VERSED

It’s incredibly easy to be discontent. Especially if you’ve experienced pain in your life. And how many of us have never experienced any pain? Right. It’s not this immature groaning from adolescence. It’s deep in our souls. Understanding what true contentment is can lead to true healing.  If you’re wondering what is on the other side of this sadness, this loneliness, this anxiety, this longing for...

This is a mini-exploration of one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. Having "Christ in us.” It calls out two seemingly absurd ideas: we contend for the faith and we do it with Christ’s energy. These two almost contradictory ideas come together.  Having Christ in us doesn’t mean we stop working, sit back and relax. It also doesn’t mean we have to do it ALL either. We contend we...

It’s easy to focus on the empty tomb, the angel, Jesus calming their fear. It’s the story of Jesus coming back to life! It’s easy to miss what prompted this group of women (none of the twelve disciples btw) to go to the tomb. Their teacher had been crucified. The One they’d followed was unfastened from a shameful cross and laid in a tomb; his body, lifeless. The Advocate who had protected Mary aft...

The most natural thing in life is to have a troubled heart. It doesn’t take long to look around us and see that everyone everywhere is experiencing hurt and heartache. How do you deal with that? There are a lot of pathways that culture serves up. Everyone’s faith journey is in a different place, it's winding and complex. But God is God and THAT path remains, even when we’ve wandered off it fo...

Hey everyone - I’m not going to waste too much time today because we don’t need much setup. (I realize that I just inferred I waste time on other podcasts...oh well.) Here's the deal. You see how divided we are as people. You see how divided Christians are and feels like it's getting worse, doesn’t it? That’s right where the enemy wants us. Not just so we can’t accomplish things or fight...

Are you tired today? Are you sick of trying to do so much? If I can speak openly and share some of what’s in my personal journal from a few days ago... “I don’t feel like I have the energy to power through the things I don’t want to do. I’m overwhelmed. I’m fighting the urge to quit and do nothing. My capacity is not what it used to be. I’m sick of every day being a fight . I’m sick of all the eff...

I’m currently experiencing a struggle with the tension of loving others while also setting boundaries for myself. I’m taking relationship boundaries now. It’s hard for me to see at times that the two are not at odds. I’m learning that. I’m learning that boundaries are not only a positive for me but sometimes the most loving thing I can do! Boundaries, I’ve learned are really not about keeping othe...

What if you never experienced shame? Shame. Maybe the word has become a little too churchy. What about feeling inadequate? Embarrassed? Feeling like you always have to prove yourself? You're never enough? This overwhelming feeling that your mistakes ARE your identity. It's just who you are now. Imagine being free from that? Because we live in a broken world and every single one of us sin...

Why do you read the Bible? Some read it for help or intellectual stimulation, to understand God, seeking answers to life’s questions or maybe to read it like a novel and discover the story about Jesus. One thing that’s true is that we are told and encouraged to read it more. That’s incredibly intimidating and can be overwhelming in the midst of everything else we have going on. What do we do when...

There is a reason the self-help industry rakes in billions of dollars. We are actually pretty self-aware. We KNOW we are broken, we KNOW there is something missing, we KNOW we fail to measure up. There is aching of “not enough” inside of us and we want to do whatever we can to  become the “best version of ourselves.” - as fast as we can - with as minimal effort as possible.  We are wired to desire...

Whenever I hear someone say, “We need to just love people like Jesus did,” I get kind of annoyed. Not because I’m against that idea, but because generally, it’s used as sentiment and one that is un-Biblical... almost like it’s used to avoid hard issues.  "We should just love people like Jesus did" usually means "be nice and don't be controversial." The real Jesus we meet i...

As tempting as it may be to obey our desires, the Bible describes the human heart as “deceitful” and “desperately sick” It tells us not to lean on our own understanding. Jesus taught that out of the heart come “evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Following Jesus means denying yourself, not discovering the god inside. Today we read one of the most fa...

How we act and function now as believers and followers of Jesus is determined by what we know about the future. Eternal perspective. If you don’t want to live a defeated life, you gotta roll up your sleeves and get to work and be determined in your focus on Jesus and what he has done for you and what he has set you up for. A life forever with him. God’s not gonna do it for you?! Peter calls the be...

God give me the peace of mind to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Today we read about the anointing of King Saul over Israel and the power of change.  If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have ques...

Have there been periods in your life where it seemed to be one long, unending string of trials? Maybe it’s the pandemic that has exacerbated these issues. The quarantines, the distancing, the loneliness. Today's podcast is an encouragement for you, but not in the way you might expect. Today we will be reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:2-3 If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses i...

What burdens are you carrying because you can’t forgive yourself? If Jesus has forgiven you, do you also have to forgive yourself? Do you feel stuck there? Trapped in a cage of shame? I’ve been to therapy, I’ve been to counseling, and I was the host of a Christian radio show for 11 years. I’m attempting through this podcast to grow in Bible knowledge. When it comes to self-help, I’ve probably hear...

Alright so I’m going to ask you a question and your response to it is going to reveal so much about yourself, ready? How are you doing? Maybe you recoiled into yourself when I said that. I think most of us hit cruise control and default on a “good” or “fine.” That’s what we say when we don’t feel like talking about what we are really going through because we don’t feel like telling the whole story...

If you are walking through difficult circumstances. If you are in need of comfort and need of encouragement to keep trusting and hoping in God...don’t look past today’s episode. If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in...

Paul uses this phrase to frequently describe believers in his letters, “In Christ.” He uses the phrase 143 times. It’s said that he did this because he understood that all people struggle with sin that is rooted in an identity crisis. He knew that once they were awakened to their true identity “in Christ” that that knowledge would transform their desires, behaviors, and their lives.  In today&apos...

Is God your ultimate joy and treasure? Can you say with confidence like David, that you have nothing good besides God? It’s important that we understand that our source for everything is God. Especially when we are going through difficult times. Today on the VERSED podcast we read and study Psalm 16. This is the VERSED podcast; a daily pursuit to become more perceptive to what the Bible says.  If...

What does the Bible say a downward sin spiral is? It’s more than just sinning a lot. It’s actually where sin leads to discipline from God. It comes in the form of frustration or hardship or failure and instead of us coming to God with it spiraling sin is when we seek relief from that disciple from the world - continuing to sin. Seeking a man-made solution to what is ultimately a spiritual problem...

We are being lied to every day by our culture which tells us all sorts of untrue things about ourselves and calls it tolerance and diversity. It's lies upon lies that are destroying people. We can’t be a part of distorting and undermining God’s creation. We have to live and proclaim the truth that actually sets people free and that’s the truth of Jesus. It’s the truth that God is CREATOR of a...

Alright, I’m going to tell you out of the gate this is a different verse than you are used to if you listen to this podcast. I’ve typically gravitated towards verses that have been blatantly encouraging and reveal something about the nature of God or Jesus. That hasn’t been intentional necessarily but today we are diving into a verse my friend texted me and at the end said “what am I even reading?...

What we are about to read today is one of my favorite and incredibly beautiful verses. It is blunt, direct, poetic, black and white truth about Jesus. It's certainly not nonchalant. It punches you right in the face. And for me, its truth delivered in a way that overwhelms me with awe and wonder, a rightful fear of the Lord born out of belief in Him as Creator AND Redeemer through Jesus.  We a...

Sometimes the food that tastes good is not the healthiest. Ok, maybe that’s a lot of the time. The problem is that if we exclusively ate food that tasted great and disregarded how it can affect our bodies, or stopped searching for food that can taste great AND be good for our bodies we would have premature health issues that could lead to death. The same philosophy applies to our spiritual lives a...