Hearing Jesus: Daily Bible Study, Christian Affirmations, Hearing God, Prayer, Holy Spirit, Daily Devotional

419// Dealing With Root Sins in Our Lives: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 13:24-30 At first glance, this may feel very similar to the Parable of the Sower. So, what’s different or unique in the parable of the wheat and the weeds? Today, we’ll unpack what this is and learn what it looks like today to allow weeds to grow alongside the harvest. Calling all kids (and parents of kids)! Check out m...

418// How to Persevere After Church Hurt  Today I’m thrilled to welcome my friend Natalie Runion on the show. Natalie is the author of “Raised to Stay: Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Walk Away.” We talk about what it’s like to be called to ministry as a woman and the temptation to walk away after hurt and struggle, particularly after serving under toxic leadership. We a...

417// What Does The Parable of The Sower Mean: Devotional, Bible Study, Matthew 13:1-23 The Kingdom of God was unexpected and different from anything the disciples of the people of Jesus’ day had been expecting, and so Jesus often used parables to try to help them understand exactly what the kingdom and God were like and to confront his opponents. We can learn a lot from studying the parables, not...

416// Have I Committed the Unpardonable Sin? Devotional, Bible Study, Matthew 12:30-43 Some people carry around a fear that they have committed an unpardonable sin, based on these verses in Matthew. Today, we’re going to talk through what blasphemy against the Spirit means, and why we shouldn’t fear this sin. We’ll also discuss what the sign of Jonah means and what Jesus meant when he called his d...

415// Dealing with Evil in Our World : A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 12:15-29 The American church, so many times, wants to ignore that we are facing a spiritual battle. But Jesus did not deny that demons and spiritual forces were at work against him and the Kingdom of God. Today, we’re talking about demon possession, spiritual warfare, and what deliverance looks like for us in the Western ch...

414// How to Correctly View the Sabbath: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 12:1-14 The Fourth Commandment specified that no work should be performed on the Sabbath, and that day would be kept holy to honor God. So over time the Sabbath became one of the most recognizable characteristics of the Jewish people. That, along with things like their dietary laws, set them apart as a culture. So in this...

Take Every Thought Captive with Guest Kelly Balarie With everything that is going on in the world today, I thought it would be helpful to air this episode with my friend Kelly Balarie. Kelly joins us to talk about ways to exchange the lies of the enemy for the mind of Christ. In this powerful discussion, Kelly and I talk through ways to tell the difference between our own thoughts, and the lies fr...

Using the Scriptures to Pray Today we have a special guest joining us, Jodie Berndt, who is the author of the new book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Marriage. So many of us struggle when it comes to prayer. It can be intimidating to start praying with our spouse if you’ve never done it before. Jodie helps break down some common barriers and helps us understand how powerful praying God’s word ba...

412// His Yoke Is Easy and His Burden Is Light: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 11 There’s a lot happening in this chapter of the Bible, and we’re going to study it together. First, we have John the Baptist, who has a question for Jesus, and it seems like a huge change in attitude since we saw him in Matthew 3. Next, Jesus has stern warnings for several of the cities where he had done the bulk...

411// Do Not Fear Persecution: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 10:24-42 Sometimes, when we are sharing the gospel, there are going to be people who are not receptive to the gospel message. In fact, not only are they not receptive, they're going to hate us because of it. What do you do with that kind of persecution? If it makes you afraid, you’re not alone. The disciples were probably afraid to...

410// Sheep Among Wolves: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 10:16-23 When Jesus sends out the disciples to go share the good news with others, he doesn’t send them unprepared. In today’s bible study, we’re going to look closely at Jesus’ instructions for the disciples' long-term mission (which is our mission, too!). While this section of scripture can feel dark and heavy, we’ll see that there is...

409// What to Do When Others Reject the Gospel: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 10:7-15 What did Jesus do when a community rejected him? Today, we’re studying a challenging passage of scripture - what do we do when the gospel seems offensive or is rejected? There’s a lot to unpack in just a few verses and a lot we can apply to our own ministry efforts as well. Dive in with us as we explore Mat...

Finding Hope and Joy with Special Guest Raquelle Stevens As a special bonus episode, I invited my friend Raquelle Stevens onto the show to talk about finding hope and joy. In a post-pandemic world, and the hustle culture we find ourselves in, sometimes finding joy in the day-to-day can be difficult. Together we talk through some of the issues that are common for women, and how having a “Sunshine M...

408// Using Soul Care to Transform Chaos to Calm With everything that is going on right now in the world, I thought I would air this conversation with my friend Bonnie Gray as we talk about ways to transform chaos to calm. Soul care can be an important way that God transforms our lives. We discuss some practical strategies that I am confident will help you experience God’s peace in your life.   Bo...

407// Ordinary People With An Extraordinary God: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 10:1-6 Sometimes we can look at the apostles with admiration, thinking there is no way we could ever measure up. But when we realize that they were ordinary people, it helps us to realize that they were only able to do what they did because we have an extraordinary God. If God used them, He can certainly use you. ...

406// Jesus Is The Healer: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 9:27-35 Jesus sets the example for us in the Scriptures when He ministers healing to people in the gospels. Today as we look at Jesus as the healer, we recognize that there is a role for us to play in the lives of those around us. In a world that is hurting and broken, Jesus calls us to take light into the darkness because the harvest...

405// A Scandalous Kind of Faith: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 9:14-26 There are times in the Scriptures when Jesus is moved with compassion because of the amount of faith that someone approaches Him with. Often, it comes from someone that you would least expect it to. Join us today as we learn about a kind of faith that would have been scandalous at the time, and learn how Jesus responded....

404// You Have A Seat At the Table With Jesus: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 9:9-13 Have you ever wondered how a tax collector named Matthew went on to write one of the gospels? Who was he before, and how did meeting and following Jesus change him? Well, today’s story gives us a little insight into why Matthew sitting at the table with Jesus was so upsetting to the religious leaders at the t...

403// How to Stay Faithful In Different Life Seasons (And Other Audience Questions!)   We’re doing something a little different today; we’re taking a break from our study of Matthew to answer your questions. We’re answering a wide variety of questions, from what to do about lust, to fighting bitterness after serving in ministry, to struggling to accept God’s love for us, and more. If you have a qu...

402// How Sickness and Sin Are Connected - And How They Are Not: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 9:1-8   In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day, there was a connection between sin and sickness. They saw it as basically the same thing. But throughout his ministry, Jesus delineates between the two. In today’s bible study on Matthew 9, we’ll talk about when sickness and sin are related, and when the...

401// Why Would Jesus Drown 2000 Pigs? A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 8:28-34   This Bible story has a lot in it that can confuse or even agitate us. First, we have to grapple with demonic possession and what that was like in Jesus’ day. Then, we have to grapple with the fact that Jesus drove the demons into a large herd of pigs, causing them to rush into the water and drown. Why would Jesus...

400// When the Storms of Life Hit, Do This: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 8:23-27   Ever been caught driving through an unexpected storm? It can be terrifying. What about a hurricane? We would want to avoid being out in a storm like that at all costs. Now imagine being in the middle of a body of water, on a small boat, in the middle of a hurricane, and I’m sure you can start to imagine just...

399// The Cost of Following Jesus: A Devotional Bible Study on Matthew 8:14-22   As we make our way through the gospel of Matthew, we read about Jesus healing Peter’s mother after she has suffered through an illness. What she does after she is healed ought to be a blueprint for our own actions after we experience healing. After that, we read of men who came to Jesus ready to follow him, but Jesus’...

Life is about transitions, it’s part of the human experience. How do we embrace those moments instead of longing for the next stage? Today I invited my friend Nicki Koziarz on the show to talk about those transitions and her new book, Your New Now. Nicki walks us through the life of Moses, as an example to us when we are living in a place of transition. I pray this episode blesses you!   Nicki Koz...

  Ever wonder what it would have taken to impress Jesus? Well, we get a glimpse of that in Matthew 8, in the story of the faith of the Centurian. In this bible study, we’ll examine what about his faith was so remarkable to Jesus. We’ll also discuss the kind of people Jesus went looking for to make disciples, and how surprising his choices were to the people of that day. Finally, we’ll wrap in pray...