GRINDIT podcast

The law was good because it showed us what sin is however, it also held us captive because there wasn’t any way to be set free from the bondage of sin...that is...until the way of faith came. That way of faith has a name, Paul says, and his name is Jesus, or Yeshua which means, “God is Salvation.” When Jesus came, he came with the authority from God and he would say, “You have heard it said (the l...

In the same way....that’s how Paul put’s it to the church at Galatia. What is he talking about? In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” Abraham believed God just like you did...by faith. He didn’t receive anything in his own effort. In fact, Abraham struggled when he didn’t trust God! He was fearful of dying when he was traveling through fore...

Paul is upset with the church in Galatia because they have believed a false gospel. They have taken the faith they have put in God, in what Jesus has done for them on the cross, and put it in themselves, in their own works, their own righteousness because they are trying to win God’s approval by following the law. Paul says, “You already had God’s approval! How else do you think you were filled wi...

The word Bewitched means someone has used something that is artificial, something fake to trick, to deceive…like a magician tricking our eyes and making us believe what they are doing is real. That’s exactly what has happened to the church at Galatia. Paul says, “I came to you and painted a clear picture of Jesus and what he did on the cross, yet you have believed a fake.” It may look real and it...

Paul confronts Peter because of his sin, his choosing to not fellowship with the uncircumcised Gentiles when the circumcised Jews came into the room. Paul lets Peter know that he is in sin and his sin has led others astray as well! We take a deep dive into the seriousness of sin and who it effects beside us. What we see is it comes down to who do we chain ourselves to, who are we bound to? Ourselv...

Paul is going to talk about confronting Peter when he sinned by getting up from the table while he was fellowshipping with some uncircumcised Gentiles, and going to set with the circumcised Jews and not having any fellowship with them. Paul says he wasn’t having that because sin is serious business and our sin could easily persuade others to sin as well, which is exactly what happened when Peter d...

Paul says some false believers tried to sneak into their meeting with the leadership at the church in Jerusalem to take away the freedom they have in Christ. These false believers wanted to make the Gentiles adhere to the laws God gave the Jews and Paul says, “No! They don’t have to do that, in particular, they don’t have to be circumcised!” We go on a deep dive in this podcast about “freedom” and...

Paul is rehearsing his story to the Galatians because he is proving to them that they can trust him. Why? Because he has been filled with the same Holy Spirit the apostles have and he has even had meetings with those apostles and they gave him their approval. He calls the apostles “pillars” which in the Greek means “Pillars of fire” and Paul says, “These pillars of fire accepted me and Barnabas as...

In establishing his authority and defending it to the churches in Galatia, Paul makes a profound statement, “But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace.” Paul makes it clear that he did not choose this life that he lives, God chose it for him. He was a bad dude that loved God. He was a Pharisee, knew God’s word, and he had a zeal for God like nobody else! However...

When you want to confront someone about an issue, you better have some authority or you’ll get laughed at to your face! In the episode of Andy Griffith where Barney confronts the two men for selling fruits and vegetables on the side of the road without a permit, they threaten to beat him up. Barney leaves because of fear but comes back to confront them pointing out that his badge represents a high...

Paul was a prisoner in Rome because he spread the gospel and told people about Jesus. He was literally in chains! Onesimus was a rebellious, run-a-way slave who happened to find Paul and, while in chains, Paul shares the gospel with him, and his life is changed forever. Onesimus is a completely different person and Paul tells Philemon to accept him back because he will now be useful to him forever...

We are introduced to a slave owner named Philemon and we have this tiny letter because one of his rebellious slaves, Onesimus, ran away and just happened to run into Paul. Paul shares the gospel with the guy while in prison and Jesus changes his life! He helps Paul spread the gospel there in Rome but Paul sends him back to Philemon with this letter. In this letter Paul describes Philemon and his f...

When reading the bible, people may have a tendency to skip through Paul’s greetings. At the end of his letters, he starts telling the people “thank you” and “greet (fill in the blank), but there is some good stuff found in his greetings if we will take the time to read them and such is the case in the letter of Colossians. Yes, Paul greets a lot of people, some even from another church (Laodicea),...

What does it mean to be “devoted” to something? I remember when I was a kid, sports players were “devoted” to a team. They played with one team their whole career. I don’t know of any player today that can say that because they follow the money. Whoever pays the most is where they go. To be “devoted” to something means you endure, you continue, even when things get hard. You don’t quit. Paul tells...

When we “put on Jesus”, we put on all these things Paul mentions in chapter 3, tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We are commanded to be like Jesus in everything we say and do, how we live, and Paul says we are to give God permission to work in our lives which means we must allow Him to chip away at the stone walls we have built around our hearts because someone has...

“What should I wear?” is a question my wife asks me when we are going on a date and I always answer the same way, “Beautiful, you know I have no idea about fashion so whatever you choose will look fine to me.” There’s a clothing we need to wear every day that is very important and it absolutely matters. Paul says at least three times in Colossians 3 to “Put on” a certain type of clothing: Jesus, l...

Paul has made it clear that we have crucified the flesh, we have put it to death, buried the old man in the grave, and have come out a new creation in Jesus; We are filled with his Holy Spirit and have set our eyes on Jesus as we walk in this world. However, we must choose to do so everyday because Paul also makes it clear, even though we are filled with the Spirit, we will still be tempted and th...

People today want to be seen and they’ll do anything to be seen. They’ll sleep with whoever they need to, lie, cheat their way to the top, deceive and walk all over anybody to achieve their goal. They want to go viral, be known, because it’s all about them. Paul says we are hidden in Christ and will be revealed when Jesus comes back. But again, who wants to be hidden? We want to be seen! When we c...

When I was a skateboarding teenager, we didn’t have internet or cell phones to order things. We had magazines and one magazine that I subscribed to was a skateboarding magazine called “Thrasher Magazine.” In Thrasher, there were ads selling skateboards and at the top of the add it would say, “Buy a complete for only $99!” which meant you could buy everything you need to skate from the ad: the deck...

In Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Hermey the Elf pulls the teeth of the big and bad abominable snowman therefore Rudolph and his friends no longer have to be afraid of him! Paul says Jesus has publicly disarmed the enemy therefore he has no power over us and we do not have to fear him! So do not let the enemy get in your head! When he reminds you of your past, you point to the cross and remind him...

The word “continue” carries another option with it...don’t continue. How many times has a parent said, “Stop doing (fill in the blank),” but you keep doing it. Then you hear, “If you keep doing that (continue), you’re going to get a spanking (Or a time out)”? Then, since you continued to do the thing they said to quit doing, you get your punishment. The parent was implying “Do not continue doing w...

Paul uses a three letter word that is so powerful in his letter to the church at Colosse, “Let.” He says, “Let your roots grow down in him,” and “Let your lives be built on him.” In other words, we have to give God permission to work in our lives. He just doesn’t overwhelm us, overpower us and say, “I am God and I am going to do this in your life whether you like it or not!” No, we have to give Hi...

Mary and I spoke at Authentic Church this past Sunday, February 2. We kicked off pastor's new sermon series out of 1 Corinthians called, "I Want What's Best For You." Here is part 2 talking about division.

Mary and I spoke at Authentic Church this past Sunday, February 2. We kicked off pastor's new sermon series out of 1 Corinthians called, "I Want What's Best For You." Here is part 1 talking about division.

Paul tells the church at Colosse to watch out for the false teachers that will soon come to their fellowship to try and persuade them that there is more to it than what Paul has taught them. They will come with fancy words and eloquent speech trying to convince the people they lack something even though they are following Jesus. It’s the same message Satan used in the Garden of Eden, “God is withh...