Your true form- Podcast #42
Sin isn’t just a “bad” thing, it creates a distortion of our unique form, of the greatness we were given from the very beginning. In other words, it's not about legality (Jesus settled that a long time ago: it's about your creative design.)
No, sin isn’t just a “bad” thing, it’s far worse than that. In fact, the more I study the topic, and that more I gaze at the Father’s grace, the more I believe that the “moral” aspect of sin is the “least” important aspect of it. The greater issue is this: sin creates a distortion of our unique form, of the greatness we were given from the very beginning.
I know- that sounds like an odd way to present a topic that’s usually presented as a right/wrong legal-type of standing we have with God. There’s more to it, though.
(I know, too, the opening of this sounds harsh... you're used to radical grace here. Trust me... read on and you'll get a huge dose of...
Abundance taps into the eternal- not just the external- Podcast #41
True abundance isn’t the result of hard work or ingenuity (though it involves both). True abundance taps into the resources of the kingdom.
In other words, true abundance isn’t external- it’s eternal. The circumstances don’t dictate your reality: God does…
Yes, it’s easier to look at the circumstances and “do the best we can” rather than go deep, take a look inside, and tune into the voice of God. However, it’s this relational dynamic that leads us to the first point of abundance…
Here are four attributes of kingdom abundance…
First, God’s blessing is often strange and paradoxical, such that it continues growing our faith and fostering our relationship with Him. This happens because the blessing often comes in ways that money cannot buy. It comes through relationship…
(What we often confuse for “blessing” is simply our best financial efforts and debt-leveraging put...
Radical Abundance & Relational Trust- Podcast #40
It’s easy to “spiritualize” the promises of God- and relegate them to another time and place where they have little bearing on our physical lives today. One area we do this is “abundance.”
We say things like, “God gives us true riches…”
Of course, we do this to explain WHY we don’t see the provision- the radical increase- they saw back in the Bible.
Here’s the rub. The New Testament tells us repeatedly that the new covenant is superior to the old (i.e., see Hebrews 8:7-13).
So, since our redemption is “better” and based on stronger promises, though, shouldn’t we expect to see this abundance, as well? Shouldn’t we prosper? I think we should…
That said, understanding WHY prosperity happens actually helps us comprehend how to step into it…
Abundance is more than just our own best efforts- it connects the Kingdom’s storehouses to our hands
We are redeemed to...
Redeeming Creation (or- Who cursed creation- us or God?)- Podcast #39
Work changed after the Fall. Creative labor (that’s what work really is- or should be, right?) no longer had the ease to it that it had before sin entered the equation. In a real sense, the ground “fought back” with Adam.
The raises an interesting question: Why did God do this? Why did God curse the ground?
God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17). In other words, it’s clear here that the curse is a direct result of Adam’s sin.
This leads us to the obvious follow-up question: Did God curse the ground, or did He simply communicate to Adam the result of his actions?
Or, to ask the question another way- Did God curse Creation or did we?
If God cursed Creation, then we can lay the blame for every natural disaster on Him. Even though insurance agencies refer to tornadoes and hurricanes as “acts of God,” do we really believe that He causes- or caused- them?
Did God cause the storm at sea that Jesus...
Sometimes taking ACTION on a DIRECTION you receive, leads to a MIRACLE
I've looked throughout the Bible to try and find a "formula" for faith and healing. I've discovered that, well... you can't find one.
(Listen to the podcast talk at https://www.overflowfaith.com/blog/07 for more)
A lot of people think that you've got to have complete faith in order for God to bless you- and that if you don't then somehow He's restrained until you "get your faith up." Now, sure, belief makes things better. It gives you more stability... a foundation.
But there's no "one-sized" fits all formula for faith in the Bible. I've looked. Over and over. It's just not there...
Get this: Jesus healed people who had no faith- people who didn't even know who He was! (For instance, the man He healed at the Pool of Bethesda, in John 5.)
Jesus also healed people with "partial" faith, like the guy who exclaimed, "I believe- help my unbelief!" when his son was being tormented by a demon (Mark 9:24). And like the lepers who said, "If you're willing..." (Matthew 8:2).
...
Creative Labor (Work is worship- worship is work)- Podcast #38
We were created in God’s Image. He’s a Creator, a worker… one who adds value.
Work isn’t a curse. Despite all of the jokes about dreading “manic” Mondays, work is actually a gift. In the Garden of Eden, Adam worked before sin, before the Fall, before the curse. We were designed to create, steward, and add value to the world around us.
Note how things unfolded way back in the beginning:
First, we were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). Redemption restores the fractured image of God that has always been present. Jesus takes the pieces and puts them back together such that we clearly resemble who He is.
Second, God is a worker- when He walked on the earth 2,000 years ago Jesus testified that the Father had been working since the beginning (John 5:17).
Jesus verified, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
God has always worked. He has always enhanced the places He’s present. He has...
The "secret" the healing evangelist taught me about the Holy Spirit blew my mind
I thought the Holy Spirit was temperamental. Tidy. Reserved. And that we had to act a certain way in order to see the Spirit move. I thought we might "move" in the wrong way and cause the Spirit to exit the building. Turns out, I was wrong. Here's something I learned from the healing evangelist.
The strangest thing happened on a “Christian TV station” one night (I know- I thought only people could be “Christian,” not music, books, stores, clothing lines, and even station stations… but… alas… a “Christian station” is a cable television network chock-full of televangelists, prayer cloths, and commercials with starving kids that you can save right now for less than the cost of a cup of coffee per day). OK, I exaggerated a bit on that, but you get the idea... yes, there is a station full of this stuff!
Here's what happened: a well-known evangelist (you'd know him if I mentioned his name, described his hair, or detailed the...
God Believes in You- Podcast #37
Somewhere, we got the idea that faith is the strongest force in the universe- that it’s even more powerful than God. That our faith- or lack of it- restrains Him from being able to do His greatest work(s).
Yes, there are a few verses in the Bible that point to the importance of faith. The problem, though, is that we pull them out of context and forget that Jesus isn’t telling us that He is shackled or handcuffed by our lack of faith…
Rather, He’s empowered, because of His own faith.
His faith is the “God kind of faith,” that kind that can speak to fig trees and watch them wither….
It’s the kind of faith that can send demons fleeing…
It’s the faith that spoke Creation into existence…
In other words, His is the kind of faith that believes something and watches it manifest, and continue manifesting…
I know. We’re not God. So it’s a tall order to step into that kind of faith, right? Or...
We count the things that matter the most
We tend to count and measure the things that matter the most. It's why we count our money and balance the checkbook at the end of the month. It's why I track our business numbers just about every single day. It's why we count our kids when we get in the car.
Sometime, really, ask me about the time that Cristy drove off and left one of our kids in the house... A few blocks down the street, she turns from the driver's seat and asks the others, "Hey, where's Judah!?"
Full disclosure: I made fun of her...
... until I did the exact same thing.
I can't give you the inside scoop on her story. Here's mine: I left the school one afternoon, cruised about a mile away in the 12-pac van we drive.
The car seemed about 15-20% quieter than normal. I scanned the rearview mirror while cruising down the street at an ever-decreasing speed, knowing something wasn't quite the way it was supposed to be...
"Levi's still at school!" one of the boys exclaimed.
They said it, right as I felt it. I had,...
The First Thing God Says to People Who Are Free- Podcast #36
Continuing the discussion from the previous talk, we go back to the Exodus story and look at how God first revealed Himself to the Children of Israel after freeing them from slavery.
A lot of people feel that we somehow diminish the other gifts of God- particularly, forgiveness of sins- if we “emphasize” miracles. Things like healing.
“Keep our eye on the main thing,” people caution.
“And stay focused on the meat of the Word,” they warn, “instead of the superficialities.”
Some of even argue that Satan wants to heal people in order to lead them astray. And, while we DO see examples in the Bible where false prophets can do false signs and wonders, the general thrust of Scripture is that God wants His children well.
What good father wouldn’t want THIS for His kids...?
It makes sense, then, that the first way in which God revealed Himself to the Children of Israel AFTER being freed speaks to this very issue. This first...
