FRESH Official Podcast

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and thought, "Well, if I'd made me, I'd have done it differently?" And not just your appearance, but your personality, your family, your suffering along the way, your current situation. What would you have done differently, had you been God? We don't have to think too long to answer that, because we all have stuff we wish God had done differently in c...

Imagine for a moment that someone receives an organ transplant that saves their life. Great. But then after the operation, they continue in the same lifestyle that caused their own organ to fail in the first place. Not very smart, right? Well actually, we don't have to imagine. George Best was a renowned Irish footballer who underwent a liver transplant in 2002, due to severe liver damage caused b...

There are times when something truly important in our lives hangs in the balance – a critical health issue, a marriage, a financial peril, whatever it happens to be. And it's in those times that most people will pray. It's in those times that most will cry out to God. I have a good friend who married a smart, successful woman. In fact, they've both achieved so much in their lives … and continue to...

Have you noticed how busy people seem to be these days? Even just organising a catchup with an old friend … by the time you get your respective diaries together, it's like three months out. And then, the week before, they cancel on you. Here's a thought. The way someone fits you into their schedule says a lot about what they think of you. And, putting the shoe on the other foot, the way you fit ot...

Have you ever watched someone say or do something so stupid and thought to yourself, "If only they could see how stupid they look!"? Just as well you and I never behave like that. Yeah, right!! Self-awareness is knowing what's driving us, what pride or hurt from the past, what selfishness or desire is causing us to behave the way we are. Sadly though, many people never actually develop that sense...

There's nothing worse than a toxic, self-centred leader because the power of their position magnifies their toxicity, causing damage, wreaking havoc, hurting people far and wide.   You don't have to be a president, prime minister, billionaire or media mogul to be a leader. We're all leaders in some sense – as parents, as people responsible for this or that in the workplace. To me, the marque of a...

None of us likes to hang out with difficult, objectionable, toxic people. Yet some days, it seems like you're surrounded by them. And every fibre of your being screams, "I have to get away from them." You know that feeling, right? Now sure, you can find yourself in a destructive relationship – a narcissistic boss, an abusive marriage partner – where you just have to get out of there to protect you...

Some people, let's face it, are downright objectionable. The moment you meet them, you come to the conclusion that you want to spend the rest of your life without them. Their lives are messy. Their attitudes are toxic. The easiest thing to do is to steer clear of them. Nicky Cruz was a violent New York gang leader, hardened by abuse and hatred. When preacher David Wilkerson told him that Jesus lov...

It seems that these days the louder people shout, the more others listen –  even if they're in the minority, even if what they're espousing lies somewhere between lunacy and extremism. If they disagree with you, they want to shut you down, cancel you out, erase you from the public square. And that's incredibly intimidating. In many parts of the world, it's become unacceptable to say that a man is...

There are times when evil strikes at us from the outside, in … people, circumstances, systems, social trends that attack the good that we're trying to do. It's happened to you too, right? But there's nothing new in any of that. Not many years after Jesus had walked this earth, His Apostles were out there doing good. Acts 8:9 Now there was a man named Simon who lived in that city. Before Philip cam...

'Evil', I think you'd agree, is a strong word. So there are not many things in our lives to which we'd ascribe that label – 'evil'. A murderer, sure. A child abuser, absolutely. But stuff in our own lives? Not really. And yet, we can all look back at some particularly bad things we've done – perhaps there are one or two still lingering in your life; husbands who unthinkingly speak harshly to their...

Let's face it, some days you just don't feel like showing up; for whatever reason – and there are many – you just don't feel like playing the game. Some days, staying in bed feels by far the best option. Some days … The day that I prepared today's short message, I definitely didn't feel like showing up. I was just getting over a chest infection and I felt awful. But when you do something like this...

There's absolutely nothing, it seems, that can beat a good run in life. You know, when you have a period of weeks or months when everything seems to be falling into place – your finances, your health, your family, your relationships. Everything just clicks. Fantastic! I know, I realise that you may not be in the middle of one of those fine, warm, sunny, pleasant stretches at the moment. There alwa...

You and I, we're surrounded by so many talented people, aren't we? People who can do things we could never do; who've achieved things we'll never achieve; who have their lives so together that it beggars belief. Look, much of that talent is somehow baked into them; it emanates from their very DNA. My friend Lorraine who's the most gifted violinist. My old friend Laurrie, whose gentleness and stren...

Can I ask you to cast your mind back over all the mistakes – big and small – that you've made in your life. Financial, health, relationships, career, pride … the whole lot. Doubtless, like me, you could write a book about them. Those mistakes can weigh heavily on our hearts. Have you let go? Have you forgiven yourself? Or are the consequences still robbing you of your peace and joy, hanging over y...

According to latest estimates, there are over 5 million podcasts and 600 million blogs out there, collectively publishing nearly 8 million episodes and posts a day. That's on top of "traditional media" where true journalism has largely been displaced by carefully crafted spin … so many people throwing ideas – good and bad –  at us … it's hard to know what to believe anymore. Let's be honest. Whils...

Almost everything good that we set out to do involves sustained effort over time. It begins as a good idea, but eventually the temptation to take your foot off the pedal, to slow down, to pull over, cuts in. And so … the backsliding begins. Entropy is a principal of physics that basically says that in any system order turns to chaos, organisation to disorganisation, ultimately leading to breakdown...

Imagine for a moment that you're starving … I mean, you haven't eaten for weeks. You're on the brink, your body's shutting down. The suffering is unspeakable. So, what lengths would you go to, to get some food in your belly? Instinctively, the answer is that we'd do just about anything to get fed. Why wouldn't we? When Jesus had starved in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, the devil...

Have you ever dreamed of doing something really good, something profound, something that would make this world a better place? We all have, right? But there seem to be so many obstacles in front of you that conspire to stop that dream from becoming a reality. Do you know what I think the greatest obstacle of all is? Our day-to-day humdrum – just the reality of getting through life, making ends mee...

Some people have a real knack for cleverly summing up complex concepts in a single sentence that packs such a punch that it continues to be quoted centuries after they're gone. St Francis of Assisi, who lived in Italy in the late second and early third centuries AD, is credited with having said this: " Preach the Gospel, use words if necessary." But it turns out that there's no historical evidence...

Unless you're one of those annoyingly blessed people who never has to worry about their weight, chances are you've tried many a diet. But how easy is it to undermine all your efforts by falling back into your old eating habits? Mark Antony was a skilled Roman general and politician in the 1 st Century BC. He sought to rule Rome but fell to the temptation of his love for Cleopatra . Instead of focu...

Some people are blessed with a natural strength. That's great. Good on them. But for others, emotions and circumstances all too often play havoc with their sense of certainty. And no matter where you happen to be on that spectrum, we all go through times when we're rocked to the core. All of us! We've been chatting about this whole certainty and uncertainty thing on and off over the past few weeks...

Here's a mind-boggling fact: over 150 billion text messages are sent globally each and every day through the various messaging platforms – SMS, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, Signal and the like. That's 55 trillion a year. Mind-blowing , right?! And sure, messaging's a great technology – quick, convenient … until it's perhaps too quick, too convenient Friends of mine wer...

It's easy to feel neglected when we're the ones struggling, while the people around us just seem to be getting on with business as usual. It leaves you thinking … what about me? And yet, how easy is it for us to ignore the suffering of others and simply get on with our own lives? Perhaps you've heard of the parable of the Good Samaritan, told by Jesus on this very thing. A man was beaten, robbed a...

Assuming that you, like most people, want to live a better life – whatever that means to you – what would you be prepared to change to make it happen? Twentieth century American billionaire, Howard Hughes, wanted success, happiness and a better life. Yet he refused to address his worsening mental health and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Despite his immense wealth, paranoia and a fear of germs led...