How are People Meant to Pray?

- Pray Directly to God

- Pray Only to God

- Pray Openly and Honestly

Pray Directly to God

Prayer is an amazing privilege. The fact that we can come to the Creator of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, the all-seeing, all-powerful God and talk to Him as if talking to a loving parent is…truly mind blowing. 

But it begs the question: why? Why is an all-powerful being willing to spend time listening to our problems?

The answer is simple, He loves us. God loves us, and He wants a relationship with us.

Prayer is an integral part of having a relationship with God; it is how we communicate with Him.

This relationship with God has been made possible through the work Jesus did on the cross.

Art by Lars Justinen

Hebrews 10:1-23 (NLT) “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.’

First, Christ said, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them’ (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will.’ He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, ‘This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then he says, ‘I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.’ And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”

Pray Only to God

There are some belief systems which would try to tell us that we have to petition other beings to talk to God for us. 

But why would we ask others to talk to God when God not only allows us to talk directly to Him, He wants to hear directly from us.

The God of the Bible is real, He hears, and He answers.

“Praying in the Garden” by Kip-Decker

Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

1 John 5:14 (NIV) “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

When we pray it does not land at the feet of beings who cannot help or do not care to help. The Prophet Elijah demonstrated this difference between the God of the Bible and others when he challenged the Prophets of Baal  (1 Kings 18:20-40). And the Bible repeatedly talks about how foolish it is to pray to anything besides God, Himself.

Jeremiah 10:3-16 (ESV) “For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!  Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

Thus shall you say to them: ‘The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name.”

Pray Openly and Honestly

Praying is just like communicating in any other relationship. It's as easy as thinking and talking. 

Prayer not only gives God the opportunity to respond to us by answering prayers, but prayer also changes those who pray. It reminds us to think of God throughout the day, and when we are God-conscious as individuals, our behavior is different than if we rarely think about God.

Be open and honest, God already knows the secret parts of our hearts anyway. We need to talk with Him honestly, acknowledging the truth of what we think and feel in order to properly work through stuff with God. This builds a stronger relationship between us.

Don't worry about wording things perfectly in prayer. God will even help us with our weaknesses in prayer.

Romans 8:26-27 (ESV) “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

God won't misunderstand or pretend to misunderstand what it is we need and are asking for. God loves us and will help us in ways we cannot even think to pray for. He will answer our prayers by giving us what we need and what is best for us. 

Luke 11:9-13 (ESV) “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “Prayer Tract”.

For a helpful Prayer Journal click here.

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This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more stuff written by Amanda Hovseth.

What Does Serving Christ Look Like? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Poole and Gary Schick.

Ben Poole
So, yeah, talking about serving Christ and what that looks like. Being pastors, it kind of comes with the territory of, serving Christ is kind of our life. But our listeners, you guys out there, are not all pastors. And so what's that gonna look like for you? Not everybody was meant to be a pastor. You know, the scriptures teach about the different gifts that people have, that some should be teachers, some should be leaders, but not everybody. And so what's that gonna look like beyond what happens on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night, or just what happens at the church building? What does it look like to serve Christ?

Gary Schick
Well, and our larger topic is spiritual disciplines that help us grow. We started with prayer and we're using the acronym G.R.O.W.S. So we're getting to the end of it actually, we're going do a double S at the end here. So, Go to God in prayer, Read the word, Other believers (we need fellowship and to be discipling and discipled together in Christ), Worship (our topic last week), and now Serving God and serving others. You know, Jesus calls us, what's the great commandment? "You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength," and "Love your neighbor as yourself." And what does that look like? Well, what did look like in the life of Jesus? He came as a servant. And really it's kind of an interesting thing, how eventually even the common culture catches on. You know, there's tons of books out there on leadership, and just within the last, I don't know, a couple of decades, this idea of servant leadership has caught on. Kind of leadership, and what would seem to be reversed from the bottom up. But really what's something we all want from our elected officials? We want them to serve our needs as the people they are representing. What did Jesus do? You know? One day, while the disciples, they were walking down the road and they're arguing. I guess they thought, maybe Jesus was far enough ahead or far enough behind, or you know, out praying. I don't know, they just maybe didn't think he was listening. And so they're arguing about who's the greatest, or maybe they're arguing, like, you know, "So come out, Lord," you know, "When are you gonna chip into this little argument and tell us, you know, what you think?" And so finally He does, and he's like, "You know what? The greatest is the one who serves." And then He concludes with this, He says, "For even the son of man," speaking of Himself, "did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." And so much of what He was doing, it was kind of a common thing. You know, there was a teacher, a rabbi who would have around him, a group of disciples who would learn the ways of the teacher and then emulate that. And He's saying, "So here's what you emulate, guys, I've come to serve," and if you look at the life of Jesus from start to finish, He's serving the needs of others. You know, people would come to Him with an illness, He could do what we can't, but He would use His divine power to serve their need in terms of healing or whatever it was. And even right down to, you know, we're just couple weeks out at this point from Easter, although if you're of the Orthodox persuasion, you just celebrated Easter on Sunday. So what is it that Jesus did just a couple nights before that at the last supper? Well, John's gospel tells us that He took off His outer garment, put on the garments of a house slave and got down on His knees and washed the disciple's feet. And they were taken aback, they were appalled. Peter was like, "Uh, ah. You're not gonna do this," until Jesus said, "Well, Peter if I don't wash your feet, you have no part in me." And then he's like, then basically give me a bath, you know? "I want you to wash my feet and my head and my hands, cause I want you Jesus. I wanna be whatever you're about, that's what I want." And Jesus is like, "Well, here's what I'm about. Now what you've seen me do, and you call me Lord and master. I've washed your feet, do this, do this for each other." And there are, it's pretty cool, there are churches where they do more than just communion, they actually do foot washings. And I'm not in a church where we do that on a regular basis, but I have done it in churches and it's always, I think a very humbling experience on both ends. Humbling for me to be, really, literally down with the smelly feet of my people, who maybe weren't necessarily planning to have their feet washed, but were like, "Yeah, I would like that." On the other hand, it's a very humbling thing to have your feet washed, you know? To take off our shoes and our socks, I mean, let's face it our feet aren't exactly the prettiest parts of our bodies you know? And to have somebody actually getting down with a little soap and water and a towel. But you know what? We are called to take care of each other, and one of the most powerful ways to love others is to serve, and you don't have to be an expert in anything. You just have to kind of have your eyes open (Is there a need?), you have to be available (Can I help you?), and you have to be kind about it. You got to do with the heart that doesn't make them feel like, "Well, I guess I interrupted their day," you know? And those three things are powerful, and when somebody with kindness goes out of their way for us: whether to hold a door, whether to help you across the street. You know, whatever it is, it's simple and it's powerful. And actually there was a book written by a fellow named Steve Sjogren, I think several years back called, what was it? Servant Evangelism. And he had this concept, and the church has, we have practiced it a little bit, where you would just go out and do things in the community for no charge. Which always throws people, cause I always want to pay it, you know? And so, we did as a youth group, we did a car wash, and we wouldn't accept payment and people really wanted to help support the youth group. We did it as a men's group. We did a brat giveaway, you know? We were out there cooking brats, people come up, "What do you want for it?" Nothing, we just want you to know, Jesus loves you.

Gary Schick
This is how God loves us. You can't buy God's love. And it was interesting, we never had, I don't think one person that we served, show up at the church while we were doing those things. But the church grew at the time, and it was like God saying to us, "You go out and serve my community and I will bring in people. So you serve those people there and I'll bring people from over here." And it was just a real testimony to me of how: it's all about faith and about faithfulness and about serving God and serving others; and when our heart is about that individually, as a church, what have you, God blesses it. And are we there? You know, I mean, I've been in churches where, "Well I don't know, can we do a funeral for those people, they're not part of our church." Exactly wrong! Somebody comes to you with a need, this is your opportunity to be Jesus for them. And that is when you have a, "Maybe they will come back. Maybe they'll become, maybe they won't." That is irrelevant. Our job is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Just one more last thought on this. I'm reminded of, again, just thinking of the first church I was at, the local hospital was actually a Catholic hospital. And so that had a little different feel to it than just a regular secular hospital, kind of like we have here. And so one of the things, you know, the nuns were part of serving the patients, and somebody, you know, asked one day, "What's different here? You know, like, you treat us so well." And they're like, "You know what? We are trained to serve every patient as if we are serving Jesus." Well, that's not just a nun thing, that's not just a monk thing. That's a Christian thing, you know? In my lifetime, one of the most powerful people in terms of an impact in the world, and she's gone now with Mother Teresa. She just quietly went to a corner of Calcutta and served the poorest of the poor and impacted the whole world for Christ along the way. You know what? You don't have to be a rich person, a powerful person, a famous person, an influential person. You just have to be a loving person, who does it in the name of Jesus and you will rock your world. You can impact your family, you can impact your neighborhood, you can impact your church. You can impact the community in a powerful way. You and I can, when we take off the tie and pick up the towel.

Ben Poole
Right. Yeah, that's so good. You know, I was thinking about this, as you were talking about, what does it mean to serve? What's that look like? How is that a spiritual discipline? I really gained a lot of wisdom from some of my professors when I was going to Bible college. And one thing, so one of my professors, he and his wife were missionaries to Papa New Guinea. Working for pioneer Bible translators, translating the scriptures into the common language for the people for years and years and years. And he's from a town in Wyoming, country boy, and I remember going on a trip with him and his wife and I said, "What? How in the world did you get there? How did that happen? How did you get to the point, like, 'that's how you're gonna serve Christ?' And they both just, I remember this as such a beautiful memory of mine. They just looked at each other in the car and smiled and just said, "We decided as Christians, if God asks us to do anything, we say 'yes,' we just say, 'yes." And their testimony from their life shows, there's no regrets, there's no, "I wish we hadn't done that." Just a few years ago, actually, they completed the whole New Testament in this language, it took over 30 years and they were part of that from the beginning and served in different ways, built and grew their family there. It's just a beautiful picture of, what is it gonna look like to serve Christ? I can't tell you that. Maybe you'll end up being a pastor or a missionary or a Sunday school teacher or whatever it is. But I think that would be the word I would leave with you is, when God calls you to anything, just say, "yes." Because you're never gonna regret serving Christ, it is so worth it. And yeah, there's gonna be hardships and struggles along the way, but at the end, I mean, I know even for me, and in our situation and things are changing in our life and our family, I don't regret saying 'yes.' I mean, I am excited for what God is doing now and what I can see down the road that He is preparing for us. And so, it can be scary to say 'yes' to God, but when you get in that mix with Him and you are just serving wholeheartedly, knowing that He's leading you, like Ben's not truly leading my family, I'm letting God be the leader here.

Gary Schick
You're just following Jesus.

Ben Poole
I get to sit back and watch the show. I get to be, almost a spectator of the work that God's doing, and then I get to take that and share what God is doing with people. And that's how I can serve Christ best with my life.

Gary Schick
You know, and it's so good because, you know, we're not all called to be pastors or missionaries or teachers, but we all have gifts. And the question is, what are we using the gifts and the talents that God has given us, and who He's made us to be? Are we using it to serve ourselves? Are we using it to serve in the name of Jesus and bless others? And that's kind of an attitude shift, but it's all the difference. And, you know, we're talking about growing in our relationship with Christ's spiritual disciplines to help us grow. Well, nothing's gonna put us more in the image of Christ than putting on His sandals and doing what He did, which is to serve. And you know what? It starts at home for those of us who are husbands, with our wives and our kids. It should be in our workplace. Just where we are and like you said, what a great way to close with that. Just, what is God asking? Just say, 'yes' to Him and do it for Him.

Celebrating Mother's Day at Cross Reference Library!

A Confident Mom - As moms, we often doubt our ability to be the mom we want to be. Unpacking powerful lessons, biblical truths, and practical tools, bestselling author Renee Swope will help you take a deep breath of God’s grace and show you how to:

• Exchange the exhaustion of constantly correcting your child’s bad habits with meaningful and creative ways to connect with their hearts.

• Discover positive and encouraging daily practices that will help you notice and nurture your child’s character and unique God-given design.

• Let go of performance-based living and learn how to pursue relationship-driven parenting.

Discover simple ways to give your child what they need most through the power of heart-centered and character-focused parenting. This book will transform your perspective of parenting and change the way you see yourself as a mom and as a child of God. 

Living Well as a Single Mom - You are the most important person in the world…to your kids. No one can love and nurture them like you can. But it isn’t easy.

• Racing between your home, the day care, and your job, you remember another errand you need to squeeze into your already overloaded day.

• You need to make important decisions about your kids, your finances, your home, and your car, but you’re not sure when or how you can research all your options.

• You’d love to spend time with some people who are old enough to speak in full sentences, but most of your friends are either couples or just as busy as you.

This may not be the life you expected. Still, God’s promise to you and your kids hasn’t changed. He has a plan for your family, a future that is bright with hope. Your number one priority also hasn’t changed: to live well so you can help your kids live well too. Cynthia Yates, once a single mom herself, passionately wants you to do just that—with your relationship with God growing, your finances in order, and a team of friends and family ready to help. With straight talk, plenty of humor, and tons of compassion, she will guide you along your journey to Living Well as a Single Mom.

A Mom Just Like You - Let’s face it…the bulk of the everyday work of home schooling falls on Mom’s shoulders. As rewarding and fulfilling as it is, it is no easy task. No one knows this better than home schooling mother of ten, Vickie Farris. If you’ve ever wondered, “Okay, so how do you do it?” you just picked up the right book! Through her warm, practical style, Vickie will fill you with encouragement and practical suggestions for those days when the challenge seems overwhelming. And for those thinking of embarking on the home schooling adventure, she offers her insights gleaned from years of experience, giving confidence and resolve. After all, she’s a mom just like you. Hey Mom…you can do it!

In the Cross Reference Library, we have all kinds of Christian-based books. Among them, you can find several books on motherhood. And since Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday, I thought we could celebrate by looking at books by authors, Renee Swope, Cynthia Yates, and also Vickie and Jayme Farris. Mainly, these authors (and mothers) seem to make one thing clear for all of us: being a mom is far from easy. Whether you’re a single mother, a homeschool mom, or a downright supermom, you are never without a challenge. In the first few chapters of Living Well as a Single Mom, author Cynthia Yates helps give moms (single or not), assurance through all the trials of motherhood. An example of that is the chapter titled, Leaning on Others. Through this chapter Cynthia explains to single moms, “You may be the only active parent, but trying to tackle this job alone would be ridiculous. Don’t buy into the notion that to be a strong woman, you should not ask for help.” So, if the responsibilities of motherhood are overwhelming and you are feeling stuck, don’t keep those feelings inside. Reach out for help. In our other two books this week, A Confident Mom and A Mom Just Like You, we get perspectives and advice from two extremely busy moms. I’ve met lots of moms who are just like them: Half of their daily to-do list is filled with the things that her husband and kids need, while the other half consists of things that she needs to complete within 24 hours. With that in mind, we can only imagine how crazy life is for author Vickie Farris, as she tackles being a writer and homeschooling her ten kids. To follow that thought, in the chapter titled, Dispelling the Myth of Supermom, when a store checker told Vickie, “I don’t know how you do it. I only have two children and they drive me crazy! You must be the most patient, organized woman in the world.” And Vickie simply answered with, “It’s not not that I’m all that patient or organized. It’s pretty much just the grace of God that gets me through.”

To finish this out, I know it wouldn’t be right to put together a Mother’s Day post without celebrating my amazing mom. She is a ranch wife, so when my siblings and I were still in school, she was always trying to balance the constant stress of ranch life with our school activities. She rarely missed a game or performance (unless we were in calving season!), and that meant so much to me. But what I am most grateful for is, even though she knew I was planning on leaving home right after graduation, she always checked to see if I knew where I was going and how I was going to get there. My mom Vicki, is my great example on how to live an amazing life for others. I know she isn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t ask for anyone else. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and check out these amazing books. And don’t forget to tell your mom that you love her.

—Happy Mother’s Day from Cross Reference Library!

Running the Race Set Before Us

The practice of disciplining oneself for the sake of athletics is often used as a metaphor in the Bible for how to be disciplined in our Christian lives.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

What is the race God has set before us?

If we read this verse in context it will answer this question:

Hebrews 12:2-4 (NLT) We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people, then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

Running becomes easier, both physically and mentally, the more consistently you do it. Disciplined runners are the most consistent in their training and, therefore, the most successful.

Verywell by Alison Czinkota (The 5 Love Languages)

It’s the same with relationships. They require hard work.

The more focus and energy you give towards your relationships and the more disciplined you are in maintaining them, the more rewarding the relationships become. 

God desires a relationship with us, but our sinful natures made that relationship impossible. So, God made a plan: Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross mends the divide between us and God, allowing us to have a relationship with Him. 

Romans 8:1-4 (ESV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

After accepting the free gift of Jesus’ payment on the cross for our sins, we are adopted into God’s family and nothing can separate us from God’s love ever again. God’s love becomes unconditional for us because all of the conditions have already been met through Jesus.

John 6:35-40 (ESV) Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Hebrews 2:9-15 (NIV) But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

David Bowman's “Expressions of Christ”

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters…

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 

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Disciplined physical bodies are of some value but spiritual things last forever

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV) …train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Our salvation and eternity with God in Heaven is secure no matter what we do after accepting Jesus’ payment for our sins because it is based purely on grace through Faith in Jesus. We are saved through grace (Romans 11:5-6; Ephesians 2:8-9) and we live our Christian lives through grace (Romans 6:14; 2 Peter 3:18).

Saved through grace:

Romans 11:5-6 (ESV) So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Christian lives are lived through grace:

Romans 6:14 (ESV) For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

But, once we have become part of God’s family, we can have a relationship with God. Spiritual Disciplines help us learn how to show love back to God through our relationship with Him.

In “The Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines” by David Mathis, he says:

“‘The essence of the Christian life,’ writes John Piper, ‘is learning to fight for joy in a way that does not replace grace.’ We cannot earn God’s grace or make it flow apart from his free gift. But we can position ourselves to go on getting as he keeps on giving. We can ‘fight to walk in the paths where he has promised his blessings.’ We can ready ourselves to remain receivers along his regular routes, sometimes called ‘the spiritual disciplines.’

Such practices need not be fancy or highfalutin. They are the stuff of everyday, basic Christianity--unimpressively mundane, but spectacularly potent by the Spirit. While there’s no final and complete list of such practices, the long tally of helpful habits can be clustered underneath three main principles: hearing God’s voice, having his ear, and belonging to his body. Or simply: word, prayer, and fellowship.”

Tips for the Disciplined Spiritual Life:

Hear His Voice (word):

Reading the Bible

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Have His Ear (prayer):

Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) You must pray at all times as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray. Pray for the things that are needed. You must watch and keep on praying. Remember to pray for all Christians.

Belong to His Body (fellowship):

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

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You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “Running the Race”.

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This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Divine Inspiration - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Mike Clement, Michael Gleb, and David Clement.

Mike Clement
The last time we got together, which was 10 minutes ago, we were talking, there was a question that was asked about the Apocrypha and how it had been included in the original King James version. But you really don't find it in very many English Bibles at all today. Very few. And we talked a little about that, and what came up is the whole area of inspiration. And Dave, what was it that you were, how do you define inspiration? Inspiration means what?

David Clement
Well the word actually translated is, is breathed, breathed out. So if you put your hand in front of your face, in front of your mouth, while you're speaking, you can actually feel the breath coming out of your mouth. And that's what inspiration means, it means God breathed. God actually spoke it, and the words came out of His mouth. Therefore, just like if we were to put our hand in front of our face while we were talking, we could feel the breath coming out of our mouths. And so you look up the original Greek language that was translated, and you would see God breathed. And so that's the idea, is the words coming out of your mouth as formed as breath.

Mike Clement
Okay, Pastor, you had a verse that you--

Michael Gleb
Well, yeah. In the last one, we talked about 2 Timothy 3:16 and it says, "Paul," writing to his young son in the ministry. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." And so all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and that's a comforting thing.

David Clement
To know that.

Michael Gleb
The Bible that I hold in my hand is God breathed, as you said. So it's coming from Him. It's not coming from the 40 plus authors of, they may have been human authors, but God inspired it. God breathed into them the very words that He would have for them to pen. Right, that's where we have a Bible!

David Clement
You know, one thing that we didn't talk about last time, but is interesting. We could go through the Old Testament prophets and we could see how God said, "You write this down." Yeah, He would say, "Write this down, write this down." So He actually told them, you know, "Write this down," and then He told them what to write down. What's interesting to note though also, because if we go over into Revelation, it talks about not adding to or subtracting from, you know? And interesting, in Revelation there were things that John was told, "Don't write that down."

Mike Clement
Right, God told John.

David Clement
God said, whatever it was that God told him, He said, "Now, you don't write that down." And so, it was literally, God told him exactly what to say, and then God told him, "Don't say that."

Mike Clement
When you take a class in Bible college and seminary and in some theology books, you find the phrase, Verbal Plenary Inspiration. And most evangelical and fundamental churches hold to Verbal Plenary Inspiration. And what that means, the verbal means: the very words; that God has inspired the very words. And we don't understand exactly how it took place, because Matthew sounds like Matthew and John sounds like John and Paul sounds like Paul and Isaiah sounds like Isaiah. And you see that their personalities or their character, or whatever are reflected in the writings. Nevertheless, the very words that they wrote were inspired. And the plenary part of Verbal Plenary Inspiration; plenary means all of them. Every single one of them. And that's supported in a number of places in the scripture. But in Matthew 5, the beginning of The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this, He said, "Do not think now that I have come to destroy the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Now people who read that, may not know what that means. The word jot was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word jod, and jod is a letter in Hebrew. It's the smallest letter in Hebrew, and it looks like our letter, 'i', without the dot on top of it. So when Jesus said, "Not one jot, (not one, jod)," He said, "Not the smallest letter in God's word would pass away." Now a tittle: a tittle was a stroke in the pen that distinguished one letter from another. In English, if you just put a line down, that's either an 'I' or it's an 'l', but if you cross it, now it's a 'T'. And when you cross that in Hebrew, that was a tittle, that little stroke of the pen, that made one letter into another. And it does, you take the word bell, b e l l, and you cross the last 'l', now it's belt. It's a different word. Yeah, and so what Jesus said was, "The smallest jot, the smallest letter, the smallest stroke of the pen would not pass away." And that is an indication that that's the extent to which inspiration goes. Now, there is a difference between when we use the word inspiration, there's a difference between that and when we say something is inspiring. Inspiring is, it's effect on me. You know, and some people find some things inspiring and some people find other things inspiring, and we don't all agree. But if it's inspired by God, that means it comes from God, and the word that goes along with that is authoritative. Authoritative: what God's word says it says. And do you have that passage in Revelation? It talks about not adding or taking away?

Michael Gleb
Yeah, I was gonna back up that, how important it is, God's word, and jump on that in Revelation 22. This is the very last chapter of the last book of the Bible in the third or the second to last verse or the third to the last verse. "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away His part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." And so you could spend time, you know, dissecting and contextualizing that verse, but the fact of the matter is, that's a pretty bold statement. "If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy," well, that's just how important it is. God's word is important. When I grew up, you know, like what your dad said, "Following directions is important," you know? Sometimes my mom would send me to the grocery store and she'd have a list, and I didn't follow the list always to the point that it wasn't a good day. And so, you know, this is just the importance of, when God says something, it's really important.

Mike Clement
Yeah. Dave, you made a reference before, to something that's found in 2 Peter, about the more sure word of prophecy that we have.

David Clement
That's right. That's interesting, because, you know, Peter was one of the 12 disciples, probably the most outspoken of all the disciples. He had more to say. He was the one that had enough faith to step out of the boat and walk towards Jesus on the water. But anyhow, we have Peter and he spent three years with Jesus, was a part of His ministry, heard the very words that Jesus said. Jesus sat down with him, discipled him, you know, we only have what? Four gospels that are written down? And if you take your time and read through them, you can probably read through all four of them in a day. But there were three years that Jesus, I mean in the book of John, it says that many--

Mike Clement
Many other things.

David Clement
Many other things did Jesus do, the books could not contain it, you know, that Jesus did. And so Peter saw a lot and he heard a lot, Jesus taught him a lot. But in the book, I believe it's 2 Peter, he says that, "We have a more sure word of testimony."

Mike Clement
Prophecy.

David Clement
Okay. I was trying to quote it there. Go ahead and read it for us brother.

Michael Gleb
Oh, okay. Well, I am actually gonna find it for you. Okay, right there, verse 19.

David Clement
Okay. It says, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto the light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." And so, here we have Peter saying, you know, "I walked with Jesus. I talked with Him, I heard Him." But now, this book that we hold today, is a more sure word. It's more complete, it's fulfilled. And so we don't have to doubt the word of God, and what we have here.

Michael Gleb
And another thing that you pointed out last time, a little, but we touched on it. Or maybe it was when we were talking. Anyhow, the idea of the Holy Spirit's responsibility inside of us too. And one of his jobs is to reveal the word to us as, not just reveal it, cause anybody could pick it up and read it. I was talking to someone just here the other day, and he was just in awe of what God was showing him that day. Even though he has read the passage a hundred times. And you know, that's the Holy spirit dwelling in us. And he has to reveal things, truth to us, because we're each at a different time in our life, every single day, you know? And I pointed out to him, you know, if Methuselah, (Methuselah was the oldest man recorded in scripture to live to be 969 years old), if he was to sit down and study the word of God every single day of his entire life, every single day he'd learn something different.

Mike Clement
Some years ago, I remember reading, I think it was Warren Wiersbe who made the statement, "Every generation has to redefine doctrine for their generation." Because new things came up and he said, "You know, we used to be able to just say that we believe the Bible is the word of God." And that was sufficient. He said, "Then we had to say, 'We believe all the Bible is the word of God, and then we had to say later on, 'Well, we believe all the Bible is the word of God and is inspired." And he said, "Now we have to say 'All the Bible is the word of God, is inspired and is without error." And I remember, in the 70's and 80's, there was a book written about reemphasizing the idea of an inerrancy. Which simply means that there are no errors in the Bible. And boy, lots of Christian organizations hustled to change their doctrinal statements to include inerrancy, because this guy brought it up. And he named names. He named organizations and schools and all kinds of things that didn't believe any longer. We have some of that today, where we have Ken Ham and some others that are emphasizing that all the Bible is true, including the book of Genesis, it's all true. In fact, Ken Ham has said, "Listen, if we can't trust the first book in the Bible, how can we trust any of them?"

Michael Gleb
Which includes some pretty important doctrine.

Mike Clement
Now, back in the turn of the previous century, from the 1800's to the 1900's, there was a fellow by the name of Harry Rimmer. And Harry Rimmer was a real defender of the accuracy of the word of God. And that was not that long after the theory of evolution came along, and Harry Rimmer would preach long and hard and loudly about the accuracy of the word of God. And what he did was, he offered, it was like a $10,000 reward, to anybody who could prove a scientific or historical error in the Bible. In his whole lifetime, it went unclaimed. Yeah, because nobody can. People will talk about it, in fact, we'll get into it, maybe in another session, the whole idea of defending the Bible. But most people that say, "Oh, the Bible is full of errors," okay, name one. They've heard that, they say that, and they may even believe it, but they've never been able to prove it for themselves and nobody else has either.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Beyond the Farthest Star - Adam Wells knows this move to small-town Leonard, Texas, is his last chance. How has he gone from the “Miracle Preacher Boy,” who shook hands with the American president, to two failed pastorates, all because of his daughter? Maurene, Adam’s weary, peace-keeping wife, aches for a second child, believing a baby will ease her husband’s bitterness. Can she dispel the secret hanging over her family like a choking cloud? Sixteen-year-old Anne feels hopeless and trapped after the third move in less than five years. She longs for the days when she knew what…or who…was beyond the farthest star. When had she lost her faith? And can Stephen, the confident cowboy who sees her scars, help her find it again? 

If I Were You - 1950: In the wake of war, Audrey Clarkson leaves her manor house in England for a fresh start in America with her young son. As a widowed war bride, Audrey needs the support of her American in-laws, whom she has never met. But she arrives to find that her longtime friend Eve Dawson has been impersonating her for the past four years. Unraveling this deception will force Audrey and Eve’s secrets—and the complicated history of their friendship—to the surface.    

1940: Eve and Audrey have been as different as two friends can be since the day they met at Wellingford Hall, where Eve’s mother served as a lady’s maid for Audrey’s mother. As young women, those differences force them apart until the threat of Nazi invasion and war bring them back together. An American stationed in England brings a chance at love for Audrey, and the collapse of the class system gives Eve hope for a future with Audrey’s brother. But in the wake of devastating loss, both women must make life-altering decisions that will set in motion a web of lies and push them both to the breaking point.                                                                                                                                      

Traces of Guilt - Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police detective…mostly. She’s very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job. Gabriel Thane grew up in Carin County and is now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he’s sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have…When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it’s to help launch a new task force focused on unsolved crimes across the state. She will work with the sheriff’s department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she studies old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths surprising connections. One way or another, she knows Gabriel Thane and his family will be key to the answers she seeks.

Equipping Ourselves For Ministry - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Kiley Callaway, Tyson Lambertson, John Mulholland and Jon Simpson.

Jon Simpson
In a couple of different episodes we're working through this idea of equipping. We've been talking about equipping ourselves as well as equipping others. And so we kind of want to continue from last time. We were talking about how we equip ourselves, and how we interact with stuff that's maybe oppositional. Where it's not what we agree with or believe, whether that be kind of within the Christian world or even if it gets into the secular culture, you know, we're interacting with stuff that we don't know necessarily agree with. And we read a scripture out of Ephesians 4. Do you wanna read that again just to get us back to that?

John Mulholland
Yeah. "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." So really the mindset is, how do I interact with thoughts, philosophies, ideas, ideals that are different, that are counter to what the Bible has to say? Where do we find those ideas? What the purpose of that is, in terms of engaging people who are in our culture, like trying to understand what their viewpoint is before we tell them ours. So how do we kind of do that? You talked about your background in student ministry, which was incredibly influential for you and the same way for me. I talked about kind of scouring social media to see like, what are the things people are talking about? What are the ways they're talking about it, to try and understand their perspective? And we didn't hear from Kylie?

Kylie Calloway
Well, yeah, I mean mine's way different. When I took the part-time position at the hospital as a chaplain, I thought I was doing it for one reason, but it really felt like God had a totally different reason, cause I've entered into what's called CPE or clinical pastoral education that teaches you exactly how to be a chaplain. So my struggle and learning through, is taking off my pastor hat and also as a counselor, my counselor hat, and going into that hospital room that it's not my appointment. It's not my visit, it's the person's visit. And I'm encountering, you know, luckily here a lot of the patients are Christians, but you also encounter people that could care less about you being a pastor, you being a counselor, they're not there to get advice you're going into their world. And so the biggest challenge for me is learning how to enter into their story and enter into their moment and help them in whatever spiritual journey they're in. Whether that be Satanic, whether that be a Jew, whether that be a Muslim, or whether that be a Christian. And even as a Christian, not putting my theological belief on them and listening to them where they're at and trying to steer them to a place that's not a bias on my end, which is pastors, when they come into our office. I mean, we're supposed to tell them, "This is what scripture says, this is what you need to do." And I can't do that. And I find it beautiful because it's challenging me to see the world, the scriptures, and people's journey in different places, and learning a lot from them, of what they're thinking, what they're going through. I think I love now more than ever, visiting those patients that don't even know the Lord, and they're cussing at me and cussing at things in life. And, you know, doing their fist up to God and not bringing in the scriptures, but leading them to a place that can begin to open up a dialogue of discovery for them in their own mind.

John Mulholland
Well, and you even talked about, way earlier today, how your role as a chaplain at the hospital has led you to be in the hospital room with someone from Westway or someone from Mitchell Berean. And to go into that, like kind of checking your, like, we do have theological differences, kind of checking those differences at the door. And how do I minister to, and how do I love and how do I serve that person that's in front of me without bringing like all of my things with that?

Kylie Calloway
I have to turn it off. And I mean, the beauty of it is, being able to be with y'all and actually being your advocate there instead of a pastor trying to, you know, steer somebody one way or the other.

John Mulholland
"Well, when you get out, come to Northfield. Right, I mean, you're not saying that, and you're, I mean, you're not doing that.

Kylie Calloway
No, my job is actually, I visited one of your congregants and, "Can I contact John and let him know that you're here? And, you know, he's already been contacted." Yeah and to be your advocate of, you know, that you're the best thing since slice bread, which is easy for me cause I know y'all. But even if I didn't, I still have to operate that way. Yeah, I would say the biggest challenge is just to turn it off. I'm not a pastor there, I'm not a therapist there. And the moment for you, to help you wherever you are. And that has been probably the first couple months, the hardest thing for me to do,

John Mulholland
I think that's just so interesting. You know, when at the beginning of Acts, Jesus says, "The Holy Spirit's gonna come upon you and you will be my witnesses," like, I think that's one of the hardest things for Christians. I find myself in this category and I would put myself in that category. Man, how do I turn off my desire for them to maybe respond and like, as much as I want them to respond in a certain way and how do I just come alongside them and love them in the midst of where they are.

Kylie Calloway
And I think for me, that's where I try to follow. What's called the Law of Love is, I have to lovingly guide them in that moment. Now that's not to say, if there was an open door, that I can't take it, I can. But it's, you know, I mean, let's just be honest, we're pastors, we're in the Christian world all the time, we're in the bubble. And I think getting outside of that and having coffee with somebody that doesn't believe in God and hates Jesus and hates the Bible is a good thing for us. And what I have gotten out of this, is being in kind of the secular realm, cause it is. And seeing patients that have nothing to do with God, has been the best thing for me ever in 26 years semester.

John Mulholland
And I wonder how much that's changed your real job, your pastoral.

Kylie Calloway
Just the ability to listen, and to have what would just be the ministry of presence in that moment, instead of trying to be the man with the answers, for me.

Jon Simpson
Yeah, that's really good. I think, probably for me too, some of the times where I've probably grown the most, learned the most, have been times when I wasn't in the professional, you know, pastor role. But I was working a regular job in the regular world and just having to be open to and figure out where people are really coming from. When they say certain things, what do they mean? And what is it? Where do those things come from? It's kind of like just a realness to, like you said, "Be able to listen and kind of turn off whatever agenda," in a sense. And just be able to interact and take in where people are at and where they're coming from without that, maybe that push or that judgment. You know, I'm constantly thinking, "You know, I think Paul, when he got to Athens, he's like, you know, he gets up on Mars hill right? It's like, you know, he had gone around the city, looked at their stuff, he'd taken it in, he listened to them. And then he had an intelligent presentation based on a real, kind of deeper understanding of where they're coming from. And he saw, yes, an opening, you know, you have this, I mean, do you wanna read it? The idol to the unknown?

John Mulholland
Yeah, I love it. "Men of Athens, I noticed you're very religious in every way for as I was walking along, I saw your many shrines. And one of your alters had this inscription on it, To an Unknown God, this whom you worship without knowing, is the one I'm telling you about." I think today, like we would expect Paul to be like, "Men of Athens, I noticed that you are worshiping all of these false idols. You guys are going to hell. And let me tell you about Jesus." And it's so counterintuitive what he does, and just like, how do we help? How do I have this mindset? How do we help the people in our churches have this mindset? Like it's such a cautious way. And like, I love Acts 17. It's one of my favorite texts in scripture. And like, he gives a gospel presentation without mentioning Jesus one time. And I think if the three of us were to get up in front of our church body and do this, we might have people who are angry with us, because we weren't maybe as clear as we could have been, or we didn't condemn the idolatry as much. And we didn't do all these things, but the way he handles this is just so incredibly wise, recognizing, cause he knew who he was dealing with. And we read elsewhere in Acts, we know what Paul's you know, what his background was what his education was. Like, he knew who he was talking about. So I think if there is ever an apologetic or if there is ever an instructive on how we are to interact with people who don't know Jesus, like, Acts 17 says.

Jon Simpson
Well, at the end of 17, he takes this really, you know, he takes an approach that says, "I understand where you're coming from and I get a little bit of who you are." And then, by the end, he gets to the resurrection, and that kind of is the hinge point, where some people think he's crazy and some people are like, I wanna hear more. And then he gathers them after, you know, some join him, some become believers, some don't, but his approach is, I mean it's a missionary approach. And I think that's something that, I feel an importance of today that I'm exposed to kind of the modern thinking on things. What are people thinking right now? What is out there? The people that are influencing other people. So I kind of look to podcasts and things, where they have a huge following, a lot of people are listening to them. Cause I'm like, "Okay, this is influencing a lot of people. They're people turning to this. Why?" You know, and listening to what they think and what they have to say. And yes, at times they're oppositional to Jesus and the gospel. At times they say things, that to me, "Oh man, here's why that's true." You know, I just wanna jump in and go. "Here's why that's true." Cause they do, the world does at times figure things out. I listened to a guy talk about forgiveness and the power of it, the importance of it and how he's learned over time. Like, it's not healthy to hold onto grudges and stay mad at people. And he's just learned this and he's not a believer, man, he's a total pagan, but he's learned the truth and the power behind a biblical principle. I'm like, well, yeah. I mean, yeah. Would you talk to, you know, some of us who are Christian struggle with this. You know, it's like anyway, being exposed to other ideas and other people, to me is important. To really be good at presenting the gospel and speaking to our culture today.

John Mulholland
And there would be some people in the Christian world who would have, from their perspective, a legitimate beef that we would expose ourselves to this kind of thinking. But we want to like, we wanna be exposed to it, to I think celebrate what's true. Like you said, the thing that you heard about forgiveness, I said this a few weeks ago at Westway. Like, isn't it awesome when culture catches up to the Bible?

Jon Simpson
Yeah, exactly. When they figure something out.

John Mulholland
You know, celebrate truth where they see it. Like, that's what Paul does, celebrate truth where they see it. But also, confront false things, and we have to know what that is. And part of our role and our responsibility is teaching our church bodies. Like, how do I do that? How do I become like Paul in Athens? Like, kind of checking our theological comfort zones, understandings at the door. Not ignoring them, not turning our back on them, but recognizing, "Like, maybe this isn't the space for someone to hear, like what I might believe about end times theology." This might not be the space for that.

Jon Simpson
Well Paul, to me that Ephesians four passage that, "You won't be tossed by every wind of teaching." Things that sound so good. I mean, honestly, there's people in our culture, and there's churches going this way. There's Christians going this way where, because of a compassionate. Here's the compassionate, loving approach being presented, whether it's sexual orientation or gender, whatever it is, it's like they're being swayed to move away from scripture in order to, you know, "Well, this is what you have to do if you're compassionate and loving." Well, those are biblical. That's what Jesus would do. But then, you know, so to me, when I engage the stuff in the world and what they're teaching, it doesn't sway me at all. I'm not swayed, but I am educated and I do learn better. What are they thinking? Where do they come from? Where are people at? And how can I speak to that? I think it keeps me equipped and sharp to be able to preach the gospel today.

Kylie Calloway
And that's where our job comes in to equip them to where they will be mature and to where they won't be swayed. And I think we'll be talking about that next time.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? What's Next?

Meet Generation Z - Move over Boomers, Xers, and Millennials; there’s a new generation—making up more than 25% of the US population—on the scene that represents a seismic cultural shift. Born approximately between 1993 and 2012, Generation Z is poised to challenge every church to rethink its role in light of a rapidly changing culture. From the award-winning author of The Rise of the Nones comes this enlightening introduction to the youngest generation. James Emery White explains who this generation is, how it came to be, and the impact it is likely to have on the nation and the faith. Then he reintroduces us to the ancient countercultural model of the early church, arguing that this is the model Christian leaders must adopt and adapt if we are to reach members of Generation Z with the gospel. He helps us rethink our old evangelistic and apologetic methods, cultivate a culture of invitation, and communicate with this connected generation right where they are. 

Raising Them Ready - As parents, we either raise kids who are dependent on us or we raise kids who grow into confident and capable adults. It all comes down to helping them develop their mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets. In Raising Them Ready, seasoned parents and bestselling authors Jonathan and Erica Catherman share practical ways to prepare your kids for life on their own. They help you see how your kids view everyday demands of life as either threats to survive or challenges to thrive, then offer age-and ability-appropriate guidance on the real-world skills kids ages 2 to 22 need before flying solo. With the tools and wisdom found in this essential parenting resource, you will be able to stop worrying if your kids will make it on their own and start celebrating the phases and adventures of letting go as they mature into confident and capable young adults, ready to launch. 

Living Slower - In our increasingly complex and chaotic world, do you yearn to live a little slower? A little simpler? Do you long to feel more connected to your home, your family, your friends? Do you wish you had time, energy, and money to spare for what matters most in life? You’re not alone. Popular lifestyle blogger Merissa A. Alink has discovered the joy and freedom of living a slower, simpler life, and she wants to share the secrets with you. In the pages of this book, you’ll learn how living slower enables you to: 

• Declutter your home and mind

• Eat healthier, home-cooked meals

• Develop stronger relationships

• Save Money

• Reduce Screen Time

• Prioritize togetherness

• Seek God

• Embrace rest

• And more

If you are tired of feeling anxious, frenzied, or disconnected from the natural rhythms of life, join Merissa on the journey toward a life more in line with your values and dreams.

Spiritual Discipline: Reading Your Bible - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Gary Schick and Ben Poole.

Ben Poole
So last week we started a topic on spiritual disciplines, that we find needing, for our lives to help us grow in our faith. Last week we talked about probably one of the most important ones, is our prayer life, and really investing in that communication with God. And a lot of people I think, may have different ideas on how God talks to us, and in the Old Testament, God would show up to certain individuals in certain miraculous ways. You think of Moses and the burning bush, you think of through the prophets, through a donkey. So many different ways that God has shown up. Then we see in the New Testament where God becomes man through His son, Jesus and speaks to the world and performs miracles. And so now we're looking at it from, and I'm not gonna say that God cannot speak audibly or show up in certain ways in certain people's lives, but it's not the norm anymore. And so really I look at the scriptures as, this is God speaking to us. Everything we need to know about God and the message He has for us, we can find in the scriptures. And so today, we just want to dive into that and the importance of reading our Bibles. And so Gary, what are some of your thoughts?

Gary Schick
Well, and you know, as you were just mentioning there and I was thinking, you know, if somebody says, "I feel like the Lord is telling me--," you know, whatever it is. One of the checks to know whether that might be true is, "Okay, is what is being said here in accordance with God's word? Because, you know, unlike us where we contradict ourselves sometimes, God's not like that, He's not gonna contradict Himself. He's not gonna say, "Jesus is Lord one day and Jesus is not the next," Jesus is Lord "period." And so, whatever you're hearing, and not to say that this is the final word on it either, but absolutely would have to be in conformity with what God is telling us in His word. Yeah, we're talking about, really, the way I like to think of it is, what are ways that a Christian's faith grows? G.R.O.W.S. We talked about it last week: Go to God in prayer, and so today read scripture. You know, Jesus, when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He answered Satan with scripture over and over again. I think the first answer He gave was right out of the book of Deuteronomy when He said, "Hey, uh, Satan was like, why don't you turn this stone into bread." And Jesus was like, "You know what? It is written, 'man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." One of my favorite verses of scripture, Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." And actually throughout the scripture, the scripture just describes itself to us in so many ways. It describes itself as a lamp, as meat, honey, milk, a hammer, a sword, a fire. I mean, it's so many things. In the beginning of the book of Joshua they're about to enter the promised land. God says to him, and actually it was the You version verse of the day yesterday, Joshua 1:8. "Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. That you may be careful to do all that is written in it for then you'll make your way prosperous and then you'll have good success." Do you wanna succeed in life as a child of God? Then it starts with God's word, and my goodness, how blessed we are. You know, today we've got Bibles on the shelf. I mean, they're just all over the place, and if you don't have a physical copy, you can download it. There's Bible apps: I've got the You version, I've got the Bible gateway, I've got the Bible Hub app, I've got the Blue Letter Bible app, and they're all fantastic! But you know, none of it does us any good if we don't pick it up and read it. And so, I guess what I really want to encourage my listeners today is, how are you doing about being in the other side of the conversation? You're right, prayer is talking to God. And yes, it can include being silent in God's presence and trying to hear from God, but ultimately He really speaks powerfully to us through His word. And I'd like to encourage people to kind of do the macro reading and the micro reading. By macro, I mean look at the Bible in large chunks, you know? Take one of those Bible apps where you have the opportunity to actually listen to the word audibly, do the Bible in a year. By the way, if you're wanting to do the Bible in a year, here's how to do it. You don't even need to download something and check it all off. The Old Testament: if you listen to two chapters a day, Monday through Friday and four chapters a day on Saturday and Sunday, you will get through the Old Testament in just like a day or two under a year. The New Testament: one chapter a day, five days a week, exactly one year. So there it is: three chapters a day during the week, two Old Testament, one New Testament; and four chapters a day in the Old Testament on Saturday and Sunday, will get you through the Bible in one year. So that's a good way to just kind of be hearing the word in the big chunks. But I think it's also really important and valuable for us to kind of zero in on the word. And so I think it's also good to take in the word in some of the smaller chunks. You know, like maybe a chapter, or a paragraph, or a verse, or even just a few words, that you can really zero in on and dig into the word. If you've got a Cross Reference Bible and you're reading something, and there's something that intrigues you, those little extra letters that you see kind of above and around the words or in the margins, those are connecting scriptures. You know, commentary is great, other opinions are great, but the reformers had this idea that the best, explanation of the word was the word itself. And that's what all those scriptures in the footnotes and margins are about. Those are about other scriptures that take us to more about what the Bible says on those topics. And so letting the Bible unpack the Bible for you, yes, absolutely. If you've got footnotes, if you've got study notes, glean all that you can from it, mine it. You know, when I was in seminary, we used to have to go and buy tons of volumes to be able to dig and unpack the word. Today, like if you've got a good study Bible, like the ESV study Bible, or the NIV study Bible, or any of the study Bibles, those things are basically whole seminary libraries. You know, you can really dig in that way. And then I would just say, "Meditate on the word," that's what it says in Joshua. "Don't let this book of the Lord depart from your mouth, but meditate on it." And how does that happen? Well, to meditate on it, you've got to have it more than just outside in your hand, you've got to have it in you. And so I would encourage our listeners to be regularly memorizing just little bits of scripture, just little bits. It might be something that's soothing to you. Are you struggling with anxiety or having trouble sleeping at night? Maybe you need to just verse by verse, a few words at a time, memorize the shepherd Psalm. Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul." And let the word restore your soul as you slowly memorize and meditate on it. Do you have access to another language? Did you learn Spanish when you were in high school? Do you know German? Read the word, meditate on the word in another language if you have access to it. Just to hear it from a different perspective use different translations, but get the word into you and let it speak to you. You know, I talked last week a little bit about praying through the Lord's Prayer, which by the way, that also is scripture that you can meditate on. But even if it's a verse like we were just talking about, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and light unto my path," pray the scripture back to God. You know, what are you telling me Lord? In Psalm 23, "Lord, you are my shepherd, what else am I wanting? Help me to just get my needs met right here by you today. Lord, lead me beside the calm waters, calm my soul. I feel like I'm going through the valley of the shadow right now. Lord, I look to you, you are my protector, you are my shield." And so, that's a way to take the scripture and pray it back to God. And then absolutely, as you pray it back to God, ask God to show you how to live it out. Because ultimately we wanna be people in the word, of the word, living by the word. So that we can just be blessed by God, through the word and shine forth His glory.

Ben Poole
Right. Such good information there. I was thinking of a different aspect to this for myself, that's been really important in my life. I grew up in the church and when I went to Bible college, since I grew up in church, I obviously knew what all the Bible's about. And I was quickly shown how ignorant I was of the scriptures. So, through my studies in school, but also my own personal time in God's word, I've grown to need God's word. There have been things in my life, or even in my wife and I's life, where the truth of the fact that we are in a spiritual war has come into a very physical sense in our lives at times. One of which was, I took a call to be the pastor of a church, and shortly after we accepted that call, we found out we were pregnant the same day we found out we were having a miscarriage.

Gary Schick
Oh my goodness.

Ben Poole
And so we knew, even in the hospital sitting there waiting on doctors and stuff, talking to each other about, "We know this is an attack from Satan, trying to hold us back from doing what God has called us to do. And it really began to ring true in Ephesians 6, where Paul tells us to put on the armor of God. All of the armor is for defense, to protect us. Except our sword, it is our offense, the sword is the word of God. Just like you talked about Jesus in the wilderness, He was having a spiritual battle. And what did He use to fight the devil? He used the scripture.

Gary Schick
That He had in His heart that He had memorized.

Ben Poole
He had hidden it in His heart and knew the word of God, and that is something that, you know, with our kids at home, we have them do memory verses. And they're actually getting pretty good at getting larger chunks of scripture down at a time. It's really awesome to watch. And it helps us as parents to be in the word with them and to guide them in this and help them understand what the words means. Because this is gonna go with them into the rest of their lives, and realizing when those attacks come, not if when, they will have that scripture hidden in their hearts to guide them through. And I know that for myself. In certain situations we've gone through, had I not had scripture in my heart, where would I be today? I wouldn't be in a good place, I know that. So it's not something that we should feel like, "Well, I need to read today and I need to do my daily reading." We have the privilege to hear the word of God, to us. Not just because it's there and we should, but because He loves us. And the message, as much as it was for people, you know, the gospels and the letters 2000 years ago for the people that were hearing it, even for the first time, as much as it was for them, it is for us as well. And that we can grow in our walk with Christ. And so we would just encourage you, if you need help on finding resources, there are so many. You look on, especially You version, they have got such a wide array of options to study God's word.

Gary Schick
Yeah, and listen to their devotion every morning, first thing.

Ben Poole
And it's something that we have been truly blessed with and would just encourage you to not see the scriptures and reading them, as a burden, maybe. You know, I kind of grew up that way that I didn't really want to read it, cause I was told to read it. But now I have a deep love for the scriptures, because it affects my life. Affects my wife and my kids and what I do with my life and in my everyday things. It really affects me on a spiritual and physical level, and it is one of the greatest gifts that God could ever give us. Is to have His word given to us so that we can come to know Him.

Gary Schick
And you know, I mentioned about memorizing and meditating stuff that's soothing like the 23rd Psalm. But also taking to heart that which challenges us and helps us with struggle points. You know like, are dealing with anger issues? There's tons of verses on anger, memorize that. You know, "A fool gives full vent to his wrath, but a wise man keeps himself under control," you know? If you've got that on your tongue, it might keep something else from rolling off your tongue that you're gonna be sorry for. You know, verses that challenge us and grow us. I tell you what, if this is kind of a new concept for you, why not start with the fruit of the spirit? "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control." If you take that and pray that back to God and meditate on it through your day, it can change your perspective on life. You know, the word is powerful. To transform us, to disciple us, to grow us, but it comes by hearing and believing and ingesting it. Letting it become part of who we are as we grow up in Christ. And it's a forever process. None of us ever have reached a point where we've gotten all we can take in. Anymore than, "Sorry, I've had enough to eat in my lifetime. I don't need---," but I'll tell you what, there's the point, what are we ingesting? You know, just as it makes a difference what we ingest into our bodies, food wise, spiritually we're constantly ingesting what we're seeing, what we're hearing, what we're watching. Make sure you've got a healthy diet of God's word to keep you balanced, healthy and growing strong in the Lord.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Discover Jesus in the Darkness

Rediscover Jesus - I think about this often, and I always come to the same realization. I don’t know Jesus anywhere near as well as I would like to know Him. The desire is there, but life gets in the way. There are times when I seem to be making great progress, and other times when I wonder if I know Him at all. But I always arrive back at the same inspiring and haunting idea: If there is one person that we should each get to know in a deeply personal way, it is Jesus—the carpenter from Nazareth, the itinerant preacher, the Son of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Lamb of God, the new Adam, the Messiah, the Alpha and the Omega, the Chosen One, the Light of the World, the God-Man who wants goods things for us more than we want them for ourselves, the healer of our souls. The best time to rediscover Jesus is right now. I don’t know what God has in store for you, but I am excited for you. There are some questions that we all ask ourselves in different ways: Who am I? Who is God? What am I here for? What matters most? What matters least? What are my unique talents and abilities? What will my contribution be? We discover the answers to these questions most completely by encountering Jesus. He longs to help us discover deeply personal answers to our deeply personal questions. 

When Life Goes Dark - Depression strikes millions, across all demographic groups. Approximately one in eight will have a severe depressive episode at some point in their life. Women experience depression twice as often as men. And over 50 percent of people with serious depression do not get adequate help. What can be done? Richard Winter explores the complex medical, psychological and spiritual issues surrounding depression. He presents recent scientific research on its biochemical and genetic causes and examines social and cultural factors. Dispelling common Christian misunderstandings, Winter explores the dynamics of despair, loss, anger, guilt, shame and spiritual warfare. Even in the shadow of the valley of death, God can bring healing and deliverance. This book is a helpful guide for those who find themselves, their loved ones or those they counsel vulnerable to depression. Find here a framework for understanding depression and rediscovering hope. 

Get Out of Your Head - The greatest spiritual battle of our generation is taking place between our ears. Again and again, we allow false thoughts about who we are to influence our thoughts about who God is and how He is at work in our lives. But we have the opportunity to stop our spinning minds and escape toxic thinking patterns. In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie Allen helps you transform your life by renewing your mind as she explores: 

• How what you believe about God shapes how you think of yourself. 

• The negative thought patterns that are keeping you stuck

• How to hold space for silence and community—and why they matter. 

• The science behind why your thoughts can change your life.

• Your God-given power to confront and overcome your fears.

When you reclaim your thinking patterns from the lies of the enemy, you are set free to set others free. In a very real way, your thoughts can change the world. So join Jennie in the battle and step boldly into freedom. Change is possible. You can live free.

When you think of a war, what usually comes to mind? Well, for me, I think of two sides of a conflict fighting on a battlefield with the weapon of their choice, hoping to prove a point. But today I’m not going to talk about the physical battles that are fought on a mud, grass, or even cement battlefield. Instead I’m going to try and shed some light on the kind of war that this week’s authors commonly explain and I title as: The Innerworkings of a Dispirited Mind. In When Life Goes Dark, author Richard Winter thoroughly explains what depression is and how it has effected a large majority of people throughout the societies of the world. “Constant feelings of inadequacy, failure, worthlessness, shame, and guilt plague the mind, and it seems as though others are watching and are critical of every action, “ according to Winter, this is how most people with depression feel on a daily basis. The devil uses these deep dark moments in a person’s life to his advantage, hoping that he can successfully strip them of any hope, love, or faith. But he tends to forget that our Heavenly Father who loves us, knows that we are not worthless, and will stop at nothing to make sure all of his children know that they are loved by Him. In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie Allen gives her readers a way to step out of that overwhelming cloud of self-doubt and discouragement. “What we believe and what we think about matters, and the enemy knows it. And he is determined to get in your head to distract you from doing good and to sink you so deep that you feel helpless, overwhelmed, shut down, and incapable of rising to make a difference for the kingdom of God.” But you can make a difference for the kingdom of God! You were given a very unique personality that the Heavenly Father placed inside you, so you could go out into the world and proclaim His name and the name of His Son Jesus. And finally, as interesting and helpful as the other books are, Rediscover Jesus truly puts the cherry on top of this impactful stack of books. You’ve experienced life when it had all gone dark, and you’ve managed to get that darkness out of your head for a while. So now the most important and the only thing left to do is to rediscover Jesus and to keep Him in your life for eternity, letting His light chase that deep darkness away forever. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and check out these serious but important reads for yourselves.

The greatest spiritual battle of our generation is being fought between our ears.

- Jennie Allen, Get Out of Your Head