament book of Romans. The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 93
Romans 8 is our topic for this series of episodes on the podcast, and this is the third episode in the series. Today we are looking at Romans 8, verses 10 & 11 in both the King James and the Amplified.
I’m going to read these two verses from the KJV first.
Romans 8:10 & 11 (KJV) - And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Okay, so this is rich language, isn’t it? Not words we throw around in normal daily conversation, but so rich!
The first sentence states that your body is dead because of sin if Christ is in you, which is true for all believers who have accepted Jesus’ death at Calvary as our personal atonement for our personally committed sins. We may stagger a bit at this statement, though. Wait - if Christ is in me then how is my body dead because of sin? Well, that’s going back to the concept of our flesh (episode 92 covers that in detail) and in the flesh, in me without the Holy Spirit regenerating me, in me dwells no good thing (see Romans 7:18 to read the verse I am taking those words from). Baptism is a public funeral of sorts, we are agreeing that we are buried with Christ and are raised to new life in Him. His power accomplishes it all, not any of mine. The flesh is just, well, trash to use a modern slang term. Once Christ is in you, the flesh is dead and you know it’s dead; you understand how vile sin is and what it cost the Lord to pay the price for the sins of all mankind, and you don’t really want to try and pretty it up and keep it alive anymore because you understand that it’s just dead, it’s trash. If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin.
Then it goes on to say “but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”. Now that’s some good news right there! God’s righteousness is yours through Jesus and it does it’s magnificent work in your life through the Holy Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom, it says in 2 Corinthians 3:17. Freedom. Liberty. Life. You’ve been freed, you’ve been liberated, to new life through Christ Jesus. And the Spirit in you is that life. Big promises for you and me in these verses. Let’s grab hold of them and live them out, let’s be among those who believe all that God has promised to us.
But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. When the Holy Spirit dwells in you, the promise here is that He will quicken your mortal body by His Spirit. That dead flesh can be utilized now to do the Lord's will, to bring about His purposes, to accomplish the good works that He preordained and planned out for each of His followers. By the same power that raised Jesus to life again. That’s what gets done what God wants gotten done. Not our flesh, but His Spirit.
The King James uses the word “quicken” while the Amplified says the Spirit will give life to your mortal bodies.
When God sets about quickening somebody, watch out! Stand back and get ready to see something! It’s one of the most amazing things we will see while living on this planet, the quickening of a person via the Holy Spirit of the Living God.
I do not want to miss out on any of this kind of quickening, this life given to my mortal body by the Spirit of God, like none of it. How much do I want to miss? None. Zero. And I don’t want you to miss any of it, either.
Let the Spirit bring you back to life. Prune what needs pruning; mature whatt needs maturing. Bring us back to life, Lord, and all the glory is Yours. This regenerating work is a precious work, and we should expect to see it having an impact on the little corners of the world in which we live.
Let me read these two verses from the Amplified now.
Romans 8:10 & 11 (AMP) - If Christ lives in you, though your (natural) body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness (which He provides). And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Chrsit Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.
What is says here is exactly what God means for it to say.
And it is God speaking to us today through His Word.
So our response needs to be to take Him at His Word, take this seriously. Because it is serious!
Often we take work seriously, we take our health seriously, we take finances seriously, we take parenting seriously. Some people take sports, like their favorite teams, very seriously.
Do we take prayer seriously? Do we take the Word of God seriously? Do we take tithing seriously? Do we take our spiritual health seriously?
Now I’m not trying to pick on anyone, I’m just asking a few questions in an attempt to get us to always take seriously what God is saying to us from the Bible.
Your natural body is dead - and your spirit is alive because of the righteousness that He provides.
You may be getting older and feeling as if your work for the Kingdom of God is waning. Not true! Not true at all. The ages of men the Lord used for His Kindgom work vary greatly all throughout the Bible, and there is no retirement plan or governor placed on the work we do at this age or that age. You may be feeling all sorts of things in your natural body, but the Word of God says that even though your natural body is dead, it’s alright. Your spirit is alive and well and can be thriving day after day after day. That’s the promise! And does God ever say, “oops, my bad”? No. He makes promises and He keeps those promises.
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you.
I haven’t mentioned this in a while, but today I am going to talk about this word “will”.
Whenever we find the word will in one of God’s promises, we need to remind ourselves (like, actually preach to ourselves!) that when God says will, He means it!
He WILL give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you.
He will do this!
And He is willing and able to do it right now, today, in this very season of your life.
I’ve experienced Him do this work in my life, in my broken and sometimes sickly and unwell body again and again and again. My mom used to say I was a sickly child, kind of an old school phrase, but I got older, gave my heart to Jesus, and bit by bit, day by day, began to not want to live under that curse of the flesh any longer. To not be a sickly child who had grown into a sickly adult. No, sir. I shrugged that off and kept walking by faith and praying and believing God was gonna do what these verses say He will do.
And He has. Time and again, my sickly areas have become well.
So this is a verse of promise. And there is no way God is exclusive or plays favorites. Just believe it and keep seeking this, keep praying for this. Your Healer loves to heal. Your Deliverer loves to deliver. Your Redeemer loves to redeem. Your God is so very good.
This is a shorter episode of the podcast today, and so I’d like to speak a prayer of blessing over you before we wrap up the show.
Lord, I ask today that by the power of Your Holy Spirit which indwells your dearly loved children that You would give life to Your people today. In areas where they face sickness, bring Your new life. Heal and restore, protect and deliver, bless and highly favor them today. I’m asking for this work today, because today is the day we are looking at these verses from Your Word and so today is the day we are trusting You to act in accordance with Your Word. We know that none of Your Word returns to You void, but it will always always accomplish that for which You have sent it forth. So, do Your will in the lives of every listener today. Move and act, bring new life, fresh hope, excitement about the days before us. And never stop moving, working, blessing, healing, delivering, favoring, protecting, guiding, and loving Your people. I ask this all in the mighty name of Jesus, the Son of the Living God, Savior of the world, who is set to return in might and power and splendor in glory. Do Your will in us, for us, and through us today. Amen.
Lord bless you and keep you today, my friend! I’m so glad you joined me for episode 93 of TBNES podcast, part of the Spark Network which is now playing in the Edifi app. Check out that app if you haven’t yet.
And hey, my podcast is up for an award - I am going to share the link to go vote in the show notes, kind of like the people’s choice awards sort of thing, listener’s favorites. You just visit www.sparkmedia.ventures/site/awards and cast your vote. There are drop down menus so you can pick the category (best female podcast or best solo podcast are the two categories that apply to this show) and then pick the podcast TBNES and I’ll just say thank you in advance for voting!
I will be at the Spark Awards this year, they take place in March in Nashville and it will be awesome to be there for the conference and the NRB and the awards and just all kinds of remarkable things that I am beyond thankful I get to be part of. Just as I mentioned earlier, God has things for me to do and I am not too aged to do those things - getting the promises of God into the people of God is the task He has given me and I am trying to, by the power of His Spirit and not in my own strength, to be a good steward. When He returns I want to present Him with a ten-fold increase on what He gifted to me - because what He has gifted to me is not for me or about me, but for His Kingdom purposes and for all of you. So thanks for listening. You are the people of God in this world, and I am so honored to be able to talk with you week by week. So, yeah, just thanks. Just thanks to you all.
I’ll see you next time for episode 94 where we will keep looking at Romans chapter 8 and discovering the rich promises He holds out to us in this passage.
Lord bless you, have a fantastic day.
Bye bye!
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey there - hello, hello! Welcome to episode 92 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show! I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and I am so glad to have you here today. We are taking a look at the promises we find in Romans chapter 8, and this is the second podcast episode in that series. Verses 2 & 6 of Romans 8 will be our main focus, and to really grab hold of what God has promised us, we will take a look at verses 3,4, & 5. The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 92.
On the last episode we began this new series and to kick it off we discussed the powerful promise God gives us in Romans 8, verse 1. If you haven’t listened to that episode, #91, I’d encourage you to be sure to do that cuz it’s really good stuff in that verse.
And today’s verses? Also really good stuff!!
In the CSB, Romans 8:2 says: because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
You are no longer under condemnation because the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
This is real freedom, folks! And as a follower of Jesus, I kind of am a freedom fighter. I don’t want to ever stop talking about the freedom that can only be found in Jesus.
And I really love how this verse uses the phrase “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”.
Here is what it says in the AMP - For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
The law of our new being. You are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. You are new. And you are free. How great is that to remember every now and then? Cuz we forget! I mean, I seriously doubt I am the only one who needs this reminder on a regular basis. You are new. You are free. There is like an actual law in the spiritual realm that states that Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. And that, my friend, is a real thing, the law of sin and death. The phrase dead in your sins is truth. That’s what we all are without Jesus. Just flat dead in our sins. And death? It is eternal when you don’t Jesus personally. Like hell doesn’t somehow get less intense over time. Oh no. A billion years of eternal punishment and damnation and total separation from God does not bring souls even one second closer to the end. It goes on and on and on and some of the things Jesus said in the New Testament seem to imply that if anything, it gets worse. And those jokes about being there with your buddies? Nah. I find no evidence of that in the Bible. You aren’t palling around with anyone. And satan isn’t gonna be kind of nice or a semi-good guy when upon arrival, like you’re all on the same team or something. No. He hates.It’s what he does, he just hates and hates some more. And he won’t get less hateful or hate-filled when eternal punishment begins. There is no reason for hell to be the reality for anyone because Jesus paid the ultimate price so that you and I have our ticket to heaven punched. All we have to do is believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, that He paid for our sins and repent, turn from our sinful way of living and come into His kingdom by means of Jesus, the only way into the Kingdom of God. So there is an actual law at work in our world, wherein sin must be dealt with. But wow oh wow, Romans 8 shows us that that law (the law of sin and death) is superseded by the law of the Spirit of life. In light of the little snippet I just shared regarding the law of sin and death, isn’t this totally awesome news?
The promise here in this verse is so good! It is literally the promise of life. New life right here on this raggedy old planet earth and then eternal life thereafter. Once you are in Christ, your eternal life has begun. And it won’t ever stop. It’s an incredible promise from an incredible chapter in the Bible. Thank You, Lord.
The next few verses go on to say that what the law could not do because it was weakened by the flesh (that’s all of mankind, me and you and everyone, the flesh) what the law could not do, God did.
When you start feeling like you just can’t get across the finish line, like maybe this is all just too much and you don’t think you can live well in this sin tainted world, full of hurts and evils and just all the stuff we encounter day after day - when you start feeling that way, then Romans 8:3 is a good word for you. What man cannot do, God can do. He knows you and I have got to have the Spirit of the Living God within us or we won’t hold up so well. God did what the flesh made not doable. And God is still God, is He not? So we can, and we should, ask Him to help us when we need it. Which is for me every day.
Through Jesus the requirements of the law were fulfilled. Fulfilled. That does not hint at some kind of remaining work to be done, does it? No. Fulfilled. There isn’t some scrap here and bit there and another hunk of work down the road a ways that you and I are going to have to take care of as far as meeting the requirements of the law goes. And where there is a law, there is a requirement to be met. Jesus did that. Fulfilled. Somebody may need to remember that word “fulfilled” every now and again. The devil comes in to lie to you about your status as a child of God and you may need to say to him, “Fulfilled. Romans 8. Fulfilled.”
Now I’m not reading all of the chapter of Romans 8 today, but I want to encourage you to take a look at it sometime. Just see for yourself what it says, cuz it is really good. Big promises for you.
And I want to move on to verse 6, (we’re jumping from verse 2 to verse 6) and let’s look at this in the AMP.
Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];
(my thoughts real quick - the mind of the flesh is death both now and forever - you cannot pretty up, clean up, straighten up your flesh. It is what it is, and it is death now and death forever, and death always. Don’t try to compromise with the flesh, improve upon it or make it better somehow. Don’t get into some partnership type thing with what the Word of God says is death… just crucify it. The way you and I are to deal with the mind of the flesh which is death both now and forever is to crucify it. Don’t mess around with it, don’t play patty cake with it, just kill it off.)
You may be wondering, “Hey now Jan, where is the promise in this verse?” And it’s here, I promise, it’s here!
Because of what Jesus did for us, we now have the gift of living under the law of the Spirit of life - we pretty well established that, right from the start of this episode. And this verse gives us this information about a massive benefit, a promise, we get because of what verses 1 and 2 state. The mind of the flesh is death, and that’s now and forever, so a permanent state that we can’t possibly change or fix or alter in our own strength. The CSB uses the word “mindset”. This is about our mindset. You hear a lot about mindset from a whole lot of different sources, Instagram, books, all over the place. But this is where we find what we really need to know about our mindset - right here in the pages of the Bible.
I’ve heard the saying, “Mindset matters.” and it really does. That’s a very true statement. So, if something matters, why would we get our info about that particular topic from all these other places but not from the Bible? I want every single thing the Lord has for me. You are probably the exact same way. And verse 6 of Romans 8 tells me that the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, it is the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God. It isn’t gonna fade away with time. This promise of life and peace is huge!
To be able to know without any doubt whatsoever, for all the days that lie before us, come what may in the physical sense, we can and we will have life and peace because that’s what it means to have the mind of the Spirit, well, that sounds amazing.
Ever meet someone who is not at peace, and you can just tell that no matter what you say to comfort them or encourage them, they are not going to be at peace because the issue is in their mind? And you and I, we can’t really get into someone’s mind and change their thinking. What we think reveals itself in how we live, who we think we are often leads us down roads in life that we didn’t really want to travel, ya know? So those folks who don’t have any peace of mind, they can’t be talked out of that. It’s not that simple because there is a very real spiritual element involved. Their mindset is holding them hostage, in a sense.
But for those of us who know Jesus, well, we are no longer slaves, so of course no part of us can be held hostage (unless we allow it, that is), and our thoughts cannot be overrun by this lack of peace we see so many people dealing with. It’s just such a great verse, such an amazing promise!
The CSB says Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.
What’s your mindset today? I sure hope it’s not one of death, one of living according to the flesh. And the flesh, it can be loud and demanding and agitated and downright bossy. But the mindset of the Holy Spirit? Well there ya go, buddy boy, that’s life and that’s peace and that is exactly what God wants you to have. Every. Single. Day.
No days off. No exceptions. This is your promise today. This is for you. And this is really, really important!
Because if you don’t want for yourself the things God wants for you, then you are wanting the wrong things.
I’m going to repeat that, because it is crucial. So woo hoo, listen up, you need to hear this.
If you do not want for yourself the things that God wants for you, then you are wanting the wrong things.
The Lord wants you to have peace of mind, a truly healthy mindset. He says so in Romans 8. And He provided the way to have peace of mind, to be able to live a life that doesn’t just endure or keep on plugging away, trudging along day by day. That’s not life the way Jesus wants you to have it.
And I really want each one of us to begin to want for ourselves what God wants for us. If He wants it, then I gotta want it too.
That’s gonna be a wrap for today’s episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. And I want to encourage you that this chapter can be your chapter. There is no reason why you can’t start living in the reality of all of Romans 8 right now, today. Next time, we are looking at verses 10 and 11, on episode 93.
And coming up very soon is a guest spot I did on Michele Bowman’s podcast, Woman Where Is Your Confidence. She talks to women about having the confidence that comes from Jesus, and I am looking forward to sharing more about that podcast when it is released in February of 2022.
I’m praying that you begin to fully live with a Holy Spirit led mindset and that any and all thoughts that don’t come from Him just slip away like smoke in the wind. And I do believe that is a prayer that God will answer.
This is TBNES, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app.
Lord bless you today!!
~ Jan
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Well hey, hello there everyone. Welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - where we focus on changing the way we live our lives as a result of knowing and believing God’s promises.
TBNES is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 91.
It’s January of 2022 as I record this & I am starting a series here on the podcast. Romans 8 is an incredible, absolutely incredible chapter of the Bible. It’s been said of Romans 8 that if all we had was this one chapter of the Bible, we would understand salvation and sanctification and Jesus’ sacrifice and how to live as Christ followers. And that’s not a bad way to describe Romans 8. So for the next several episodes, we will be looking at the promises found in this chapter.
I’m pretty excited about this - I mean, I guess I do always get excited when I dive into the Word of God, so that’s not new at all, but this chapter has so much promise, it just needed a series of podcast episodes so that we can really dig in to those promises. Because who are God’s promises for? The people of God. For His children.
Now everyone is part of His creation, for sure that is a fact Jack. But only those who have made Jesus their personal Lord, personal savior, to those He has given the right to be called the children of God. (John 1:12). The promises here are for His children. And trust me, if you don’t know Jesus personally just yet, He really wants you to take that step and follow Him, to turn from your old life, old sinful ways (and the ground is level at the foot of the Cross, so there is not one person who does not have sinful ways… this is something everyone who comes to Jesus, who responds to Him when He is calling, has to deal with. Acknowledge your sinfulness, accept His payment for all your sins, all your sinfulness, in full on the Cross, and then live with Jesus as Lord of your life.)
If you are in Christ, you are one of His disciples, you are a child of God, then the promises here in Romans 8 are yours. Because as the Apostle Paul wrote, all God’s promises are yes and amen through Jesus Christ our Lord. Don’t doubt that this is true. It is true, because it says so in the bible - 2 Corinthians 1:20.
Well, let’s start at the very beginning, because it’s a very good place to start (referencing Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music there…)
Romans 8 verse 1, from the Amplified.
Therefore there is now no condemnation (no guilty verdict, no punishment) for those who are in Christ Jesus (who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior).
Alright, well I’m thinking you probably already totally understand why I am so excited about this series in Romans. I mean, this is just verse one! And the promise it holds for us, and make no mistake it is for us, here and now, this promise is massive. No condemnation. No guilty verdict. No punishment.
There is no God but the One True God who makes and keeps such a promise!
Okay, the first word in this verse is “therefore”. So something came just prior that led to this statement. And the book of Romans is a letter Paul wrote to the Christian church in Rome, just an FYI there. As a letter, it didn’t originally have chapter and verse divisions, right? So we can hop back to chapter 7 and read a couple of verses to get a reference point that makes the word “therefore” much more clear.
Romans 7:24-25 CSB - What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.
I feel that! The struggle is so very real, is it not?
But then, chapter 8.
Paul states the issue, who is gonna rescue me from this body of death? From my own wretchedness?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Therefore, because of Jesus, there is now no condemnation.
Beautiful!
Romans 8:1 in the CSB says: Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
Says basically the same thing, but there is that extra punch in the Amplified Bible. No guilty verdict, no punishment.
This is final! Jesus paid it all. That’s not simply part of a worship song we sing on Sunday mornings. It’s an absolute fact! And it’s good news! Jesus paid it all - Romans 8:1 is final. You can’t put a comma where God places a period. Don’t add an addendum, don’t go trying to amend God’s work. Jesus finished this work at Calvary. It is finished, He said. (John 19:30)
We are the clay, God is the potter and we don’t get to add or subtract to or from His work. No no no. No condemnation. No guilty verdict. No punishment. So long as we are in Christ Jesus.
Nothing gets past the King of kings, the Lord of lords. If you are in Christ, then this promise is your promise and it can’t not be your promise. No thing is sneaking past Him. You know that, I know you do. But do you live like maybe some of your stuff, your issues, you junk, the garbage snuck by Him? It didn’t, my friend. It’s actually not possible. What can sneak past the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords? Again, don’t try putting a comma where God puts a period. And this verse ends with a period. You won’t find a comma in Romans 8:1.
Now the devil is a chronic liar who never stops lying because, as Jesus said, the truth is not in him (see John 8:44). The devil is gonna tell you repeatedly, not one and done but in a beat you down and wear you out kind of way, repeatedly tell you that you are under some kind of condemnation.
You and I, we have to know the Word of God so well that we immediately recognize the devil’s lies. And shut those lies down. Nope, not listening satan. No. That's a lie spoken by the father of lies and you are not my father, and I listen to Him. Romans 8:1. You can speak this verse out loud to your enemy when he starts spewing his condemnation lies to you. Remind him of the truth. If you are in Christ Jesus, may as well live every single day like you are IN CHRIST JESUS, know what I mean? Speak God’s word, speak the truth, and believe it.
If the devil reminds you of, say, an argument with your spouse. Now maybe you are really good at letting the quote unquote big stuff go, you know you’re forgiven and not under condemnation. But that argument, man you said a couple of things… eww, why did I say that? Man, that was not cool. And it’s hanging on. You feel icky about it. That is you feeling condemned. Feeling guilty. Waiting on some punishment to land in your lap. But what does Romans 8:1 say? If you are in Christ Jesus, then you cannot be under condemnation.
These are the real life scenarios we deal with in the spiritual realm. Ask forgiveness of others and of God as often as you need to. Keep those accounts short in your relationships. And then receive God’s forgiveness. It’s yours. He died for you to have it. He really wants you to live forgiven. When something is clinging to you, ya know that feeling, it feels clingy, pray on that exact thing. And say out loud if possible, Nope! That is under the blood of Jesus and I am forgiven and I am not condemned, because Romans 8:1 promises that there is no condemnation for me.
Once we really like actually begin on the daily, every single day - I really mean that - on the daily start to live our lives in the reality of this verse, our lives change.
It’s true!
Because what we really, truly believe impacts - directly impacts - how we live. What we think - what we say silently to ourselves and what we say out loud to others - what we post on social media - where we spend our time - where we spend our money - even things like whether or not we exercise, even just getting outside and talking a walk on a nice day, getting some sunshine, watching a sunset - what books we read (or never read at all) - our friendships - small group attendance & small group participation - sleep habits - how much junk food and junk television we consume - our frustration level - to some extent even our personal hygiene and habits - all those things are directly and indirectly influenced & impacted by what we, as followers of Jesus, actually do with this verse Romans 8:1.
What you and I believe matters so very much.
We need to be about the work of believing the Word of God.
Let me read to you once more from both the AMP & the CSB.
Romans 8 verse 1, from the Amplified.
Therefore there is now no condemnation (no guilty verdict, no punishment) for those who are in Christ Jesus (who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior).
Romans 8:1 in the CSB says: Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus
Who are you to declare yourself guilty when the Messiah, the very Son of God, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, says you are not guilty? Not under condemnation? If He says there is no punishment, who are you to keep on inflicting differing degrees of self-punishment?
Hmmm --- are you picking up what I’m laying down?
If Jesus is your personal Lord and Savior, this is yours. So live like it. Do you wonder if your car is maybe possibly not actually your car when you hop in to drive to work? Probably not. That would be weird (unless it’s not your car then this analogy is what’s weird). No, but the car, it’s your car. My SUV is mine. I drive it because it’s mine. The title is in my name. The insurance bill comes to me and I pay it. My car. Mine. I never wonder if maybe tomorrow it won’t be mine. It’s mine til I sell it and sign the title over to someone else. It just is.
Same for this promise. It’s mine. You can’t take it from me, you can’t trick me out of believing it, you cannot steal it away. It is mine. The Lord gave it to me. I’ve got the title deed to this promise.
It’s also yours. It is for Y-O-U. It is for right now, this very day. And it is such good news.
Romans 8 - so much in this chapter. And it is going to be amazing to grab hold of what’s in here for us. Because we won’t be the same - we are learning it, we are believing it, our thinking is changing and how we live is changing and the devil cannot trick us with his lies about condemnation. Those days are done, my friend.
Lord bless you today, and I really do mean that, it’s not just something I say when I sign off, I mean it and I expect it to be true, I am saying it and praying it for you. Lord bless you today!
Please subscribe to TBNES so you don’t miss any of the Romans 8 series, and share it somebody or a whole bunch of somebodies, and I am starting to work on something new, creating a course based on two online prayer retreats that I led in a private group. So a course about prayer - it’s so important, our prayer lives, and so that’s my next big project and I would appreciate your prayers for me as I work on that.
Thanks for joining me today to start this series on Romans chapter 8 - This is episode 91 of TBNES podcast, part of the Spark Network now playing in the edifi app. See you next time!
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey there, hello to you & welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the edifi app - getting the promises of God into the people of God, one episode at a time. I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and I’m so glad you’re joining me today! This is episode 90.
In this episode let’s take a look at a verse from the book of Psalms. There is always so much hope, honesty, and encouragement in the Psalms - it is a book we don’t want to neglect. And the particular verse I am going to read to you in a moment is from Psalm 138, getting toward the end of the book of Psalms. Verse 8 of Psalm 138. I am reading today from the Amplified Bible.
Psalm 138:8 - The LORD will accomplish that which concerns me; Your (unwavering) lovingkindness, O LORD, endures forever --- Do not abandon the works of Your hands.
We find here both a personal declaration and then a sort of prayer for this truth to continue to prevail.
There are some strange and unbiblical teachings that have been floating around the interwebs - so when I use the word declaration here, please know I’m not using that word the same way as it’s often being used wrongly. This isn’t manifesting something or declaring something as a means to manipulate God or try and be the boss of Him, overriding His will. Those things are not Biblical. And this verse from Psalms isn’t that kind of declaration, not in the least.
It is, however, a human being stating that God is going to accomplish the things He has planned. And there is nothing wrong with saying that out loud, for others to hear, for your own ears to hear, and for the devil to hear, too. Nothing at all wrong with declaring that.
So what is it that the author of this psalm said, again? The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me. And God’s unwavering lovingkindness endures forever.
What God intends for you is for you and He does not want it prevented, stopped, delayed, deferred or deterred. God wills for His will to be the will that is accomplished. True for you and true for me.
If it is encouraging for you to remind yourself of that, then please do so!
And remind others, too!
When God begins to move, to act, to change things, I don’t find much evidence in the Bible for slow movement. The Exodus took place quickly once God began moving. Joseph rose to power in Egypt overnight once God began to move. The church grew by the thousands once the Spirit of God began to move in the book of Acts. The promise may not happen on the same day that it is given, but it will come to pass and when it is time to get the ball rolling, when God says to move, that’s the time for things to really start moving. So, beware when people tell you to slow down as it relates to something the Lord is saying to be busy about right now. We don’t hold back from the Lord; we go all in with Him and we do exactly what He says, exactly when He says. Safe bets yield nothing in God’s Kingdom.
The Lord wants to accomplish that which concerns you, my friend. So that implies that there is value in what concerns you - because if it’s something God wants, which is what this verse says, then it is of value to Him.
Psalm 138:8 - The LORD will accomplish that which concerns me; Your (unwavering) lovingkindness, O LORD, endures forever --- Do not abandon the works of Your hands.
His unwavering lovingkindness is your promise as you keep on doing the things He has called you to do. The good works that He prepared in advance for you to do. Not you doing my good works, or me trying to work at what He wants you to be doing. Let His lovingkindness, which endures forever, be the promise you bear in mind as you follow Jesus and do what He asks of you. Let Him accomplish that which concerns you. And stay vigilant in prayer about the people or the circumstances that will try and slow down or hinder or hamper you from doing the good works He prepared in advance for you to do.
It’s not our want-tos and hope-sos that accomplish the will of the Lord, it is us doing what James says to do - to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. Some people in the church do a lot of hearing, but not much doing. Now, you will see this coming from a mile away outside of the church, outside the body of Christ. When it takes place within the church, that’s when we stumble over it, ya know? We question if God really laid that certain thing upon our heart. If maybe we heard wrong. If we are on the wrong track. But there is a way to know what His will is. The Word of God, when we open it, and the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, and the time we spend in prayer are all ways to know for certain what God’s good and pleasing and perfect will truly is. We can know the will of the Lord, but we get muddled up in our thinking sometimes and we start wondering if we can hear Him at all. But we can, according to the Bible! And that’s such great news for us! If some folks within the church are regularly the ones who say, “Slow down. Not so fast. Might want to think about that. What are your priorities?” when it comes to doing what God is leading you to do, then maybe, just maybe, they are the ones who aren’t hearing from the Lord? Perhaps they have some fear of stretching out their tent pegs and preparing room for the work God is going to do next? Where there is no vision, the people perish. Don’t let someone else’s lack of vision cloud your vision. Trust Your good God to guide and direct your steps, and He will. He is more than able to tell you this is the way, walk ye in it. Turn now to the right, now go to the left. That’s not difficult for Him at all. And if you want to know His will day by day, moment by moment, in every relationship, in every endeavor, in every nook and cranny and aspect of your life, and you truly want to know His will in order that you might do His will, if you just don’t want to miss it for the world, then you won’t. He will make it clear. Just be prepared that sometimes people may be quote unquote encouraging you to be cautious, to be careful…and that quote unquote encouragement could really be discouragement. Your courage comes from the Lord God Most High, the Almighty One, the Great I AM. He has no lack of courage to give to you. Discouragement, literally a lacking of courage, that is not from God. I never in my bible see the Lord stripping away courage and encouragement from those who want to do His will. And there is no shadow of turning with Him, so He isn’t going to suddenl;y begin to do a thing that contradicts His word.
Trust God enough to trust His word, because He is the Living Word.
And remember, He will never ever abandon the works of His hands.
He holds you in the shallow of His hands, right there in His palm. You are safe, you are secure, and you are held by the One who is going to accomplish that which concerns you.
Naysayers don’t hold a candle to that, ya know?
Lord bless you today as you continue to live in the light of the promises of God.
This is episode 90 of The Burt Not Ernie Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the edifi app.
I’d love it if you would subscribe via whatever platform you listen on and share the podcast with your friends and family.
Thanks for listening and I’ll be back next time for episode 91!
God bless - bye bye!
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the host of the podcast “The Burt (Not Ernie) Show” & author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well hey there, hello hello to you! Happy New Year!
Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the edifi app. This is episode 89.
We made it to 2022. And I am praying that this year will be an amazing one for you. By faith, I am choosing to believe that this year, we will indeed see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And we will see our God on the move!
He is up to some amazing things, my friends, and we are blessed to be alive at this point in time to see Him moving in this world. Get some excitement going for what God is doing now and what He is going to do in the coming days and weeks and months. He is good and he is faithful, and He can be nothing less.
Today we are hearing what God has said to us from the book of Isaiah, chapter 58, verses 6 thru 11.
I will read those verses from the Amplified.
“(Rather) is this not the fast which I choose, to undo the bonds of wickedness, to tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and break apart every (enslaving yoke)?
Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not to hide yourself from (the needs of) your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth; your righteousness will go before you (leading you to peace and prosperity), the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away from your midst the yoke (of oppression), the finger pointed in scorn (toward every form of) wicked (sinful, unjust) speech,
And if you offer yourself to (assist) the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like the midday.
And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”
So, that’s a lot.
Kind of a clarion call, I suppose, to us who follow Jesus in the new year. Let’s just think about these words from the book of Isaiah. Really think about them and whether or not we, each of us, are doing these sorts of things. Cuz to get the blessings, all that God has promised here, and it’s a lot and it’s really, really good stuff, these promises - but the getting of the promises is linked to the doing of some things that are important and dear to the heart of our God.
What kind of fast does God choose? Good to think about in a brand-new year… because so many are fasting of all kinds of things right now. And in all honesty a lot of that fasting is self-serving. Food related to losing weight or getting more fit to look better, stuff that is vanity. Health related? That’s being a good steward of the body God has given you to do His will in this world. Wanna be more cutesy in your jeans? Yeah, that’s not about health. God knows when we say we’re fasting or eating this certain way for our health but really it’s for our looks. Let’s this year not pretend He doesn’t really know. He knows… He always knows….(yeah, I just quoted a movie right there).
He chooses this kind of fasting: to undo the bonds of wickedness. To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke that bind people and to let the oppressed go free.
Sounds a bit different than our version of fasting, doesn’t it? When is the last time you or I got busy about undoing bonds of wickedness. In prayer. Fasting to remind us to pray each time our stomach starts to rumble and growl, to stop and pray with some intensity for the bonds of wickedness to be undone and for the oppressed to go free. Donating money normally spent on coffee and big work lunches to whatever causes the Lord leads us to where people are fighting to get other people new levels of freedom. That kind of fasting. Not skipping lunch to lose a few pounds (and what we call intermittent fasting in the US is called starvation in third world countries… and those folks would think we were nuts to starve ourselves by choice when we have access to enough food, we don’t watch our children waste away to nothing, we starve ourselves by choice to look better in our blue jeans and we rename self-starvation “intermittent fasting”). Look, the way I see it, fasting belongs to the Lord. He came up with it and it’s not about your dress size. Let’s be brave enough to call things as they are and stop doing things to serve ourselves but pretending it’s for the Lord’s sake. Because according to Isaiah 58, if it’s for the Lord’s sake, the evidence will be in undoing other people’s bonds, letting them go free who have lived oppressed. So if our fasting isn’t leading to talking about Jesus and the freedom we have in Him, if it isn’t drawing us to prayer, then is it the kind of fast our God chooses? And if He didn’t choose it, is it really a fast unto Him?
Divide your bread with the hungry, that’s God’s chosen fast. Take care of the poor, that’s God’s chosen fast. Don’t hide yourself from the needs of your own flesh and blood, that is God’s chosen fast.
And then the promises can break forth in your life - Then your light will break out like the dawn, says verse 8, and your healing, your restoration, your new life will quickly spring forth (oh man, when God moves quickly it is life-changing!). Your righteousness will go before you and it will lead you to peace and prosperity. Need some peace? Could you use some prosperity? Try fasting God’s chosen fast and as you do that, which is literally in real life walking in righteousness, then that’s your direct path to quickly springing forth peace and prosperity. This is the way, walk ye in it.
And not only the blessings I just mentioned, but as you walk along this path of life, walking in righteousness, breaking those bonds of oppression off of others by being a freedom fighter and showing people Jesus has freedom for them, God promises that His glory will be your rear guard. You will be protected from any sneaky enemy attacks from behind. So good, this promise! It’s so good!
And now more promises, more blessings, that have to do with your praying.
When you call, the Lord will answer. You cry for help, He will say “Here I am”.
You take away from your midst the yoke of oppression (God says you are to do that - that’s me and you, right? Not our government, not our pastors, but God says you… me. We must do this.) Get rid of the finger pointing in scorn. Scorners and mockers are not highly favored according to the Word of God. So, let’s not highly favor them. Don’t be a scorner and stop being a mocker if you are one. Just stop. It’s important to do what the Bible says to do, and when it says not to do something, let’s not do it. Let’s stop doing that. Wicked, sinful and unjust speech do not please the Lord.
Assist the hungry. Most of us can do that some way, somehow, can we not? If you need some ideas, email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I have some ideas for you that are easy and will really help people in need.
Then your light will rise in the darkness. Your darkness will not be dark anymore. What part of your world seems too dark today? This is how you push back that darkness and get God’s light to shine and break forth over your dark places. Your gloom will become like midday. Sun shining at high noon in the summertime - that’s what your gloomiest, darkened winter night will become. God says He will do this exact thing and when He says will, does He ever not really mean it? Rhetorical question.
The Lord will continually guide you and He will satisfy Your soul in a scorched and dry land. This is a huge promise and there is no reason any of us should not grab hold of it and run with it in the new year. It’s too good to lay aside and too vital to ignore. When you have a check-up, your vital signs are taken for a reason. They are revealers, right? This is your spiritual vital sign check-up, and you need to pay attention to what is being revealed right now regarding your spiritual health.
God will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, you will be lush and lively and vibrant and will bear good fruit. Like a spring of water whose waters never fail. The Living Water, Jesus, will spring forth from your life continually. Not stagnant water, but fresh and always flowing waters.
I pray that these verses will be a great way to start your new year and get your focus on Jesus. It’s easy to focus on Jesus at Christmas and then focus on yourself in the New Year. This year let’s fast God’s chosen fast and see real change, real freedom, start to flow out of us like living waters. It’s a good year to be alive, my friend. And it’s a great time to be a freedom fighter according to God’s Word here in Isaiah 58 verses 6 thru 11.
Lord bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you today and every day of 2022. Thanks for listening today. Please share The Burt (Not Ernie) Show with your friends or on your social platforms. And remember it is now playing on the edifi app as part of the Spark Network.
God bless! Bye Bye
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Well hey, hello there!
Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God one show at a time. TBNES is part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app.
Today we are doing that thing that comes so naturally to mankind at the close of a year… looking back in reflection and with thanksgiving, mourning what needs to be mourned, celebrating all that there is to rejoice about, praising God for all He has done in the last 12 months, and taking time to pause, reflect a bit, and remember whatever it is that each one of us needs to remember. (And if you maybe don’t feel like you are all that great at this, ask the Holy Spirit and He will show you what needs to be remembered… we can, and should, always always depend on the Spirit of the Living God to show us what we need to see. Ask him, and He will answer you!) And it is of course the time of year for looking forward. Sometimes, or honestly most of the time when we reach this point on the calendar, these few days between Christmas and the new year, we don’t simply LOOK ahead, we lean hard into the future, we pull toward it. More than a healthy time or reflection, quieting ourselves before the Lord so that we can fully dedicate all that just occurred and all that is about to occur to Him alone, we do far more than look ahead toward the new year with a listening ear and a calm, quieted heart. We rush ahead and leave behind things that God may just want to do a bit of work on… He may have some closure He wants to bring before we jump straight on into a brand new season. And a new year is, like it or not, a new season.
We only get to do this whole end-of-year thing once every twelve months, so let’s sort of relax enough to see what He wants us to see, listen for what He is speaking, and move forward into 2022 at His pace… because, if we are honest, the pace we choose is not usually the same pace God chooses, and the pace we choose is usually not perfect. But as for God, His way is perfect. So let’s just close this thing out His way, at His pace. (Psalm 18:30 says that)
And that brings me to the verses for this episode, which is episode #88.
The Old Testament book of Lamentations is where we will be today.
I will read it from the Amplified version, and I hope it brings you just buckets full of peace and trust and a calmness as we embark upon a new year. (Which I personally sense is going to be a pretty remarkable year overall for God’s people - I think it may start out much like 2020 and 2021, but in a matter of weeks I really think we are going to see things happen within the kingdom of God that will make a beautiful mark on the world at large. Just how I sense the Lord leading as I pray over the coming year & I am always ready to live my life in light of His good and perfect and pleasing will, as I am sure you are. So, let’s see what these verses have to say to us at this time of both exiting and entrance, shall we?)
Lamentations 3:21-23 Amplified -
But this I call to mind, Therefore I have hope.
It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed,
Because His [tender] compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.
I am pretty sure you’ve heard these verses before. And with good reason! They are so, so good. Always encouraging, always bringing hope. Filled with the promises of our loving Father. We can hear these words and we know what His will is for us. So of course these are often referenced. They bring hope. And that is what the world needs. Always. There is not a time when the world as a whole doesn’t need hope, and we as followers of Christ have the only actual hope that works, and that is the hope we have in Jesus.
Which is why I have said many times before, we ought to be the most hopeful people on the planet.
Wouldn’t that be something for 2022, if believers everywhere were the most hopeful people in the world? Now, that would be a sight! What kind of change would that bring to people who are hurting, confused, grieving, and seeking light at the end of the tunnel?
Verse 21 - But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope
Look, if we aren’t doing this, we are gonna be flailing around and feeling all sorts of hopeless. And that, my friend, is not our identity as Christians. Hopelessness is not our bag, not our dealio.
If we don’t call some certain, specific things to mind, we will feel very hopeless.
So let’s make sure we call these things to mind - daily! Get that Bible open every day! Pray to your good Father every day! Trust Him and believe Him and grow in Him every day!
No matter what, we can choose to say, “But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope.”
Verse 22 - It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because His (tender) compassions never fail.
Yeah, there is a whole slew of hope here. These are our promises as we wrap up 2021 and look toward 2022. On the last day of the year, these words are true. And on the first day of the new year, they also prove true.
Because of His lovingkindnesses (oooh, that’s a plural word! Many many lovingkindnesses are implied here! So expect a lot of them, because He promises a lot of them!) we are not consumed. We Are Not Consumed. Got that? You will not be consumed. He said it, it’s His promise to keep because He is a perfect promise maker and a perfect promise keeper. His lovingkindnesses are what you are going to see, experience, live with in 2022.
His tender compassions never fail.
It’s enough to just say “compassions”. But God makes sure we know they are tender compassions. Your God is tender toward you.
Try a little tenderness, the song says.
God has the corner market on that.
And He will never fail in his tender compassions toward His people, His children.
Verse 23 - They are new every morning; Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness!
Every. Single. Morning.
When are God’s tender compassions new?
That’s how often. On the daily.
Oh this is a very remarkable promise for us.
Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness, Lord Most High!
Just say that to Him today - tell Him out loud how good He is. How you know that you know that you know He is so, so good.
Great is His faithfulness toward you and toward me.
It is beyond measure.
What’s the last thing you found to be un-measurable? Beyond measure?
The ocean? The sky? And God’s faithfulness.
Can you join me in taking time, even if it’s just ten to fifteen minutes, and sit with the Lord, listening for Him to speak to you about the last year and the upcoming year. And as you sit with Him, don’t say a whole lot, mostly just listen, but do remember this great and beyond measuring faithfulness. I know you will be blessed and encouraged as you do so.
Thanks for joining me today for this episode of TBNES, part of the Spark Network now playing in the Edifi app.
I’d love to invite you to sign up for my email list at JanLBurt dot com where I will be sending out some info about a way to set the new year apart and dedicate it to the Lord. You can also check out my latest book, A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents, available on amazon. Not much better way to spend the first 60 days of the year than praying intentionally big prayers over our children, ya know? So grab a copy and I know it will be a lasting blessing to your family.
Have a wonderful day, a blessed remainder of 2021, and a very happy new year to you, my friend.
See ya next time for episode #89! Bye Bye.
Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.
Jan is the host of the podcast “The Burt (Not Ernie) Show” & author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
Well, hey there!
Hello again, everyone, and welcome to this special Christmas episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
For Christmas this year, my friend Misty Philip (founder of the Spark Media Network) wanted to put together a compilation of short Christmas messages from several podcasters.
I am blessed to part of this special episode & I hope you enjoy it as you celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.
(you can find my contribution around the 14:25 minute mark)
Have a very Merry Christmas & know that you are so dearly loved and cherished and valued.
And if nobody has told you this today, let me just say that you matter.
Thank you for being part of my life via this podcast & I look forward to a very blessed 2022 for all of you!
P.S. - I was invited to guest host on Val Harrision's podcast "The Practically Speaking MOM" for Christmas and I shared a devotional there. Here is the link to that episode - I really think it will bless you to hear it!
Lord bless you & I'll be back next week with another episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
~ Jan
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
As we head toward Christmas, I wanted to share one of my older episodes with you this week.
I’ve chosen episode #38 from that profound year that changed everything, 2020, because I really feel that the content of this particular episode holds some big, massive, whopper sized encouragement that many of us really, truly need right now.
Listen in to this episode from the vault of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show and see if it doesn’t bless you as you prepare to celebrate Christmas and enter into the brand new year of 2022.
Lord bless & happy listening.
Isaiah 40:31 - Amplified
But those who wait for the LORD (who expect, look for, and hope in Him) will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings (and rise up close to God) like eagles (rising toward the sun); they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired.
Isaiah 40:31 - CSB
But those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run an not become weary, they will walk and not faint.
Psalm 103:5 - NIV
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:5 - Amplified
Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the (soaring) eagle.
Often around the 30 year mark of life, an eagle goes through an intense molting process. During this time, they find a place to "hide out", usually high up on a mountain top with some sort of rocky, barren area, and they remove all of their feathers, break off their beak and scrape away their talons. Older eagles, who themselves have been through the molting process, will bring food to the eagle as he/she lies on the rockface and soaks in the sunshine.
After the molt comes to an end, the eagle will be faster, stronger, sleeker, with improved eyesight and better hunting and survival skills than even in their youth. This process actually allows them to live a longer life.
Are you enduring a time of molting? If so, hang on to hope and know that the promise of these verses are for you. You will have your strength renewed - you will soar one day - you will run & not grow weary - you will walk and not grow tired - God will satisfy your desires with good things & your years will be full of the blessings of the Lord - you will be stronger, faster, see more clearly, love people better, have more hope and will be even more impactful for God's kingdom than ever before, bringing Him great honor and glory.
Your best days still lie before you.
You have a very bright future, my friend. God's Word promises it!
~ Merry Christmas!
If you'd like to be a BETA reader & leave a review of the new prayer journal on Amazon & Goodreads, please let me know (leave a comment here or send me a message!) Thanks a zillion!
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Well hey, hello again everyone! Welcome back to another episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode 85.
(Real Quick - here is the link for the #ChristmasBlessingGiveaway -
Today we are going to take a look at the OT book of Isaiah, chapter 33, which is a really encouraging chapter of that book by the way. And fun fact about the book of Isaiah - it divides the way the Bible divides - the number of books in the OT (which is 39) is the same as the number of chapters in Isaiah that we read before the book takes a turn toward enormous, unstoppable hope (which is one of my favorite words at Christmastime). And then there are 27 books in the NT of the Bible, and 27 more chapters in Isaiah. A total of 66 chapters and 66 books, and the division in Isaiah where you can literally read along and see the entire tone change corresponds perfectly with the number of books in the Bible, with the change we read at the birth of Jesus. Which is the one and only reason I can say to you, have a Merry Christmas.
Kinda cool, isn’t it? God never ceases to amaze me. Never ever.
Okay, let me read the verse to you and then let’s chat about it a bit, shall we?
And He will be the security and stability of your times,
A treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is your treasure.
Well, you may know (or may not know if you’re new to the podcast) what comes to mind when I read the word WILL in one of God’s promises in the Bible - and this is a promise, make no mistake about it. And God has never yet failed even once in the keeping of His promises, so this is a check we can take to the bank and it will cash all day long.
What is the promise here for us?
I’m so glad you asked!
He, meaning God, will be the security and stability of your times.
Oh, hello there! That sounds like pretty much exactly what we need to know right here, right now, at this moment in history. Does that not sound good? To know beyond all shadow of a doubt that you have security and you have stability regarding your times - your personal times - never forget our God is a personal God. You know those genealogies you might find kind of boring in some of the OT books and also in the Gospels? Um, consider this: God took up space in His Word to put down the names of individuals. He is a very personal God, and every name listed in those lists of names shows us how much He loves each one of us individually and personally.
You have security and stability regarding your times, personally, in Him. When God says that He will be something for us, His people, He means it. So our duty, and I do take it seriously, like a duty in the military is serious, our duty is to believe Him.
Can you do that this Christmas? Believe He is gonna be today and tomorrow and et cetera your stability and your security, even in what may be the most unstable and insecure time in our lifetimes, and maybe even possibly like ever? I mean, things could get worse (and they will in time, says the book of Revelation) but our God, He never gets worse. Walking with Jesus, things only and always get better.
Call me a sap, but I believe that 100%.
It goes on to say God will be a treasure (oh yes He is our greatest treasure, isn’t He?) and wisdom and knowledge.
Anybody else ever need some wisdom, some knowledge?
I ask the Lord for those things all the time. And I pray those things for other people, loved ones, all the time. And you know what? God hears and God answers those prayers all the time.
He has promised to be your treasure, your wisdom, your knowledge. How cool is that?
Verse 6 ends with this:
The fear of the Lord is your treasure.
Yes!
Do you have a healthy fear of the Lord? Oh now I do know that I know that I know that when people saw the Lord in the Bible, they were stone cold out… on their faces, unable to stand, knowing that just being in His presence they ought to drop dead.
Yeah, there is a holiness we just cannot fathom. We don’t get it - how can we? Our God is an all consuming fire, says the Word. How can we get that?
But here is what we can get - a fear of the Lord that honors Him, reveres Him, holds Him in such high esteem that we order our days around Him. We wake up to Him and we fall asleep in Him. He speaks, we hear and we obey. He is moving over here in the world, and we get on board with that. He asks us to pray for someone, and we pray and pray and pray and it’s Holy Spirit led praying. He is our everything every day, our all in all at all times.
Do we live like that?
Do you live like that?
How about this December, this Christmas season, you decide to live that way?
You won’t regret it.
In fact, you may well grow to love it and never want to live differently.
Okay, it’s a shorter episode today - it’s December, right? And I have one more thing to mention. I am part of the Woman 2 Woman ministry 10th annual Christmas blessing giveaway. And there is a cash prize, like just under $500 is going to someone. It’s easy to enter - the rafflecopter link is in the show notes and also on the blog page of my website, which is my name - Jan L Burt dot com. I hope you enter and I hope you win.
And thank you to all of you who follow my platforms via the giveaway. I really want to grow my new YouTube channel because that’s what makes YouTube happy, subscribers, and when YouTube is happy then when people search for God’s promises (and let’s be honest, YouTube is a search engine at its core) then they will find my page and I hope be encouraged by God’s promises from His Word. So, thank you. Really, thank you thank you thank you.
Okay - that’s it for today. And thanks so much for listening today, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app.
See you back here next time for episode 86!
Bye Bye!
ChristmasBlessingGiveaway
If you'd like to be a BETA reader & leave a review of the new prayer journal on Amazon & Goodreads, please let me know (leave a comment here or send me a message!) Thanks a zillion!
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
Be sure to check out the Edifi app - a place for Christian content via one convenient app.
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Well hey there!
Welcome back to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - part of the Spark Network now playing on the Edifi app.
I'm your host, Jan L. Burt, author of the brand new book "A 60 Day Prayer Journal for Parents" available via Amazon (if you would like to receive a pdf copy in exchange for a review as a BETA reader, please email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com with the subject line BETA).
Today we are looking at Hebrews chapter 6, verses 9-20 from the Amplified.
Better Things for You
9But, beloved, even though we speak to you in this way, [c]we are convinced of better things concerning you, and of things that accompany salvation. 10For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown for His name in ministering to [the needs of] the saints (God’s people), as you do. 11And we desire for each one of you to show the same diligence [all the way through] so as to realize and enjoy the full assurance of hope until the end, 12so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.
13For when God made the promise to Abraham, He swore [an oath] by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, 14saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” 15And so, having patiently waited, he realized the promise [in the miraculous birth of Isaac, as a pledge of what was to come from God]. 16Indeed men swear [an oath] by [d]one greater than themselves, and with them [in all disputes] the oath serves as confirmation [of what has been said] and is an end of the dispute. 17In the same way God, in His desire to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, intervened and guaranteed it with an oath, 18so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us. 19This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]--a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells], 20where Jesus has entered [in advance] as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of [e]Melchizedek.
Please take seriously the importance of knowing who you are according to God's Word, and don't ever opt for living like someone God says you aren't. The best you is the you God created you to be - so don't let satan dupe you into living like you're not who you truly are - free in Christ, a beloved child of God, welcome in His presence at all times, dear to His heart, the apple of His eye.
The header of this section of Hebrews 6 is entitled "Better Things For You".
As we head into Christmas and the end of 2021, start of 2022, does anybody want some better things? For yourself? For your family? For your church? Your workplace? For your health? Your ministry? In your walk with Jesus?
Well, me too!
Let's just simply assume that these verses will give us exactly that - better things for you and for me.
First off, God sees.
And He is never unjust.
He does not have the ability to forget your work for His causes or your love shown as you have ministered to people. He sees & He is never unjust. That's good to remember!
So stay diligent. Don't slack off!
The promise here is if we don't slack off, don't be a slacker, we will enjoy the full assurance of hope right up until the very last moments of our time on planet earth.
Feeling hopeless?
Can I ask if maybe you're lacking some diligence in your calling (& you have a calling, a ministry, a purpose in God's kingdom & His work to advance the Gospel of Jesus!) - in your ministry - in your love for the Lord? Is He your first love? Does your love for Him burn hot, or is it more like ashes cooling down and a fire smoldering out?
See verse 11 - this isn't Jan talking here, this is just Jan reiterating what God has said in His word.
Don't be spiritually sluggish. The opposite of sluggishness is to lean in (as in, we have to personally do the work of leaning, not just as the church as a whole, but as individuals) and trust the Lord absolutely. Have full confidence in Him and in His power. And He has power, believe me you!
This is the way to those better things that lie ahead for us!
You have an inheritance coming - live today in light of that future.
God made His promise and took an oath by His own name because there is no greater name than the Name above all names. It's a trustworthy promise because of the One who made the promise. Just as He kept His word to Abraham, He will always be about the work of keeping His promises to you, too.
To doubt God's word is to dispute it. Don't live in unbelief, in disbelief, and be a person who disputes God's word.
By two unchangeable things, says verse 18, His promise & His oath, it is impossible for God to lie.
When God, who says all things are possible with Him, states that something is impossible, we need to pay attention! It will never be a possibility for God to lie. He has never lied to you and He isn't going to start now. Why don't we believe that with everything within us?
I hope, starting today, that we will!
He has strong encouragement for us, this passage says. And indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us.
Hope is a wonderful word to describe the Christmas season. Be hopeful! Your inheritance is on it's way, my friend! Hope is the anchor of the soul - it cannot slip - it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it. It is a safe & steadfast hope, this hope that we have in Jesus. He is our living hope! And it ushers us into the Most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells. Fight to hold on to your hope - it is life-giving and we need it!
This December, may hope be your watchword & the assurance of better things for you bring you comfort & joy this Christmas.
If you'd like to be a BETA reader & leave a review of the new prayer journal on Amazon & Goodreads, please let me know (leave a comment here or send me a message!) Thanks a zillion!
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
Be sure to check out the Edifi app - a place for Christian content via one convenient app.
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, featured on the Edifi app.
Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where we aim to get the promises of God into the people of God & encourage people to know who they are in Christ - no longer living as someone God never intended them to be.
This is episode #83.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (HCSB) - The man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence indeed is the LORD, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water; it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn't fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green; it will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.
IS
As in, this present and exact moment in time.
Right here & right now.
Is.
Are you trusting the Lord, putting all of your confidence in Him, leaning the full weight of all of your hopes and dreams and expectations onto Him and Him alone?
If your answer is "Yes", then this promise is true for you in this very moment. Right now, it's your promise. Right now, it is true for you.
This verse states that you are blessed - not simply will be blessed at some point in the future, but are blessed at this very moment.
This is a crystal clear promise & it leaves no room for uncertainty or doubt.
You will be like a tree planted by streams of water - your source of living water is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your roots will go down deep and spread out toward your living water source, and you will not need to fear when heat comes along and begins to warm things up.
When the heat is on, what we believe matters most. And when the heat is on, Jeremiah 17:7-8 tells us that we will remain green. No season of drought can stop us from producing fruit.
We are blessed, because God has promised that we will be blessed.
God will always be the answer for your every concern. So, don't panic when the heat increases. God is going to take good & careful care of you in those times & you will be able to keep on living, and live well, as you stay green and bear fruit.
So when changes come - and they most certainly will! - do not give in to fear or fret or worry or hand-wringing.
Instead, give yourself over to the Lord in total trust, and expect to see green things starting to grow even in a season of drought.
You are meant to thrive, my friend; God has promised it, and He always keeps His promises!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend - see you back here for Episode #84.
Bye bye!
~ Jan
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, featured on the Edifi app.
Well hey there, hello again & welcome back to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - a podcast dedicated to getting the promises of God into the people of God.
This is episode #82.
A very Happy Thanksgiving to you all - and if you don't happen to reside in the States, I hope you have a fantastic week and that you are blessed beyond measure, filled to overflowing with the goodness of the Lord. He has so much good for you - and my prayer is that you receive blessing heaped upon blessing this very week!
Today we are taking a look at several verses and I am took them from something I wrote a few years ago - "21 Days of Prayer ~ 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life". This is a free download of 21 devotions focused on prayer, and you are welcome to sign up and grab your copy at the links in this podcast. I also want to invite you to join my email list at JanLBurt.com where I host a monthly book giveaway (recently I have been giving away two books each month). I am planning to send out the prayer guide as a Christmas gift to everyone on my email list, and since it is a really neat thing to dedicate the first 21 days of a new year to the Lord by praying and fasting from something to hear from Him about His will for us individually for the coming 12 months, I thought this 21 day prayer guide could be an easy way to set apart that time for Him to speak into our lives and set the tone for 2022.
So grab your free copy of the prayer guide & sign up on my email list - I will be tickled pink to have you there! (oh, and my new YouTube channel is coming along... I hit some kinks and they didn't allow me to launch my channel quite yet, but I am getting there, so watch for info on that very soon - it's called God's Promises for You with Jan L. Burt)
John Wesley said this: " God will do nothing but in answer to prayer."
And here is a quote from E.M. Bounds: "God shapes the world by prayer."
What do you think about those statements? Do you agree? Disagree? Kind of, sort of agree?
In Ephesians 3:20 (NIV), it says, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..."
It does not say "Now to Him who can maybe sorta do a little bit here and there..."
Nope!
To Him who is able, fully able, to do more than we can measure, above and beyond what we could ever ask, think, hope, dream or imagine.
Give Him glory and honor and praise this Thanksgiving! Great things He has done!
Psalm 95:2 - Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
Take some time to come to the Lord without a list of wants and needs, but simply with a heart of praise. The enemy cannot stand it when we praise our mighty God. And it always does us a tremendous amount of good to simply sit before Him and offer thanks and praise. He has blessed us - let us thank Him for His blessings.
Luke 17:5 - Increase our faith!
These words are kind of dangerous! Now, sure, it can seem dangerous to pray like this because we don't want to be placed in situations that pull and tug and stretch our faith. But that isn't why I think these are dangerous words. I believe that asking God to increase our faith is dangerous because our enemy knows that God will surely answer this request and there will be a subsequent and lasting impact on Satan's kingdom. And he does indeed have a kingdom of evil! When we pray this prayer, asking God to increase our faith, He will answer us in ways that demolish the kingdom of darkness. So never stop asking God to increase your faith. Pray dangerously!
John 17:5 - "My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one."
Jesus did not ask the Father to take us out of the world. He wasn't seeking that type of protection for us; but He was seeking protection for us as we continue living in this world, difficult as that may be at times. If we take Jesus at His word, then we can have total trust that God heard this prayer and is continually answering it. Rest easy knowing that you and I cannot leave this planet, will not taste death, until the Lord calls us home. Any weapon formed against us will not prosper. Trust that God is fully protecting you from the evil one and nothing gets past Him unseen. You can pray like a warrior who is fully armed and fully protected, because that is exactly what you are!
Psalm 33:18 - But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.
The eyes of God are upon you - while you sleep, as you go about your daily work, when you study His word, and of course as you pray. God keeps His eyes on you - to watch over you, to be attentive to your needs, and to show you that He sees how much you love Him. Put your hope in His unfailing love. We have great cause to celebrate our God and ample reason to revel in His love. Rest in the knowledge that you are secure because God's eyes are upon you today!
Romans 4;21 - ...being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.
What does it mean to be fully persuaded? If you are married, do you remember signing your marriage license? If you are a parent, do you remember giving birth to your child? Or finalizing the adoption process? Then you know what it is to be fully persuaded on a matter. No one can convince you that you aren't legally married or that your child is not really yours. That would be laughable, even offensive, for someone to imply! Now, let me ask you this: do you pray as if you are fully persuaded that God has the power to do everything He has promised, exactly as He has promised? If not, why not?
Just as you know that your child is your own because you clearly remember labor and delivery, you ought to know that God has all power and He does indeed always keep His promises. Pray accordingly today, my friend!
Promises Made = Promises Kept
Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
I hope it has encouraged and blessed you today!
Happy Thanksgiving & don't forget to grab these freebies & sign up for my email list & my monthly giveaways (plus some Bible verses & encouragement in your inbox now and then!)
~ Jan
21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions to Impact Your Life
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
You know, prayer is
Well hey there everybody - hello again. Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I am really excited to be here with you all today. I have this optimism that is rooted God’s Word, His promises to us, and it is a growing optimism in spite of what seems like dark days in our world. God is good. And He has not abdicated His throne or lost even the tiniest iota of His power, His prominence, His total preeminence in all things. That has me pretty excited today.
So, let’s get started discussing some of the things our good, good God has promised to us.
This is episode 81. And it is sponsored by the soon-to-launch YouTube channel “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.
The book of Hebrews is a game changer for anyone who reads it and applies it, appropriates it, just simply believes what is written there.
We are looking at Hebrews 10 verses 19 & 20 ( NLT) today.
Let me read the verse to you first from the NLT.
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[b] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
When was the last time you pondered the incredible direct access that you have to God?
I mean, really thought about that fact. It’s the absolute truth for all Christians, and it is something that the Hebrews from the Old Testament, the descendants of Abraham, would have staggered to believe. It is incredible what we have been gifted with.
So, when was the last time you really thought about it?
Today, that’s what we are going to do.
Dear brothers and sisters.
I love that! We are dear to the Lord and we ought to be dear to one another, too.
When someone uses the word dear to address another someone, it is indicative of devotion, genuine love, and heartfelt concern for the other person (so often our conversations are only focusing on our concern for me myself and I, right?)
And so, dear brothers and sister (talking to you today, my friend!) we can boldly (boldly! With boldness!) enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
Do we think enough, say enough, pray enough for the fullness of every blessing God has given to us through the blood of Jesus to be made 100% true in our lives? If we would pray more while standing firmly on the power of the blood of Jesus, what mountains would move?
The appeal here is that we would know that we are in the Beloved, we are dear to our Father, we are close to His heart because He loves us so much! And that we would boldly enter the Most Holy Place (think of the OT Holy of Holies, where the High Priest entered just one time a year - that’s where we are told to boldly enter - with no restrictions or limits on how often we can enter). And we can enter because of the blood of Jesus. The hymn that says there is power in the blood - it is spot on correct.
Okay let me read that first sentence to you once more - I challenge you to really think on this as I read - what does this mean for you today?
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
You can enter, my friend. But the word “can” reveals it’s up to you. I can’t make you. God won’t make you. If you can do something, you also can not do that thing.
Will you?
Today will you boldly enter the Most Holy Place, where the powerful blood of Jesus gains you entrance?
The second verse says this -
By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
Opened.
Jesus opened the way for you. The way to something new, as in before the death and resurrection of Jesus, this was not possible! The way to something life-giving.
Most people like being part of something new, trying something new, especially if the new thing is a good thing. This is not just a good thing - it is the ultimate good thing, it is the Good News, and so we should get excited about it!
But when the new thing we can experience is also life-giving, well then that ups the ante, doesn’t it?
How many things do you know of that are actually, really life-giving? I mean, like they come with an iron-clad guarantee that they will meet the promise of being life-giving?
Not hoped for, not wished for - this is a promise, this is a covenant our God has made with His children.
Look, if you are not entering the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus and praying right there in God’s throne room, before His throne of grace, and experiencing all that He wants to give you (I mean, His word says it is life-giving, so if it’s anything less than that you are walking away from your prayer time with, then can I remind you that God has much, much more for you? So much more! If God Almighty says something is life-giving, then by golly that is what He intends for it to be and if that is not what you are experiencing, then the devil is ripping you off in your prayer time, or you have not fully taken advantage of this amazing promise perhaps, or you may not be entering boldly…)
Get your boldness on when you go into your prayer closet, into your war room, sit down with that prayer journal, pray in your small group, with your spouse, on your drive to work in the morning. Get your boldness on! Be bold!
God says it, or I would never, ever dream of spurring you on to get bold when you enter His presence to pray.
What needs do you have? And are you boldly entering the Most Holy Place of your Father and expressing those needs to Him with confidence and trust that He will hear you and answer you?
Take your every need to your good Father and be bold about it. You walk in there, my friend, and you pray your prayers with love and adoration and trust that will only be bigger and bigger, increase more and more, because you stand praying with boldness.
My acting boldly does not limit or shrink my grasp of God’s holiness, of His power, of His sovereignty and His perfection in all that He does. No! The opposite happens when I boldly enter His throne room, the Most Holy Place. When I enter under the blood of Jesus into the Most Holy Place, I better grasp His holiness. If I am in the Most Holy Place, I will of course better understand how holy my God actually is! And I will pray bigger, bolder prayers because a holy God can’t do otherwise than answer prayers in His justice, in His mercy, in His power and His righteousness. I see more clearly how holy our God is and I expect Him to move and act out of His holiness. So, I pray better. I pray more holy, more God-honoring prayers. I will leave the Most Holy Place with a more tender heart, I’ll love people better, I will trust God more with circumstances and situations and thus strive less in my own strength. I will be different, because I have been in the life-giving place.
Aren't these two verses from Hebrews just fantastic?
And just think, this is all for you.
Can I encourage you today to spend some time praying boldly and see if it doesn’t bless you abundantly?
Thank you so much for being here today - I am so thankful for every download, every listener.
I have a couple of things to mention here - first, I am participating in a Christmas blessing giveaway (a group of us are joining forces for a cash giveaway this December so be on the lookout for more details and also, would you pray we can reach a total of $1000 to give away? Please pray for that amount, or even more, if you would!)
Also, I will be guest hosting on another podcast in December and I am really excited about it. What a blessing it will be! And I will share a Christmas devotional on that website - so keep your ears peeled for info about that coming up really soon.
Last thing - I mentioned my upcoming YouTube channel earlier. One of the topics that gets a lot of searches on YouTube (because it basically is a search engine, right?) is God’s promises. Isn’t that awesome that people are searching to learn more of what God has promises in the Bible?
And I am going to share on that topic on my channel. I hope to have it launched sometime before November 15th (pray that happens - it’s a lot of work to finish up but I believe the Lord is leading me this way so here I go!) I will still have this podcast, nothing will be changing with The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Just adding another outlet, but it won’t be a copy and paste of these episodes. I plan to start with ten minute videos about God’s promises. And if I can get to 1000 subscribers, I am gonna add a community tab to my channel and that is a way to have a better connection with people on YouTube. So just dropping this here for ya - when the channel goes live, I sure do hope you will consider becoming a subscriber.
Okay, that’s it for my announcements and I want to remind you to boldly enter today, and to remember the power of the blood of Jesus that was shed for you. Pray big! And let God bless you with all the life-giving blessings He wants to. It’s a lot - so make some room, get some space available to be blessed.
Thanks for joining me today & I will be back here next time for episode 82.
Bye-bye!
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
This is episode number 80.
Today we are looking at the promises we find in the NT book of 1 Thessalonians, which is a letter the Apostle Paul penned to the church at Thessalonica.
Chapter 5 of the book, verse 24.
Today’s podcast episode is sponsored by The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises - it is on sale now at Amazon at a temporary low price, the lowest of the year, $7.75 (normally 9.75)
In the Amplified, it says this:
Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you (to Himself for your salvation), and He will do it (He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own).
The word of God is tremendous. The word of God is powerful. This is life change in a handful of words. This is the real thing. Nothing compares with God’s Word. Nothing.
Who is this Lord making us all these many promises? He is faithful and He is absolutely trustworthy, that is who He is. Your promise maker is faithful and cannot be unfaithful. Your promise maker is absolutely trustworthy and will never do one single thing that deems Him untrustworthy. The promise maker is also the promise keeper, and it is He who has called you to HImself.
This verse says that He is the one who will do what He intended to do.
Now, that takes a whole lot of pressure off, doesn’t it?
That does not mean that I can pull off a weekly podcast episode or a live video in my prayer group or work on a prayer journal for parents without me doing anything. But the pressure is off. And frankly, I need to be reminded of that fact. Hey Jan - if one person downloads or a thousand today, the pressure is off you because it was never placed on you by the Lord. If one person watches the video or every member of the group does, the pressure is off of you because God never put that burden on you.
My work is to be obedient and to trust Him to do what it is that He wants done.
But that obedience does not usually mean sitting on my hands, resting on my laurels, doing a whole lot of nothing. God cannot bless what I will not do.
If He has called you to a season of rest, say in some certain area, then you need to honor Him and show your love for Him by obeying that call to rest.
However - and this is a big, big however in light of today’s verse and the promises we see therein - however, not doing the work He has called you to be doing and calling that “resting” is not really a safe bet. Love the Lord your God with all your heart & all your soul & all your mind & all your strength. All - Your - Strength. That is absolutely God’s will for you, for all who are His disciples. And that does not sound like doing nothing. It sounds like someone who will do what God wants them to do, and do it as well as they can, with a fully devoted heart, and who will also leave the results to God.
He is no less the Great I AM on this day than He was on the day He said those words to Moses in the desert thousands of years ago.
God cannot bless what you will not do.
So, be about the doing He has told you to be doing. But don’t internalize the end result of that doing. Don’t let that become your identity.
What you do is not who you are and it never, ever will be.
But what you do is an indicator of Whose you are, and that is as it should be.
He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own.
That word will tells us that this is a promise. And it assures us that we are not under the gun to make God’s promises happen.
But what is He promising to do here, exactly?
To make you, to make me, holy.
To guard us.
To watch over us.
To protect us as His own.
Guard us? Yes, please!
Watch over us? Oh, yes, more of that please Lord!
Make us holy? That process is sometimes filled with growing pains. But it is His will, and so it is what He is going to do. Since He has promised to make us holy, then we know He will keep that promise.
And protect us as His own.
Don’t miss this - as His own.
You were bought with a price, my friend, and that price was the precious blood of God’s only Son. The value is inestimable. And so, that makes you highly valued because you are highly valuable. He will today and tomorrow and next week and in 2022 protect you as His own. Because You are His - ownership rights belong to the Lord Most High. Don’t try to wrestle them back from Him. You got a good deal when you gave your life to Jesus. Let it stay right there, remind yourself that this was a very, very wise trade you made, this running your own life and facing the consequences now and eternally for your sins being traded for the life Jesus died to give you. Live THAT life - and live it right now. He has promised to protect you as His own, so let that happen and don’t fight against being owned by the Lord. It’s a good thing. Embrace it and receive all the blessing that comes with it.
Have a blessed day and know that I have prayed for you - for everyone who listens to this episode. I know God hears and answers prayers - expect to see Him move in your life, even this very day.
And remember, today’s episode is sponsored by The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises - it is on sale now at Amazon at a lower price than normal for a short time.
See you back here next time for episode 81.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Well hey there hello again everyone.
Welcome back! I am so glad you’re joining me today here on The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. This is episode 79.
I am going to read a passage from the NT book of Matthew today, more than just one verse on this episode. And let’s look at these verses in the NLT.
Listen as I read aloud -
Matthew 25:14-30 (New Living Translation) -
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last - dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ The servant who received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more,’ The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in a bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate the people as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home, I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these My brothers and sisters, You were doing it to Me!’
Does anything stand out to you, or even jump out at you, from this passage? I am going to encourage you to read it for yourself, or re-read it in the show notes. Highlight, underline or take notes on any portion(s) of this passage that stand out to you. Be an active reader. Read this while thinking about your own life. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about this passage.
Then, read it one more time.
So, yeah, for a podcast I just asked you to read, and that is not just listening, not the norm for a podcast. Now you don’t have to read this, hearing God’s Word is tremendously powerful and has real benefits to us in our every day lives, so long as we do something with what we are hearing, right? Not just nod our heads and give an amen here and there, but live out what the Word of God is teaching. And honestly, it often is revealing things in us that the Holy Spirit is wanting to work on, to heal, to dismantle lies and strongholds, to restore and bless and move us along on this walk with Him. So be an active reader when you open God’s Word - and also, be an active listener when you hear God’s Word.
But do, for 100% certain, be sure to ask the Lord to speak to you about what His Word says.
Sit quietly before the Lord, maybe with pen and paper in hand, and write what He speaks to your heart about this passage. Ask Him to show you where you are rightly using what He has given you for His glory and His purposes. And, on the more difficult side of the coin, ask Him to show you where you are not.
If you will take the time to do this - to agree with the Lord that He meant it when He said He will ask for an account of the assets He has given to each one of us - He will most certainly reveal something (or several things) to you. Let Him do that! And then honor Him by doing His will with what He has given.
He has something for you in His Word today, that I can promise you.
Before we finish this week’s podcast episode, I’d like to share with you a bit about Operation Christmas Child - which is my choice this week as a focus ministry for episode 79 - Operation Christmas Child has been reaching millions of children each year with the good news of Jesus Christ, through shoebox gifts. Even in the hardest to reach places of the world, churches
are being planted and communities are transformed.
You can pack a shoebox this year and reach a child with the good news of Jesus! National Collection Week is November 15
To learn more visit
Samaritans purse. org/occ
Let’s look again at this passage, this literal timestamp, a series of events that actually really and truly happened, from the life of the Lord Jesus.
First off, a beautiful reminder that our God is not ever, ever far off. He is not at all similar to man-made, little g gods who are aloof and distant and above mere mortals and all of that. Our God, who is the One True God, is not distant. He is not aloof. And these verses show us how up close and personal Jesus was to people. What makes us think He is less up close and personal with us, right now, today? The Spirit of the Living God indwells all who are in Christ, so how could He be aloof or far off or distant or detached? How do you detach from someone and also indwell them simultaneously? Well, you don’t because you can’t, right?
And I have to just focus on that word WILL - it’s kind of a thing for me on this podcast, and really it predates me ever having a podcast. I have done this for a long, long time, when I see the word WILL in a promise in the Bible, or like this passage where Jesus very clearly states what WILL happen on the day we stand before His throne.
He will separate the sheep from the goats. That is going to happen. And there will probably be some goats we did not realize were goats, if I am being totally honest. I mean, the last few years I have seen a falling away that I never dreamed of. If it is in the Word of God, and here in the NT penned in words of red, well then I surely am not going to argue with whether or not it will actually happen like it says. It will be just as He has said that it will be. Period.
The final judgment will take place, my friends. And based on the parable of the servants that Jesus told just before He began to speak about the final judgment, we are going to have a close examination of what we did with every single thing He entrusted to us. You and I, like it or not, have been entrusted with things - so many varying things. Big things, tiny things - and we are expected, says the King of kings, the One who was and is and is to come, to use them well and be prepared to show Him what we did to grow, to increase, to use wisely what He gave us for His cause. His Kingdom. That’s our truth, whether we live like it is or not. No getting around it, either. Now we can’t go back and change what we did or did not do in the past, even one minute ago, but we can right now get our heads on straight and be about using the talents, giftings, abilities, resources, time and money and platform and all of it for the right purposes. His purposes.
He will sit upon His glorious throne and all the nations will be gathered in His presence.
That is two uses of the word WILL that should be like cold water thrown in our face - wake up! Get with the program! (and it isn’t your program, nor mine - get with God’s program!)
Can I just encourage you, but with some firmness in my tone of voice, like a strong-ish encouragement, to evaluate what you have available to use for the Kingdom of God and to get busy using it to that end?
I do not care if you are five years old and what you have is a heart to pray for your sick uncle to come to know Jesus and to get better. Pray. Jesus sees it and He will reward it. If you are 99 years old and can hardly get out and about, but you like to talk to text your grandkids prayers and Bible verses. Do it, and expect Jesus to bless it.
Start where you are today and do, do, do something for the Kingdom, for the Master, today. And then keep on doing. No, we are not saved by works, it is solely by grace and the price Jesus paid at the Cross. But James tells us faith without works is dead and if you have even a bit of rigor mortis creeping into your spiritual life, well let’s nix that nonsense and get ourselves all sorts of alive in the Lord Jesus.
I’m not really kidding around, either, my friend. Get after living this life for the Lord before the afterlife gets after you.
Okay, that is all for today but I do want to thank remind you that next week my November giveaway on my website will get started - if you want to be eligible to win a couple of books, shipped to your mailbox, be sure to sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com and also my devotional is on sale right now on Amazon (and so is my Bible study for homeschool mothers - I am working on a new cover and dropped the price and have seen some interest, some sales picking up, so maybe check that out). Just search for Jan L. Burt on Amazon (spell it out). And so this episode is focusing on OCC & is sponsored by The Homeschooling Mothers Bible Study.
Thanks for being here and have a truly blessed day investing into the Kingdom of God.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
This is episode 78. And today’s episode is sponsored by “The Next 7 Days - A Weekly Prayer Journal” available at JanLBurt.com - that’s Jan L Burt dot com
I’d like to look at a few verses from the OT, a small book entitled Haggai and also one verse from the NT.
Ephesians 3:20 - I’d like to read it from the AMP first and then maybe from another translation as well.
Eph 3:20 (AMP) - Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,
J.B. Phillips says it this way - Now to him who by his power within us is able to do far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine—to him be glory in the Church through Jesus Christ for ever and ever, amen!
(Verses 20 and 21 of Ephesians chapter 3 from the Phillips translation)
Isn’t it freeing to know it is His power within us that gets done what He wants gotten done? And how profound that what He often wants to get done is described as far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine. I can ask a lot. I can imagine a lot. But that word dare, in the Phillips… what do I DARE to ask for? What do I dare to imagine? What’s the biggest of the big stuff I can desire from the hand of the Lord?
Like, so big it takes some daring to even ask for it! To even imagine it!
That is not what He wants to do. Nope. Those are the small potatoes. He is able, and we know from our NT look into the life of Jesus here on the earth, that willing isn’t an issue with the Lord (Didn’t He say If I can? If I am willing?) Oh He is often far more willing than we are! He is able and He is willing to do far more than those daring imaginings and daring asks!
He is so well able to carry out His purpose. You never have to really worry whether or not He has a purpose for your life. Or if His purpose will happen. Look, if you want to hear from the Lord, if you have a heart to do His will, if you have a genuine desire to know what it is He wants you to be doing in this life, then He will make sure you know His will. In big things, in little things. Start where you are and be faithful to Him. Love your family well - like, ask God how you can love them well today. Then do it again tomorrow. Don’t be a time waster in your work. Work well, work wisely. These are the things that honor the Lord. Start there and expect Him to lead you and guide you and speak to you about His purpose for you and His purpose for the world right now. He is able to carry out His purpose. And He is also able to make sure that you know what He wants you to be doing. He created you and He knows how best to communicate with you and let you know what He would like for you to know on any given day of your life.
Okay - now, that little piece of wording there from the AMP that says “superabundantly”.
Whoa. Now that is a word!
Super Abundantly.
More than enough.
Excessive abundance.
Redundancy.
Plethora. Surplus. Overmuchness.
A very large amount of something, more than is usual or needed.
Did you know this is how God wants to work in our lives?
We cannot fully grasp it, it is too much muchness to actually wrap our little finite minds around. But it’s true! And my challenge to you today, and to me also, is to fully and totally believe, like just make the decision to believe, to flat absolutely believe this is true for you. Overmuchness. I love that word. May be one of my new favorite words. Overmuchness. Lord, thank You for the overmuchness You are going to pour out into our lives in every area as You see fit. We are grateful for it, we will be healthier because of it, and we will see Your hand at work in us and then through us to bless others in all sorts of ways.
What a promise!
Okay, let’s take a look at the OT verses I mentioned earlier, from the book of Haggai. Not a long book, just two chapters, right toward the end of the OT.
Chapter two, verses 4 through 7.
From the AMP -
4 But now be courageous, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘be courageous also, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and be courageous, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘As for the promise which I made with you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit stands [firm and immovable] and continues with you; do not fear!’ 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the desirable and precious things of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory and splendor,’ says the Lord of hosts.
Be courageous and do the work, for I am with you.
Is there any part of your life that those words fit right now? Like, we want to be wearing what fits us in each season of life, ya know? So if you have some work you know God has for you to be doing - could be simple, like a text message you need to send to encourage someone or tell someone something about the Lord - or it could be more than that. Invite someone to church with you or to your Bible study. Gift someone a Bible. Pray out loud on an Instagram live. If you have something you know He wants you to do, can you step up to the plate and be courageous and do it, knowing He is with you. Do the work, for the Lord is with you.
What’s scary when He is with us? Well, actually things settle down and get way way less intimidating when we know that we know that we know God is with us. His Spirit stands, firm and immovable, and continues with you.
That is awesome. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in you if you know Christ as Savior, He is standing firm and immovable. You ain’t gonna move Him and nothing and nobody else is, either. It won’t happen because it cannot happen.
He continues with you. It’s a covenant. He won’t leave you, He won’t forsake you. He continues with you. So good!!
And when the shaking starts (it seems as if it has started, you know? This shaking… it is happening and has been happening since I feel 2020 and I don’t think we are quite done just yet with this shaking). So when we are seeing that shaking happening, and it’s hard to deny this is a season of God shaking the nations of the world, and then He says He will (oooh He says He will, and what does it mean when God Almighty says He will do something? Will means WILL!) He will fill His house with glory and splendor.
That’s so good. We want to see God glorified all the time. And we should want to see His splendor. If we love Him, we really should get excited about things like this.
Okay, I will post these verses in the show notes. And also, real quick, I want to let you know my book The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises devotional is going to be at a lower price for a couple of weeks on Amazon. So maybe if you’d like to get a new devotional or as an early Christmas gift idea, you can check that out.
Have a fabulous rest of your day and know that God is desiring and planning and wanting to do the superabundant in your life. Ask Him for big big things and then just know His idea of big is way bigger than your biggest big could ever possibly be.
I’m believing God for that overmuchness to be a huge part of your life in the very near future.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
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Well hey there everyone - hello hello. Welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God, one podcast episode at a time. This is episode number 77. And I am so glad you are here!
Today we are taking a look at a few verses from the NT.
Philippians 1:9-11 from the Amplified.
Let me read them to you:
And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight,so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin]; filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized].
Okay, wow so that is a lot, right? I mean, reading it was kind of like drinking from a fire hose. There is a whole lot here. How do we even begin to live this?
Well the answer, and you already know it, is we don’t do it on our own. It is literally impossible to do life as a disciple of Jesus on our own. We must have, rely on daily kind of must have, the Holy Spirit leading us, correcting us, teaching us, giving us wisdom, providing all the fruits of the Spirit, doing His good work in us and then through us.
We will find Phil 1:9-11 becoming our reality by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Right there, right from the get-go, we have this instruction about how to become people whose love abounds more and more, love that keeps displaying itself in greater and greater depth - in real knowledge (like, is it practical as these verses say? What good is knowledge that just puffs us up? No good, as far as the Kingdom of God goes - and time is too short to dabble around in puffy uppy knowledge. NO, thank you!)
Let’s just go through these verses one little step at a time and find the promises God has here for us. He is always speaking to us via His Word and that is not going to stop - so we need to get into our Bibles with a mindset that the Lord speaks through His Word. I believe we can expect that to happen.
First, make a plan to pray. And I mean, plan for prayer time. Don’t just hope you can grab a bit of time here and there to pray. Yes, pray here and there and talk to the Lord all throughout the day - do that, but don’t not do the other! And the other would be to have time to really just be with the Lord and pray. The kinds of things the apostle Paul was talking about here don’t happen with flippant, just got a couple of seconds praying, right?
What did he teach us to pray for?
That our love may abound more and more. This is for all Christ followers, for the big C church every one of us. That our love will display itself in greater depth. OOH, that’s good. And the reason it’s good, is because it’s gonna leave a mark. Like when one of your siblings pops you real good and another sibling laughs and says that is gonna leave a mark! Yeah, love that displays itself in greater depth will leave a mark. Will it sometimes be hard? Uncomfortable to love that? Sure. How did Jesus love us? He didn’t stay in the comfortable lane, and so part of our sanctification, our becoming more and more like our Lord, will be uncomfortable.
Paul prayed for real knowledge and practical insight - this is for the real world, the walking around world, the nitty gritty world we live in every single day folks.
Real knowledge will help you in your job - in your relationships - in your decision making - in your parenting - to know when to put down the phone and take a break from social media and when not to reply to somebody with that snarky comment. Practical insight.
Next Paul says, so that you will learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent. What is excellent? Um, well, whatever God would qualify as excellent, that’s also what we want to call excellent. Learn to recognize the goodness, the excellence, of God at work in this world, in your life. Learn. Look for it. Ask Him to make it clear to you. Expect Him to be doing stuff - because I promise you He surely is! And then, treasure those excellent things. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father, says the book of James. Every. No wiggle room there. Something good? Perfect? It’s from the Father. Period.
The AMP clarifies a bit about excellence - it says identifying the best and distinguishing moral differences. Yes! When we can identify the best, wow, just think of what that does in our lives? Time isn’t wasted so often because we can identify the best versus what’s pretty good. And distinguishing moral differences - hey, there has possibly never been a time when we have needed this ability more than now! Things like everywhere are moral issues now - everybody has a moral stance on an issue of the day. And hey, surprise, not all their moral stances align with the Word of God. We need to know what God wants us to know in these days.
And that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.
I don’t want anything getting in the way of my focus on having oil in my lamp, being fully ready when Jesus returns. And every day, every moment, literally brings us closer to His return. So, when I meet Him face to face, I want to be pure and blameless. But to be pure and blameless on that day, I need the Holy Spirit to help me be pure and blameless on this day and every day until that day. So yeah, praying these verses has an impact on my right now and on my last day. Thank the Lord He has given us His word and that we can learn from it, grow in it, believe it, pray that He will bring it to fruition in our lives. I am just so grateful for that! And I hope you are, too. God’s Word is always, always bringing us hope.
But we must yield to the Holy Spirit! When He is leading, don’t resist Him. Don’t fight. Where He leads me, there I will follow. I’ll go with, with Him all the way. He wants our lives to lead others away from sin.
Sin has collateral damage. It just does. Jesus wants that collateral damage to be the absolute minimal it can be. He wants people out of sin. And He wants us to live lives that lead others out of sin - away from it. Far, far away from sin.
Filled with the fruit of righteousness - think of the fruit of the Spirit. Having lives marked by evidence of the Holy Spirit, so that people can actually see the difference Jesus makes in our lives. And in their lives! If I am living for the Lord, it ought to make an impact on somebody else, too!
To the glory and praise of God - so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized.
Now if you start praying this over your spouse - your kids - your co-workers - your local church and your small group Bible study - over what you post on social media - your free time - your neighbors. Ummm, can you even start to imagine what could happen?
A lot. A lot, that’s what.
Also, if you would like to sign up for my email list at my website, I am going to start sending out more regular emails. Nothing overwhelming, our inboxes are so full already, but things like a Bible verse and a prayer and maybe the verse for the next podcast episode. I have seen my sign ups increasing the last few weeks and I think I should be better about encouraging listeners and readers with God’s promises.
Pray big prayers based on the Word of God this week and expect to see God move in answer to your praying!
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
This is episode 76 of The Burt Not Ernie Show podcast - and I am so excited because it is the week of September 30th - and that is International Podcast Day. And this little podcast is featured on Podchaser as one of the Top Christian Podcasts to listen to for International Podcast Day. How cool is that?
Today for this episode we are going to read some verses with promises that we can pray for ourselves and of course for pretty much everyone who may be on our prayer lists. Sometimes we aren’t exactly sure what to pray, how to pray, in a certain situation or for a certain person. And it’s really kind of handy, or actually it’s pretty important, to have some verses from the Bible sort of at the ready to pray for those people and situations. So that’s the focus of these verses today.
And hey, in case nobody let you know this as of late, God truly loves you. And He truly likes you. When you spend time with Him, He actually enjoys it. You’re pretty awesome. And I can say that because it’s true - and it’s true because God proves it to be true. Enjoy your life today. God loves you and He wants you to enjoy it - not down the road, but right here and now. Enjoy your life. You’re allowed to do that, ya know!
Let’s anchor our hope in the Lord to our praying by really believing His promises are true.
Romans 4:21b - … being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. (That’s the second half of the verse, and I believe that is from the NLT - it’s a good thing to ask ourselves if we are fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He has promised when we enter our prayer times. Do we believe it? If so, fantastic! Pray like you believe that this is true every time you come to the Lord in prayer.)
2 Kings 19:16a - Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see. (Ask Him to hear you as you stand praying. Ask Him to see you, to see your circumstances and to do a great work that glorifies Him in the midst of those circumstances.)
John 17:15 - “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one.” (Jesus did not ask the Father to take you out of this world. Sometimes we want out of it! It kinda sucks down here on earth sometimes, right? But we cannot be wanting or praying for something in direct contrast to what Jesus’ revealed will is. And this verse says His will is for us not to be taken out of this world. But to be protected from the evil one. Pray as if you trust your Father to protect you from the evil one as you do His will in this world. And pray the same thing over your families and friends and workplaces and finances and health and churches and believers all around the world. Pray like this is your promise and you will find yourself far less afraid of the dirty old devil!)
Psalm 18:28b - The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. (Do you have any areas of your life where maybe you don’t feel like you can see clearly? Any dark spots? Like those annoying floaters in our vision, ya know, but in our life? Ask your good and faithful and loving and so trustworthy God to enlighten those places. And He really will!) This verse has the word WILL in it - okay, gotta reiterate this like pretty much whenever I can. Will means will and All means all and my God don’t play. He will do every single bit of what He has said that He will do.
Romans 8:31 NLT - If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (I am hopeful that on my rough days I will always remember this verse, this promise. Who is for us? Who is for me - for me?? God, that’s who. God is for you.
So who can ever be against us? This puts things into their proper perspective, my friend. It’s all small potatoes compared to our God. Anything coming up against you is also coming against Him and there is nothing that can stand against your God. Keep your eyes on the prize always and the prize is Jesus. Keep Him as your focus and all else shrinks down to size. He is for you. Please don’t ever forget that!)
And just one more verse I want to share with you today - it is from the book of Isaish. Chapter 40, verse 10 and it is from the NIV - It says: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
That is a whopper of a promise. Combine this promise, actually a few promises here in this verse, with your praying and you are not going to end your prayer time the same as when you started. Try it and see!
Lord, thank You that no matter what, You have given me instruction not to fear, and so I will not fear. I choose faith, I shut down fear, I trust in You fully & absolutely. I will not fear because You, my God, are with me. Always with me. You will never leave me nor forsake me. So of course I do not need to fear - I am never alone, the God of heaven’s armies is with me always. Thank You for this promise and for an answer to the fears that try to press in upon me. You have told me not to be dismayed, and so I will do as You have told me and will not be dismayed. Why? Because You are my God and in You is all wisdom and understanding. There is no need for dismay, thanks to You, Lord. You promise to strengthen me and to help me and to uphold me with Your righteous right hand. If I am strong in the strength that You give, is there anything that can be stronger? No! If I am helped by You, can anything ever be bigger than that help? No! Since I am upheld by Your righteous right hand, is it possible for me to be under my enemy while being upheld by You? No!
I hope you are inspired today to pray God’s Word, the promises He has made to You, over every prayer request you have. I’m telling you what, things change when we pray or the devil wouldn’t work so hard to keep us from prayer. Satan does not want you praying God’s Word. So, get to praying it and smash your enemy under your feet.
Thanks for being here for this episode. And thanks to all who have left reviews of my devotional book on Amazon - The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises has all five star reviews and I sure am humbled that it has been an encouragement to people.
Have a wonderful week and be sure to check out the Top Christian Podcasts to Listen to on International Podcast Day on Podchaser - here is the link: https://www.podchaser.com/lists/top-christian-podcasts-to-listen-to-on-international-podcast-107aIUuQ5o?fbclid=IwAR2F8UfTY1PQIiFkDm9ValDU4DFnRLhTtIN96jDb4agNyiY2haV6oderFPc
Also, if you would like to sign up for my email list at my website, I am going to start sending out more regular emails. Nothing overwhelming, our inboxes are so full already, but things like a Bible verse and a prayer and maybe the verse for the next podcast episode. I have seen my sign ups increasing the last few weeks and I think I should be better about encouraging listeners and readers with God’s promises.
Pray big prayers based on the Word of God this week and expect to see God move in answer to your praying!
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Well hey there, hello hello! Welcome back to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - this is episode 75.
I would like to jump right in today, and read a verse from the NT. As I read, would you think to yourself, “What exactly is the Lord promising to me in this verse?”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (AMP) But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.
And let’s also look at it in the NLT - But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
The verse starts with the word “But”, so let’s just take a look at what verses 1 and 2 said so that we have an idea, a framework, for verse 3. It feels a little disjointed otherwise.
(NLT) - Finally, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.
So when the message came to them, these people at Thessolonica, they were changed (because God’s Word is life changing so we should be more surprised when people’s lives aren’t changed than when they are.) They wanted to share about the life-changing message, about Jesus, and so the message spread rapidly. And you know, when we let God’s Word, when we let the Good News about Jesus change our lives, we honor the message of Jesus.
So Paul’s prayer request was that the message would spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes (still a really great thing to pray for!) And that they would pray he and his cohorts would be rescued specifically from wicked and evil people. And he ends verse 2 with such a simple and profound statement - for not everyone is a believer. Please don’t forget that truth. Not everyone is a believer. And there are wicked and evil people in the world who will push back and fight against and even attack those who want to share the Good News about Jesus.
That’s what comes before the word but we find in verse 3 - But the Lord is faithful, He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
I feel it’s safe to say that this isn’t just a good word, a good thing to keep in mind, for that particular church body thousands of years ago. It’s for us today, too. Yup - reality is there are wicked and evil people. Yup - not everyone is a believer. But the Lord your God, He is faithful. Count on that! It’s so true for us today & for many of us, we need to remember He is faithful! He will never cease to be faithful! And He will strengthen you (there is that powerful word will - what God says He will do, that is what He does!) And He will guard you from the evil one.
This is really quite a promise!
The AMP says He will strengthen you, setting you on a firm foundation.
That’s really key.
We all have our lives standing on, resting upon, some kind of foundation. So if we gotta have a foundation, it probably may as well be the best possible foundation, am I right?
The evil one God is guarding you from, according to this promise, is the one who as I mentioned appears as an angel of light - deceives the nations - is the prince of the power of the air, so he be controlling some stuff, almost all the stuff, that’s like in the airwaves...music, tv, on the Google, and so on. Am I stepping on any toes today? Uuf. The enemy will take some truth and twist it to deceive people - he is the father of lies. And he knows what the Bible says - he knows it very very well.
That is who God will guard you from.
This is a really important promise!
I think the key for us is to A) know what the Bible says so that we can know that we know that we know what God’s promises to us are and to B) apply those promises, those iron clad things God has for us, to our lives.
This is my verse. This is also your verse. How will you and I actually live our lives as if it is ours?
So I have three more verses I wanted to talk about today … and I am going to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and stop here because if I add more verses to this, what I just shared may end up lost in a pile of words, ya know? And I think God wants you to hear it today and just know it is true for you.
God will guard you from the evil one, from your enemy. He will, and even right now, He is guarding you.
Can you spend a few moments thinking about this verse? Praying about the exact things in your own personal life that feel like an enemy assault? If you know it’s the enemy messing with you, can you take this verse and apply it to the situation?
Let me read both versions once more, and then I would like to pray for you and encourage you to spend some time, even five minutes, praying about your life and the stuff of life that is coming at you fast and furious.
Okay - first the NLT - But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
And now from the AMP - But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.
Father, today I come before you, before Your throne of grace, boldly to ask that You do a work in the lives of every single person who listens to this episode. Make Your words from 2 Thessalonians 3:3 true for them, and do not delay. Move, Lord. Act, Lord. Hear us as we cry out to You and answer us. Protect us, guard us, from the evil one and also from those who oppose Your message and who are not believers. Let Your Word spread rapidly, even via this podcast, and may it be honored everywhere. Do in each listeners life exactly as You have promised to do. Protect them and guard them, set them on a firm foundation, strengthen them today and then do it again tomorrow - and show Yourself faithful in our world today. I ask this in Jesus name - Amen.
Thank you for letting me pray for you today. Please spend a few minutes with the Lord and let His promise renew your courage and strengthen your heart today.
I will see you back here next week for episode #76.
And also, this week in the online prayer group Praying Through the Storm with Jan L. Burt on Facebook, we are reading Psalm 91, verse 1 and praying that verse over our lives. The link is in the show notes if you want to join us and invite friends as we pray all the way through the 16 verses of Psalm 91 - one verse each week. It’s a fitting psalm for our times so please, join us there. Use the link or just search for the group name Praying Through the Storm.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Today I am going to talk a bit about the promises God has made to us, given to us, is continually day after day after day holding out to us, in Psalm 91.
One of my friends, Sara, has this psalm as her life verses. Boy oh boy, she prays them over her family and she is a living testimony of how powerful this psalm is.
I cannot think of a more timely passage of the Bible to grab hold of and to absolutely believe than Psalm 91. At this moment in time, this point in history, this psalm is ideal. And this psalm is so needed.
When I say that I want you to believe it, I mean to lean on it - depend on it - rely on it. If I say I believe you, and I say I trust you but I am unwilling or doubtful about proving my trust & my belief… then do I actually trust you? Well… not truly, no. Unreliable trust is no trust at all. It is, in effect, worthless.
God’s word is not like that. But if we don’t rely on it, through thick and thin, if we fail to believe it, then we forfeit it’s surety. And why on earth would a follower of Jesus ever, ever want to do that?
Don’t forfeit anything that He died to procure for you.
When God makes a promise in His book, the Bible, just believe it and then live as if you believe it. The old saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating - in the tasting” . The proof of the quality of the food is not in it’s appearance, but is discovered in the actual eating of the food, right? The proof is IN the pudding, not in looking at the pudding.
So, let the proof of God’s promises be in the living out your belief of those promises. The proof is in the pudding. Stand on God’s word. Or don’t stand on it, and live your life on shaky ground.
As I read this psalm to you today, think about whether or not you really do put your trust in the God who makes the promises found in Psalm 91. Lean the full weight - all the varied aspects of the entirety of your life - directly upon the Lord, who is completely unable to not keep His promises.
Psalm 91 from the Amplified says this:
1He who [a]dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].
2I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!”
3For He will save you from the trap of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you and completely protect you with His pinions,
And under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.
5You will not be afraid of the terror of night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction (sudden death) that lays waste at noon.
7A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But danger will not come near you.
8You will only [be a spectator as you] look on with your eyes
And witness the [divine] repayment of the wicked [as you watch safely from the shelter of the Most High].
9Because you have made the LORD, [who is] my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11For He will command His angels in regard to you,
To protect and defend and guard you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
12They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you do not [even] strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra;
The young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].
15“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”
frequent question asks, “What’s your why?” - I am sure you’ve heard it. It can be a great motivator and bring a lot of clarity to our decisions and our workplaces and all the stuff.
Well, Psalm 91 is our why.
Why we rely on, lean upon, trust fully in, our God.
I am going to read verses 14, 15 & 16 once more.
And this is God in quotes - God is saying these things, and He is saying them to you. So listen to what He says:
14“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].
15“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”
In my private online prayer group, we are going through Psalm 91 starting the 10th of September. Just 16 verses - one verse each week for 16 weeks. I’ll go live in the Facebook group, and of course the videos will be available after the fact, replays will stay in the group forever.
Praying these verses, God’s promises. His living and active Word week by week.
I did not plan this - just over the last ten days or so the Lord put this on my heart and I have been working through the psalm and taking notes just in my own study time, and I felt Him leading me to go through these verses in the prayer group. And guess what? If we do one verse each week and plan to take one week off (probably around Thanksgiving) then we will finish on Friday December 31st (I plan to go live each Friday).
This is how we can spend our fall and end this year. And how we end one year is exactly how we begin the next one.
Can’t think of a better plan than to pray through this fall, wrap up the last day of the year in prayer and leaning fully on the Most High, and start 2022 in a state of total trust and deep and abiding belief (which leads to deep and abiding peace, btw).
Will you join me there? And make Psalm 91 and it’s promises the truest thing in your life, in your family’s life, for the remainder of the year?
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Today I am going to read a bunch of Bible verses to you and let the promises of God sink into your heart, into your mind (which changes the way that we think and that, my friend, changes the way that we live).
God keeps all of His promises so I want to encourage you today to live like you know He is keeping all of His promises to you. To your family. To your local church. To the church all around the globe.
Okay, so let’s dive into God’s Word and get some encouraging news in our ears, in our thoughts, shall we?
First let’s start with some powerful and hopeful words that Jesus spoke. I am quoting the NLT for today’s podcast & let’s look at Mark 12:27 - Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
It is so, so important to remember, when we are making the big bold decision to really, truly believe God’s promises - to live a believing life - that we don’t base our belief on anything outside of the Lord. We aren’t mustering up more faith. We are simply deciding that we will believe what the Bible says to us. And so, this verse is just a great reminder that you don’t have to make God’s promises work out in your life, in your kid’s lives, etc. Nope.
There are actually many, many things in this life that are impossible - for man. For humans. For wives and for moms and for employees and for church members. Humanly speaking, there is gonna be stuff that is just not possible. But not with God! Aren’t these words from Jesus incredible?
Think for just a moment about what our Savior is actually saying to us. But not with God. EVERYTHING is possible with God.
So bring God into everything, then!
Never intentionally leave Him out of anything. You want the God who makes the impossible, possible doing all the things in your life, am I right?
Get a sense of Jesus, today, looking at you intently and reminding you, firmly but with great love and compassion, that it isn’t about mankind's ability to make this thing fly. Because God makes everything possible.
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) says this - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Oh wow - what a verse! What hope! What assurance! This is quite a promise!
He is promising that He will direct your steps. And guess what? You can pray this verse over your loved ones, your co-workers, your spouse, your aging parents, your neighbors. And also, pray this over yourself.
Lord, direct my steps. I know my righteousness and any godliness within me is thanks to Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Father, bless me and direct each step that I take. Stop me when I am near a misstep. Thank You for this promise of Your guidance and direction over my life, from now until my last breath.
It says that He delights in every detail of our lives. So guess what that means for us? How does that relate to us living in total belief that God’s promises for us are absolutely true and are being realized on the daily? Well, take every little and every big detail of your life to God in prayer. You can do that! You should do that! He cares so much - talk to Him. A lot! Often. All of the time. And remember, keep on remembering, He delights, not tolerates or endures or notices, but delights in every detail.
Oh this is a great promise. And a great prayer verse too.
Quick side note here - anybody else feel kind of like we are on the verge of just a huge prayer event in the West? Like people are going to start praying individually, as married couples, families, in small groups, church settings, at work, on college campuses, gathering among neighbors - online even. To pray. I have a sense this is on the horizon. If you feel that way too, listen to the Lord as to what He is calling you to do as part of that, I guess prayer movement you might call it? And keep track of, write down, memorize, put in your phone verses that you can have at the ready at any moment to pray. Praying God’s promises is really amazing. Like, will leave you amazed again and again.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) says - So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
A lot in that verse. First, God says to be strong and courageous and that sentence ends with an exclamation point. So - let’s just do what He says to do! Be strong. Be courageous. Exclamation point. I am guessing you have one or more parts of your life right now, at this point in time, where you can apply this. So go ahead and apply. Be strong. Be courageous. How? By resting in the Lord and knowing in your knower that He is going to keep His word.
Don’t be afraid. Think on Jesus and the fear dissipates, really it does! Do not panic before them, it says. Well “them” of course refers to their enemies. Don’t panic before your enemy.
And here is the reason why you don’t need to be afraid, don’t panic, be strong and courageous. For the Lord your God WILL PERSONALLY go ahead of you. Boom. Mic drop.
When God says He WILL do something, He most assuredly will. You just be about the business of believing He will do all He has promised to do. Let Him be about the actual doing of it.
He will personally go ahead of you.
How’s that for a promise that can give you some big time faith?
And the verse ends with this - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
I’m going to say that once more - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
He won’t. That’s that.
Revelation 21:4 (NLT) - He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying of pain. All these things are gone forever.
This is such a wonderful verse for us. I’m not going to deep dive into anything specific today - but we have had quite an 18 /19 or so months, all around the world. This verse is a balm for those who know Jesus. It’s key. It’s mission critical to remember there is a day coming when all the tears will stop. No more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Gone forever. I don’t even need to say more about this verse, this promise from Revelation, except that it is for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you don’t, you are welcome to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will reply. It’s so important to know Him, not know of Him, not just attend church, but really know Him. Not talking religion here. But true relationship with the Son of God, Jesus. I really do welcome you to contact me. Totally confidential and non judgmental. Just offering Jesus and how to have Him as your best friend forever.
Last verse today - Luke 1:37 (NLT) For the word of God will never fail.
Short and sweet. Doesn’t need explaining. No need for commentary. Just know that this is absolute and unchanging truth.
For the word of the Lord will never fail.
Anybody else need to know that today?
Take that thing, big and scary, and hold it up next to this verse, Luke 1:37. Does one seem bigger and one much smaller?
For the word of the Lord will - never - fail.
It won’t. It just will not.
Lord bless you today. I have prayed for you, all who listen to this episode, and I am going to continue to pray for you.
Live a life sold out for Jesus, a die hard for His promises, and just see what God might do in and through a life lived like that.
Find me on instagram @janlburt or on Facebook in the prayer group - Praying Through the Storm - and I have a book, a devotional, available on Amazon - The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises - with verses that have the word “WILL” in them. God does what He says He will do, and He never doesn’t do what He has said that He will do.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show we will take a look at what God has promised to us from Romans 16:20 & will also discuss how to apply this verse to our prayer lives.
Sadly, I recorded this episode immediately following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August of 2021. As a military family, this has touched a nerve.
As a follower of Jesus, this has wrenched my heart.
Our fellow Christians are dealing with things the likes of which I have never seen. So today, I just want to read Romans 16:20 from the AMP & just lean in to the Lord and by faith believe the promise in this verse for myself, for each one of you, for my entire family and of course for those who follow Jesus in Afghanistan and in particular Kabul right now.
Romans 16:20 says this:
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
What a profound verse!
Now just for context I am going to read a few verses prior from chapter 16 of Romans (using the Amplified) Verse 17 - I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations (for others) to commit sin, (acting in ways) contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them.
So that sort of sets the tone for the verse we are looking at today. A stern warning from the Apostle Paul about who to keep your eyes on and who to turn away from. We honestly don’t do this all that much in our modern era! When is the last time you really turned away from someone who was causing this kind of trouble within the church? Yeah, for those outside the church, it is easier to step back from their sinfulness, and not get drawn into all the stuff… and to also still be loving and share about Jesus and pray for them. Yet within the body of Christ, there simply is not the call to holiness that the NT teaches. Just sayin’! This means exactly what it says - it doesn’t mean anything more but it surely does not mean anything less. So I want to encourage you, and myself, to apply this broadly - and not to ignore this wise counsel and instruction when it comes to those sitting in the pews with us on Sunday mornings. Holiness unto the Lord is truly important enough that we at times speak hard Biblical truths in order that people might get a better idea of how they are living does or does not align with God’s Word. That seems clear as mud - I hope it makes some sort of sense!
Let’s read verses 18 and 19 -
For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting (the innocent and the naive).
For the report of your obedience has reached everyone, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
So there is it. There’s that. Look, if I were to tell you that Romans is a book that does not bring heavy teaching every time I open it, I would be flat out lying to you. It’s intense. Because the author, led by the Holy Spirit, intended it to be intense.
And in these days in which we live, closer and closer to Jesus’ return, we need that intensity. It’s like medicine for our souls. It keeps us healthy and prevents us from falling ill.
If someone is serving their own appetites and base desires, they are not serving Jesus. That’s what Paul says and that is the unarguable truth of the matter. It’s a litmus test that works well. Watch out for smooth and flattering speech. Flattery is very different from a complement. Pray for a heart that is shored up and guarded and that won’t be deceived, and pray not to remain so naive that you don’t see deception for what it is until it has done some roughing up nasty work on you.
Let the report of your obedience reach others. Let it! Be so obedient to God and to His Word that it actually reaches people - reaches out and touches them, makes an impact. They should notice your obedience. And ask the Holy Spirit to make you wise in what is good and also innocent in what is evil.
And after all of that, we land on our verse for today, our promise for us straight from the Bible, Romans 16:20.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
He is the God of peace. And peace can be ours right in the middle of stressful situations. Peace can be ours, ought to be ours, during health problems and disorder on the other side of the globe and changes in our jobs and every single thing. He is the God of peace. Allow Him to totally be the God of peace in your life, in all of it, in every little and every big thing in your world.
He promises that He will (oh that amazing word WILL!) will soon (another amazing word - soon!) crush Satan under your feet.
What a tremendous promise!
The God of peace will soon crush Satan (how awesome is that promise!) Under whose feet? Yours and mine. Wow. You’ll see this, my friend, and not from afar but up close and personal. And you will be a part of this promised crushing of Satan.
And the second part of verse 19 says - The (wonderful) grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
The grace of Jesus truly is wonderful, too wonderful for words in fact.
And may it be with each one of us as we stand in prayer, for ourselves and our situations and our families and our nation but also for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Afghanistan today.
We can and we should pray with boldness for God to keep His amazing promise and give all of His children peace because He is the God of peace. Appeal to Him on His own terms - He said it, and He wants us to stand in faith and believe that He really does mean exactly what He says. The God of peace is going to soon crush Satan under our feet. May it be so, Lord Jesus, even this very day! Bless your people with Your supernatural peace - move us forward to advance Your kingdom and to show You to a hurting world - do the miraculous on behalf of those in harms way in Afghanistan - hide them, provide Damascus road experiences to members of the Taliban who are bent on evil but need to meet Jesus personally - send your angels to be a hedge of protection around those who are being hunted down just as You promise in Psalm 91 - never stop moving and showing us who You truly are and how You long to answer our faith filled, bold prayers that are based on the promises found in Your Word - do the impossible and then do it again - crush Satan under the feet of Your followers today, right now, and all the praise and all the glory and all the thankfulness we can muster up from the depths of our hearts is Yours Lord. Thank You for teaching us how to pray and for giving us promises that we can believe You for. Never stop moving. Never stop working. Never stop touching hearts and changing lives. Never stop crushing Satan under our feet. All of our hope is in You. And it is not a misplaced hope. It is hope that is certain and will yield amazing results. Keep us in a state of undying belief. And Lord, save and rescue and restore and heal and do what only You can do in Afghanistan. We ask this all in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen
Please keep praying for believers around the world, for Afghani's to come to know Jesus personally, and for military men & women serving in Afghanistan.
I hope to see you back here next time for episode #73 - in the mean time, you can find me on instagram @janlburt and at my website JanLBurt.com and grab a copy of my book "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" on Amazon.
Lord bless you richly as you stand on His good promises to you!
~ Jan
One huge thing to keep in mind about authentically Biblical generosity is, of course, John 3 16 - God so loved that world that He gave (gave - that’s generosity in action) His one and only Son that whosoever should believe in Him would have everlasting life.
It’s a very drastic different kind of generosity as compared to what the world considers generous.
We have probably all been witness to someone who claims to be generous, but who is sort of a miser in reality. Right?
A gift no longer belongs to the giver once it has been given away. It just doesn’t! Yet many of us act like it still does! If you gave it away, you are officially done with it. It is not yours.
Generosity is akin to unselfishness.
The trait of being willing to give
The spirit and action of freely and frequently giving to others
Being willing to share
To willingly give help of support especially more than is usual or expected
A habit of giving without expecting anything in return
The virtue of being liberal in giving
How do we stand as compared and contrasted to that definition?
Metered generosity is not Biblical generosity.
It simply never has been and never will be.
God is generous. A Google search of Bible verses about this topic will bring up dozens of references.
God’s generosity is big - it is not metered and controlled.
If you find yourself weighing out what you give and when you give, may I pose a question?
When did that begin?
Whose teaching got you thinking that metered generosity was actually generous?
Where do you fit in the parable Jesus told about the workers in the vineyard when he hired workers all throughout the day, so some worked far shorter shifts than others and when he paid them their wages for their work, he first paid those who began working last. So those in the rear of the payout line were watching and thinking ooh we will get much more than that because we worked longer - but they got the same wage, exactly what they’d been promised when they were hired for the day’s work. And in the parable, the vineyard owner says Can I not be generous with what is mine?
Where do you fit in that parable (it’s in Matt 20 verses 1 thru 16)? Can not God be generous with what is His?
Of course He can!
So then the question becomes, well, what is His?
Every single thing.
Every red cent is His.
Nobody, Christian or not, owns anything. How do I know? Here’s how: my grandma used to say she had never seen a hearse pulling a U Haul. It ain’t going with you. Does not matter if they pack your coffin with gold coins surrounding your corpse, it stays in that coffin. God is eternal. It is His now, just as it all was from Day One.
It is not yours. It is not mine. It is all the Lord’s. And can He not do with what is His any old thing He chooses to do? Should His people kid themselves into thinking they are generous when they participate only in measured, metered out giving? They may be able to say they gave something, but that does not mean it was generous giving.
Metered generosity is not Biblical generosity.
People say stuff.
You will hear a lot of stuff, so much stuff, that people are gonna say and say and say.
Your job is to go the Word of God, dig into your Bible read it daily - and via prayer talk to your ABBA Father about what He says in His Word.
Obey Him. Trust Him and don’t be too quick to assume all the things people say must be what God is saying to you.
This applies to our level of generosity, not just to other parts of our lives.
What’s your attitude when you give? What’s your ability to totally let go of a gift as soon as you’ve given it? Who is teaching you and speaking into your life and over your life about money and generosity? Do they say it’s your money? Are you more stressed out about money now than you were before you started their program or bought their book (which you’re paying them for, don’t forget! They like to keep getting paid, just like the rest of us - keep that in mind folks!)? Can God rule and overrule your plans in this area? Are you generous with your time, your prayers for others, your love, your compassion, your radical obedience to Jesus too? Generosity is about a lot more than just a few measly bucks!
Does your ire get up regarding this topic? If so, it’s time to pray. Like, pray a lot.
And to get that Bible open. Read what it says. Jesus’ words in red in the NT will very quickly get your head on straight about Biblical generosity.
You will not give an account to some self-proclaimed money guru - and if you feel like you have to do that, would you ask God if that’s His will for your life in regard to His property? He’ll let you know! If you ask, He will give you the wisdom you need (see the book of James for that incredible promise!)
Real Biblical following of Jesus and only Jesus, not Jesus plus the Law, not Jesus plus a system or a program, not Jesus plus anything. Just Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life - not any old way, not whatever truth suits us - He isn’t an option. He is the Great I Am.
Real Biblical following of Jesus is crazy in how radical it actually is.
All your life will get turned upside down.
And it’s the only way you want to live, my friend. Because it’s the only way you want to die.
You are a steward.
But are you a truly generous steward?
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)"
2 Corinthians 9 10 & 11 “[God] will also supply and increase your store of seed … {11} You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion”
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)
Those are some fantastic promises. And they are for you, my friend.
Lord bless you and make you generous and guide you in good and wise and godly stewardship of all He has entrusted you with!
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - winner of the 2021 Spark Media Podcast Conference award for Best Solo Podcaster. What an honor to be blessed with that award! Every listener helped make that happen - so when I say thanks for listening, I really do mean it!
Lord bless you!
~ Jan
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Show Notes Coming Soon!
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Show Notes Coming Soon!
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Today for the show, we are looking at a promise but also sort of taking a glance, a little look, at the life of someone from the OT.
You may have heard of her before. Her name is Hagar. And we find the story of her life, or at least the portions of her life that were recorded in the Bible, in Genesis. Chapters 16 and 21.
I am going to read first from Chapter 21 and then bounce back to Chapter 16.
And I am reading from the CSB today. The heading for this section reads “Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away”. So, yeah, right away we see this isn’t exactly a happy season of her life.
Can anyone relate to being in a not-so-cheery time right now? If so, this is for you.
And as always, there is hope here. So much hope is available to us in God’s Word, if we just take the time to look for it.
Just to set the stage for what I am about to read, the Lord told Abraham he would have a son - and he was elderly. His wife, Sarah, was too. So Sarah gave Abraham her slave Hagar for him to have a child with (not uncommon in that era - but if we are honest about it, this is not kind treatment of this woman. Period.) Hagar gave birth to a son, named Ishmael, and then later on Sarah, even in her old age, had a son who was named Isaac. We are reading about the celebration that took place when Isaac was weaned, so think of him as a toddler, somewhere between two and three would have been the age of weaning in that culture. When Hannah took Samuel to the temple after he was weaned, he would have been about three years old. That’s not weaning age in western society today.
I’m going to read a few verses from chapter 21 now -
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”
11 This was very distressing to[a] Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed[b] about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac, 13 and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”
14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes 16 and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” While she sat at a distance, she[c] wept loudly.
17 God heard the boy crying, and the[d] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
You may feel like things are just so bleak right now, and since this is a mother/son story, of course we can apply this to our parenting. Maybe your kiddo is really struggling with something unjust, unfair, just plain wrong. I want to point out to you, to your heart as a mom or a dad today, that God sees. He has seen it all as it happened, he has seen the being sent away into some sort of wilderness without nearly enough supply (like a bit of bread and one waterskin) and He knows it is hot, there isn’t a place to really rest, you are weary and sitting your child under a bush as you go a little ways off and sob your heart out. He sees. And whatever plans He has for that child, whatever promises He has made, He is gonna keep them.
Right now, He may be on the verge of opening your eyes, showing you a well of fresh, living water, and asking you to take your child by the hand, help them up and encourage them to keep on believing the Lord. Because He does what He says that He will do. Your waterskin may be totally dry. Your God is still in the business of bringing water from the Rock.
Jesus, the Living Water, is very much alive. And He is moving and acting on your behalf, on your child’s behalf.
Now, I am going to step back a few chapters in the book of Genesis, to chapter 16. Let me read verses 1 through 16 (also from the CSB).
Oh, and the names are different, Abram and Sarai, because God had not yet renamed them Abraham and Sarah (that is in chapter 17)
Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. 4 He slept with[a] Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering![b] I put my slave in your arms,[c] and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you.”
6 Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”
She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael,[d] for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. 12 This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.”
13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,”[e] for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” [f] 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi.[g] It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
Okay, so when Abraham sent her away with Ishmael, it was not the first time she’d been out in the wilderness, nearing death. It has also happened many years before, when she was pregnant with her son. Sarah turned on her and became mean, and it seems like she was unbearably mean. And the angel of the Lord appeared to her. Verse 10 (read it again) implies God was who was speaking to her. This is often referred to as the pre-incarnate Christ, like Jesus appearing to people in the OT, before He came as a baby in a manger. It says a promise was made, “I will greatly multiply your offspring and they will be too many to count” and an angel does not have the ability to make or keep such a promise, so I see evidence that supports the pre-incarnate Christ in this passage.
And here is more proof that it was the Lord speaking to Hagar - in verse 13 she gives God a name - El Roi. That name means “The God who sees me.”
She asks, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?”
What an astounding thing for her to say!
What a remarkable life experience!
To have God call you by name and ask you where you have come from and where you are going, this is really amazing. Would that not change your life? Now Hagar was from Egypt, and in Egypt at that time, they were the world’s greatest superpower so to speak. Egypt was the stuff. And they had a plethora of gods they worshipped. To have a living God, the one true God, speak to you personally, calling you by name, asking you where you had been and where you were planning to go, and then making you such a profound promise about your unborn child and your future descendants. Well, this must have rocked her world a bit. Or a lot.
And He told her to go back to Sarah and to submit to her.
So, that’s what Hagar did. Doesn’t seem to fix the problem, per se, but I am guessing that by doing what the Lord told her to do, and by remembering that this God is the God who sees her, from start to finish, beginning to end, all of it is seen, she was able to go back and bear up under whatever came next. She had a promise from the Lord. And that is so, so important.
Can you bear up under something just because God, El Roi, sees you and has given you great and precious promises from His word?
It’s sort of a rhetorical question, because I know that you can bear up. I know that you can believe Him for all His promises. I know that you can have an encounter with El Roi - and I know that He is, right now, the God who sees you. You are seen by the God who sees you, and like Hagar, you can expect to see Him at work and moving in your situation.
So when Hagar was sent away with her teenage son, back out into the wilderness, she was not suddenly un-seen by God, by El Roi.
There isn’t an un-seeing happening here. Not for Hagar, not for me, and not for you.
I don’t know where you may be feeling mistreated, unseen, in a wilderness, crying out and sobbing. All I know is that God’s Word is true for you in any and all of those places.
The promise is that God is your El-Roi just as much as He as Hagar’s.
And you can never, ever be un-seen by Him, my friend.
Thanks so much for being here today - and sorry about the tinny sound of this episode! Every now and then my recording software gets wonky & results in not-my-normal sound! Yikes!
~ Jan
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Joshua 8:18 - AMP - Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Reach out with the spear that is in your hand (and point it) toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” So Joshua reached out with the spear in his hand (and pointed it) toward the city.
It is remarkable to read the LORD speaking to Joshua in this verse. It sort of stops me in my tracks in a way when I see the Lord speaking to anyone! It’s a big deal! And I don’t think Joshua took it lightly - I think the sum total of His life proves that he did not ever take lightly the things of the Lord. Joshua was a listener. He listened well to His God.
He may tell us at times to pick something up or to lay something down - He is our God, He is both Lord and Savior, so He has the right of way in every aspect of our lives, right? So yeah He can say pick up this and lay down that and so on. But He also will at times ask you to use what is already in your hand.
What is in your hand today?
What would you say is a key part, an integral part of who you are? Who you really are, not maybe who you have been told you are or feel like some expectation is on you to be. What is the spear you are already holding, a part of who you are, your God created identity that is intended by Him to be used for His Kingdom purposes?
Are we taking the things, all the varied and beautiful and amazing things that are in all of our varied and beautiful amazing lives, pointing them at the enemy and then seeing God move there? Like, right there?
Joshua had a call on his life. He had a calling. When it was time to step up, he did. Now I don’t see evidence in the Bible that he was trying to step up before it was time, but every time it was time he was right there, ready and willing.
He was always ready because he was always willing to do what God said to do. So pointing the spear in the exact direction the Lord told him to point it was easy peasy lemon squeezy for him because he already had the spear in his hand. The more you do the things God says to do, the easier it is to keep doing the things God says to do. (Can I say that again? It’s so true!)
So what is the promise here?
Let me skip down in chapter 8 of the book of Joshua and read verse 26 - “For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the spear until he had utterly destroyed the inhabitants of Ai.”
Joshua listened for the Lord and then when the Lord spoke he listened to the Lord. He did as the Lord said. And he finished it. With totality. Not with partiality. (sometimes I finish with more partial-ness than total-ness and when I do that, well, I am flat wrong).
He just kept holding out that spear that was in his hand, directly toward Ai, the next place they were told by God to conquer, and he did not withdraw his hand until it was done. The word Utterly here is fitting.
You have anything you need to be done with utterly? Have something you know God wants you to do but you are doing it partially and not totally?
Don’t be partial anymore. Be total. Be utterly.
Sometimes we have got to do the thing God wants us to do and then the victory comes. That’s the promise I find here. To not be so afraid anymore. To just do the thing, Jan, and do it utterly. To slay the beast of partiality in my life and just do that thing with some ferocity, with totality.
Don’t put that thing down just yet, my friend. God may have placed it in your hand for this exact season, for such a time as this. Don’t even lower it. Keep your eye on the prize. That which the Lord has called you to point at the enemy, listen, until the enemy and all the inhabitants of the enemy’s domain are utterly destroyed - keep pointing and don’t drop your arm or even lower your arm a little teeny bit.
Make giving up a non-option. And believe that the utterly will come as you do the pointing at the enemy with what’s already in your hand for Kingdom work. That’s a great promise, isn’t it?
Be a Joshua in our generation and see what God might do!
I will see you here for episode #68 next time and I hope you have a wonderful day. Thanks for being here!
~ Jan
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I am going to read it from two different translations today - the KJV and the AMP. So let me read the AMP first, then the KJ, and then just the AMP once more to bring it full circle as we take a look at what God is promising us here.
And as I read, can you do me a big favor?
Would you take a second and think that the One who is saying these words, the One who is actually making this promise I am about to read, is the God who is in charge of all of the Armies of Heaven, the One who when He spoke to the soldiers who came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane they all fell down as dead at just these three words: “I am He.” - the God who sits enthroned in heaven and before whom worship never stops - that is exactly who is speaking these words from Deuteronomy.
Consider well He who is doing the speaking - because it matters so much who says what, ya know?
Deuteronomy 31:6 - AMP - “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble in dread before them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 - KJV - Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
He has no need to speak words of promise for His own sake - He speaks them just for us. Out of His lovingkindness toward us.
What makes you want to tremble in dread today when you bump up against it?
That is exactly what God wants you to not tremble about because He goes with you.
He is the Lord your God and He is going with you. It’s not about will power or mustering up more faith (you can pray and ask God to give you more faith, yes please, do that regularly by all means! But you don’t have it in you to by your own strength and personal might in the flesh create a whole bunch of bigger better faith. The Lord does that, you know what I mean?)
Here what He is saying is, don’t tremble because He is going with you into this thing. Because He is going with (WITH) you and He says so plainly that it cannot be any more plain - He will not fail you or abandon you.
Um - is there much more that we need than what is promised here?
He WILL NOT (there is that word will - and you know how I feel about seeing the word will in one of God’s promises! I like to say that verse again, out loud, audibly, with some extra emphasis on the word will - so let’s do that with the AMP right now, okay?)
Will not do what, now?
FAIL YOU.
And what else, now?
ABANDON YOU.
This is such a wonderful promise from the Word of God.
You will not be failed.
The definition of the word fail is - to fall short of success or achievement of something expected, attempted, desired or approved. - to prove deficient or lacking; to perform ineffectively or inadequately; failed to fulfill their promises.
Is your God going to fall short of success? Will He not be able to achieve what He expects to achieve, what He desires, what He has already put His stamp of approval upon?
Um, no.
Is your God going to prove to be deficient or lacking in any way, shape or form? Ever?
Um, no.
Is your God going to perform ineffectively or inadequately? Can He even be ineffective or inadequate, ever?
Um, no.
It is not possible for God to fail to fulfill His promises - and so, we have some more depth to this verse from Deuteronomy just by taking a quick look at the definition of the word “fail”.
Which is what He will not do - He will not fail you. Or abandon you.
Here is the definition of abandon - To withdraw one's support or help from, especially in spite of duty, allegiance, or responsibility; desert. To give up by leaving or ceasing to operate or inhabit, especially as a result of danger or other impending threat. To surrender one's claim to, right to, or interest in; give up entirely: synonym: relinquish.
So what is it that God has promised He will not do - no, not ever? God will not withdraw His support or His help from you. He never abdicates His throne and thus He never abdicates His allegiance to us or His sense or care and responsibility toward us as our Father. God will never desert you. Never will He give up on you by leaving you or ceasing to care for you, especially in the face of danger or impending threats. God will not ever surrender His claim to you, His rights to your life, His interest in you. He does not, honestly, have the option of relinquishing you over to the enemy.
That is for you today, and I hope and truly am expecting you to be blessed and encouraged and maybe even a bit emboldened after this episode. I’d be blessed if you would share about the podcast and also if you would grab a copy of the devotional on Amazon - maybe even to share as a gift. Getting the promises of God into the people of God is so important and I hope you have gotten this promise into your heart and mind and life today.
See you next time for episode #67 - we will be looking at Joshua 8:18 - so just a small jump forward in the Bible from Deuteronomy, the next book to the right, and trust me it is a good one. See you then!
Oh - and here is a really exciting announcement!
I have a really exciting opportunity for the podcast coming up, and I really really really want this to be a blessing to as many people as possible. I am going to be doing a series of episodes of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show with a wonderful friend of mine, Ana Willis. Some of you know her well from her work in the homeschool world and as the founder and owner of the They Call Me Blessed Community group. She hosts several conferences each year, she is a key speaker that is invited to so many events, and she is from Israel, she is a Christ follower of Jewish birth. So, she can bring this depth, this wonderful insight and wisdom and understanding to God’s Word that is just phenomenal.
She and I will be together for a series of episodes to talk about God’s promises from her perspective, her understanding as one who is fluent (fluent, I said!) in Hebrew. We are taking these episodes from my devotional “The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises” which you can get on amazon or for kindle. And I am telling you what, when the two of us are talking about the Word of God, the promises of God together, well people have commented that we take them to church. Please, please don’t miss this. We are just starting to plan it out so I don’t have dates or episode numbers just yet, but it will happen very soon and it will be a blessing. Ana is not someone you want to miss out on hearing speak. People pay a lot to hear her speak, and she will be here on The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I am so blessed and so excited, I cannot even put my excitement into words!
Tell your friends - they won't want to miss this!
~ Jan
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
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Psalm 93:1 - 5 (CSB) God’s Eternal Reign
The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty;
The LORD is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
It cannot be shaken.
Your throne has been established from the beginning;
You are from eternity.
The floods have lifted up, LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
Greater than the roar of a huge torrent -
The mighty breakers of the sea -
The LORD on high is majestic.
LORD, Your testimonies are completely reliable;
Holiness adorns Your house
For all the days to come.
Does not that first sentence, just three words in length, deserve to end with an exclamation point?
What circumstances are you dealing with today and this needs to be your standard response - the reply you flatly give - to that situation?
Look that puppy right in the eye and say, “The Lord reigns!”
Think about that issue and then say, “The Lord reigns!’
And you know what will happen? That issue is going to seem a whole lot smaller. Because it is small in God’s eyes!
When you speak the truth (out loud, if possible) to your situation - to your own heart - to your own mind - to other people, things start to shift and to move.
So, what circumstances can you apply this to today?
Not today, Satan.
You know why not today, Satan? Because the Lord reigns.
My Lord reigns, that’s why.
He is robed in majesty.
He is robed in it!
He is so majestic that He is literally robed in it!
He is enveloped in strength.
What He established is so firm that it cannot possibly ever be shaken.
Think about some things that God has established.
There may be something in your life that you know He established. God set you on that trajectory. He put your feet on that path. He called you to do some specific thing.
He established it, so it is firm and it cannot be shaken.
His throne, His reign, His rule & His sovereignty are mentioned next.
These are four important things!
#1 - The throne of our God
#2 - The reign of our God
#3 - The rule of our God
#4 - The sovereignty of our God
All four of those have been established since when?
Oh, just since eternity. Just since forever.
Wow!
And this is the God who is watching over you. Who takes good care of you. Who has amazing plans for you. Whose purposes for you cannot be thwarted.
If you’ve ever wondered what God’s will for you is, one part of it is to love His Word more and more. Open it up - read it - pray it - speak it out loud. Get after God’s Word & it will get after you. It always makes an impact - always.
God’s testimonies are completely reliable.
Completely.
Not 99.999% reliable. But completely reliable.
What are you relying on?
Are you praying one certain way, but then growing antsy and nervous about the same stuff you just prayed about?
You are praying one way but you are living - feeling - believing another way.
His testimonies are completely reliable!
Holiness adorns His house.
He is so holy, it is on everything around Him. He lives in holiness. He dwells in it. That is the God who cares for you, right now, in this moment.
How long is God going to reign and rule and be sovereign and sit on His throne and have His holiness adorn everything around Him?
Forever!
For all the days to come.
He’s got you covered.
Grab hold of this in some measure today & make it your own. Because this is for you!
Big request from me - if you have read my book, would you jump over to Amazon and leave a review? Thank you so very much!
JanLBurt.com
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional
The plan for episode 64 is simply to speak God’s living and active word over you today and to stress (think about those grammar stress marks, they tell you which part of a word to stress in order to pronounce it correctly - well I hope to stress some stuff & to pronounce some things correctly over your life, and over my life, what God has in store for us). To emphasize what could use some emphasizing right about now.
Let’s first off look at what Jeremiah 29:13 says. As I read, would you sort of listen for the promise? I have found, for me personally, that when I am really looking for, searching for, listening for a promise from God’s Word - I find one. So as I read, just be sure to hear what the Lord God Almighty, the One who was and is and is to come, the King of kings and Lord of lords, what He has to say to you today.
Jeremiah 29:13 AMP - Then (with a deep longing) you will seek Me and require Me (as a vital necessity) and (you will) find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
What a beautiful, comforting verse. It almost seems to usher in a cool and gentle wind of peacefulness. And hope, too.
Psalm 86:5 from the AMP says this: For You, O LORD, are good, and ready to forgive (our sins, sending them away, completely letting them go forever and ever); and abundant in lovingkindness and overflowing in mercy to all those who call upon You.
This verse, it’s like one long hope-filled string of words. It reminds us that God is good - and when we stand in prayer about something, whenever we lean in to see a promise He has made to us, we do well to remember how good He is. And to remember that He cannot be any less good or anything but good. Our God Is Good Always and in All Ways.
And He is ready to forgive our sins. God is ready to forgive. He is standing right now at the ready to forgive. Can we even really understand how amazing, how truly awesome, this is? When He forgives, He sends our sins away - He completely lets them go forever and ever. That is your promise today. Need a new start? God’s offering it to you right here.
Are you making these promises your very own today? Because you are who they are for!
Acts 2:18 is one more verse with promise for us today. Again, reading from the AMP & it says -
Even on My bond servants, both men and women, I will in those days pour out My Spirit and they shall prophesy.
Whether you are a male or female, God has a place for you. Where you fit. And in that place, you can do what He has called and equipped you to do. And you can expect to bear fruit, spiritual fruit, that lasts. Be bonded to Jesus, be His bond servant day by day, and I tell you what, I would really have a hard time believing He will not ever ever ever pour out His Spirit on you and on your life, lead and guide you, show you real world things to do and words to say that will bless and encourage and make a real, tangible, actual difference in the lives of people. He can do it in the grocery store or in line at a theme park or via a text you send or on a Facebook live you get bold enough to finally do or at your workplace or on a Zoom call or in your front yard with the kiddo who zips around on his bike each evening.
Luke 12:1, part b of the verse, AMP - Jesus began speaking first of all to His disciples, “Be continually on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees (that is, their pervasive, corrupting influence and teaching), which is hypocrisy (producing self-righteousness).”
I realized how easy it is to do this, to be a Pharisee, to have this corrupt and pervasive junk in my life by means of - well let me use the word principle. If I am a person of principle, if that is what I say about me, what I speak over myself, then I suppose I am living by principles and am governed by those principles. And whoa there, then have those principles become law for me? And how can I be easily led by the Holy Spirit if I am primarily a person of these certain principles. Am I willing to ask the Lord to uproot any footings under my foundation that lend to legalism - Pharisee-ism - lack of freedom?
Just a few things that stood out to me as I read from the book of Luke this week & I sure want to be as free as Jesus wants me to be --- so I am willing to lay aside rules and regulations that get in the way of living a Spirit-led life of freedom in Christ!
Thanks so much for stopping by The Burt (Not Ernie) Show & I hope you are living a life of freedom in Christ & grabbing hold of all the promises God has made to you!
~ Jan L. Burt
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Hebrews 3: 12 & 13 Amplified ~
Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart (which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart) that turns away from the living God. But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’ (and there is an opportunity), so that none of you will be hardened (into settled rebellion) by the deceitfulness of sin (it’s cleverness, delusive glamour, and sophistication).
If you and I will take care - really, be careful and take the time to TAKE CARE - that in none of us is a wicked, unbelieving heart, but instead will encourage one another as long as there is an opportunity (and lemme tell ya, there is always an opportunity!) then the promise is that we won’t be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Now right where it says to take care that we don’t have a wicked, unbelieving heart… that’s important. What does wicked mean? Hey it can mean all those things we think of when we hear that word wicked (but not the play). It can also be things that seem small in our own eyes but to the Lord are downright wicked. Wicked covers a lot of ground. And unbelieving? I really do feel like I am in the freedom in Jesus business. Sharing that and throwing the truth the hope of that around like confetti all day every day, that is truly my jam. And so I see those words, an unbelieving heart, and I just wince inside. It comes at us so often, it takes root so easily, this unbelieving heart… but whatever we are not believing God for, right there, that’s where we are missing out. We lose out on His promises and His peace and even His grace when we are overcome with an unbelieving heart.
Always keep your heart soft toward the Holy Spirit. It’s not tricky - it just can be as simple as praying and asking that the Spirit of the Living God that indwells you will keep your heart soft and tender and pliable and not let it harden. Then pray like that again tomorrow and so on. He is so faithful. He loves to answer that prayer!
An un-hardened heart trusts the Lord and relies on Him - rather than refusing to rely on Him, it chooses to rely on Him. Over and over and over again. Simple? Yes. Hard? Also yes.
A hardened heart will turn away from the Living God. the living God. Turns to what? Well, to something dead. That’s the only other option available to us if I am totally honest with you.
This verse tells us the truth that sin is deceitful - we need to stop forgetting that! Sin Is Deceitful. Sin Is Clever. Sin has a unique delusive glamour. It’s literally so glamorous that it is delusional and leaves it’s victim, it’s prey, delusional. And it even says that sin is sophisticated. It is cultured and wise to the ways of the world and elegant and refined and will come at us like a lady or a gentleman, not a ruffian.
The promise that all those things I just mentioned - they will not WILL NOT happen to you or to me. Just by encouraging one another continually.
Happy joyful optimistic people are encouraging people who love others well by means of that encouragement. Plain and simple. Wanna be happier? Try this. Wanna be done with that hardened heart? Try this. It works. It works wonders.
Okay, let me just read the book review I wrote Jennifer Dukes Lee’s new book Growing Slow and it does have a Bible study available with it that would be great for a small group - here it is:
If you’ve been to my website and taken a little look-see under the “FAVORITES” tab, then you already know Jennifer Dukes Lee has made my very short, “short list”. And that is kind of a big deal, since I am an avid reader and a complete book-a-holic. I am usually reading dozens of books at any one time, with a current nightstand stack totaling - ahem - 33 books. To have an author make the cut and land among my favorites, well, that’s one special author. And Jennifer’s newest book, “Growing Slow”, is one special book.
Let me start by saying that if you are part of the go-girl-go, hustle & don’t you dare let off the gas culture, this book could very well be the ideal book for you right now in this exact place. You may have a deep need for this book’s content in a myriad of ways that you are not the slightest bit aware of. I speak truth, my friend. Often our greatest needs are the ones we don’t know are there, lurking just under the surface and holding the most potential for harm. If you are a go-get-’em type of gal, give this book a chance. It may change your life. (I am not really exaggerating… this is a life-change type of book.)
But if you are more of a slow-down and enjoy the moment type of woman, well then the book “Growing Slow” will be like a supportive friend. You know the one - she is always there, fully in your corner, ready to reaffirm what you already know but may sort of wonder about from time to time. Everybody needs a friend like that. Or a book like that.
I could share a whole slew of quotes and inundate you with Jennifer’s words, and there wouldn’t be a single thing in the world wrong with that. But I feel a need to share something personal with you; the why behind my passion for this book.
I’ve got some health problems. One in particular that looms far larger than the others combined. Several years ago, I got a rough diagnosis of two problems with the electrical aspect of my heart, and a couple of other issues that make treatment life-threatening. My diagnosis: heart failure that is “tricky & difficult to treat” with a focus on “QOL” (quality of life). Not what a Type-A, always working and doing and excited about the next phase of life lady expected to hear.
And so, my good and loving God has been speaking to my heart (my spiritual heart as well as my physical heart) about slowing down. Taking it day by day. Enjoying each moment. Letting the little things in life become the big things. And to stop worrying about & working toward G-R-O-W-T-H.
Along comes this book, “Growing Slow”, by one of my all-time favorite writers, Jennifer Dukes Lee, at that life intersection where I am fighting this forced slow down in my life while also attempting to submit all-the-things to the Lord...and, so, yeah. This book means quite a lot to me right now. More than I can express in mere words.
My heart is so grateful to be in this place right now. So thankful for this book right now.
And if your heart could use some of this same stuff today, get a copy of “Growing Slow”. It’s going on my nightstand & on my website under “FAVORITES”, right where it belongs.
Have a wonderful day - go do some encouraging which will also be some heart softening which will of course bless you in really remarkable ways!
You are welcome to find me on Instagram @janlburt
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional on Amazon
See ya back here next week for episode 64 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast!
Psalm 23 1 - 6 NLT
The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need.
He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff - they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live.
Pretty phenomenal, isn’t it?
So it begins by using the present tense verb “is” - the Lord is my shepherd. Present tense. Pay attention to that - it is a tiny word and it is hugely important! Not will be my shepherd tomorrow but is my shepherd today, in this moment.
And I have, you have, what we need.
This is God’s promise to us!
He is your personal shepherd for your unique, one-of-a-kind life, so I’d like you to sort of think about what that means. What do you need Him to guide you through? What’s going on in your world right now?
Psalm 23 covers it all. None of what truly matters in life is left out of this passage. The psalmist makes it completely clear (like crystal clear) that nothing - nothing at all, not one single itty bitty iota - is left uncovered, left behind, forgotten or neglected in your life, nor in mine.
No detail is missed. No need is missed. There is a promise here that literally - literally! - nothing in your life can possibly be neglected if the Lord is your shepherd.
Phenomenal!!!
There is more to believe God for in these six verses than we could ever exhaust, than could be run dry and used up over the course of a lifetime. I really mean that!
Yeah.
There’s so much here.
It really does cover it all.
Phenomenal.
And btw, I am pretty sure God thinks you are phenomenal.
Contact Me at JanLBurt@outlook.com
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Psalm 92:12-15 (Amplified)
The righteous will flourish like the date palm (long-lived, upright, and useful); they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon (majestic and stable). Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. (Growing in grace) they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age; they will flourish and be vital and fresh (rich in trust and love and contentment); (they are living memorials) to declare that the LORD is upright and faithful (to His promises); He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
You can land on these verses and camp here and build here and live here - that’s how tremendous this is.
Okay, the righteous (that’s all of us who have our righteousness in Christ alone) will flourish - be long-lived, this isn’t a short-term kinda thing here - be upright cuz who considers sideways or downward growth to be like super healthy? No, you’ll be upright - you won’t be bowing to every circumstance and every plot of the enemy. No you will be upright - and you will be useful.
You will grow like a cedar in Lebanon - you my friend will be majestic and you will be stable. Stable. What kind of comfort does that bring to us all after 2020, the year of instability. Keep yourself planted in the house of the Lord because right there, in His courts, you will flourish. Stay in the Word. Be connected with other believers - and ya know at least one or two Christians in your life really should be challenging you in your faith somehow. We don’t need only yes men, we need growers to spur us on toward love and good deeds (that’s from Hebrews 10:24)
You will be growing in grace and you will thrive and you will bear fruit and in your old age you are going to prosper. It continues by promising you will be vital (hey, you are needed you are necessary you are mission critical when you are elderly - might be a slap in the face of consumerism mentality at times, that you are kind of used up once you’re not in those middle of life years as a worker bee, but this ain’t no bee hive and God doesn’t ever set us aside - set us apart? Yup set us aside? nope) And you’ll be fresh in your old age.
You are a living memorial, right now, and your life is declaring that the Lord is upright and He is faithful to His promises. Then the very last part of verse 15 is like a personal declaration - it says “He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him”. I hope this is your declaration today. Is Jesus your rock? Oh He wants to be. Build on Him and you will find yourself on solid ground in any and every storm and what you build will outlast this world.
The word flourishing in verse 14 is the Hebrew word rahanawn probably said that all wrong & it means to be green, verdant, fresh, luxuriant, full of leaves, growing profusely. In verses 12 & 13 it’s the Hebrew word parach which means to break forth, sprout, spread, grow to thrive.
You are flourishing when you know God’s gracious presence in every part of your life.
In this psalm, the two go together. Real freedom is both of those things, not just one or the other. And Ezekiel 34:25 kind of gives more insight if you’d like to look it up and read it sometime.
It’s about God’s gracious provision for us coupled with the security we have in Him.
In our private lives and in our public or work lives, all areas, there we have God’s peace, God’s blessing, God’s favor. So peace goes far beyond a warm fuzzy feeling.
So, would you say this accurately or inaccurately sums up things for you right now?
God wants you to flourish. That is why it’s in His Word - so that you can know that you know that you know it is His will. And you can pray His will and you’ll never be praying amiss.
Okay, just a bit longer on my giveaway to celebrate 60 episodes - either a copy of my book, a print copy not an eBook or a gift card if you already have the book. Share the podcast and let me know you shared it and that’s an entry. Every share is another entry. Just email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and let me know you entered x number of times and on May 1st I’ll pick a winner using a random name picker app.
Contact Me at JanLBurt@outlook.com
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Show Notes Coming Soon!
Link to the For Such A Time As This Summit all-access pass (price is currently $15)
https://theycallmeblessed.teachable.com/courses/for-such-a-time-as-this-summit?affcode=73637_pngouulo
Every follower of Jesus is born for the exact moment in time in which they are living. God makes no mistakes and He placed you right where you are, right now, on purpose. So we all are born for such a time as this. No life is pointless, purposeless or wasted. Your life matters and it matters right where you find yourself.
Sometimes we end up living beneath our circumstances. They sit over us, they are on top of us, they feel heavy and even oppressive. Ever feel as if your circumstances just keep getting the best of you? Just today I was really feeling on edge and I realized it was simply a circumstance getting the best of me, but by faith I was going to stop living under it and start living like the child of God, the joint heir with Christ, that the Bible says I am. You do that today, too. Right now, right this second, if you need to do that, do it. No time like the present to put the devil in His place and to put the Lord in His rightful place in your life, right?
In this present season of darkness (and it is dark!) and of spiritual warfare in culture and the world all around us, when so much is pressing in against Jesus and us as His church, which is who we are, we are literally the Bride of Christ! This right now is the exact time you were born to be part of.
If you never take time to pray and to ask God what He has for you to be doing in this moment, in the right now, you could be missing out on knowing what His purpose for you is. That is a really big risk to take. Don’t gamble with things that matter. What do you already know matters? Don't gamble with that. Does marriage matter? Okay, don’t take foolish risks and gamble with it. Does raising your children to know the Lord matter? Okay, don’t take any risks there by wasting time and never doing family devotions or never praying with them - that’s a foolish gamble.
I’ve said it before, if you look at where your time goes and where your money goes, you will get a good indication of what matters most. Of what is heaviest.
Either God’s Word, what it actually says & it says a whole lot - what it clearly lays out for followers of Jesus to be about, to be doing - either that is important or it isn’t. And even a cursory look at your life will reveal whether or not that is actually true. Not just if we say it’s true, but does our life reveal it as true. Look at your life. Listen to what it is telling you. Is the most important stuff really the most important stuff in the day to day?
Choose wisely and don’t gamble with things that really matter.
According to Matthew 28 19-20, you have been commissioned. The Great Commission is really our marching orders. Jesus told us exactly what to do. It’s a big, broad umbrella that can cover so, so much of our lives, our actual living, and no matter when you’ve lived in the last 2000 years, no matter where, no matter what your career or vocation, no matter --- these words of Jesus will cover your life, your work, your relationships, your ministry, all of it.
Matthew 28:19-20 (Amplified) -
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations (help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always (remaining with your perpetually --- regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion), even to the end of the age.”
Don’t resign your commission. Keep praying. Keep observing what His Word says. Do everything He has commanded you to do. Make disciples of all the nations (including the one you live in right now - including your kiddos in your own home - your neighbors on your own street - and of course support missions work all around the globe too) Help people to learn of Jesus. To believe in Jesus. To obey the words of Jesus.
And then here is the part that really jumped out at me, and I had not planned to focus on the last portion of these verses for the summit but I was just struck by the huge promise Jesus made here.
And you know, a promise of God is just solid gold, pure gold, so as it jumped out at me and I was in awe of what Jesus says here, I had to mention it.
"And lo, I am with you always - remaining with you perpetually, regardless of circumstance and on every occasion - even to the end of the age. "
That is one big promise, folks. My friends, this right here is of tremendous value! How can you keep on keepin’ on, how do you keep praying when it feels like your prayers are stopping at the ceiling? How do you get up an hour early to read the Bible when the sick kids kept you up half the night? How? With this promise, that’s how.
He is with you always. Whew. Wow. He will remain with you perpetually, regardless of circumstance and on every occasion. Um, whoa. Even to the end of the age.
Even to the end of the age, til the end of the world literally, that ‘s how long Jesus has promised to be with you. Perpetually. On every occasion. In all circumstances. He is with you always.
That is one whopper of a promise. Those are Jesus’ last words and they are spoken for you, to you, for your life.
Let them sink in a bit today.
And check your life - are you fulfilling your commission?
I sure hope so. If not, get after it. And keep getting after it.
And I meant it when I said that if you let off praying before God lets off answering, you’ll have stopped too soon. How long will He be answering? Always. So pray til your last day and then wake up in eternity ready to praise.
Thanks for being here guys - appreciate it and I hope you’re blessed and encouraged today.
Also, check out the link if you want to see/hear me speak at the summit - https://theycallmeblessed.teachable.com/courses/for-such-a-time-as-this-summit?affcode=73637_pngouulo
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QG4Q7XH
Psalm 119 verse 24 in the NLT says this: Your laws please me; they give me wise advice. And that is really the way that I look at God’s Word. Honestly, nothing should please us more than our God, and part of that includes God’s word.
Psalm 128:1-2 (NLT) - How joyful are those who fear the LORD - all who follow His ways. You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!
We have the word all here and the word will and the last sentence ends with an exclamation point. Three small things that we see all the time when we read (even just when we text or scroll the instagram). But those three small things really sort of add up to make this into some big, big promises.
Are you lacking in joy right now?
Well, this psalm is just really frank, completely blunt, nothing hidden here - how joyful are those who fear the LORD. Lacking joy? Maybe it’s a good time to examine your heart for a healthy fear of the Lord.
And then this sentence from verse 1 of Psalm 128 goes on to say that all who follow His ways are really the ones who are fearing the Lord. And that makes complete sense, doesn’t it? I mean, if you aren’t ever in awe of Him, if you don’t ever gasp at His sovereignty combined with His love that took Jesus to the cross, that's some kinda love right there. It’s supernatural - it’s not of this world. His ways are higher than our ways.
Follow His ways - get that joy back, baby!
Verse 2 of Psalm 128 - “You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!”
I mentioned before it ends with an exclamation point. That means this is a declarative sentence.
This is here to make a point. Don’t miss the point that God is making. It’s part of His promise to you, so be sure to make note of it. Hint - pay attention in your daily Bible reading when you see an exclamation point.
Are you enjoying the fruit of your labor?
God intends for you to have joy as a direct result of your living daily following His ways and keeping your healthy fear and awe of the Lord in place and to enjoy the fruit of your labors.
Now fruit does not just mean money
Some things you do will have the biggest payout and also pay you nothing (like time spent in worship - a long walk with your spouse - making your favorite dessert and sharing it with your loved ones - raising your children - biggest payout and no paycheck, right?)
But wait there’s more! It goes on to say that you will be joyful (so hey God is really stressing the importance of our joyfulness - like, He wants us to know that He wants us to be joyful - and I don’t think it’s like now and then. Lots of joy lots of the time!) But the there’s more part is the promise here of prosperity. And that is the condition of being successful or thriving, especially economic well-being.
There is so much promise here for you and for me.
And remember He ends with that exclamation point! How joyful and prosperous you will be exclamation point - that, my friends, is a declarative sentence. He is declaring that if you will follow His ways and live in a state of holy fear and awe and reverence of your Lord God Almighty who sits enthroned in eternity and cannot cannot cannot be unseated - you do that, and guess what He’ll do for you? Fill your life with joyfulness. Allow you to enjoy the fruit of your labor. Bless you with another big ole dollop of joyfulness and just cuz He can He’ll add in prosperity. Success, my friend. You will thrive.
Now you get to do a bit of heart work. Don’t put this off - ideally just get after it right now.
Are you fearing Him? How is your joy factor? Are you enjoying the fruit of your labor? Would you say you are in a state of prosperity? Are you following His ways?
And if you aren’t sure what His ways are, exactly, I want to encourage you to open your Bible to the NT book of John, and start reading. He will begin to show you His ways. The Holy Spirit is so so good at this! Making the Word of God come alive to the people of God! And really dial in to chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17 of John. So many promises, so much hope, so much encouragement there.
Grab a copy of my devotional "The Power of God's Will" here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QG4Q7XH
And grab your ticket to The Such A Time As This online summit here - https://theycallmeblessed.teachable.com/courses/for-such-a-time-as-this-summit?affcode=73637_pngouulo
See you back here next time for episode #58!
Below is the link for the prayer retreat group - hope to see you there!
~ Jan
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Been a busy week with an online summit (I spoke a total of 6 times - YIKES!) so the show notes are coming early next week!
~ Jan
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Today we are looking at a NT verse from the book of Matthew, chapter 19 and verse 26. I will quote the NLT first, and it says “ With God everything is possible.”
Huge promise here. Huge.
Two things to note right off the bat:
1 - what’s the verb in this sentence? IS - That’s present tense, folks. So right now, RIGHT NOW, with God everything IS possible. IS. This is a present tense promise.
2 - God is not a liar.
This is really important to remind ourselves of, like, all the time. Every day. And you and I need to say this out loud. God is not a liar. Hey, devil, guess what? Lemme just remind you of this one thing, satan… God is not a liar. Hey, that fear that is creeping in? Speak to that fear and tell it this absolute, immovable, solid like a mountain sized boulder truth: God is not a liar.
Okay, so let’s think about your life right now. Do you have a health issue? Do you have a financial issue? Do you have relationship issues? Do you have problems at work? Is your extended family in a mess or in duress? Does your life look totally unlike you and your spouse or your friends thought it was gonna look like right now?
Let me just read once more the words of Jesus found here in Matthew 19:26 - With God everything is possible.
If it’s your health, it’s possible with Him. Your job your career - possible with Him. Your relationships - possible with God.
But remember, this verse covers over every single thing.
Don’t let your ideas about life get in the way of living the life God has laid out before you. We do it all the time - and if we just keep doing it, what impossibility are we going to miss out on?
He brings dead things to life all the time but we may be missing that in our own lives because we have failed to remind ourselves that the God of the impossible is our God.
This verse is for your present tense life, my friend.
And God? He does not lie to us.
Life Skills Leadership Summit - Feb. 22nd - 28th, 2021
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (NLT)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you (who are willing to learn) with My eye upon you. (Amplified)
NLT starts out with the words “The LORD says”. So that means I need to pay attention and to listen to what He is saying to me, to you, to His people. The LORD says - okay, so whenever I read that I need to make the decision to do more than just casually read, or skim read, but to opt to hear clearly just what it is that the Lord is about to say via His word.
Never forget that God’s Word is life changing. Never ever. And don’t ever stop expecting it to impact you in some way, shape or form every time you read it.
Do you want to know what you ought to be doing with your life? Ask and expect God to answer. If it says He will (will means WILL, does it not?) guide you along the best pathway for your life, then we can be certain that it actually means WILL. He WILL guide you along not just some random pathway, but along the BEST pathway for YOUR life.
He will advise you all along the pathway of your life. Can we pray that, maybe? Like this week, today even? Lord, advise me today. Guide me. Advise me. Watch over me, Lord. Instruct me. Teach me. Counsel me. Keep Your eye upon me, Lord.
He is going to - going to, not might, not consider it, but is going to instruct you in the way that you should go. So talk to Him about the stuff of your life - listen for what He will say to you - and then do exactly as He says.
Do you really want to even consider the thought of doing life without the loving, protective, watchful eye of the Lord upon you? I want Him keeping a very, very close eye on me every single moment, every single step of the way. And if part of getting what I want, ya know, is to be willing to learn from Him, well okay. That’s fine by me. I mean, I never get the short end of the stick with God, And neither do you my friend.
Life Skills Leadership Summit - Feb. 22nd - 28th, 2021
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Psalm 42:11 (Amplified) - Why are you in despair, o my soul? Why have you become restless and disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him. The help of my countenance and my God.
Psalm 42:8 (Amplified) - Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song will be with me.
There is that powerful word WILL. I hope you are always on the lookout for that word. And that you believe it when you see it, whenever you read it in one of God’s promises. It’s so good to remind ourselves that whenever God says that He will do something - oh yes indeed Mrs McCready He will, He will absolutely do it. Our God gets things done.
I don’t know what your tomorrow will be - so I am sharing this with you for your right now and I really really want it to bless you, encourage you, pour out God’s favor upon you in the right now. Today. When you lean in to listen to what He will say to you - believe that He will command His lovingkindness in the daytime (like, depend on that! All day long! God is commanding His lovingkindness over you all day long.)And at night, lying down to go to sleep or read a book before you nod off, before you turn on the book light remind yourself that His song will be with you. You can ask Him to give you a dream that sparks hope. You can pray for restful sleep, and that you would sleep soundly all the way through the night and that you will wake up early enough to spend a good hunk of time with Him in the morning. And know that if God says He is singing over you all night long - well, He is close by. He is keeping an eye on you.
How do you go about talking to yourself throughout the day? Look you don’t spend time with anybody as much as you do with yourself. Who talks to you more than your own thoughts? So who has sway? What weighs most? What weighs most is what wins.
To alter something you need to altar it - put it in Jesus’ hands and then keep your hands open to receive what He wants you to have in place of that stuff you needed to give over to Him.
Ask yourself, why are you in despair? Why have you become restless? Why in the world are you disquieted? Seriously, ask yourself these questions. And you know what will happen? You are going to be like, “Yeah. I know who my God is. I know who my God says I am. I will not be in despair. I’m not gonna stay restless and unsettled and disquieted. No, I choose to quiet myself like a weaned child and rest in my good and loving God.”
Expectant. Looking up - chin up - expecting God to move at any moment now. Any second now!
Don’t let your narrative be negative. Fit the narrative to God’s Word. What the Bible says is true. So live like you believe that it is true. And make your life, your thoughts, fit that narrative. And you know what? That’s how you go in the right direction. That’s how you live an obedient and submitted life before your God and your King.
I'm speaking at the upcoming Life Skills Leadership Summit & the host is giving 5% of all that comes in to Unbound and I am donating 5% of anything I bring in from tickets sold via my link . But the host Kerry Beck is going to meet my 5% as well. So her 5% plus my 10% and hopefully the other speakers will opt to donate too, because it compounds and it will, it will make a difference. Think about that child, that girl, that young woman whose whole life can be changed. Yeah - buy a ticket. Click that link. Please. I ain’t to proud to beg on this one folks.
The link is right below this & I cannot thank you enough for your support of this ministry.
https://kerry-beck-school.teachable.com/p/life-skills-leadership-all-access?affcode=455173_tyliaait
See you at the summit & in the event's group!
~ Jan
More Show Notes Coming Soon!
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Exciting news! My book "The Power of God's Will" is going to be featured in an upcoming curated faith-box from Avelyn Lane Home. Her goal is to bring love, encouragement and faith into people's homes via a box filled with items that support small businesses. I'm beyond honored to be part of this amazing biz/ministry!
Learn more at https://avelynlane.com/about/ and keep your eyes and ears peeled for info about how to get your own faith-box in the very near future!
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
Well, if you have listened to the podcast for a while, you have likely heard me mention Psalm 37. It’s just tremendous.
Keep your Bible open on a counter or tabletop to Psalm 37 and read a few verses each time you walk by
Psalm 37:3 & 4 New Living Translation -
Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.
Verses 7 & 8 -
Be still in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act.
Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper - it only leads to harm.
The Holy Spirit desires to guide us, to direct us, to enable us to have a healthy manner of thinking. Listen, I want to remind you that where your thoughts go, there your emotions go. And if your thinking and emotions are going the same direction over and over again, that’s the direction your health is gonna go.
Your thinking matters so much. What you think on, what you believe, in many ways will dictate how you live.
Rest in Him. Trust His good promises to you. Be still. Be patient.
You are to live your life, not to work your life. I think you know what I’m trying to say here. Are you living your life or working your life? Are you living or controlling and doing constant damage control? God does not need you to run interference for Him. He’s got it. What is it that you need to apply that to today? Whatever it might be, God’s got it.
Exciting news! My book "The Power of God's Will" is going to be featured in an upcoming curated faith-box from Avelyn Lane Home. Her goal is to bring love, encouragement and faith into people's homes via a box filled with items that support small businesses. I'm beyond honored to be part of this amazing biz/ministry!
Learn more at https://avelynlane.com/about/ and keep your eyes and ears peeled for info about how to get your own faith-box in the very near future!
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Part 2 of our look at Psalm 111.
And, no idea why, but the audio is just flat weird for this episode... as I was recording, it was super duper loud & when I spliced the intro with this episode, it was super duper quiet. I'll do some research and see what I can find out! But you may need to adjust your volume after the intro :)
Last time, on episode #48, we were looking at some verses from Psalm 111.
It was a reminder that God is a covenant making and a covenant keeping God. A covenant is very binding - God has used that term in His Word to reveal to us that He is serious about keeping His promises to His people.
We, the children of the Most High God, should be serious about believing the promises of God. As in, right now. Be careful not to nod your head and think,’Yeah! Yeah, that’s right!’ but then go on with your day and not take a minute to make sure you actually are believing God’s promises right now, today.
Psalm 111:7-10 (Amplified)
The works of His hands are truth and (absolute) justice; all His precepts are sure (established, reliable, trustworthy).
They are upheld forever and ever; they are done in (absolute) truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name - (inspiring reverence and godly fear).
The (reverent) fear of the LORD is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; a good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the LORD; His praise endures forever.
The hope that comes when we live knowing for certain that every single thing God does is only and totally done in truth and righteousness has the ability to change the landscape of our lives. Let these verses change your life today. After all, if the Word of God isn’t life-changing, then….well, what is it? If it does not change our lives, why do we read it, study it, pray God’s Word and memorize it?
How can we know when we’re seeing God working in this world? Verse 7 says that the works of His hands are truth and absolute justice. Where you see truth prevailing, God’s at work. Harder right now to find the truth than it’s maybe ever been since say 1776. It’s hard! But God is just, and that’s key to remember. Do you see justice coming about? That’s the hand of God. We can expect to keep on seeing things coming to light that have been hidden.
All of His precepts are sure, established, reliable, trustworthy. The definition of precept is this: a guiding principle or rule / a direction or order issued by an authority.
So every guiding principle, every rule, every bit of direction God gives us is sure, is established, is reliable and is trustworthy. Can you sense that this is for your good? He is not lying down on the job, folks, but is dialed in, completely attuned to your situation and to mine and He will never lead you astray. Never.
A teachable heart are possessed by all who do the will of the Lord.
Does that describe the state, the condition, of your heart today?
If not, will you take a few moments and talk to God about that state of your heart? Ask Him to keep your heart tender toward Him, and to bless you with a teachable attitude for all the remainder of the days of your life. It’s so important to avoid a hard heart. It’s so important to remain teachable.
f you really want to know God’s will, then you also really need to desire to do God’s will. And to do the will of the Lord, Psalm 111 tells us that we need to possess a teachable heart.
God’s got things He wants to do in your life and things He wants to do through your life. Get on board with those things by softening your heart, believe that His every guiding rule and direction is trustworthy, that nothing slips past Him and His concern for you cannot be matched by anyone else’s concern, ever - keep your eyes open to see His justice at work in this world, pray for truth to prevail and hidden things to come to light - why pray for that? Because it honors God, that’s why.
And starting right now, today, expect that God’s Word will be life-changing
And never, ever forget His promises to you will all be kept, every single one.
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Check out this devotional about God's promises (available on Amazon)
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
Psalm 111:2-6
Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all those who delight in Him.
He has made His wonderful acts to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful and full of loving compassion.
He has given food to those who fear Him (with awe-inspired reverence); He will remember His covenant forever.
He has declared and made know to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
Splendid and majestic is His work. Okay, so here we are faced with the hard truth about everything God does - His works are splendid (think on that for a second - splendid - what does that word bring to mind?)
He wants us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that His works are splendid - and majestic - and He has works to do in our lives, promises to keep to us, that will be splendid and majestic. Part of not missing out on those amazing moments includes believing Him for those moments before they actually happen and also reminding ourselves (and remind other people of this too) that God’s work in our life is splendid and majestic.
The definition of righteousness is: the quality of being morally right - free from guilt - excellent - virtuous - it really does mean to be right. God is always, always right. Period. Not comma, but period. He is always morally right. He never feels guilt over what He does or how He goes about fulfilling His perfect will because He is always morally right, and so cannot do the wrong thin.
His works are always excellent and virtuous. That is how He is working in your life. That is your promise from Psalm 111. Count on it!
God is ever mindful of His covenant.
He has made promises to you, and the way God makes a promise is to make a covenant. Like a legal agreement, in modern terms. It’s solemn and it’s binding. Kind of like a compact (anybody remember learning about the Mayflower Compact? They weren’t getting off of that itty bitty 25 foot wide, 106 foot long boat until they had all agreed to keep the compact. That’s what God is saying. You should know that’s how He views His words to you, His promises to you. They mean so much to Him, and He really wants you to know that the reason His promises mean so much to Him is because YOU mean so much to Him.
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises book available on Amazon
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
A very Merry Christmas to you!
May this Christmas be a time of great joy for you as you worship our Savior and receive His blessing & favor over your life.
I am praying that you have peace, joy, an increase in faith, protection and blessing, the highest favor and time to rest in God's presence over the next couple of weeks. Lord bless you this Christmas season!
(More show notes coming soon... and feel free to check out my new book "The Power of God's Will: 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" on Amazon. I'm awfully blessed to have finished this book and am praying it is a blessing to all who read it)
"The Power of God's Will: 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional"
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!) (2) Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat (August 3rd & 4th, 2020) | Facebook
See you for the next episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Revelation 22:3-5 (NLT) - No longer will there
be a curse upon anything. For the throne of
God and of the Lamb will be there, and His
servants will worship Him. And they will see
His face, and His name will be written on
their foreheads. And there will be no night
there - no need for lamps or sun - for the
Lord God will shine on them. And they will
reign forever and ever.
WOWZA!
As we draw closer to Christmas, it is wise for us to remind ourselves of the glorious future which awaits us.
No matter how 2020 ends, no matter what 2021 holds, we are safely bound for our eternal home and all of the promises that will change from faith to sight for us there.
Please spend some time in prayer about the amazing gift that Jesus is to us today & ask the Lord how He would like you to glorify Him this December. He has good plans for you and a great future in store. Hold on to hope and refuse to let it go!
And don't forget to check out the Messy Moms online event Saturday, December 12th!
MessyMoms.com
Hope to see you there!
Lord bless & Merry Christmas!
Jan
Lamentations 3:24 & 25 from the AMP says this: The LORD is my portion and my inheritance - says my soul - Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. The LORD is good to those who wait (confidently) for Him, to those who seek Him (on the authority of God’s Word).
verse 32 - For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness and tender mercy.
No matter what comes into our lives, none of it (as in, 0% of it - none, nada, nil) can occur outside of God's unending lovingkindness toward us.
Put things in "park" and wait expectantly for the Lord ~ but at the same time, put things in "drive" and have tremendous hope in the God who keeps His promises. Just put the brakes on all your fretting and frantic-ness and work harder-harder-harder some more but be very intense and intentional about believing He will do all that He has said He will do in and through your life.
Live believing. Because I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the advent of our Lord this Christmas season.
IMPORTANT INFO BELOW:
Link to Messy Moms online event:
MessyMoms.com
(coupon code "Messy Moms")
My book is on Amazon!
"The Power of God's Will: 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional"
And don't forget to read Psalm 23 while thinking about the truth that God is your portion and your inheritance.
See you for the next episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Isaiah 40:11 (New King James Version)
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.
Have you heard the saying, “Find a need and fill it?”
There was a season of my life when I was going and going and going like crazy - doing all the church things and serving in every way I possibly could. But what I wasn't doing was asking the Lord what His specific will was for me in each area I was serving. Serving is in no way wrong (Jesus said so in Mark 10:45). But serving so much that you haven't been able to go to church or small group and worship the Lord...that's where I was at. God had to get my attention and show me that as the mother of young children, He would lead me gently everywhere He wanted me to go and serve.
I learned to talk to Him about every area service, and knowing that His word clearly said that if I was not being gently led, then I was out of His will made it so much easier to say no to some things and yes to other things.
Regarding "finding a need and filling it", it can be pretty easy to step into some form of service for a while, and then step back out of serving. But when we are letting God lead us gently in all that we do, we end up receiving a calling. And stepping out of our calling for any reason is, quite frankly, sin.
Learning this in my 20s as a mom of young children saved me so much frustration and fatigue. I served BETTER in the areas to which I was called. It was a win-win for everyone.
OH - if you are interested in being a BETA tester for my new 40-day devotional book "The Power of God's Will ~ 40 Days of God's Promises" email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com or find me on social media (links below) and you'll get a free eBook with no strings attached (just give me your honest feedback/leave me a book review & don't share your free copy with anyone else). I'm planning to have the book on Amazon (print & eBook versions) by this weekend. YAY!
And we will be doing a couple of live "mini-retreat" sessions in the Praying Through the Storm Facebook group to kick off the Christmas season and then to wrap up 2020 and start a brand new year. Join the group via the link below if you're interested!
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!) (2) Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat (August 3rd & 4th, 2020) | Facebook
See you for the next episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Psalm 102:1-2 (Amplified) - Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry for help come to You! Do not hide Your face from me; in the day when I call, answer me quickly.
Psalm 142 (Amplified) -
I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before Him. I declare my trouble before Him. When my spirit was overwhelmed and weak within me (wrapped in darkness), You knew my path. In the way where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right (the point of attack) and see; for there is no one who has regard for me (to act in my favor). Escape has failed me an I have nowhere to run; no one cares about my life. I cried out to You, O LORD; I said, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Give attention to my cry, for I am brought very low; rescue me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison (adversity), so that I may give thanks and praise Your name; the righteous will surround me (in triumph), for You will look after me."
How do you pray?
No when you race through your prayer list in record time or say a prayer by rote before snarfing down your dinner.
When you really engage in the act of praying, how do you pray then?
When we pray big, bold, brave prayers, it feels a bit scary. But anything brave that we will ever do will be at least a little scary, so why would we expect praying to be any different?
Prayer originated with God. This manner of requesting what we have need of, interceding for others, began with Him. He is the initiator - prayer is not a human construct.
The sands of time are running out quickly, and so when we spend time in prayer, let's be bold and fervent and completely dialed in. Our praying is vital right now, now now and we cannot afford to postpone our "serious" praying for some other day down the road. Be a prudent pray-er, and don't put off what you can pray about today.
The key takeaway from this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is this:
Pour out your complaint before the Lord.
Pour it all the way out - empty yourself of it, don't hold anything back and don't stop praying before you're finished pouring! Get it all out before the Lord and leave it with Him. If you hang on to even the tiniest bit of your complaint, of that which ails you, it will grow like yeast and before you know it, it's a giant. (Unforgiveness is like this, too - forgive, forgive and forgive again. Be a daily forgiver and you're life will be blessed!)
So pour out your complaint, pour it all the way out, before the Lord. And then say out loud, so the devil and his evil minions can hear you say it, "God, You are my refuge - right here and right now. You are my safe place. You are my portion in the land of the living. You are the authority over my life, and nobody else can hold that position. I praise You for what You have done, what You are doing now, and for all You are going to do in my future. Thank You, Lord!"
Pour it all out - praise Him out loud - and walk in blessing and freedom!
The last sentence from Psalm 142 says this:
For You will look after me.
There's that important word "WILL" - and when God promises to do something, He absolutely will do it. Never forget that!
If you would like to join the online prayer group on Facebook, here is the link (request to join and we'll get you added to the group right away!) https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
See you for the next episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show!
Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
It's October of 2020 - fall here in Kansas. The time of year when the leaves fall (or are blown!) from the tree limbs and we can see before our eyes God's plan for seasons of letting go.
Perhaps, in your own life, it should also be a season to let go of some things. Things life negative self-talk, guilt & shame, attempts to control situations & outcomes & relationships...
Let go where the Lord is leading you to let go. And let every leaf you see this fall remind you that letting go seasons were created by God.
Psalm 18:30 (New Living Translation) - God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.
verse 31 - For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock?
verse 32a - God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect.
verse 35 - You have given me Your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; Your help has made me great.
verse 36 - You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.
How much promise do you need today? Whatever amount you stand in need of, Psalm 18 has enough & plenty to spare!
God's way is perfect. When you are following Him to the best of your ability, trusting in Him and walking in obedience to His call on your life, when you haven't stepped off the path He set you upon - you are in a good place. Even when "Job's friends" come along and assume you did something wrong, that you've stepped off God's path, due to some messy circumstances in your life, you can continue to trust the Lord and His plan on this path (sometimes life gets messy, even when we haven't done anything "wrong" & others can assume it means we're mired in deep, dark sin...but if you know you haven't stepped out of His will for your life, keep moving forward and pray for those who misunderstand you.) When the path is not at level as you'd prefer, when the incline is a bit steeper than you'd like, remember that God's way is perfect. That's in the present tense - as in right now. His way IS perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true. (isn't that pretty much the entire premise of this podcast?!?) If we could get a glimpse of what's taking place around us in the spiritual realm, we might be shocked at how well things are actually coming along. God's promises for your life are proving true right now. They really are!
He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection. God fulfills His role as my shield with absolute perfection. He is shielding you, He is protecting you, and He won't stop doing either of those things, ever.
For who is God except the Lord? This is, of course, a rhetorical question. There is only one real God and that's exactly who we are trusting in, believing, looking forward to spending eternity with. Our God is the only God - He is literally THE God. That's very comforting! Who is God except the Lord? No one, that's who.
Who but our God is a solid rock?
What are you standing on? What is the whole of your life built upon as a disciple of Jesus? You are standing on the Rock - there is no reason to fear & no room for fear in your life. Build well (because you are building on solid rock!) - Live securely (because your life is totally secure on the Rock of Jesus!) - Invite others in God's kingdom so they can leave behind their shaky ground & all feelings of instability.
God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect. Do you need to know the "perfect" way to proceed? I need this every single day! He'll lead you, my friend. And He'll also arm you with strength! You can depend on God for both those things.
You have given me Your shield of victory. The author of this psalm, David, was a warrior. He understood all too well what he was implying & what he was saying about God by saying the Lord had given him His shield of victory. These are BIG words! Do you use big words when you talk about who your God is? How big are your words when you pray, when you talk with the Lord about all-the-things? What do your words & your thoughts reveal about who you actually believe God is?
He has given you, and me, His shield of victory. With God's shield of victory, why do we so often go into battle wondering if we will really be protected, if things will turn out alright...basically, we wonder if we are just gonna lose!
Lord, thank You that You have given Your children Your shield of victory & we are not destined to defeat, to failure, to misery, to losing ground & never gaining ground. You have given us Your shield of victory for a reason - it is intentional, it is specific, and it will not fail us. Amen.
Your right hand supports me.
Well, it doesn't get much better than that! If one of your children had, say, an outpatient surgery and you help them get from the hospital into the car and from the car into the house, and they were leaning on you for support and for help, would you drop them like a hot potato? As if they were just an annoyance? Would you somehow forget that they were leaning on you, absentmindedly forget the very weight of them leaning upon you? God's a good Father. All His ways are perfect. And if His right hand supports - and by golly it sure does! - well, then, we won't ever be unsupported. You can lean on Him. (You do not have to keep trying to hold it all together. Let the Lord support you - He really wants to!)
Your help has made me great. No greatness worth having comes apart from the Lord. Often we believe for small things, for itty bitty kinds of things. I'm not sure we really know what it means to dream of greatness! God wants His children to be great in the things that matter most. And all greatness comes from the Lord. (This goes far beyond a good paying job, excellent health insurance, a fat savings account and a new RV in the driveway.) Real greatness is something God has for you. Ask Him what great things He would like to bring to pass in your life and then see what He does!
You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. A wide path gives us room to walk with certainty. A narrow path keeps us looking down at our feet, trying to avoid rocks and branches and uneven places, and so we end up looking down and only glancing up. When we walk with certainty, we glance down and look ahead. We move forward with long, strong strides. God has made a wide path for our feet for an exact reason - to keep our feet from slipping.
Christians can live as if they are somehow on the edge, teetering too close to doom & gloom, feeling responsible to keep themselves perfectly "in line" (whatever that even means... it's got a different definition for every person on this planet!). We are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit indwelling us to guide us, to strengthen us, to comfort us. Your feet do not slip so long as you are on the wide path He has provided for your feet to trod. And if you are willing to ask Him for His guidance, His leading, His will for your life, then you will be safely on that path.
Psalm 18 is such a wonderful passage.
As you roll on into the next week or so, as October gives way to November and then to December, take this paslm to heart. Believe it, my friend. It is God's promise to you for the right here & the right now.
Lord bless you & I will see you next time!
Also, feel free to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com if you'd like to be a BETA tester for my upcoming eBook of 40 devotions about the promises of God!
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Show Notes Coming Soon!
JanLBurt.com
If you are interested in being a BETA tester for my upcoming devotional book about God's promises, shoot me an email and I'll be in touch with you!
JanLBurt@outlook.com
2 Kings 8 - 18 & 19 (Amplified) - He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, became his wife He did evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet for the sake of His servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah; since He has promised to give him a lamp (enthroned descendant) through his sons always.
The amazing thing about the verses above go beyond the fact that, in spite of their wickedness, God did not destroy them... but the WHY behind that lack of destruction.
God was not willing to destroy Judah because He had promised something to David and even though David had long since died, God would not break that promise.
He had promised. So He stayed His hand and did not punish them.
This verse is a no-holds-barred, no bones about it testament that God always, always keeps His promises. Always. Period.
God has made you some promises, too. And He intends to keep them, no matter what. Period.
For some of us it is nearly fulfillment time. Could be later on today. Could be tomorrow morning... or next week... or in 10 days time.
Maybe it's just around the corner ~ or the corner after that ~ or even another corner after that one.
No matter what, it's getting closer to the time of fulfillment for the promise God made to you.
Let's count the cost of doubt & unbelief as it pertains to the promises of God. What does it cost us to live in unbelief? You will be downcast, discontented, discouraged, afraid, angry, bitter, & on edge. And when the promise comes to pass (which it certainly will!), you will enjoy it far less than the Lord desires you to, all because your joy got taken in the midst of your doubt & unbelief.
Unbelief costs us quite a lot. It is far more expensive than choosing to believe.
Give yourself a stern talking-to, one that follows suit from the coach in the US Olympic hockey team move "Miracle". When doubt comes a knocking, tell it "Not Today." Give it no quarter & no access - send it packing & bolt the door shut tight.
Believe today.
Your time is almost here!
Jan L. Burt
Here's the info for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" (join the free group & find a group of women to pray for you and with you!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Isaiah 40:31 - Amplified
But those who wait for the LORD (who expect, look for, and hope in Him) will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings (and rise up close to God) like eagles (rising toward the sun); they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired.
Isaiah 40:31 - CSB
But those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run an not become weary, they will walk and not faint.
Psalm 103:5 - NIV
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:5 - Amplified
Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the (soaring) eagle.
Often around the 30 year mark of life, an eagle goes through an intense molting process. During this time, they find a place to "hide out", usually high up on a mountain top with some sort of rocky, barren area, and they remove all of their feathers, break off their beak and scrape away their talons. Older eagles, who themselves have been through the molting process, will bring food to the eagle as he/she lies on the rockface and soaks in the sunshine.
After the molt comes to an end, the eagle will be faster, stronger, sleeker, with improved eyesight and better hunting and survival skills than even in their youth. This process actually allows them to live a longer life.
Are you enduring a time of molting? If so, hang on to hope and know that the promise of these verses are for you. You will have your strength renewed - you will soar one day - you will run & not grow weary - you will walk and not grow tired - God will satisfy your desires with good things & your years will be full of the blessings of the Lord - you will be stronger, faster, see more clearly, love people better, have more hope and will be even more impactful for God's kingdom than ever before, bringing Him great honor and glory.
Your best days still lie before you.
You have a very bright future, my friend. God's Word promises it!
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" on Amazon today.
Here's the info for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" (join the free group & find a group of women to pray for you and with you!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
Instagram @janlburt
This episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show shares some content from the new Susie Larson book Prevail -
Here's where you can get your own copy of the book:
Prevail on Amazon
At SusieLarson.com
Here's the info for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" (join the free group & find a group of women to pray for you and with you!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Woah Nellie - this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show brings the fire!
We're looking at Psalm 138 from the Amplified Bible ~
I will give You thanks with all my heart; I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods. 2 I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word together with Your name. 3 On the day I called, You answered me; And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.
4 All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord, When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled]. 5 Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts], For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord. 6 Though the Lord is exalted, He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship]; But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. 8 The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever— Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.
Verse 4 - God's promise as He gives them to us WILL BE FULFILLED. This speaks to us of a good, blessed future. If you're in a dark spot, think on this truth today & believe for a brighter, better tomorrow.
Verse 6 - This is literally what God does for us - as in, right now! We are all lowly as compared to the greatness of our God. And yet, He invites us in - this is such good news!
Haughty = arrogantly superior & disdainful...vain...pompous...snobbish... (let's be careful to eliminate all haughtiness from our hearts & be humble so that we can be known up close & personal, not from a distance).
Verse 7 - The promise here is a kicker! Can you say, like Job said, that even if He slays you, yet you will keep on hoping in Him? No matter what?!?
Verse 8 - This verse is a CLOSER... David ends with the words: "Do not abandon the works of Your own hands." What bold verbiage! Compare this with what Jesus said about prayer in Luke chapter 18 & pray big, bold prayers based on God's good promises to you today.
Here's the info for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" August 3rd & 4th on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.comon
Instagram @janlburt
Show Notes ~~~ Coming Soon!!
Join us for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" August 3rd & 4th on Facebook. No worries if you can't be there for the live sessions - you can watch them later on!
here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Show Notes ~~~ Coming Soon!!
Join us for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" August 3rd & 4th on Facebook. No worries if you can't be there for the live sessions - you can watch them later on!
here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Well hey there, hello & thanks for checking out this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
Super excited you stopped by & praying this podcast episode is a blessing & reminds you that God's promises for you are absolutely true!
We're taking a look at Psalm 60:12 - "With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies."
Sounds a bit intense, right?
But there is a whole lot of promise here for us, so hang in there with me while we take a look at just what God has promised to us from this verse.
God is always, always giving us hope. Always.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul stated that 3 things will remain after this life has ended - and those 3 things are FAITH - HOPE - and LOVE. (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). The greatest of these 3 is, of course, love. But hope - it may not hold the #1 spot, but it made the top 3!
Hope is right there on the short list of what will remain, of what actually matters most, and that lets us know for certain that God wants to give us hope & to keep on giving us hope.
Let's find the hope in this verse.
If God were to say, "That right there, that's a keeper," which one of us wouldn't want to have that exact thing in our lives in abundance? Have it in spades?
That's sort of what He says to us about hope. He means for it to be a "keeper". Not temporary or fleeting, but something that remains. Literally, a "keeper".
When we read this verse, Psalm 60:12, we see one little word written two times. The little word WILL.
Can you read the verse just once more, to humor me, and put the emphasis on the word "WILL" when you come to it?
With God we WILL gain the victory, and He WILL trample down our enemies.
That word WILL is important.
You are going to gain the victory, my friend.
Jobless right now? Depressed? Friendships waning? Tired of living life as a single person who wants to get married and start a family? Angry? Grieving?
It's a long list of things you might be dealing with right now - things you are wrestling with, things you are bearing up under. But you've got this hope right here - with God you WILL gain the victory!
WITH GOD.
This is our key to obtaining and securing and receiving the victory. WITH GOD.
Are you flying solo? Or are you really, truly doing life with God?
Is He in charge of all of your life...or is He not in charge? (There isn't really wiggle room to say, "Well, God is kind of in charge...He is mostly in charge..." He either is or isn't...there is no kind of or mostly.)
It's a yes or no question...either He is in charge of your life or He isn't. Period.
We want the Lord to be in it with us, in our daily walk of life, and we do not want Him marginalized or ignored, right?
And that's where you will find this promised victory - right there and nowhere else (because anywhere else takes the Lord out of His rightful position and if He is not in His rightful position, how will we gain the victory?) Put God in His rightful place, fully in charge of the entirety of your life, and watch Him give you the victory.
So let's be sure to bring God in. Right into the exact mess, that very thing right there, whatever feels super messy in your life right now. Invite the Lord into it. The sooner you do this, the better!
Okay, here's the deal. Please, please pretty please do not lose the hope of this verse!
Hang onto it and don't let go. Hope in the Lord, in the reality of His faithfulness to you, is an anchor for the soul. Don't lose your hope!
First, we do life with God, walking with Him at His pace (key point here - HIS PACE! Not our own pace & not the pace others want your life to move at) & then He gives you the victory, then He tramples down all your enemies.
And keep in mind that when you march to the beat of your own drum, it means you're a little bit different...that people can't get you to do what they want you to do when they want you to do it - because you're marching to the beat of your own drum, and aren't marching to their drumbeat.
It's similar when you march to the beat of the Lord's drum for your life - not everyone will understand or approve. That's to be expected! But stay close to Jesus, and He'll take the sting out of that sense of being "different" than people would like you to be.
When we do life with the Lord, we get to gain the victory alongside the Lord. READ THAT AGAIN...
We also get to watch, from a place of complete and total safety & security, while God tramples down our enemies. Those enemies could be fear or work issues or health problems or relationships - could be a lot of things. That word "ENEMY" is a broad word.
Keep trusting Him! Keep hoping in Him! Believe you will see Him trampling down those enemies. Because, after all...won't He do it? Oh, yes, He most certainly will!
Lord bless & see you back here next time!
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Acts 2:39 - The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.
When God gives us something that we can grab hold of & hang on to & believe Him for individually (as in, just for us as His dearly loved child) it's terribly comforting. It's very personal.
When God gives us as His whole body, His whole Church, a promise, that's just plain beautiful.
And when God gives us promises that are generational - as in, for those who will come after us (specifically our children and our grandchildren and so on) --- well, that is something else entirely!
When you spend time in prayer for your children - which I hope happens every single day - don't fail to utilize and make the most of the promise from this New Testament verse. I want to encourage you to use this verse in your beseeching (and if your prayers aren't exactly "beseeching" the Lord for specific things for your offspring, I guess this is your challenge to make sure they become "beseeching" prayers!). Please be willing to pray God's Word back to Him on behalf of your loved ones. Don't miss this!! It delights Him when His children know His Word and speak His Word in prayer. Praying in this manner reveals that we believe His Word is true. It reveals our faith in Him when we pray His promises in belief.
Ask God to give you specific promises for your children. And be sure to write those promises down where you will see them often and pray them often.
Be sure to put them down in ink, not with a pencil. God's promises are not able to be altered or erased, so don't treat them as if they might be "erase-able" by writing them down with lead rather than with ink, if you get my meaning.
Have you ever met a kid who just sort of keeps on this type of rant: "But you promised! You said you would do that! You said! But you said...!!!"
Believe it or not, we need to behave a bit more like this in our prayer lives and a whole lot less timidly. (God's Word tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in our time of need --- check out Episode #1 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show to hear more about that verse from the book of Hebrews).
We need to become more importunate in our praying.
Let's look at these words from Jesus when He taught His disciples about prayer:
Luke 11:5-10 (NLT) - Then, teaching them more about prayer, He used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this - thought he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you as for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
Luke 18:1-8 (NLT) - One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," He said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!' " Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?"
Definition of IMPORTUNITY: persistence, especially to the point of annoyance --- shamelessness --- lack of modesty --- urgent request
In the King James Version, Luke 11:8 uses the word IMPORTUNITY where the NLT uses the phrase "shameless persistence".
This is, my friend, how the Lord Jesus TAUGHT His disciples to pray. And it is how He wants us to pray.
Quick Side Note for Those Who Do Not Have Children
You are a child of God. There is nobody - and I do mean absolutely nobody! - on the outside looking in when it comes to the Kingdom of God. I want you to take it from me - take this from me right now and don't set it down somewhere...take it and hold on to it, please! - You are not an outsider. You are absolutely and insider in God's Kingdom. You matter. Did you hear me? I said, YOU MATTER!!! Having or not having children does not mean you matter more or less - and this podcast episode is a promise for those who don't have children just as much as it is for those who are parents. Remember, you matter! There are no outsiders in God's family. You truly do matter. Ask the Lord to lead you to godly friendships, to places where you will not feel as if you are on the outside looking in, but are on the inside inviting others in to join you. Don't give up hope - pray to the God of all hope to give you a place where you can know you belong and not feel as if you are merely tolerated. Don't resign yourself to staying on the outside and looking in longingly...that is not what Jesus died for. Never forget, you matter!
Now, let's take a look at the remainder of the promise in this verse.
This promise is for all whom the Lord our God will call.
There is a sense of the future tense in this verse. This is for all who will ever be called by the Lord. And we know that He wants everyone, as in all of mankind, to be saved and none to perish, so He is calling out to everyone. We can pray big prayers based on this promise!
Pray God's promises and pray them again tomorrow and then the next day and just do not stop praying!!
God's promises are for you ... & for your family... & for your circle of influence. So pray that way, believe this promise because it is 100% the truth.
And a quick FYI - at the very tail end of July/start of August I am going to be hosting an online prayer retreat. It will take place via a Facebook group and all the prayer sessions will be there to watch & rewatch & members will be able to invite friends to join. And it will be totally, completely free. Stay tuned for more info or follow me on Instagram or Facebook to keep up with updates.
Lots going on the next few weeks - I would love your prayers as I work overtime to get done in about 10 days what normally has about a 3 month runway...it's gonna be wild!
Lord bless you - see you back here next time!
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Psalm 18:1-2 - The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
A refuge for the weary.
A rock for those who are unsteady.
A clear place for those who feel confused.
A safe haven.
Always dependable.
What a beautiful reminder of who our God truly is.
The Lord is all we've really got in this life and the next...and folks, He is all we really need.
Here are a couple of additional versions of the verses featured in Episode 31:
The Lord is my steadfastness, and my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is mine helper; and I shall hope in him. My defender, and the horn of mine health; and mine up-taker (My God is my helper; and I shall trust him. My defender, and the horn of my salvation, or of my deliverance; and my rescuer). I shall praise, and inwardly call the Lord; and I shall be safe from mine enemies. (I shall praise him, and I shall call on the Lord; and I shall be saved from my enemies.) --- from The Wycliffe Bible
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies.
--- from the New Revised Standard Version
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Luke 21:33 - "Heaven and earth will disappear but My words will remain forever."
The promise we can lean in and trust God for from this New Testament verse is this...this world is not going to last. But God's Word and all the promises it holds will remain. Forever.
Think back to last year --- way back in 2019 --- (that feels like a decade ago, not 6 months ago!!) --- I remember pondering what it would be like if the Lord began to call His servants home. And He has for sure called some modern day spiritual leaders home to glory, to be with Him. And it is a strange thing to consider, what might be happening on this tired old planet as the end of all things as we know them draws ever nearer, day by day.
The reason this podcast episode is important is because we need desperately to grab hold of that which will not change.
Nothing is stable right now.
Every few minutes we find new and updated information about the state of the world we live in, and it's almost surreal how flexible things have become in such a short period of time.
Having something solid in the midst of all this fluidity is tremendously comforting. It is necessary.
God's Word will not change. The words of our Lord Jesus will remain forever. It truly is necessary to know that.
When we remember that this promise includes every single promise that the Lord has given us in the Bible, we can grab hold of those promises and live in belief. Which enables us to live securely.
If you have some promises that you are clinging to right now, do not forget that no matter how dark things look, no matter how bad things get, those promises are going to come to pass. No matter what. No matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.
Lord bless you today as you continue to believe God for all His good promises and live in such a way that others are drawn to God because of what they see in your life.
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Thanks for joining me for this episode - it's another opportunity to remember the faithfulness of our God & to bring to the very forefront of our minds one specific promise He has given us from His Word.
John 14:27 (AMP) - "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart and the peace I give you isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or confused."
Can you take a moment and think of Jesus speaking these words of comfort directly to you, face to face, right now, today?
The Lord knows what we need and He knows just when we need it. Hopefully someone listening today (or reading the Show Notes) finds this verse to be just what they need right now. If that's you, please know it is a sign of how much the Lord cares for you. You did not end up here by accident - God set aside this day and time to share this exact verse in order to bring you His comfort, peace of heart and of mind, and to let you know that He sees you and He hears your prayers and He loves you fiercely.
In this verse we see Jesus telling His disciples that He is going to give them a gift. A gift? That's great! What is it? What could possibly be better than a gift from Jesus?!?
They had seen Jesus do the miraculous: raise the dead to life, take a handful of food and feed thousands, walk on top of the water...they had literally seen the impossible become reality right before their eyes time and time again. And none of those had been referred to as gifts from Jesus for them. I am certain they were paying attention in order to hear what Jesus' gift for them would be.
We, like the disciples, want to be sure to grab hold of and make the most of any and every gift the Lord has for us. If Jesus has left us something, then it was left with us to be of benefit to us while we await the time when we can be with Him forever. The gift was left to bless us, to help us, to be an actual gift for us.
And boy oh boy, peace that comes from the Lord is a gift worth treasuring.
We need it. We do not want to leave this gift unopened and unused. We want to utilize it in our every day walking around life.
Peace of heart & peace of mind.
How good Jesus is to us to make sure we know this peace is for both our heart and our mind...because sometimes our mind works through a situation one way, while our heart veers off in a totally different direction. And our loving Savior makes sure we have this gift of peace to cover BOTH aspects of our lives. Thank You, Lord!
To make sure that we really get it, that we fully catch His drift and understand the value of this gift of peace, Jesus says this peace is not like the peace that the world gives.
The world's peace is temporary and fleeting and frustratingly hard to grab hold of and keep hold of.
Jesus' peace envelops us, overcoming us from the inside our and from the outside in all at the same time. It's DIFFERENT. And that is really, really good!
None of us needs one ounce more of the same ole', same ole'. We need that which is different, that which is so much better.
Jesus' peace envelops us and comes upon us directly from Him as a precious gift, while the world's peace is always slipping away from us, just out of reach, no matter how hard we work to grab hold and fight to hang on.
The raw truth is that this world & all our current circumstances are just too much without Jesus.
And there are people around us who are trying to do life without Him. Can I encourage you to pray for those people? Jesus wants to give Him His peace. Please pray for that to become a reality in their lives!
The last few words of this verse say, "So don't be troubled or afraid."
Anybody got some troubles? Anyone feeling a bit afraid? It seems as if we are standing on the ledge of a Grand Canyon sized hold of uncertainty. So much new, overwhelming, uncharted territory looms large right in front of us.
Yes, we need to hear Jesus speak over our lives, over our unsettled and uneasy hearts and minds, "Do not be troubled or afraid."
God's promise in John 14:27 to give you the lasting gift of His peace is still as true today as it was when Jesus first spoke these powerful words. The disciples went through a very dark night of the soul when Jesus died at Calvary. They needed this promise like oxygen! It's okay if you need it like oxygen, too.
Believe this promise today.
Just sit back, take a deep breath, and believe that this peace of heart and mind is yours for the taking right now. He is going to make a way for us to live untroubled and unafraid. That offers a whole lot of hope right now. Believe it and trust Him to make this your reality.
I'll be back here with you next week for a look at another verse from the New Testament in Luke chapter 21.
Feel free to DM me on instagram or leave a comment on this episode. And don't be slow to use your gift of peace - be at peace- give grace and peace to others - walk in the certainty that Jesus keeps all His promises and this one is your promise for this season of life.
Thanks for joining me in my quest to make the name of Jesus famous in this generation.
Lord bless you!
- Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Hey there! Thanks for checking out this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I hope you are blessed & can see evidence of God's promises for you showing up all over the place. He has so much good for you, right here and now!
Zephaniah 3:17 says this: "The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
This is a beautiful verse of promise. It is spilling over with hope and the assurance of God's love and care for us. This is rock your world kind of goodness right here!
There is plenty in this verse we can believe God for.
And hey, just a friendly reminder: What you believe the Lord for is also what you should be praying for and what you are thanking Him in advance for. Do all 3 of those things - believe Him for it, pray and ask Him for it, and thank Him for it right now, before you even have it.
Sometimes we believe God for something and then we don't pray for that certain something or praise Him for working on our behalf regarding that certain something.
What we believe God for is also what we should be praying for and thanking God for.
Believe for ~ Pray for ~ Praise God for the same exact things.
1 - The Lord your God is with you.
~ God is super close and super personal. He is right there with you.
2 - He is mighty to save.
~ There is a 0% chance that you are in this thing alone. And a 100% chance that God is just as mighty to save today as he was when the prophet penned this verse thousands of years ago. Remind yourself often that the Lord is with you, and He is mighty to save.
3 - He will take great delight in you.
~ What is God going to do? He will take great delight in you. And He is going to keep on taking great delight in you day after day, week after week, year after year. Think of something that just flat brings you delight in life...get a picture of that something in your mind. Now, realize that the thing that brings the Lord great delight...is...you. How great is that?!?
4 - He will quiet you with His love.
~ We never want to miss it when God promises that He WILL do something. That word "will" in a promise from the Lord is like solid gold. Don't discard solid gold; don't let go of it. Take good care of it. God's promise for you here is pure, refined solid gold. Watch carefully over this treasure He has given to you. He WILL quiet you with His love. That's a promise with a whole lot of meat on it's bones.
5 - He will rejoice over you with singing.
~ What kind of ruler or god would ever declare that they choose to sing and rejoice over their followers/worshipers/subjects? None but the Lord God Most High! Our Living Savior is so completely secure in His sovereignty, His deity, His reign and His rule, His perfect power and His perfect plan that will be perfectly fulfilled, His perfect timing, His perfect judgment, His perfect patience, and of course His perfect justice - He is so secure in Who He is and in His total & absolute control over all things at all times, that He can rejoice over His people with singing.
Does this verse not bring you comfort today?
I am praying that as you listen to this podcast episode, a whole new understanding of the depth of God's great love for you floods your heart and your mind and your soul.
See you back here next time, friends! Lord bless you today!
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Psalm 106:24 & 25 (Amplified)
Then they despised the pleasant land (Canaan); they did not believe in His word nor rely on it, but they sulked and complained in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the LORD.
Rebellion is nothing new.
People have always had a rebellious streak & that's not likely to change anytime soon.
But God is our Deliverer, and He is able to deliver us from our rebellious tendencies.
The hope, the promise, in these verses is tied to the warnings that are listed in this psalm. Don't be intentional in continuing with your rebellion, but also don't ever forget that it is the Lord who delivers you when you need to be delivered.
Our Deliverer delivers. Actually, He over-delivers.
Psalm 106 lays out a brief history of some of the ways God delivered His people, the Israelites, in the early books of the Old Testament. It also contains great praise and adoration for the Lord's mercy and loving kindness toward them. (Reading Exodus 14 is a great faith-boosting, God-praising chapter that I highly recommend reading as soon as possible!) And then this psalm goes on to describe how they forgot God's goodness toward them. Envy took over their hearts, minds & emotions and polluted their environment. Idols were crafted and Moses spent time in powerful intercession before the Lord, asking Him to spare them in spite of their sinful behavior and wicked hearts.
As if that were not enough, after all of that (and all of that is quite a lot, actually!) then they despised the pleasant land which the Lord had in store for them...they hated their inheritance...they sulked & complained and did not listen to the voice of the Lord...
Ouch.
Then...after that...they despised...they did not believe...they did not listen...
My question for you today is this: What is your "then...after that" today? What has the Lord done for you that you have forgotten? What works of the Lord have you oh-so-quickly forgotten about?
Hard question to answer honestly, isn't it?
Listen, when we choose to wait on the Lord with patience, to wait for His counsel & His guidance, for His path forward through whatever Red Sea we find ourselves backed up against...when we wait well, expectant and in total trust in our good & loving & personal God...then we will discover that not only does He have a plan for our pain, He has a purpose for it, too. (And those can be 2 markedly different things - give it a little thought!)
God has a purpose for your situation and in your situation. In each and every situation in your life, actually. But we can easily miss it by failing to wait for His counsel.
But the promise for us is the exact opposite...when we do wait patiently for God's counsel, then we will see His purposes being unveiled and revealed in those exact situations and circumstances. How awesome is that?!?
Remember, jacked up thinking leads to jacked up behavior. It causes us to despise the pleasant things God wants to bless us with...
When we will not wait with patience for God's guidance we almost certainly will not believe in nor rely upon His promises or His Word.
We end up sulking and then complaining in our own homes (basically, living with misery by extending it an open-door invitation) and eventually stop listening to the Lord altogether.
As I said earlier...OUCH.
Let me end this episode with a challenge - and I really encourage you to take me up on this!
It's terribly easy to slide into a place of not believing God for anything anymore...one day at a time, we gradually end up somewhere that is pretty dismal (i.e. The Land of Unbelief).
So, my challenge is this: Let's all get caught in the act of believing God as often as we can.
Just get caught in the act of believing Him. That's it! Nothing else, just believe Him today!
God has so much good for you - some of that good is for today, and then there will be more good for you tomorrow, and so on. Believe Him for it!
Today, grab some of that good stuff & refuse to let go!
Lord bless - catch ya back here next time!
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Daniel 7:14 & the dominion of our Lord.
Jesus has total & absolute dominion over everything - over all of it.
All means ALL & that should provide us with tremendous comfort.
Nothing is exempt from "ALL". Because all really does mean every single thing.
Daniel 7:14 (Amplified) -
And to Him (the Messiah) was given dominion (supreme authority), glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and speakers of every language should serve and worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:14 (King James) -
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Jesus has reigned, does reign, and will continue to reign over all things.
Philippians 2:9-11 (Amplified) -
For this reason also (because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself), God has highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW (in submission), of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11 (King James) -
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The verse from Daniel is completely clear on this point: the Messiah was GIVEN dominion (complete authority).
Here's the thing about being given something...whether it's an inheritance or a gift or a throne. That which was given can be taken from the recipient only by someone who is stronger / more powerful / wiser & there is absolutely no force in the universe stronger, wiser, more powerful than Jesus. Nobody's nobody can take His dominion & complete authority from Him. He will never abdicate His throne or His authority! (Martin Luther said that even the devil is God's devil...and that's a pretty amazing truth to think about, isn't it?)
Our Lord is THE Lord. What has been given cannot be taken away from Him.
John 15:16 (Amplified) -
"You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name (as My representative) He may give to you."
John 15:5 (Amplified) -
"...apart from Me you can do nothing."
Jesus' statement that we had not chosen Him but He has chosen us is tremendously important.
The one who does the choosing - the CHOOSER - is the key figure, not the one who has been chosen. Jesus chose us. He appointed us and placed us and purposefully planted each one of us. Does that sound like He desires for us to live willy-nilly, random, find-a-need-and-fill-it lives? Or does it sound as if He who chose and appointed and purposefully planted us has a call for each of us that He would like us to fulfill? He says clearly that He wants us to bear fruit and keep on bearing - fruit that remains. Fruit that lasts.
To me, this sound more like "Hear the Lord's call & obey it" than "Find a need & fill it."
Daniel 7:14 says we are called to serve and worship the Messiah. Do that by seeking His call, which is His purposeful planting of you in this world, and then obeying that call. And expect to see His sovereignty play out in ways you have never even dreamed of!
If you want to see more of God's sovereign hand in your life, you need to do life His way.
You will discover your call from the Lord by abiding - not by striving.
With abiding comes fruit bearing.
With abiding comes powerful answers to prayer.
Abiding is better by far.
Jesus is Lord. He is Sovereign. What He has been given cannot be taken away and will not be given away.
His work and role for your life in this world is solely up to Him - it is not in the least random or left to chance or even left to logic.
You have been planted on purpose for a purpose, which is to serve and worship Jesus. A big part of that is learning how to be an active abider.
The dominion of our Lord & King will never, ever end.
And that means none of His power is lost on your current circumstances.
He has dominion.
You are going to be A-Okay.
Keep believing that God's promises - they are for you!
Go through your life grabbing as much of the gusto (the promises of God) as you possibly can. Don't leave anything on the table!
Lord bless you today!
- Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
God's promises are LIFE for us as His children.
LIFE.
The words of this psalm can impact, improve and enhance our lives..help us to grow, be more functional, and become more like Jesus.
Psalm 1:4, 5, 6 (Amplified)
The wicked (those who live in disobedience to God's law) are not so, but they are like the chaff (worthless and without substance). - Therefore the wicked will not stand (unpunished) in the judgment, not sinners in the assembly of the righteous. - For the LORD knows and fully approves the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
It is crazy vital for us to remember that we don't obey a list of rules and regulations and do's and don'ts - we truly do have freedom in Christ. We obey based on these words Jesus spoke in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will obey My commands."
This psalm promises that we are rooted, like a tree firmly planed by streams of water. We are settled and established and secure. We are in the right place during feast or famine, come rain or shine. Whatever life brings our way, no matter what season we find ourselves in. We are blessed and protected and will grow and bear fruit in all seasons. What a profound promise!
The Lord knows. He knows all the ins and outs and details of our lives. Life changes on the horizon? The Lord knows. Going through a big trial or enjoying a big blessing? The Lord knows. Take comfort in His knowing.
This week, write Psalm 1, verse 6 on a sticky note and post it someplace where you will see it often. Let it lay the foundation of your life each day for the next 7 to 10 days. I really do believe that focusing on this one verse (or better yet, all of this psalm!) will have an impact that is positive - your trust will grow, your hope will flourish, your heat will be more at ease.
Also, my latest book will be available as an eBook on the website JanLBurt.com this week. The price is just $7 and since it is a digital product, you have immediate access to your purchase. Grab a copy or send one to a friend. It's titled "So Long, Guilt & Shame" and I am very hopeful that this eBook will make an impact on those who read it & I am thankful to have it all ready to go.
Thanks for checking out this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - see you back here next time for a look at the dominion of Jesus.
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
Words in red.
Whenever we read words in red in our Bible, it's terribly important to slow down, take pause, and pay close attention. Jesus is speaking, not just to those in His presence a couple thousand years ago...but to us, you & me, right now this very day.
So let's take a look at some important words in red that are very fitting for us in this day & age.
Matthew 6:31-34 (Amplified) - "Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) saying, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?'. For the (pagan) Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; (but do not worry) for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right - the attitude and character of God), and all these things will be given to you also. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:31-34 (ESV) - "Therefore, do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heaveny Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, an all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Resonate with anyone today?
These are unprecedented times - masks in public, working from home (if you still have a job, that is!), student loan payments at 0% interest, long lines to get into the grocery store, total uncertainty as to when it all will end... & how it will alter the landscape of society in the future. Unprecedented. As in, we have no precedent to look at as we go through this.
And yet, through is the only way we'll get through, know what I mean?
So these words of Jesus are so fitting for all of us. Let's draw encouragement from them & live believing Jesus' promise here that He will - absolutely will! - care for us. Let's be certain to put His kingdom first, to choose His way of doing and of being right, and make a decision live faithless today.
These words are concrete proof of just how much God cares for us - just how greatly He loves us.
We are not forgotten or abandoned or alone or set aside. No, rather we are tucked away.
When you feel the tension of stay at home orders & quarantines starting to rise up within you, remind yourself that you are tucked away...not set aside. And those are not at all the same thing.
Do not be worried, anxious, uneasy or distracted by what you are going to eat or drink or wear...or any need that is real in your life. Don't live like someone who has outright rejected God, because that isn't who you are. Live in belief, because of your identity as a child of God.
The reality is that each and every day brings with it's new dawn enough...enough trouble & stress for that day. You and I have no idea what tomorrow will bring in terms of trouble & difficulty, but it will be enough...
Enough is enough, if you catch my drift.
Let the enough that Jesus said will be in each & every day be enough, and no more. Do not add to it by pondering tomorrow. Don't give in to the temptation to contemplate what is honestly incomprehensible. Just don't go there.
Enough is enough.
And when it feels as if enough is too much, on those days hang tight to the truth that Jesus is always, always more than enough.
Lord bless!
See you next time -
Jan L. Burt
(And hey - my new website it up & running! Check it out at JanLBurt.com, if you'd like!)
JanLBurt.com
Taking a look at Psalm 1 ~
Psalm 1:1-3 (Amplified) Blessed (fortunate, prosperous and favored by God) is the man who does not wlk in the counsel of the wicked (following their advice an example), not stand in the path of sinners, not sit (down to rest) in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers). But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law (His precepts and teachings) he (habitually) meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planed (and fed) by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers (and comes to maturity).
Psalm 1:1-3 (CSB) - How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the LORD's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither; whatever he does prospers.
First a really quick but important reminder about the book of Psalms - Psalm 1 is the first book of the psalter, and it sets the tone for all the rest of the psalms. Anything else you read from the psalms, anytime you see a verse from psalms shared on social media or via an email, when your pastor preaches from the psalms or a book you are reading references particular verses from psalms - basically, anytime you read anything from this book of the Bible, keep in mind that the foundation is laid right here in Psalm 1. All that follows is built upon what we are going to look at here.
When we read the first few verses, of course we gravitate more toward the blessings that are mentioned. But before we can receive these blessings, we have to be willing to take a hard look at our lives and see if we might be doing any of the things that verse 1 tells us we ought not to be doing.
We don't just fall into these blessings like we might fall into a ditch. They do not happen by osmosis. I, as in me, myself, and I, must decide that I am not going to walk in the counsel of the wicked (meaning I won't be following their example or taking heed of their "advice" or wrongly believe that God may speak through them into my situation - which He won't because He doesn't violate His own Word).
And just in case you might be wondering how to know whether or not someone is "wicked" (the word used in this passage), let me just remind you to not pretend not to know what you already know. In other words, you pretty much know when something is wicked. Life is short & eternity is long, so please don't play coy & pretend you don't know what you do know. Wicked is wicked - evil is evil - and you can recognize it and not make friends with it and reject its counsel and advice and not be a "judgmental" person.
I mentioned in the podcast the words of Jesus that people so often quote ~ which is to judge not lest you be judged yourself. I encourage you very strongly to read ALL of Matthew chapter 7 (and probably all of Matthew chapter 5 & 6, too). We need to be careful to take God's Word as it was intended, as it was written, and not misconstrue single verses to fit certain situations.
Listen, the honest truth is that a lot of the time the reason we throw Matthew 7:1 around is to either A) get ourselves out of the position of telling someone the honest truth, which is that something they are doing is really bad for them & for others or B) to give ourselves a pass regarding something we are doing that we know is not the Lord's best for us (and the whole "don't judge" thing lends itself naturally to "don't judge me, cuz I ain't judging you", which prevents people from speaking into our lives).
Be very careful how you use this verse...and at the very least, please read it all in context.
To be blessed, favored, fortunate then we are going to have to decide not to take advice or follow the example of those who behave in wicked ways, and also make up our minds that will will not stand in the paths of the sinful. Don't be hanging out with them, listening to them spew filth, doing life with them...maybe don't binge watch that series on Netflix because they're telling you it's funny if you know you don't need to view that sort of content.
First we walk, then we stand, and then we sit down. Once we stop walking, we are spending a lot more time engrossed in their world. And when we sit down, we are staying in their world for an extended period of time.
The order here is important - first we walk, then we stand, then we sit. And the way this is phrased reveals that God takes very seriously the behavior of those who are scoffers, mockers, ridiculers. Mockers get a lot of coverage in the Bible, so we can't just make light of this. We need to take seriously whatever God says is worth taking seriously, and not being a mocker or spending time intimately with mockers is pretty serious to Him.
And you know that you know that you might like to get a good laugh from whatever it is the mocker/scoffer is talking about today...but you sure don't trust them with your darkest secrets or struggles. They aren't your role models and you never would encourage your kids to grow up to be just like them. So, keep that in mind before you try to excuse away what I am saying here. It's important enough for you to keep things private and out of their supply of cannon fodder, so it's important enough to just not sit with them and receive their "counsel".
The path to the promised blessing is this: choose to delight in the law of the Lord (in His teachings and His grace and His Word). Start your day thinking about God and His Word, and end your day the same way. That is one simple and sure-fire way to get on the fast track to the blessings promised in Psalm 1.
This right now moment in time is exactly the moment when you and I need to be firmly planted and continually fed by our God. He is our living God, He is our right now God for this very moment. So this very moment is when He is firmly planting us and sustaining us.
If you know Jesus as your Lord, then this is your season to bear fruit. This is the day in which more change, more upheaval is happening than ever before...and this is the day in which people are more open to hearing about God, allowing you to pray for them, listening to what God's Word says than at any other point in modern history, perhaps. This is your season to bear fruit. Your leaf will not wither - if you share God's blessings and love with those around you who need it, God's not going to leave you hanging with just one dried out, brown crusty leaf. Your leaf will not wither - that's a sure promise for you right now.
This is your chance - so what will you do with it?
I hope you go and bear fruit now, because right now is your season.
Now in the episode I mentioned that when this is all over, when coronavirus has done it's total damage and we can look back over all of it, what will that be like for us as Christians? What do we want to see upon reflection? We can make a choice, right now today, about what our hindsight is going to be like. Let's do things today that will make it easier to reflect well without wincing in regret.
(And I mentioned a thing called the "Flowbee" in this episode - here is a link to a commercial from the 80's about that strange oddity...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nztfGEXMMw0)
Have a blessed day & thanks for checking out Episode 21 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I'm thankful for you!
See ya next time!
Jan
JanLBurt.com
JanLBurt@outlook.com
on Instagram @janlburt
These are very strange and turbulent times, are they not?
And the one thing that I have to offer you via this podcast, the one thing of any real and lasting value, is hope.
What a powerful and life-changing little word that is: HOPE.
Real hope only comes from Jesus, of course. So if you don't know Jesus personally, as in He is your own personal Savior who paid the price for your own personal sins & secured your freedom from those sins and opened the door for you to have eternal life as well as free life right here and now, then please seek Him today while He may be found, because He is not far from you at all. Ask Him to forgive your sins, bring you into His family, and guide you through His Word, through prayer, and through this crazy, topsy-turvy time right now. And if you do know Jesus personally, then the hope you have in Him should be the loudest thing in your life right now.
That's the whole goal for this episode...to just throw hope around like glitter, because boy oh boy do we ever need it!
Can you take a moment and answer this question?
How has your life, your world, changed over the last week or so?
Guys, it’s been a lot...and it’s okay take a moment, draw a deep breath, and acknowledge that it has indeed been a lot.
Can you take a sec, pause and look for God's hand going before you in advance of all that has happened re: the coronavirus global pandemic?
If you look for His hand, you will find it. Little and big pieces that He was putting in place weeks or maybe even months ago. Ways He led you to cut back, to start working from home, to handle that work situation and make that work trip or schedule those large group meetings that maybe seemed a bit premature but in hindsight were taken care of in the nick of time.
Hey, maybe you bought a couple of books and didn't have the foggiest idea that you'd have ample time to sit down and really read them (by really read, I mean read at a relaxed pace which allows you to learn and enjoy those books to the utmost). Or did you start a new at-home workout routine...and that's already an established habit that won't be impacted by the YMCA shut downs.
Big things or little things, can you take a moment and look for God's hand going ahead of you, to see what He already had in play far in advance of all...of...THIS.
This is important because where you can find His hand in your life, you simultaneously find His heart for you. His hand at work is raw evidence of His great love for you...and don't we all need to know how much He loves each one of us right now?
Look & see where the Lord's hand has been shifting and positioning and pivoting and preparing a way for you. Be assured that each bit of evidence you find is solid gold proof of how much He cares about you. He sees and He knows and He is here.
This is your personal God giving you personal comfort and personal assurance in a very uncomfortable time.
Now let's take a look at His Word -
1 Peter 5:6-7 (Amplified) -
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God (set aside self righteous pride), so that He may exalt you (to a place of honor in His service) at the appropriate time. (vs 7) casting all your cares (all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all) on Him, for He cares about you (with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully).
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV) -
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may liftyou up in due time, cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
Okay, let's dive in and see what all is promised to us here ~~~
Can you think for a second about God’s strong right hand? What that represents from His Word? It’s referenced when He rescues His people - when describing His power and His authority - His dominion and His sovereignty over all things - It is a powerful image to ponder.
Now, humble yourself under that strong right hand of power. Submit in total trust to Him in every area of your life that today feels scary and bigger than you and out of control. Just bend the knee and say, “Lord I trust you completely”.
Can I ask you to do this little exercise real fast? Think of someone you know in real life who is genuinely a humble person. Now think of someone you know who is pretty manipulative? I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you probably did not think of the same two people...because we are not truly humble and truly manipulative at the same time. Those two things don't dwell together very well.
Here’s my point - it is very, very unlikely that you will be trying to work your angle when you are opting to stay truly humble underneath God's very capable hand. Just make the decision to tuck yourself right there under His right hand of power, and to be humble enough to trust Him fully and to believe His word His promises are true. None of these current circumstances change His promises - they have no power or ability to alter even one single promise of the Lord. That’s our working definition of humbling ourselves in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic of the year 2020.
When we do that, He right here promises to lift us up in due time. So that’s actual patience working itself out in real life. And don’t tell me you don’t have any patience. If you know Jesus then you have the Holy Spirit within you. (Ephesians 1:13 from the ESV says, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.")
So trust Him to lift you up at just the right time in just the right way if you’ll do what He says here and humble yourself under His mighty hand. Also, to be under His hand means you need to be right by His side. Get by the Lord’s side and remain by the Lord’s side and don’t run off! Stay there and stay safe. Don’t be doin’ all the things the CDC says and fail to do what God says. Get there & stay there in humility and trust. Because if you don’t really really trust God then I am not sure you are really really humble.
(You can read Matthew 11:29-30 to see what Jesus says about being yoked to Him and not being overwhelmed by the weariness and budens we're all feeling right about now.)
And remember that verse 7 tells us to cast all of our anxiety on the Lord - and the word all really does mean ALL. He has broad shoulders. He can handle all your anxiety.
There is comfort upon comfort for us in this verse. It’s all ours for the taking, all ours for the having, if we just choose to accept that what the Lord is saying to us here is true - this is our truth. This is my truth - this is your truth.
And lastly, but for sure not least of all, this verse promises - promises!!! - that God cares about you...not just about the whole world, which of course He does, but about just you right here in this mess.
And it even tells you how much He cares in pretty explicit detail. With deepest affection.
Finally - He promises here to watch over you very carefully.
What does it look like in real life when you do something very carefully? Very carefully does the Lord God care for you.
So stay by His side, under His mighty hand of protection, believe He will lift you up at the right time and don’t hang on to even one ounce of anxiety, worry, fret or fear in this season. Keep talking to Him and keep seeking Him and loving Him and trusting Him.
This is your coronavirus promise. And it’s mine, too.
Hang tight, friends. We are one day closer to Jesus’ return and we are here now to show His hope to a very frightened world.
Lord bless you - see ya soon!
Can I pray for you?
Email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com
Find me on Instagram - Jan L. Burt
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In 1 Samuel chapter 17, we read the inspiring and very well-known true life story of David defeating the Philistine giant Goliath in the Valley of Elah.
It's a story for the ages of epic proportions that gives us hope for those impossible situations that loom larger than life in our own modern day moments...right here on the plains of Kansas rather than the ancient Valley of Elah.
But the point the Lord made to me was as much about chapter 21 of 1 Samuel as it was the 17th chapter.
It was as much about my own fears as it was about fearless David-type of living.
Maybe you've dealt with fear recently?
Maybe you have, at some point in your life, defeated your personal Goliath & now find yourself unsure about why you're so fearful right now when you've already seen the Lord do the miraculous on your behalf?
In chapter 21, David is on the run from King Saul. While he was once the hero in the battle for Israel (against Goliath and his people, the violent and oppressive Philistines) he is no longer the darling of the kingdom, at least not in the eyes of the jealous & rage-filled king.
After being the go-to guy on the battlefield when every other solider was quaking in their sandals, David was now on the outs. Ain't that just the way sometimes? The phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" comes to mind!
So David, in his haste to escape Saul's death threats (which were far more than just threats...he fully intended to act on them!) fled with no weapons or food. He ended up fleeing to the city of Nob, and there he met with the priest Ahimelech. Now, this priest was no fool and he was very afraid that David's presence there in Nob could lead to trouble if he were there of his own accord, especially if he were, say, running for his life.
But David told a lie and said he was there on the king's business...and Ahimelech had compassion on David, giving him food (not just any food, either...) And then David asked the priest if there was, by chance, a sword or a spear he could use. And there certainly way! The very same sword that had belonged to the now deceased giant Goliath...in fact, the very same sword David had used to cut off Goliath's head after he had sunk a rock deep into his forehead.
So, here's where the Lord spoke straight into my heart from this passage.
In verse 9 of chapter 21 of the book of 1 Samuel, when the priest Ahimelech tells David that he has access to Goliath's sword, here is David's response: "There is none like it; give it to me."
Those words floored me. All in the blink of an eye, I understood that I had done what David had done...and it wasn't good, what I had done.
When Goliath bore this exact weapon back in the Valley of Elah, he would have wanted the very sight of it to strike fear in David's heart, to render him petrified with fear. But, of course, it did no such thing. David loaded his sling, aimed true to his mark, and used that fear-weapon to remove the giant's head from his shoulders. Boom.
And now, just four chapters later, David is picking up the very weapon that his enemy had intended to use against him...
In the podcast I share the story of 2 events in my life that were similar yet different...and how I took the weapon my enemy tried to use against me during the first event (that weapon being FEAR) and tried to use it in some weird manner to move God's needle to answer my panicky, fearful prayers during the later event involving my health...I was not in the least bothered by the enemy brandishing "FEAR FEAR FEAR" in stage one...and in stage two, I picked up that same weapon of "FEAR FEAR FEAR" and found my prayers being driven by fear and not by faith.
Fear based praying robs God of worship He deserves.
Fear based praying leaves us empty and self-focused.
Fear based praying is the equivalent of using Satan's weapon to try and influence God's response to us.
It is gross.
And it had to be expelled from my life.
I traded it out and now pray from a place of rest - and the peace Jesus gives me is amazing and refreshing. And it's available to you, too.
If you have an area of your life where you have taken up the weapon your enemy used against you in the past and now find yourself fighting with that same weapon today, can I encourage you to lay it down and just opt to rest in Jesus?
Trust Him enough to refuse fear a place in your prayer life.
Lord bless!
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Philippians 2:13 (NIV) - "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."
Philippians 2"13 (Amplified) - "For it is (not your strength, but it is) God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work (that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose) for His good pleasure."
The firs thing I want you to grab hold of from this verse is: God works
And notice it does not say "Jan works".
This ain't on me and it ain't on you.
When we read this verse, it's as if a huge amount of grace is being poured out over our lives. For it is God who works...and BOOM!, just like that, the pressure is off.
God works.
How good is that?
God does not need your strength in order to accomplish His will. So whenever you feel just "done", worn out, wiped out, stretched way too thin, then let this promise become your promise. This is your life verse for those times in life. God works not in your strength, but in His. And as the Amplified version states, God is effectively at work in you.
The definition of "effectively" is - "in such a manner as to achieve a desired result."
It is not your strength, but it is God who is working in such a manner as to achieve His desired result.
Let's reason this out...
A) It's God's strength...is His strength limited or restricted or able to be exhaustedItapped out or used up? NO
B) If God is the One working to achieve His own desired result in my life, then do I have any cause or reason to doubt that He will get done what He wants to get done? NO
C) If God's purpose is a good purpose, do I have a lot of reason to be fearful or ill and ease about it? NO
There is absolutely nothing about the words "according to His good pleasure" that should be unnerving to me. Seriously!! I want you to get this! What umbrage could I possibly have with God's good pleasure?
What are we so afraid of? This is good stuff & there absolutely is nothing to fear here!
Glance at the Amplified again...
The Lord is so good at getting His will done, that's already been settled. There isn't any room for doubting that. God is perfect at getting His will done. And we have no reason to fear when He promises that His will is good.
Adding to this amazing truth, we see that the author of this book (the apostle Paul) says the Lord is effective in giving us the strength, the energy, the longing and the ability to do what He desires for us to do.
God has purposes for our lives - not just one, but a whole lot of them! And we don't want to bury our talents and do little to nothing for God's Kingdom.
Yet when we live in this perpetual state of "semi-fear" and leave room for nagging doubts combined with the exhaustion so many of us are facing, we often wear ourselves out doing we we ought NOT to be doing with the time God has entrusted to us.
Remember, time belongs to God (He created time, so of course it is His!) and we need to stop behaving as if we have any kind of ownership over what belongs to Him.
Let's try living like this instead:
God has given us this iron-clad promise in this verse that when we are doing what He wills for us to do, when we are about our Father's business, He will provide us with the strength, the energy, the longing & the ability to get it done. To get it all the way across the finish line. And when the next assignment or calling from the Lord comes along, He'll do the same thing yet again.
Ask God what His will is for us and then trust Him to do His will through us even while we lay down our own to-do lists and pick up His.
It is a tremendously beautiful thing to trust completely in God to will and to act according to His good purposes.
Freedom comes at a cost.
But the cost for your freedom was paid in full by Jesus at Calvary.
The words "it is finished" really do mean that your freedom was both procured and secured right there at that exact moment in time by the Lord Jesus. Why try and do God's will in your own energy? Why not do His will, His way, by His might?
HOMEWORK / CHALLENGE
Talk to the Lord about one area of your life this week. Just pick one thing and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and clarity about that one thing. Talk to Him about it in great detail. And then take the time to really listen for what He has to say to you about that topic.
Be like Jesus' mother, Mary, at the wedding in Cana. She said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you to do."
Those are wise words!
It is pretty hard to get it wrong when that's your prayer & your heartfelt desire and your pre-determined decision...that you are simply going to do whatever He tells you to do, no more & no less.
Enjoy your freedom as a disciple of Jesus today. Don't abuse it, but boy, please don't miss out on it either!
Lord bless!
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Matthew 6:31-33 (New Living Translation) - "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."
This passage contains a promise that can encompass every single part of our lives - no matter our age, our job, our health, wealth or social status. These words of Jesus can take on anything your life has to offer.
This is life-altering, life-giving stuff.
Jesus knows just how much energy we expend focusing on "me, me, me". And He lovingly offers us hope for the disease of self. It's right here in Matthew chapter 6.
When Jesus says thoughts about "What if? Uh-oh! When? How? Who?" dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, this is intended to shock us back to reality and convict us that we are living as if we don't really believe Him.
People are looking at your life - like it or not, that's just the way it is. Do you want them to look at you in shock, unable to find evidence that you believe in Jesus as Lord? To equate you more with worry and fear and anxiousness than with the God of the universe?
When worry-worry-worry is the most conspicuous thing about us, then worrying has become dangerous.
Do worrisome thoughts have a commanding influence over your daily life? If so, then guess what buddy...these verses are your promise from God!
Take a look at these verses from the Christian Standard Bible -
"So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be provided for you."
And verse 34 of the sixth chapter of Matthew says, "Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
(The header for this section in the Christian Standard Bible is "The Cure for Anxiety")
Can you think of something much more valuable in our modern society as a whole than the cure for anxiety? The world needs this, and it is a tremendous need. We as Christians have the opportunity to offer this cure for the anxious state that nearly everyone around us lives in. Verse 33 says seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is the cure for our anxiousness.
The Amplified Bible says it this way -
"Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?' For the (pagan) Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, (but do not worry), for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right - the attitude and character of God), and all these things will be given to you also."
The reason we don't have to worry about the actual physical needs, the literal stuff of life, is right here in this passage. God tells us not to worry...because He knows what we need. Take comfort in those two words, "He knows." What does God do with what He knows? Does He ignore what He knows? Is He neglectful? No. Rather, what He knows is a need is a need He will meet.
Think on this for a moment:
Do I want to live my way into an early grave by worrying and fretting and being fearful and anxious? Or do I want to live all the way into the grave, truly living my life right up until I draw my last breath?
The choice is mine, and mine alone. The same is true for you.
The Lord invites us to live Kingdom-minded lives, to partner in His work, to be a blessing to others and to bring Him much glory. He offers us the promise that by living the good life, as described according to these verses, is living in a way that allows you to be totally content in every area of your life, receiving the fullness of His promise to make provision for every single need that we have.
Let's live starting today as if we believe this is true for us. Because we are not unbelievers, so we are not going to be dominated by things that run rampant over those who do not believe.
You are a marked man, a marked woman - marked by the Lord for His Kingdom purposes and you can live that way starting right now.
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Luke 3: 1-3 (Amplified) - Now in the fifteenth year of [Emperor]Tiberius Caesar’s reign—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
~~~ While God was doing a work of preparation in John the Baptist's life prior to the start of his ministry, He was also doing a work of preparation to the times & seasons, leaders & authorities in which John's ministry work would take place. God was setting the stage with perfection in the way that only He can.
~~~ The "leaning in" that we need to do during times of preparation is so terribly important. If you find yourself in this place in your life right now, don't become weary or annoyed; instead, choose to lean in and be a good student in whatever it is the Lord is teaching you.
~~~ God is good at time. Never forget this truth! God is perfect when it comes to navigating the times and seasons of our lives.
~~~ We do not need to try and strong-arm God in order to obtain His specific promises and His specific words to us. (See verse 3 above - the Word of God came to John...if it came, then it had been sent. Trust God to send you what you most need, when you most need it.)
~~~ The way to have a truly powerful ministry is to allow God to prepare you, trust Him to set the stage, receive the word that He sends you, and then act in obedience to that word He sent you. Make up your mind in advance that you will do whatever God says to do. What will you do when you get something from the Lord? I truly hope that you will choose to share it with others.
~~~ Three Questions from verses 10-14 (verses are listed below)
1 - What do I have that I can share today? (see verse 11)
2 - Am I doing my work or handling resources wrongly or rightly? (see verses 12 & 13)
3 - Am I content & would I be able to describe myself as "satisfied" with my lot in life? (see verse 14)
10 The crowds asked him, “Then what are we to do?” 11 And John replied, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do the same.” 12 Even some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he told them, “Collect no more than the fixed amount you have been ordered to [collect].” 14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Lord bless you as you continue to live believing God's promises are true for you - because they really, truly are!
Jan L. Burt
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Deuteronomy 5:15 (NLT) - Do nor forget that He led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock.
Sometimes, when you have been in a place of slavery for an extended amount of time, a vast and open place of new freedom is totally scary and overwhelming, even when that vast place is a dry desert.
There ought to be a part of us that misses (yes, misses!) the desert trek...here's why - When we are in places that are too big for us (verse 15 calls this a great wilderness...that's a "too big for me" kind of place) those are the places that keep us right at our Father's side, sticking to Him like glue, refusing to let go of His hand.
Looking back, when I do a side-by-side comparision of a big, scary desert place to a season of prosperity and ease, in one of those I was not willing to step away from my ABBA Father's side...and in the other, well, I was more prone to step away.
I have found that any situation that draws me closer to Jesus - that's my favorite. Even if it's so very hard it's still my favorite.
I need to pay careful attention in my seasons of plenty so that I do not forget the Lord.
Lastly, one final point ---
Whenever we find ourselves standing on the banks of a Jordan River, looking right at our next place of promise & favor & blessing, that season of prosperity & peace that has been so longed for and prayed about --- when we find ourselves standing there looking forward, may we not forget to take a glance back over our shoulders and remember the vase and wild "too big place" we're coming out of.
Let us be careful not to forget our God in our promises land...and may we ask the Lord to bless us each with a heart that cannot forget Him.
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 (AMP) - Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight (removing obstacles that block your way).
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 (ESV) - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. I all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 (NIV) - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
The command to acknowlege Him means to observe Him and get to know Him in the process of living.
Trusting Him is actually depending on Him.
Take an honest look at your life, find a couple of areas in which you'd like to think you are really trusting God...Now, do this: Say, "I am trusting the Lord with..." (fill in whatever it is you are trusting Him for). Can you take out "trusting" and insert "depending on" with total ease? Can you say, "I am depending on the Lord regarding..." as easily as you could say you are trusting Him?
Trusting God means leaning solely on Him without a plan B.
To acknowledge Him means to observe Him - to get to know Him right in the midst of this daily life we're all living.
How good are you at observing God?
Do you watch how He does what He does? Or do you primarily want to see the positive end result of what He does?
If a key part of having our paths made straight and our way smoothed out ahead of us is a result of observing the Lord, getting to know Him better & better, as in knowing Him so well that we can see His ways occurring around me even when we cannot seem to find Him in a situation, then we need to be about observing Him!
God puts a high premium on us knowing Him well. That is truly amazing!
He promises that He will make your paths straight and smooth - God will literally and figuratively move obstacles out of the way in the physical realm and the spiritual realm. Will really does mean will...when He says He will do something, don't doubt Him!
Your role is to trust and rely on Him - to observe Him - really get to know Him - and stop relying on your own insight and understanding.
Episode 12 isn't based so much on one specific verse - but it sure is a real-world, true-life example that God gets done what He wants done & our mistakes and foibles can't undo His good plans!
As youth group leaders for over a decade, my husband and I have shared a lot of personal stories with a lot of students. But this true story from our teen years is hands-down their favorite one.
Why?
Because it reminds them at this stage of life as teenagers that they cannot mess things up so badly that they will totally wreck on and ruin God's intended plans for them.
It always seems to be a timely message & I hope it blesses you right now, whatever you might be facing!
Lord bless!
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Show Notes ~~~ Please be sure to listen at minute 21:54...I share some honest stuff that I don't want anyone to miss (also at the very end of the show notes below)
Psalm 33:16&18 (NIV) - No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. - But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His unfailing love.
What's true for the prince is true for the pauper when it comes to Biblical truth.
God is not a respecter or persons. The Word of God offers this proof:
Romans 2:11 (NIV) - For God does not show favoritism.
Acts 10:34 (KJV) - Then Peter opened his mouth and said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."
God doesn't show partiality. He will not respect one person over another person - He just won't do that! So regarding our verses from Psalm 33, let me say once again that what is true for the prince is true for the pauper in God's kingdom.
Isaiah 54:17 tells us that no weapon formed against us will prosper...it doesn't say the weapons won't form against us, but it does promise those weapons will not prosper against us. Those are two very different things, for which I am so thankful! (The Amplified Bible phrases it like this - "no weapon formed against you will succeed.")
Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV) - "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD.
TRUTH BOMB: Do you fear the Lord?
What does "fear of the Lord" really mean?
God tells us over and over again in His Word not to be afraid...and yet He also tells us we are to fear Him. How do these two fit together? (see Deuteronomy 31:8 & Romans 8:28 & Isaiah 43:1 & 1 John 4:18)
Fear of the Lord involves a sense of awe, magnifying God for who He truly is, revering Him, respecting Him, obeying Him and trusting Him, acknowledging that He is Sovereign.
Proverbs 9:10 (AMP) - The (reverent) fear of the LORD (that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome) is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom (its starting point and its essence). And the knowledge of the Holy ONe is understanding and spiritual insight.
When we look at fear of the Lord as a way to honor, revere, esteem, glorify Him it turns our typical definition of fear on its head.
Here's a question for you: Does that definition of fear of the Lord sound like a good description of your walk with Jesus? (not your Wed. night Bible study or Sun. morning worship walk, but your every day walk)
There is a promised blessing in this verse that comes when we fear the Lord. Our fear of the Lord is our baseline for the promise to be true in our lives.
And that promise is..... The Lord's EYES are on YOU!
Don't blow past this too quickly! Allow yourself a moment to grab hold of this promise. The Lord's eyes are on you!
Imagine being at Buckingham Palace & the Queen of England having her eyes fixed solely on you. You're the focal point of her gaze. She is looking upon you with the highest favor & she does not take her eyes off of you. Every movement is noted and noticed. No way, no how someone could make a move against you because where her eyes lie are also where her Royal Guard is watching...one signal from her and they will handle a situation before it can become a situation.
Now that is a small idea of what it means to have the Lord's eyes on you. This promise is a really big deal! And this promise is yours!
I know sometimes it is really hard to keep hoping. Sometimes we have to make the decision to just believe again, to hope against hope. I pray you can do that today. Don't live a hopeless life. Believe again - hope again. ANd gain the tremendous blessing this verse grants to you today.
NOW FOR SOMETHING PERSONAL...
I am part of a conference for the new year, and I have 3 sessions in this online conference (there are over 80 total sessions by 50 speakers & it's all online).
But I almost didn't complete the session called "Redeeming an Orphan Spirit". I have never in my life been under the kind of spiritual attack that took place as I worked on this topic. I almost didn't finish it - things have been very, very intense to say the least. I did end up completing the work and that conference session goes live on Friday, January 10th. This probably sounds "slimy & salesy" but I am saying this anyway (look, the couple of bucks I make on an affiliate ticket is not worth the spiritual attack I've dealt with so that's not why I am sharing about this session).
If the enemy was working that hard to keep me from finishing this thing, then it is possibly because he has a fair number of God's children living more like orphans than like children of the Most High God...and I don't think he wants that to change. He cannot steal your salvation - you cannot be snatched from Jesus' hand, those are His words & they are 100% true - but he can work hard to keep you living far beneath the Lord's will for your life. So if that sounds like your life, please consider grabbing a ticket to the conference.
It is call the "New Year, New Beginnings 2020 Conference for Moms" so many of the sessions are aimed at women...but if you are a dude, hey for the price of maybe one lunch out this week & a couple of Starbucks, you can grab a ticket and honestly, if you might be dealing with this sense of being an orphan, then that's worth the $25. But you can only get tickets through January 10th (that's Friday) and then you don't have access to this ever again. Here is the link - I sure hope you check it out because I am telling you what, based on what I have experienced as of late, satan does not want you to know about the orphan spirit. Let's not let him have the upper hand!
Redeeming An Orphan Spirit conference session goes live Friday January 10th
Find me here:
Titus 2 Discipleship with Jan L. Burt membership site (Titus2DiscipleshipwithJanLBurt.com)
on Instagram ~ @titus2disciplejanburt
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sign up for my newsletter ~ God's Promises for You
1 Corinthians 2:12 - (Berean Study Bible) - We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:12 (NLT) - And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:12 (AMP) - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the (Holy) Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the (wonderful) things freely given to us.
Whenever you hear someone teaching or speaking about the Word of God, always check what they're teaching with what the Bible actually says. It's just too important to take for granted and God wants you to know His Word for yourself - because, after all, it is a love letter from Him to you!
This portion of the Word of God shows us that Paul was relying not on his own wisdom or abilities, but on the Holy Spirit. The same wisdom Paul had access to is also available to every single Christ follower via the same Holy Spirit that provided Paul all that he needed for his ministry & calling. Wisdom is available to all believers and it is not anything at all like the world's wisdom.
James 1:5 (NIV) - If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
One thing that stands out to me here is that if we feel oppressed, if we feel like we are living under spirit that governs the world, we need to know beyond any semblance of a doubt that it is not God's will for us.
But, what does that phrase "spirit that governs the world" mean?
The Bible talks about the prince of the power of the air in the New Testament (see Ephesians 2:2) and in the Old Testament book of Daniel we have examples of demonic forces (which are evil spirits) working against the Lord's angels to try and prevent His work and His will from being done in the lives of the people on earth (see Daniel chapter 10). Satan & his evil minions work consistently in this world to influence people, to establish strongholds, to bring chaos and disorder where God would bring peace and order...we have an active enemy scheming against us.
But sometimes we fail to live well because we fail to identify the evil source that is coming against us.
Since we have not received the spirit of the world but we have rather received the Holy Spirit, and He has "ownership rights", so to speak, it benefits us to remember that the devil and the Holy Spirit can't dwell in the same place...and that gives us a promise of tremendous value. We are safe and secure because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:13).
It is so incredibly important to take our feelings - to literally grab hold of the way you are feeling (grab those feelings by the throat!) and put those feeling directly under the authority of the Word of God.
Do not allow the enemy to trick you into thinking that you have to "feel" such-and-such a way...as if you have no choice in the matter. That's simply not true!
You have received the Spirit of God and He does not share you with the enemy. Period.
And bear in mind that over the course of your entire life the Holy Spirit will help you to understand better & better & better, in ever increasing measure, what God has given to us.
There is so much to this promise...it really does take a lifetime to learn.
When our pastor officiates a wedding, he often says that it takes 20 years to really get to know someone & he encourages the couple to continue to study one another. How much more time might it take to really get to know God in all His infinite-ness & vastness? No need to rush the process or feel as if it is taking too long...just enjoy the process of getting to know more and more what God has given to you!
So often Christians live as though they have had things taken away from them but right here in this verse we are promised that God's Spirit will help us understand all that we have been GIVEN!
Fully given!
Not partially or scarcely or minimally - God is not a minimalist! He has given us so much & He wants us to see that more and more on a daily basis.
Never forget that our God is a generous giver.
You've got promises & 1 Corinthians 2:12 is one of them.
Grab hold of this and hang on tight as this year moves forward!
(I believe that is a word for someone right now - if it is for you, please don't blow this off...hold on to God's promise for you today!)
And also, as a bit of a side note, one great way to kick off your Bible reading in the new year would be to read all of the book of Daniel (maybe split it up over 2 days of reading) and then read Psalm 1 and pray Psalm 1 over your life for the next 5 days. I challenge you to give this a try and share about it!
ONE FINAL MENTION ON A VERY PERSONAL TOPIC...
I am part of a conference for the new year, and I have 3 sessions in this online conference (there are over 80 total sessions by 50 speakers & it's all online).
But I almost didn't complete the session called "Redeeming an Orphan Spirit". I have never in my life been under the kind of spiritual attack that took place as I worked on this topic. I almost didn't finish it - things have been very, very intense to say the least. I did end up completing the work and that conference session goes live on Friday, January 10th. This probably sounds "slimy & salesy" but I am saying this anyway (look, the couple of bucks I make on an affiliate ticket is not worth the spiritual attack I've dealt with so that's not why I am sharing about this session).
If the enemy was working that hard to keep me from finishing this thing, then it is possibly because he has a fair number of God's children living more like orphans than like children of the Most High God...and I don't think he wants that to change. He cannot steal your salvation - you cannot be snatched from Jesus' hand, those are His words & they are 100% true - but he can work hard to keep you living far beneath the Lord's will for your life. So if that sounds like your life, please consider grabbing a ticket to the conference.
It is call the "New Year, New Beginnings 2020 Conference for Moms" so many of the sessions are aimed at women...but if you are a dude, hey for the price of maybe one lunch out this week & a couple of Starbucks, you can grab a ticket and honestly, if you might be dealing with this sense of being an orphan, then that's worth the $25. But you can only get tickets through January 10th (that's Friday) and then you don't have access to this ever again. Here is the link - I sure hope you check it out because I am telling you what, based on what I have experienced as of late, satan does not want you to know about the orphan spirit. Let's not let him have the upper hand!
Redeeming An Orphan Spirit conference session goes live Friday January 10th
Find me here:
Titus 2 Discipleship with Jan L. Burt membership site (Titus2DiscipleshipwithJanLBurt.com)
on Instagram ~ @titus2disciplejanburt
on Facebook ~ Titus 2 Discipleship with Jan L. Burt
sign up for my newsletter ~ God's Promises for You
Psalm 103:2 (New Living Translation) - "Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things He does for me."
Consider memorizing Psalm 103 - it is a life-changing passage to commit to memory!
OR
Consider reading it every day for 7 days straight - you'll benefit from this exercise!
Reminding ourselves of the good things God has done for us is the best kind of "self-talk" we can engage in.
Grateful people are not "sour" people.
Thankful people are the ones you want as your "LIFER" friends.
What do you need to put into place to help you remember to praise the Lord?
What could you ever write down on your daily to-do list that's more important than taking time to praise God for all the good things He has done for you?
Can you READ Psalm 103:2 & then DO Psalm 103:2 & then GAIN all the BENEFITS of Psalm 103?
(Of course you can because you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!)
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Genesis 18:14a (Amplified) - "Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the LORD?"
Make up your mind & choose to decide right now that you already have faith to believe this promise for your life today, right from the very start of this episode.
The Amplified version of Genesis 18:14 offers a broader view by adding "or too wonderful" to this verse, which often reads, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"
I want to challenge you to a new level of faith today - don't paint with a broad brush regarding this verse & it's application to your life. Apply it in this exact moment, on this exact day. It's for your "right now", not just for your "later on".
Some people are not "happy" with life unless they are at their appropriate level of misery.
Some people are just not okay unless they're not okay.
God's Word is never, ever silent. So I gotta ask...what is Genesis 18:14 saying to you today?
Learning from the hard things in your life is growth - but learning from the hard things in someone else's life is wisdom. Choose wisdom as often as you can.
God does not need your intervention. Remember that when you are tempted to "help out"!
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Psalm 40:16-17 (New International Version) -
"But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, 'The LORD is great!' But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay."
Psalm 40:16-17 (Amplified Bible) -
"Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified! (As for me) I am poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought and plans for me. You are my Help and my Deliverer. O my God, do not tarry!"
Key Points ~~~
The Lord is great - this is present tense! Don't solely remember His past greatness but acknowledge that He is great right now.
Our enemy will work overtime trying to prevent us from ever getting real & raw in our prayer time. Why? Because that is exactly when we will find true healing & lasting deliverance.
You drive your own car differently than you try out a drive in your BFF's brand new automobile...you paint your own house any old color you choose, but no when you're a renter...
Is God your God? Then pray like that's true for you - make it your truth!
Christ-following is more about how we live than what we know. When we live like we don't know what we truly do know, we are living like tenants (or renters) instead of like heirs in Christ.
Know your place! When it comes to prayer, your place is never to be out of the Lord's presence.
God takes thought of you. He sees you. And He is planning for your based on the promise that He takes thought of you.
In the Amplified, "Help" and "Deliverer" are capitalized - they are names of God. If He is "Help", can He do other than help? Since He is "Deliverer", will He not deliver us? Will He tarry? Will He delay? Will God be tardy? Is He going to linger and take too long? No, God cannot ever show up too late because He never tarries for too long.
Isaiah 43:19 (ESV) - "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
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Romans 12:2 (New Living Translation)
"Don't copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
Does this verse have conditions for us?
~ it tells us to "LET" God transform us, specifically our minds...in order to actually change the way that we think, we have to decide to let the Lord do that transformational work.
~ it tells us not to copy this world's customs & behaviors...Where are you living your life by a set of customs that are more worldly than godly?
~ it also teaches us "THEN" we will learn to know God's will for us, which is good & pleasing & perfect.
So, once we stop copying the world's customs & behaviors, and instead allow God to transform the way that we think, we will be able to begin the life-long process of learning, step-by-step, exactly what His will is for us.
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Deuteronomy 31:8 (New Living Translation) -
"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
(and verse 7 of this chapter says: "Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, 'Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors He would give them...")
Key Points ~~~
We need to listen up - take notes - pay careful attention - and do whatever we are called to do when we study our Bible and sense the Lord speaking to us.
Don't be an inactive, indifferent student of the Word!
This promise is massive - it is so big that it leaves us no room to talk our way out of it or wiggle our way around it in order to avoid it...we must simply believe it.
The only way God's promises will not be for you is if you refuse to move with the Lord & instead just sit down on the sidelines. Do not sit out on your own life!
The promises of God should go hand-in-glove with our prayer lives. Appropriating God's promises is the real point of knowing God's promises.
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Joshua 23:14b,c (New Living Translation) -
"Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!"
Other verses to take a look at:
Joshua 23 - verses 4 & 5, verses 6-11, & verse 8 (in that order).
Deuteronomy 7:24 (Amplified Bible) - "And He will hand over their kings to you, and you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them."
Deuteronomy 7:24 (New Living Translation) - "He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all."
Deuteronomy 11:23 (Amplified Bible) - "...then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than you."
Deuteronomy 11:23 & 24a (New Living Translation) - "Then the LORD will drive out all the nations ahead of you, though they are much greater and stronger than you, and you will take over their land. Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours."
Joshua used his last words at the tail end of his astounding life not to talk about himself, but to remind them that these exact promises from the Lord had proven true & not a single one had failed.
God's promises are as true for us today, right in this very moment, as they were in Joshua's day.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (Amplified Bible) - "For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are (all answered) 'Yes'. So through Him we say our 'Amen' to the glory of God."
Make every effort as a follower of Jesus not to live in or act out of fear.
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2 Corinthians 2:20 (Amplified Bible) - "For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are (all answered) 'Yes'. So through Him we say our 'Amen' to the glory of God."
Homework Idea ~~~
This week, try to read Joshua chapter 23 one day & 2 Corinthians 1 the next day.
Before you begin reading these chapters, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you via these passages & see what the Lord has to say to you through His word that relates to your current life circumstances.
Key Points ~~~
Why would we ever willingly choose to believe that God doesn't intend to do what He has clearly, plainly & implicitly said in His Living Word, the Bible, that He desires, intends, wills & wants to do?
Do we refer to ourselves by the title "Believers" and yet live in unbelief?
Believers ought to live lives of belief! If believers don't really believe, it's like they are taking sides with the devil & saying they think he will come out on top.
We can sort of "revolt" when we are asked to step up to the plate and believer in God's Word (as in, actually acting on God's Word, depending on it, banking on it, relying on it, leaning on it, living out God's promises by faith...not by sight, but by faith."
Don't let yourself forget the "Yes" that Jesus offers and the "Amen" that means He has completed the work necessary to prove every promise of God as absolutely true is for you today. So live in it, sweet friend!
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Hebrews 4:14-16 (New Living Translation) ~~~
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same things we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Key Points ~~~
Sometimes we believe God's promises are true for us...but that they will prove true later on, at some point in the future (just not right now).
God's promises are for the "Right NOW"!
We are "Right NOW" to hold firmly to what we believe.
Hebrews 12:12 (NLT) says this: "So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen you weak knees."
Take a firm grip - grab hold and refuse to let go!
You have a gracious God who totally understands you. All that He is asking you to do right now is to hold firmly to what you believe.
Think about a king who describes his throne as "gracious" - that is profound! We have an enormously gracious God!
God's help is truly beneficial to us. When we receive His help, it benefits us in this very moment in time.e 18 for moer
See Luke 11 & Luke 18 to learn more about praying with importunity.
The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God.
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(Temporary update to the Show Notes)~ The New Year, New Beginnings 2020 Conference for Moms kicks off January 6th...if you or someone you know could use some encouragement about all the things that make up our lives as moms (men - think wife or mom or sister) then check this out: early bird tickets are just $15 (price jumps to $25 on January 6th & after January 10th the whole thing is over and done, no further option to buy a ticket) and you get lifetime access to conference sessions by 50 speakers on topics from meal planning to organization to goals to spiritual growth to health and fitness...it's a lot. Plus a Swag Bag of freebies worth $500 & giveaways. Check it out HERE and grab a ticket for you, for a friend, for the wife...and enjoy this encouraging way to kick start the new year!
Okay - back to the show notes!
Isaiah 43:18-20 (NLT) - "But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed."
Verses referenced in this episode: Hebrews 13:8 ~ Malachi 3:6 ~ Hebrews 11:1
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