The Unbroken Ground

What do you do when you pray, and God answers and says no? What do you do if it seems like there is nothing but silence? Prayer is an invitation on so many levels. Do you trust God enough to invite Him into your mess? This podcast is the intersection of finishing Forgotten God (last week), Praying like Monks and Living like Fools (see link below), and learning about the importance of trust in the...

Do you know why you do what you do? What is the foundation of your life? Are you building on solid ground or sinking sand?    Mark 10:17-22   English Standard Version     The Rich Young Man 17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one i...

If you are a follower of Jesus then you are called. Some are called to be pastors (vocational ministry) and others are not. Regardless, you have been given gifts, talents, experiences, and provisions to do ministry. But don't get it twisted, doing for God is not the same as having a relationship with God.    Ephesians 4:11-16 New Revised Standard Version, 11 The gifts he gave were that some would...

Luke 15:11-32.   If God loves unconditionally, what does that mean for you? Jesus loved Judas and the people who would eventually nail Him to the cross. Do we tell people about that type of love? Do we need to ensure people know that God's love will call for change? Do we demand people change so that we can love them? 

When the world touches Jesus, Jesus redeems the world. When we ask Jesus to be Lord, He changes our hearts. Our righteousness is found in His life and sacrifice. But what about the law - is there righteousness to be found in following Levitical law?

Thinking about Psalm 44 and what that means about following Christ. If your life isn't perfect, what is going on? Would God allow Himself to be seen as absent? 

Growing up in the Evangelical conservative South, I expected altar calls at the end of every sermon. A good majority of those sermons focused on the condition of your soul after death. Often, the Gospel was unwittingly reduced to a way to be sure you made it to heaven and didn't go to hell. This is part two of my scattered ramblings on the Gospel and what Jesus meant when He talked about the good...

If you were to go back in time, how would you want to be taught the Gospel? What methods would you keep, and what themes would you bring forward? What might you skip or leave out? I think Jesus' teaching is all about being obsessed with loving God and loving people. If you do those two things, you will fulfill the Gospel. 

Picking up on the last episode's theme, the topic of this Podcast is Jesus' heart. Thinking like God must mean that we love like God. And we can look to Jesus' example of how to have the heart of God. Do you love religious rules and requirements more than you love people? Do you support your political party even when it marginalizes and dehumanizes groups of people? In his letter, why does John te...

Do you know the heart and mind of God? Can you know how God thinks? As the new year starts, I talk about the importance of thoughts. Beginning in the same place, Phil. 4:8, I want to consider how our thoughts shape our world. I contend that what we think becomes what we say, do, and believe. And what we believe about God and other people will shape how we live our lives. 

Hello Fellow Travelers! Look back at 2023 and look forward to 2024. New intro and outro music, priming for season two!!

Hello Fellow Travelers! Here is my Christmas gift to you. One shorter podcast reflecting on Love and also completing the goal of recording a weekly podcast for a full year (52 solo episodes). Merry Christmas and to all a Good NIght!

Hello, Fellow Travelers! It is the time of the year that we sing Joy to the World, but does that bring joy to your soul? If not, what does bring joy? Ep. 51 looks at how we can respond to Jesus daily. Specifically, we look at the question Jesus asks his disciples after the crowds leave him in John. Will you leave too? How would you respond? Would you do it with joy in your heart?

Hello Fellow Traveler! Are your holidays missing peace? Maybe you can't remember the last time you would describe anything about your life as peaceful. The second week of Advent is all about the peace Jesus brings. I look at peace through the lens of Mary and Martha in this episode. 

Hello Fellow Travelers! This Sunday marked the beginning of the Advent season. Maybe your church celebrated and lit a candle; perhaps they didn't. Either way, the podcast will finish the year by discussing Advent themes and starting with the first candle, which represents the hope that Jesus's birth brings. 

Hello Fellow Travelers! The last episode was silence; this episode is darkness. All must deal with two realities of human life and existence.  Jesus promised trouble to those in this world. The Psalms are filled with questions of God going missing. Prayers wondering why the world is the way that it is. This week, we think through the connection between darkness and light and Jesus.

Hello Fellow Travelers! Six podcasts to go before 52 full podcasts and my year-long goal of podcasting. And I know what the final six topics will be. The first one is a look at silence. From the silence of broken relationships to the silence of 400 years before Jesus' birth, we cannot escape the implications. We hate silence. Most of us are unnerved by it. The holiday season can be a time for grea...

Hello Fellow Travelers! One way to turn our eyes from Jesus is to look at the waves and the turmoil around us. We most commonly think of the negative parts of life that will often distract us. But what if we are equally capable of being distracted by the good things in this life? What if we make it our passion to chase after the gifts rather than the giver? One of the areas from Ep. 45 that caused...

Hello fellow travelers! Worry is not a new issue. Jesus addressed it when he spoke to the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount. But how do we avoid allowing worry to crowd our thoughts and hearts? I have a couple of thoughts and a solution I hope will encourage you. 

Hello Fellow Travelers! Promise this is the last bio episode. I tackle the question that many people have thought, though most don't ask me directly. Yes, I have a master's of Divinity, and I am an ordained minister. But I followed a different path than even I had imagined. Not unlike my Christmas course correction on where I was going to college, after graduation, I was once again in a place to r...

Hello Fellow Travelers!! If you have been following along with the life of Paul and wandering when my wife enters the story, the wait is over. How we met and got married is in this episode—also, just a few thoughts about marriage in general and relationships. And continuing the theme of God directing and guiding us everywhere, we have been and will go. 

Hello Fellow Travelers! I was joined by two of my friends. I had them explain Be Real to me. And then we all answered the most important question in all of life. You have to listen to find out what it was. Thanks to Travis and Olivia for hanging out with me and chatting. 

Hello Fellow Traveler! Jim has been a guest in a couple of different episodes. We have done the goofy would you rather, but this one, Jim got to share what God is doing in his life. It is an interview and the chance to learn more about what makes Jim, well, Jim. 

Hello Fellow Travelers! Unofficially, Paul season 2. One of the most impactful experiences of my life was spent at 11,000 ft in elevation, living outside a mountain town in southern Colorado. God brought me to a crucible that shaped me and exposed me to different ways of thinking about the world. This was no longer the deep south, conservative Christian country - I got to meet people who would for...

Hello Fellow Travelers! Finally, a topic I am an expert on. Me! In this episode, I think through the different twists and turns I experienced while pursuing where God was calling me. I never had a five-point plan to obtain my perfect job, and I always had a willing heart that was open to say yes to whatever and wherever I felt God leading. I hope you will find encouragement in knowing that God is...