Pea Ridge Audio Podcast

All of us face storms in this life. How we handle those storms reveals the structural integrity of our spiritual foundation. What are you standing on?

In Christianity, we talk quite a bit about prayer. We know this is an important part of what it means to follow Jesus. But did you know it’s especially important when it comes to the spiritual battles we fight every day? In today’s midweek devotion we will seek to understand the role of prayer in our battle against our enemy, and specifically what it means to pray “at all times.”

Jesus taught that not everyone who called out, "Lord, Lord" would be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven on the day of judgment. When we embrace this challenging truth, God reveals to us the state of our heart and helps us know how to respond.

If we are seeking to a win a battle, it makes sense that at some point we would need to advance and overtake our enemy. Standing still and receiving one attack after another doesn’t seem like a path to victory. So why is it that Paul references “standing” so much in reference to the spiritual battle we face each day?

It's not something that's talked about much, but it's prevalent in the Bible which means it is important for us. In this message, Pastor Dan addresses the dangers presented by false teachers and how we can avoid being under their influence.

The final piece of the armor of God is the sword of the Spirit, which Paul writes is the word of God. Understanding how the word is to be wielded is important. Swinging it aimlessly at the enemy does not work. Instead, we must allow the word to do its work in our own hearts and minds.

The Golden Rule: treat others the way you want them to treat you. Why is it so much harder for us to live by this than it is to follow our own selfish desires? Join us as we continue to walk through the most famous sermon in history ... the Sermon on the Mount.

What we think about determines the direction of our lives. Thankfully, the armor of God includes the helmet of salvation ... when our minds are protected by the power of the Gospel and we are constantly reminded about who we are in Christ, our thoughts can remain fixed on him.

God is good. He desires to give good gifts to His children who ask Him, and He wants us to come to Him with these requests. But how do we know what we should ask for? And are we focused more on the gifts than we are on a relationship with the Giver?

Is your faith only evident on Sundays, when you make it a point to come to church, worship God, hear His Word and spend time with others who follow Jesus? Or is it an everyday thing? Your answer to that question will determine how you handle the attacks that our enemy brings your way.

Jesus clearly taught that we who believe are not to condemn other people. In fact, we can't even offer righteous correction to others followers of Christ when we have unconfessed sin in our own lives.

Shoes are important. Why? Our feet are important! They take us everywhere we need to go, but we tend to forget about them unless there is a problem. As we prepare for spiritual battle each day, God offers us Gospel shoes for our feet. Join Pastor Dan as he examines this important piece of the armor of God.

When we worry, we are demonstrating to God that we do not truly trust Him. Jesus taught that we are not to be anxious about how our basic needs will be met, nor are we to be anxious about the future. When we walk by faith, fear falls away and we begin to experience the peace of God that will carry us forward.

Can you imagine getting up each day and putting on a set of armor? On this spiritual battleground that is life on earth, if we neglect to use what God has given us, we are defeated before the day even begins. Let’s examine two pieces of the armor of God and prepare to live in victory.

Jesus taught that what we treasure reveals the state of our hearts. How are you investing your life? Are you treasuring this world or the kingdom of God? Mark Napier focuses on this teaching and offers rock solid investment advice.

We who believe in Jesus are in a spiritual battle. This is the reality of our journey on this earth. That might sound a little overwhelming, but once we accept that reality and then see how God provides what we need to fight this battle, we can be encouraged.

Fasting is a spiritual practice that can help us draw closer to the Lord. But like any good work, it must be done from a sincere heart of true righteousness instead of religious performance. As we examine Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and a companion passage from Isaiah 58, we'll see the signs of religious performance and then seek to follow God from a sincere heart.

During the last year, some have gotten into the habit of not being part of an in-person worship gathering. The author of Hebrews gives reasons why gathering is important, and we learn from this that NOT gathering results in complacency and discouragement. But it doesn't have to be this way! Choose today to come back on Sundays and you will be motivated, encouraged and welcomed with open arms.

When we better understand God's kingdom, we can clearly see our active role in His kingdom coming and His will being done here on earth as it is in heaven.

There's a common idea about following God's will: that God will "open doors" in such a way that it will be easy for us to simply walk through them. But is this really how it works? Join Pastor Dan as he looks at some events in Paul's life to see if following God's will sometimes means overcoming obstacles.

It's important to remember that when it comes to helping others, motives matter. Are we giving to be noticed by people, or are we giving to glorify God? In our "selfie" culture, we must ask God to move in our hearts so that our motives are pure.

"Life is a marathon, not a sprint." You've probably heard this phrase, and it speaks to the importance of endurance, which is a biblical concept. In this week's devotion, Pastor Dan walks through Hebrews 12:1-3 and shares some things he has learned by being around athletes who run races ... some who sprint and some who run longer distances.

The status of our walk with Christ is revealed by how we respond when we are wronged. Jesus taught that we are to love and pray for our enemies, rather than seek revenge. When we do, we glorify him.

We all want to be successful, and it seems this world has a specific definition of success. But what does success look like in the kingdom of God? Join Pastor Dan as he looks at various Scriptures that help us to see the importance of faithfulness.

Disciples of Christ need to say what we mean and mean what we say. Our God is faithful and keeps His promises, and we must strive to live in such a way that we keep our word. Living with honesty and integrity is the way of Jesus.