#271 Rise & Found - and a Challenge...should you accept it!

#272 Confess Yourself

Scripture So own up to your sins to one another and pray for one another. In the end, you may be healed. Your prayers are powerful when they are rooted in a righteous life. James 5:16 (VOICE) The Gist We don't talk much about confession in the protestant church. James isn't saying we should confess every fault/sin to every person, but instead to certain situations: * Where reconciliation is needed * where your heart/conscience is burdened * where a trusted friend can listen and help us receive grace and gain power over shame/guilt.  We avoid confessing for several reasons: exposure/shame, loss of control, lack of safe listeners, and theological confusion, but there is a lot of good that comes out of confession. It heals the body and soul, sin loses its power, authentic relationships happen, prayers become specific, and we experience the Gospel physically through being fully known and not rejected from the listener.  Digging Deeper Is there something you would confess to God privately but can't imagine saying out loud to another person -  what does that gap tell you? Bonhoeffer said, "If the demon that is named is the demon that loses its power." What in your life needs to be named? Who are you performing wholeness for, and what would it cost you to stop? These questions are meant to clear the ground and create the conditions for confession, not demand it.

#271 Rise & Found - and a Challenge...should you accept it!

Scripture I could speak more of faith; I could talk until time itself ran out. If I continued, I could speak of the examples of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and all the prophets. 33 I could give accounts of people alive with faith who conquered kingdoms, brought justice, obtained promises, and closed the mouths of hungry lions. 34 I could tell you how people of faith doused raging fires, escaped the edge of the sword, made the weak strong, and—stoking great valor among the champions of God—sent opposing armies into panicked flight. Hebrews 11:32-34 (VOICE) The Gist No, it isn't a typo. We didn't mean Rise and Shine, we really meant Rise and Found! After reading once again about all the unexpected Heroes of Faith or Champions of God, we were reminded of how none of them felt capable, prepared, or strong enough. BUT God chose them and equipped them.  The phrase: Found strength rising out of weakness stood out. This episode, Allison & Melissa talk unscripted about which word stood out, drew them in, and what God revealed. You won't want to miss what they discovered and share in this episode.  Melissa: Found Allison: Rising Digging Deeper Found strength rising out of weakness. What world draws your attention? Found? Strength? Rising? Weakness? Find a quiet spot, sit, and linger with this question and see what God reveals to you. Be sure to share with a friend.

#270 Hot Pants, Jesus & the Uninvited Miracle

Scripture  It wasn’t long after this when Jesus entered a city called Nain. Again all of His disciples accompanied Him, along with a huge crowd. 12 He was coming near the gate of the city as a corpse was being carried out. This man was the only child and support of his widowed mother, and she was accompanied by a large funeral crowd. 13 As soon as the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her. Jesus: Don’t weep. 14 Then He came to the stretcher, and those carrying it stood still. Jesus: Young man, listen! Get up! 15 The dead man immediately sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother, Luke 7:11-15 (The Voice) The Gist We take a look at the deeper meanings found within the Luke 7 story - what it says about us and what it says about Jesus that His compassion gifted this widow an uninvited and unrequested miracle.  Every other healing in the gospels involves some form of approach - someone coming to Jesus, reaching for Him or His cloak, crying out, or sending word. But here, in this story, Jesus crosses the distance on His own initiative.  Jesus: Notices the one, is often moved before He acts, comes to us, and restores us.  The direction you are walking doesn't determine whether Jesus can find you! This unrequested miracle strips away every transactional framework we quietly attach to God's goodness. We can subtly believe (without saying it) that miracles flow to the spiritually prepared, those who have prayed enough and just right, believed enough, and positioned themselves correctly.  This story of the widow dismantles ALL of that!   Digging Deeper Is there a place in your life where you have accepted a loss as final - something you have given up on or stopped asking about because the procession is underway? What would it look like or mean to let Jesus meet you there - not because you pursued Him, but because He sees you and is moved?

#269 - Does God Really Trust You?! Closing the Gap - Part Three

Scripture Paul, an emissary of Jesus the Anointed commissioned by order of God our Savior and Jesus the Anointed, our living and certain hope), to you, Timothy, my true son in the faith.  Here’s a statement worthy of trust: Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them all. 1 Timothy 1:1-1, 15 (The Voice) The Gist In Part Three of this series, we discuss the gap between how we see ourselves and how God sees us.  We take a look at: How we see ourselves and why we see ourselves that way How God sees us and why Why our hearts resist what God speaks over us and  What closing the gap between the two actually looks like in our daily lives.  The gap isn't between who we really are and who we should be - The gap is between our filtered self-perception and His unfiltered eternal knowledge of us.  Digging Deeper Whose voice first told me I was less than? How old was I - and am I still living under that assessment as though it were authoritative? When I picture myself, what do I see first - my failures and limitations, or the image of God in which I was made? What does that tell me about whose mirror I am standing in front of most often? God names Gideon "mighty warrior" before Gideon had done a single brave thing. What might God be naming in me that I have not yet grown into, and am I resisting that name? The gap often closes not in a moment of revelation, but in a long practice of returning - returning to truth when the old voices speak. What anchors, practices, or words from Scripture could become my returning places when the gap widens again?

#268 - Does God Really Trust You?! Biggest Spiritual Trap - Part Two

Scripture But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 (The Voice) The Gist In Part Two of this series, we dive into one of the most spiritually sophisticated heart blocks/traps there is: unworthiness mistaken as humility.  True humility says: "I am not the source." Unworthiness disguised as humility says: "I should not be here at all/" We discuss: why it's difficult to catch, the fears and obstacles that hide underneath it, and what God is actually looking for when it comes to humility and us trusting Him to work in our weakness and insecurities.  Digging Deeper When I say "I'm not worthy of this," am I expressing genuine dependence on God - or am I protecting myself from the risk of stepping forward? Am I confusing the feeling of inadequacy with a word from God? Who told me I was too small for this? If a beloved friend looked at me in the eyes and said, "I trust you with this," would I argue with them or receive it? Why do I argue with God? There is a difference between "God loves me anyway" and "God trusts me with this." Which is harder to hold? What does that reveal?