The Pious Podcast

Receiving the Holy Spirit when you believed? This is a question that is important for each of us to say “yes!” to. Here are some resources I recommend: - The Filling of the Holy Spirit by FB Meyer - Flame of Love by Clark H. Pinnock Send me an email if you’d like to talk: mkanyion@gmail.com

Many Christians believe that they have been sent here to correct brothers and sisters publicly. While there is a time and space for that, Priscilla and Aquila offer a better way.

When Silas and Timothy come looking for Paul they find him diligently engaged with the word of God. There is a lesson for us in that.

When you're looking for salvation in a specific way, you might just miss it when it comes another way. This was, and continues to be, the plight of many people when it comes to Jesus.

Worship when you feel like it is not worship, it's consumption. Paul and Silas teach us the right approach to worshipping God in this daily devotion.

Not all support is worth receiving, some support is a thinly veiled control mechanism.

Spiritual love will speak to Christ about a brother more than to a brother about Christ. It knows that the most direct way to others is always through prayer to Christ and that love of others is wholly dependent upon the truth in Christ. -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice..." this should be enough for us to prioritize what he sounds like. That way we can be led by his Spirit at all times.

Although it's not a good look, we can learn a lot from Paul and Barnabas's contentious breakup. One of the main things we learn is that there will be problems, but we also learn how to solve them.

You can be sure that whenever the Spirit is at work, a sinister and enslaving spirit will follow soon thereafter. In this video I share what that spirit is, and how to dispel it.

Max Lucado once said, "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." Paul and Barnabas understood how fickle and easily swayed crowds could be; so they placed their trust in God, and did what pleased him.

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. - Psalm 115:1

Most days are mundane, even in the Bible. We ought not get lulled into thinking life with God is filled with fireworks.

The last thing the evil one wants is for us to hear and believe the Gospel; therefore, he will oppose. Sometimes that opposition is external, other times it is internal. How do we respond either way?

In the Gospels the discipled hindered little children from coming to Jesus because they thought 1) Jesus was too important/busy, and 2) that the children were decidedly unimportant. Today we have advanced ways of not bringing our kids to Jesus. In this video I recommend a few suggestions on how and why to do so.

Why does God let bad things happen to good people. How come sometimes he intervenes, and sometimes he does nothing? In Acts 12 we get to see a arching narrative that teaches us how to see the providential hand of God, even in the midst of our suffering.

It has been said that trials, challenges, difficulties, and persecution, come to prove us and improve us. Such was the case when the church faced persecution.

We are awash in a culture of self-sufficiency that leads us to believe we’ve earned what we have received by grace. This subtle legalism presents itself when others we consider less deserving, freely receive what we “earned.”

Often God will provide a hint to confirm to us that we are, in fact, walking in his will. I call these Divine Interruptions.

Jesus did not call us to make converts to a religious system, but to bear witness to him and tell others about him. In this devotional Peter realizes that God is exploding the boundaries of the work he has called them to do.

The story of Peter and Cornelius continues.

The Holy Spirit is doing a new thing, two men are at the center of it. How will they respond?

My dad used to say, “God will take our natural and add his “super” to it. There is more truth to this statement than we realize. The way God typically chooses to be present is through the normal stuff we do. Peter went to check in on the saints, in doing so two powerful ministries took place.

Barnabas is such a pivotal character, because he goes out of his way to instill a sense of belonging within people. Paul may be famous for his powerful words and works, but Barnabas is no slouch in his own right. If we knew him, we would love him.

Paul's eyes have been opened to the truth of who the Messiah is, this focuses his life's purpose and sends him on his way ministering powerfully in the name of Jesus.