Burning Hearts with Rachel Herbeck

In today’s episode, John is very clear that if we deny sin we make God a liar. So often in our culture there is a denial of the reality of sin. We need to repent of our sins and receive God’s mercy in order to walk in the light.

Today, John tells us that Jesus didn’t just come to walk along side us, but He came as the Light of the world to enlighten our hearts. We ask for the grace to respond to the invitation to let that Light shine in us.

As we receive the Word of Life, John tells us that we are invited into the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is fellowship with other believers and fellowship with the Triune God Himself.

John shows us how he communicates about Jesus to others: He sees what Jesus has done, testifies to what He has done, and proclaims who Jesus is for all to see and hear.

This week, we dive into 1 John 1 and examine how John refers to Jesus as not just the Word, but the Word of Life. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us see that the Word made flesh is truly the source of our lives.

As we wrap up this week, we see that Scripture truly is our guide to walking in righteousness. In our own journeys, we cling to Jesus through his Word as we learn to walk in obedience to his commands.

In the face of persecution, Paul teaches Timothy how to stay the course. We are encouraged in our own lives to stand firm on what we have learned and who we have learned it from.

Paul gives an intense word for us today as we read, essentially sharing that if we follow God, we will be persecuted. We discuss: what should we expect as believers and how do we handle persecution?

Part of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy is to remind him of what he has seen as he lived life with Paul. As we see how Paul shared his life with Timothy, we ask the Holy Spirit to show us how we can walk with people and really share our lives with others.

This week, we dive into Paul’s second letter to Timothy, his spiritual son. We see how Paul encourages Timothy from prison in his own leadership of the Church of Ephesus.

What will our response be when the Bridegroom returns? Today, we see how we can live our lives in a way that, when we hear the heralding of the Bridegroom, we respond with joy and not dread.

The main difference between the wise and foolish virgins was oil in their lamps. Today, we discuss how to keep oil in our lamps so that we may be ready for the marriage feast.

Today, we discuss the need to remind ourselves over and over again the truth that Jesus is looking for a Bride. We meditate on the amazing reality that God the Father has prepared his Church as an eternal companion for his Son, Jesus.

As we continue through Matthew 25, we examine the Jewish wedding custom so that we may further understand the steps Jesus has taken to bring us home to his Father.

This week, we begin to examine the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. Jesus begins by telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a Bridegroom who is coming for his Bride. This draws us into the beautiful reality of how Jesus desires to be in relationship with us.

Our true transformation comes from our minds being renewed in Christ. Today, we discuss how we can submit our minds truly to this renewal so that we may look like Christ and share in his glory.

In Christ, we have a new nature through our Baptism, but we are tempted to still live in our old nature that is corrupt and deceitful. Today, we explore how to fight the battle between our two natures.

The devil often uses the tool of discouragement to get us to fall back into futile ways of living. We see today in the psalms that a tool to overcome discouragement is to worship and praise the Lord in all circumstances.

As we continue to discuss this idea of futile thinking, we see often how we are tempted to fall back into our old patterns of life. We see how sin darkens our mind and we ask for the grace to resist temptations so that our minds may be enlightened by Christ.

This week, we take up a section in Ephesians 4 where Paul discusses and describes the reality of the futile minds of those who don’t know Christ. We ask the Lord to deliver us from futile ways of thinking.

We need to take an active role in transforming our minds as we continue to walk in our new life in Christ. Paul calls us to think on a certain set of virtues that will help us renew our minds to think on the things of God.

God promises to give us peace that surpasses all human understanding. When we are dependent on the Lord and give Him our anxieties, his peace acts as a guard to our hearts and our minds.

In today’s passage, Paul commands us further to have no anxiety about anything! He then gives us a way to pray that helps us give all of our anxieties over to the Lord so that we may walk in freedom. 

Paul gives us the command to rejoice in the Lord always. Today, we learn how to practically rejoice in Him, not in our circumstances or in our own successes. Through our rejoicing, we give witness to others that the Lord is coming again.

Today, we begin Philippians 4 and build off of the amazing reality that Paul reveals to us: that we are citizens of Heaven. It is from that security and truth that we rejoice in the Lord even when it is hard.