Podcasts + Posts

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Somebody asked me a few weeks ago, “Why do you teach natural health?”

By that, they meant something like this: “You teach grace and healing… why do we need natural health if we have supernatural power available to us?”

It’s a great question. 

The sarcastic reply would be, “Why do you need doctors and Western medicine if we have supernatural power available? Whereas ‘church people’ seem hesitant to venture into the natural health waters for fear that they’ll contract ‘new age’ demons, few of them give a second thought about rushing to the doc in the box, big pharma, or invasive surgeries…”

Why do you need that if you have supernatural power?

The honest reply, though, the sincere one that penetrates the heart… and loves deeply… and is THE RIGHT answer (I believe) is multifaceted:

First, we have far more control over our health than we’ve been taught. We’re not victims...

On the 3rd day of Creation, the “seed principle” of sowing and reaping was introduced. Many of us just ASSUME that it only has to do with plants and biology, but this principal is a “law” that we can see in every area of life…

In this talk, I first define the concept of reaping & sowing. Then, I talk about the Machiavellian fallacy we sometimes import into our theology. Finally, we dive into a few practical examples of where we see real life examples as it relates to sickness, disease, “losing” healing miracles, and other theological landmines….

First, four points about reaping and sowing…

Here are the four points. You always… 

1. Reap WHAT you sow >>>

Farmers all understand this. Kindergartners do, too :-)

If you plant corn, you’ll reap corn- not tomatoes. If you plant squash, you won’t harvest bacon.

It sounds odd, I know, but many people believe… 

… that you can sow...

God isn’t going to chastise you for something Jesus has already been punished for… 

Ride with me here… 

The prophet Isaiah foretold- centuries before His birth- that Jesus would bring healing by His death. In fact, he says, “He was wounded for our transgressions. He was pierced for our iniquities.” Then- “By His stripes we are healed” (see Isaiah 53:3-5).

Notably, Isaiah speaks about all of the in PAST tense- as if it’s already DONE- even though he lived a long, long time before Jesus’ birth. 

That leads us to two New Testament authors that directly reference Isaiah’s declaration. Notably, one of them, Matthew uses Isaiah’s passage to explain WHY Jesus healed so many people on the way to the Cross.

In effect, Matthew says, “Yes. Jesus was going to die for all of these people. And He was purchasing their healing… So, He healed them throughout His ministry, because of...

Sometimes, what we need betrays our theological box. So the box has to go. That is, we find ourselves facing a circumstance where we DESPERATELY need God to shine… yet it doesn’t fit the way we’ve been told He moves….

Physical healing is one of these areas. It’s a box we create, and a box that can’t withstand the pressure of reality. 

My experience… 

In the past I came in contact with two groups on two different extremes that theologically didn’t believe in physical healing. It didn’t fit their “intellectual system.” 

On one hand, Christian fundamentalists assumed that Jesus healed, and that the disciples healed. But, healing passed away once we had the Bible. We no longer needed miracles to “know” how God is since we could just read about Him in print…

Say what? 

Yeah, that’s what they said. 

Some of the leaders in this movement even said that when we see healing-...