Faith Matters Podcast

What Is Our Vantage Point? If you remember the movie “Vantage Point” from 2008, you’ll be familiar with the concept that we can’t assume to know reasons for other people’s actions. In the movie, during an historic counter-terrorism summit in Spain, the President of the United States is struck down by an assassin’s bullet. Eight strangers have a perfect view of the kill, but what did they really se...

Why We Need to Give Grace Years ago, I made a decision to give others the benefit of the doubt, to believe the best in them before assuming the worst. That decision brings a lot of freedom to relationships. It was a choice to wrap my heart around the child-like faith that people aren’t trying to behave poorly, trying to get it wrong or making stupid mistakes on purpose. Here are some definitions f...

Why Do We Take Offense? – Part 2 Taking offense starts with my response to others; and my response is my choice! Last I knew, I will be a human being until I die. I will live with humans, marry them, birth them, work with them and have them as bosses and as neighbors. I call this our common ground: the human condition. Just as our human bodies hunger and thirst, so do our souls. But our soul requi...

Why Do We Take Offense? – Part 1 Years ago, I asked the Lord to show me all the places that I had an “offendable heart”. I thought this would be an exercise in Christian maturity. Little did I know. Never could I have realized the extent to which there are opportunities to take offense until I opened my eyes to see such. Today, I can recognize an “offendable heart” so quickly. In myself. In others...

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale The Book of Signs by Dr, David Jeremiah. Last week it was the Judgement Seat, and now this week we're talking about Rewards? You gotta listen in to this one! All the honors, awards and trophies of this world have little lasting value. While we're grateful when others recognize something we have done, our chief concern shouldn't be the approval of others but t...

“Yeah, right!” That’s often my inner reaction when someone casually glances at my situation and glibly tells me that it’s all going to work out. It’s a cynical response. Maybe birthed out of hoping—and having hope crushed. Or, dreaming—and having dreams deferred. Or praying—and having prayers unanswered. Maybe you’ve been there too. Where uncertainty about the future has given way to cynicism and...

We’ve all been in the waiting room of life. We’ve waited for the medical report, sometimes for weeks on end as doctors figured out diagnoses. We’ve waited for jobs and financial breakthroughs, wondering how we’ll pay the next mortgage or make it through the next month. We’ve waited for admissions to colleges, asking ourselves if we have what it takes. We’ve waited for relationships to be reconcile...

Have you ever found yourself on the brink of a tough decision? You know the right thing to do, but if you do it, the consequences could potentially be unpleasant, if not disastrous. While you have no way of predicting how things could turn out, you believe that it is incumbent on you to act. That’s probably how Queen Esther felt as she heard the news about the imminent annihilation of her people,...

Have you ever felt stuck? Like you were meant to move forward, grab life by the horns, and crush your goals—but your circumstances close in on you and you just can’t get ahead? Maybe you’ve wondered, “God, is there a plan?” Maybe day after day, week after week, month after month, your dreams get deferred—and you decide to bury the dream because there is no clear answer and no clear timeline. If yo...

When we think of Bible heroes and heroines who faced uncertain situations, one person who may immediately spring to mind is Ruth. Ruth, a Moabitess, had lost her husband and had decided to leave her hometown and follow her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem. As a young widow, Ruth’s situation was incredibly difficult, especially given the cultural and historical context where women, particularly wid...

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah. This is the Judgement Set of Christ, Chapter 15 There is a lot of pretending going on. Many people love to pretend they are Christians when deep down in their hearts they know better. They have never truly had a life-changing experience of salvation. But one day, all this make-believe will be unmasked. The judgment sea...

Heaven on Earth (Part 2) Revelation 21 and 22 are packed with details about the new heaven and the new earth, but one striking feature is the repeated notation of things that are not present. The absence of things with which we are familiar in this world helps us better understand the wonder of existence in the renewed creation. One of the first things that is mentioned as missing is the sea (21:1...

Heaven on Earth (Part 1) At the conclusion of the book of Revelation, John relates an awesome vision. He gazes upon “a new heaven and a new earth,” which, he says, replace the original of each, which have passed away. Other passages in Scripture indicate that this heaven and earth are not entirely new but are renovations of the originals (Isa. 65:17–25; Rom. 8:21–23), renewed much as believers’ bo...

The Final State of Man Christians sometimes imagine themselves spending eternity in an ethereal, spiritual place where they will exist as disembodied souls. Heaven may indeed be like this, but we will not be spending eternity there. Rather, we will live in a place that resembles the earth in bodies that will have significant identification with those we possess now. The Bible makes clear that a se...

Good Versus Far Better Jonathan Edwards once commented that no pilgrim en route to a glorious and exotic place will take up permanent residence at an inn along the way. Yes, the pilgrim is glad to have a resting place during his journey, but as soon as possible he is on his way again, drawn by eager anticipation of the joys that await him at his destination. Edwards’ point, of course, is that Chri...

A Needful Reality In his magnificent summary of God’s faithfulness in Joshua 21:43–45, the unknown author of the book lists three indications of God’s favor toward Israel. First, He has given the Israelites the land He promised them. Second, He has brought a cessation of their long labors. And third, He has caused them to triumph over their enemies. In short, God has given them a home, rest, and v...

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale The Book of Signs by Dr. David Jeremiah, Ch. 14 Heaven God created us for heaven. That's our true home, our country, our destination. When we set our minds on things above, we can experience a supernatural peace even when the world around us is falling apart. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you in heaven. Everything that is near and dear to you and me,...

Write a Decree We have been commissioned by God to bring His heavenly purposes to the earth. Through humanity’s fall into sin, we lost our place of dominion, but Christ restored that severed authority to whomever receives Him as Savior and Lord. We have permission to speak and act “in His name” (see Matthew 28:18–20). In other words, we have Christ’s power of attorney—we represent Him throughout t...

Decrees in Action We wanted to minister in the city jail and prison in the city of Tijuana, Mexico, bringing them food and aid and sharing the gospel with them. When we approached the authorities, they firmly denied us entrance. The Lord seemed to be encouraging us to press in, and during prayer, He highlighted Isaiah 45:1–3 to my heart. These verses made a powerful impact on me, and I wrote out a...

That Settles It! I was in a very broken place prior to receiving the Lord as my personal Savior. The night I invited Him into my heart was a transformational turning point for me. I knew I was a different person, a new creation, and yet so much remained in upheaval. Then my life was forever changed when I heard Dr. Oral Roberts preach a powerful sermon in which he emphatically declared, “God said...

God’s Word, Firm Foundation God’s Word, the Bible, gives believers the most reliable foundation for prayer. When you declare prayers of a decree that come from the written Word of God, those prayers go forth to carry out the purpose for which the Word was sent. Regardless of how bad the circumstances may appear, God’s Word will produce a shift when decreed and declared in faith. Decreeing the Word...

Faith Matters with Brian and Andi Hale The Book of Signs, Ch. 13 Resurrection Technology can never give us a truly indestructible of imperishable body or enable us to live forever. For that, we need resurrection. Life on earth is fragile and uncertain, but we have a savior who died for our sins according to the Scriptures and was buried and raised on the third day according to Scriptures. And by t...

“Taking Your Desires to God” Scripture: James 4:1-3 Each of the enemies of the heart is energized by the idea that somebody owes something. Guilt says, “I owe you.” Anger is fueled by the notion that you owe me. Greed is kept alive by the assumption that I owe me. This fourth heart issue is no differently. Jealousy. Jealousy says, “God owes me.” When we think about jealousy or envy, we immediately...

“Watching Out for Greed” Scripture: Luke 12:13-21 The third enemy of the heart? Greed. It’s when we feel that we deserve more and more worldly wealth and goods. Greed says, “I owe me.” Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” Why? Because of the four heart conditions we’re considering, greed is the most subtle of all. Greed can take up residence in the heart and live t...