FAI Central

This week's passage is a collision and contrast between the path of self-righteous severing, its real-time implications on your relationship with Jesus, true fellowship with Him, and the faith-wrought work of the Spirit to save you from your own conniving ego. Jeff and Steph discuss Galatians 5:4-6 in this week's edition of THE BETTER FREEDOM. Listen to "To Not Go the Way of Cain" now in the FAI A...

"You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." What does it mean to "fall from grace," or be estranged from Jesus? It is no accident these issues bookend justification within this one verse. Join Jeff & Steph as we mine out the issue of justification, how Jesus approaches it, and what it means for us (even on our best behavior). Listen...

THE BETTER BEAUTIFUL returns from our little hiatus with a Jeff & Jeff episode sitting in Galatians 5:3, which reads: "And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law." The whole law. Some might even say, "the whole enchilada." Jeff unpacks the implications and consequences of this in this week's episode of THE BETTER FREEDOM. Listen to "The Entir...

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Iran last week after a 22-year-old woman died as a result of physical abuse she endured in police custody.

At least 135 Armenian soldiers are dead and over 7600 civilians displaced after a short but intense campaign by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces into Armenian territory last week. The latest round of hostilities began Tuesday when Azerbaijan began a coordinated artillery and drone bombardment across its shared border with Armenia.

Last week, we asked, "What is freedom?" This week, as we park in Galatians 5:2, it distills down to this simplicity: The freedom Jesus set you free for is the confidence of a kid who can feel their Dad smiling upon them. Meditate on this with Jeff and Steph in this week's episode of THE BETTER FREEDOM, available now here in the FAI App.

THE BETTER BEAUTIFUL // If the book of Galatians could be summarized in one verse, it is chapter five verse one: "It is for freedom's sake Christ has set you free—therefore do not be entangled again in a yoke of bondage." In this week's episode of THE BETTER FREEDOM, Jeff and Steph discuss the implications of this explosive verse which we hold so dear. Listen to "For Sake of Free Freedom (Gal. 5:1...

Rival Shiite militias clashed in Iraq last week, as a power struggle between infamous cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his political opponents spilled over from parliament into the streets of the heart of Baghdad’s Green Zone.

In Episode 32 of THE BETTER FREEDOM, we come to the end of chapter four in Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia: "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? 'Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bon...

US warplanes pummeled a facility in Syria used by Iranian-sponsored militias last Wednesday, after two suicide drones targeted American and Syrian rebel forces at the Al-Tanf base in southern Syria on August 15. Iranian-linked militias responded with rocket fire which wounded 3 US service members.

Somehow, God deals with our unrighteousness in a way that makes Him "both just and the Justifier" of all who have faith in Him; of all who "trust" in Him. Paul had exceptional clarity to communicate the nuts and bolts of this profound message, and it is apparent throughout his letters in addition to the points he makes at the end of this Galatian chapter. Listen to Episode 31 of THE BETTER FREEDOM...

Funerals and demonstrations were held across Syrian Kurdistan (a.k.a. Rojava) over the weekend after a Turkish drone strike killed four young schoolgirls last Thursday near the town of Haskalah.

"For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise...." These are two simple verses, in theory. But we got lost in them—good and deep. Join Jeff & Steph for the latest conversation in THE BETTER FREEDOM: "Isaacs, Ishmaels, & Rabbit Trails (Gal. 4:22-...

The region of Syrian Kurdistan (a.k.a. Rojava) endured “unprecedented” artillery shelling last week, as Syrian Arab militias aligned with Turkey struck communities along Rojava’s long border with Turkey.

The One Wherein Jeff & Steph Park in a Singular Seventeen-Word Verse For a Whole Episode "Tell me, you who desire the law, do you not listen to the law?" Galatians puts the collision between our desires, identities, and owners (yes, what/who owns you) under a microscope, and even this short little verse sifts the human heart and exposes intentions and aspirations undergirding how we approach a lif...

As a father in the faith, Paul was concerned for the Galatians. He was jealous for the Galatians. He was burdened for the Galatians. Yet he was, in his own words, "perplexed" by the Galatians. What can we learn and glean from this man who developed out of his own immaturity to give his life to shepherding others out of theirs? Listen to "Fatherhood & Full Formation (Gal. 4:17-20)" with Jeff & Step...

Israeli citizens in the nation’s south spent the night in bomb shelters on Friday as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Israeli military (IDF) traded rocket fire and airstrikes for hours.

Turkish artillery and drone strikes against Kurdish forces are spiking in Syrian Kurdistan after Turkish president Erdogan encountered opposition from Iran and Russia regarding a fourth planned Turkish military offensive.

Paul's tone begins to pivot in Galatians 4:10-16, and we hear him in humility, in his humanity, as he makes a heartfelt plea to the believers in Galatia. Jeff & Steph discuss these verses in this week's episode of THE BETTER FREEDOM, our (long) season exclusively devoted to Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia. Listen now in the FAI App.

Gabe reads the FAI Wire report regarding the Turkish attack on a resort in Iraqi Kurdistan which killed nine civilians last Wednesday. Comments from a member of FAI's field team in the region and a local resident.

An abiding law of the universe is this: You are a slave to that which you obey, and you obey that which you desire. This is why loving Jesus is synonymous with obedience (John 15), and why Paul so often refers to himself as a bondservant. But say you break beyond the fence line of obedience; you are not then "free" from the constraints of His commands—you're enslaved within the territory of disobe...

US President Joe Biden visits Israel and Saudi Arabia, announces air and sea deals between the Kingdom and the Jewish State in advance of Arab summit in Jeddah. Hamas responds with rocket fire into Israel.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son "to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons—and because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Here we encounter the generosity of God. Medit...

Turkish forces cross the border to stage around Kurdish-held areas, Syrian army reinforces Kurdish-led militias, shelling and drone strikes intensify.

Now firmly in the second half of the year, we are also finally getting into the second half of Galatians: sonship, slavery, and the sovereignty of God displayed in the revelation of the Son in the "fullness of time"—in your life, Paul's life, and in the nations. For Stephanie, a marked moment of "fullness" in her life involved Cutco knives and the guy who would later co-host this podcast with her....