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  • Psalm 91 - Rooted & Renewed: Grounded in Scripture, Growing in Grace - Episode #210

    Psalm 91 - Rooted & Renewed: Grounded in Scripture, Growing in Grace - Episode #210
    2025/10/15

    Use the text box at JanLBurt.com to request Psalm 91 resources.

    Psalm 91 - NLT

    1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

    2 This I declare about the Lord:

    He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

    he is my God, and I trust him.

    3 For he will rescue you from every trap

    and protect you from deadly disease.

    4 He will cover you with his feathers.

    He will shelter you with his wings.

    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

    5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

    nor the arrow that flies in the day.

    6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,

    nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

    7 Though a thousand fall at your side,

    though ten thousand are dying around you,

    these evils will not touch you.

    8 Just open your eyes,

    and see how the wicked are punished.

    9 If you make the Lord your refuge,

    if you make the Most High your shelter,

    10 no evil will conquer you;

    no plague will come near your home.

    11 For he will order his angels

    to protect you wherever you go.

    12 They will hold you up with their hands

    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.

    13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;

    you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

    14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.

    I will protect those who trust in my name.

    15 When they call on me, I will answer;

    I will be with them in trouble.

    I will rescue and honor them.

    16 I will reward them with a long life

    and give them my salvation.”
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    35 分
  • What Does Jesus Say is "So Little Faith"? - Episode #209

    What Does Jesus Say is "So Little Faith"? - Episode #209
    2025/09/30
    Hello and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast. Today we’ll be looking at a passage from the New Testament, in the book of Matthew chapter 14. Let’s jump right in. Need Prayer? Share Your Prayer Requests with Jan Here You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, playing now on the Edifi app and on iHeart radio. This is episode # 209. Matthew chapter 14 opens with the death of John the Baptist, which is a really messed up event. You read it and it is really disturbing, the way his death came about. It just is. It can’t be prettied up because it’s too raw and too ugly for that. It is what it is. And that’s how this chapter begins. In the NLT, verse 13 reads: As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. Jesus, the Son of Man, deity, being fully God and fully man, reacted this way upon hearing the news of John the Baptist’s death. He felt the pain and the grief of it, the weight of it. And He wanted to go somewhere remote in order to be alone. Does this comfort you in any way? This understanding that Jesus sat in His grief, as much as He was able to in a world that literally chased after Him continually. Do you need permission to sit in your grief right now? Have you felt almost guilty for wanting to step back, step away to a remote place (figuratively or literally), and be alone? Maybe you’ve been told that being alone in your grieving is not okay, that it’s unsafe or unwise or that your grieving and processing should happen in community. And maybe some of your journey through grief should be in some type of community… but as I read the text from Matthew 14, I am certain that Jesus sees you in this place and He is totally okay with you stepping back and retreating to some sort of remote-ness to be alone for a time. Look, we have no “remote” part of our lives if we post all the time, inviting anyone and everyone right into our lives in every season. And we can feel guilty about hitting pause. If you need to step away when you hear terrible news, you are in good company. And most likely, you will actually succeed at getting a bit of time alone. Jesus did not get time alone, because the crowds heard where He was headed and followed on foot from many towns. (That’s the rest of verse 13.) Verse 14 says: Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat and He had compassion on them and healed their sick. If Jesus, in His own grief, on His way to someplace remote in order to be alone, saw this huge crowd of people and had compassion on them, I want you to grab hold of the hope in this verse and know that He sees you and He has so much compassion for you. He is the same yesterday and today and forever, and you can depend fully on Him to have the compassion on you that you need at the exact moment you need it. These people traveled from their towns to where they figured out where He was going, and He did not take that and set it aside. You also won’t be set aside when you come to Him. Now He was in a remote place, because that’s where He was headed earlier in the day. Late that evening the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place…” Yes, I am thinking He knew it was a remote place when He chose it as His destination. But they had all these people there, and the disciples did not have a way to feed them. They wanted Jesus to send them away so they could get food before it got much later. Jesus told them to feed the people. And this is the time when they had five loaves of bread and two fish. You probably know this story, maybe even learned about it on a flannelgraph back in the olden days. Jesus took the loaves and the fish (or the fishes, as it used to be said) and he blessed them, and started breaking the bread into pieces so the disciples could hand it out to the people. Everyone ate as much as they wanted and the leftovers were about twelve baskets full and 5000 men plus women and children were fed that day. So you have the set up for what comes next, which is the focus of this episode of the podcast. John the Baptist was killed and it was truly horrible, Jesus went away to be alone with the grief, huge crowds figured out where He was going and followed Him there, He had compassion on them and healed their sick, then the disciples wanted Jesus to send the people away to get food, but He miraculously fed them with the loaves and fishes. Let’s pick up in verse 22 of Matthew chapter 14, from the NLT. Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that His disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. (Jesus insisted, and the disciples did as He said to do. That’s called obedience, my friend, and it ought to be a mark of a disciple in 2025 just as much as it was the mark of a disciple of Jesus 2000 years ago. Obedience matters, and sometimes we forget that in the here and now when we’re living in the age of ...
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    28 分
  • Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus - An Honest Look at Christianity Episode #208

    Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus - An Honest Look at Christianity Episode #208
    2025/09/19
    Well hey there, hello to ya today. Welcome to this special episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, the podcast that takes God at His word, encourages listeners as they walk with the Lord, and boldly proclaims that all God’s promises prove true. This is something of a re-launch of the podcast, as I have not recorded a new episode in about five months. A lot of varying reasons for the long break, but now the show is back. So, let’s jump right in! We’re living in an era when believers need a whole lot of encouragement, and when those who are considering Christianity want an honest look at what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus. This episode is aimed at both of those goals. Followers and curious seekers alike. Let me read from the New Testament book of Luke, chapter 13, about four verses. Starting in verse 23, through verse 28. I’m reading from the Amplified Bible, so you can compare it to your preferred translation or read along in your Bible or in case you want to make note of different translations and versions and do some Bible study on this passage later on. All of those are really good things, by the way. Don’t just take someone’s word for it when it comes to what the Bible says, and of course that includes me. Read it for yourself anytime you want to, fact check me like crazy. Let God be true and every man, every woman, every person be a liar, Romans 3 verse 4 says. When it comes to teaching the Bible, we should be very comfortable having our sources checked. If anyone teaching God’s word is not comfortable with that, something is very, very wrong. And in those situations, you may want to … run. (Not really kidding around with that advice.) Here’s what this passage says, verbatim, in the Amplified Bible: Luke 13:23-27 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition 23 And someone asked Him, Lord, will only a few be saved (rescued, delivered from the penalties of the last judgment, and made partakers of the salvation by Christ)? And He said to them, 24 Strive to enter by the narrow door [force yourselves through it], for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door [again and again], saying, Lord, open to us! He will answer you, I do not know where [[a]what household—certainly not Mine] you come from. 26 Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets. 27 But He will say, I tell you, I do not know where [[b]what household—certainly not Mine] you come from; depart from Me, all you wrongdoers! Okay, so if you’re not familiar with the Amplified Bible, it is wordy. Because the Greek and the Hebrew of the New and Old Testaments often carry a depth of meaning in each word that is tricky to fully convey in the English language, different translations word things differently. The Amplified basically takes all the meanings of the text in the original language and adds them, usually in parentheses, which is why what I just read to you may have sounded choppy. Also, the Amplified capitalizes words like He, Him, Mine, etc. when it is talking about the Lord. And there are a few capitalized words in the text I just read. Were I to leave out those extra words that are in parenthesis, it would read like this: And someone asked Him (that’s a capital, so someone asked Jesus this question.) Lord, will only a few be saved. And He said to them, Strive to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the Master (and that is capitalized, so it’s talking about the Lord) of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open up to us! He will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets. But He will say (again, He is capitalized, so the Lord will say), I tell you I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you wrongdoers! This is weighty. This is no joke. Jesus’ answer to the question He was asked is heavy. This is serious stuff! “Will only a few be saved?” was the question. The ESV says, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Kind of a yes or no question. But Jesus was so good to expound upon this, to go beyond the short answer and give us all this important information as His answer. Now, back to studying the Amplified (and yes, it does require studying. Not sure when Bible “study”, in air quotes, began to not be studious. Study, the word tells us that it takes some effort, focus, and intention. If your Bible study group is not studying the Bible, you could be a person to kind of change that, to step off the merry-go-round of quick and easy answers, making a joke instead of really digging into the text, leading a group that goes through the Bible and studies it ...
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    1 時間 13 分
  • Not a Series of Unfortunate Events - Mark 4 & How Jesus' Death & Resurrection Changes Everything - episode #207

    Not a Series of Unfortunate Events - Mark 4 & How Jesus' Death & Resurrection Changes Everything - episode #207
    2025/04/16
    Well, hello there! Hope you are doing well, growing in grace, enjoying the Lord’s love, spending time with Him daily, and living a Kingdom focused life. I’m thankful you’re listening today. This is episode number 207 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, featured on the Edifi app, iHeart radio, Spotify, Apple podcasts, and pretty much all the places. Let’s jump into today’s episode. The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional now available on Audible If you were, say, looking at the last week of Jesus’ life, those days leading up to the crucifixion - if you were looking from the outside, those events leading would leave you with an entirely different impression than they do for us who know Jesus, who love Him and live for Him. In Him we live and move and have our being, it says in Acts 17:28. When you know that for yourself in a personal way, you look at the events between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday with thankfulness, gratitude, humility, awe, and hope for what comes next. When you look at it from the outside in, it probably doesn’t create those same emotions. It looks like a series of terribly unfortunate events from that perspective. Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion - those are gut wrenching moments in history and may be incredibly difficult to make sense out of for someone looking at the life of Jesus for the first time. The week seems like it ended in utter hopelessness, like those three and a half years of the Lord’s life were all for naught. And that would be discouraging, if you only saw it from that perspective, from the outside looking in. But when you are in Christ, you look at things from a heavenly perspective. You are seated with Him in the heavenly places, is says in Ephesians 2:6, and that means we don’t see things from the world’s point of view. We see everything in a different light, and not like the old Bangles song from the ‘80s (yes, I am Gen X and yes, the 1980’s produced a vast volume of songs, enough that there are references available for almost everything…and I wish the word of God was as easy to memorize as all those song lyrics from my teenage years were). When we only see something in part, only have access or clarity on bits and pieces of a situation, it can easily feel pretty discouraging. Let me reiterate that: when we only see in part, we can easily become discouraged. It makes sense that the last week of Jesus’ life could be discouraging to someone looking at the life of Jesus from the outside. But doesn’t it also make sense that you and I can also become discouraged about the things we can only see in part? And since we are not yet with the Lord, we do see in part. We don’t have the whole picture. But what we do have is actually far better; we have Jesus Himself, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we have the promise of heaven with Him, we are forgiven, we have access to the Father via prayer directly, at any time, because the veil was torn at Jesus death and thanks to His resurrection, death and hell are defeated for us. I say all that to remind you that when you start feeling discouraged about something, I hope you can pause and remember that just because you can’t see it all with total clarity, that does not mean things are hopeless. Sunday is coming, and for the Christian, Sunday always, always comes, into every scenario and situation and problem and pitfall. Always. How can I say that and be so certain that it is true, no matter what is happening in your life? Because when you know Jesus, when your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, in the end you get eternity with Him. And that is, for you, the joy of Resurrection morning, the empty tomb, the defeat of death for you, and eternal hope. We who know the Lord understand that Jesus accomplished the Father’s will, and we know absolutely that the tomb is empty, there is no body of Jesus entombed in Israel. No grave holds Him. That tomb? It was empty 2000 years ago, it’s empty right now, and it will remain empty for time and all eternity. The deed is done. The goose is cooked. Satan truly is a defeated foe, as Revelation chapter 20 so powerfully and beautifully teaches. The seeming series of unfortunate events was in actuality a series of events leading to the greatest moment to ever occur. There’s nothing else like it! You and I know this to be true. So, can we also trust that God is doing His will - His good and perfect and pleasing will - on behalf of His dearly loved children, even in the areas of our lives that are painful? It takes some guts, some faith, and often some honest prayer sessions with the Lord to really believe this with every fiber of our being. And if you need to wrestle with God on a topic that’s especially raw and real, please do that. Wrestle in prayer with Him. Ask Him those hard questions. Cry if you need to. But don’t just cry to your small group, to your friends, to ...
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    22 分
  • You Will Keep in Perfect Peace the One Who Trusts in You - Isaiah 26:3 - episode #206

    You Will Keep in Perfect Peace the One Who Trusts in You - Isaiah 26:3 - episode #206
    2025/03/31
    Hey there, hello to you today and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where we look at what God has promised His people in the Bible, and we live like those promises are true… and thank God, they are! Biblical Motherhood Pinterest Board You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, featured on the Edifi app and on iHeart radio. Today’s episode is all about God’s promise to give us peace, and more specifically, perfect peace, as it says in Isaiah 26, verse 3. And this is episode number 206. Isaiah is a large book in the Old Testament. 66 chapters, I believe, and it covers a lot of ground. It is a record of the history of Israel and Judah, it is very prophetic - about specific nations and people groups and what would happen, at times even to the day, as we see in parts of Isaiah 18, that chapter comes to mind, and other portions of the book are exactingly specific, as well. And of course, about Jesus’ birth and life and death and resurrection, it holds so many prophecies that have indeed proved true, exactly true, to perfection. And then, of course, it holds a lot of prophecy about His second coming, His return that will be the most incredible event this world has ever seen. Sometimes a book the size and the depth of Isaiah can be almost intimidating to read, overwhelming in it’s scope, some parts are historical record, and they read like much of the Old Testament does in Judges or 1 Samuel or the book of Ruth or Esther. But it is intermingled with these astounding portions that are not at all like reading through the book of Ruth or Judges. And we may shy away from it, because it is, frankly, a lot and we might feel like we’re not learned enough or qualified to really understand it. But is that a good reason to not read it? I don’t think so. God gives us such incredible promises in the book of Isaiah, and I do not think He made those promises so that we would never know them, let alone believe Him for them. Nope. That would not make sense. And a book that has so many powerful promises for us, a book that has been so spot on accurate regarding Jesus’ life on earth, well, that’s a very hopeful, hope-filled book. And we just don't want to miss what it has to say to us. Which is why we’re going to look at one verse, one topic or theme, from the pages of Isaiah in this episode. You know, to get to the 206th episode of a podcast takes a bit of time, and as this show is focused on God’s promises, I have spent a fair amount of time the last few years reading and thinking about and writing about (as in the podcast show notes and my personal study time) and talking about so many of God’s promises for His dearly loved children (which is what we are, according to 1 John chapter 3, verse 1). And I have yet to be moved off my stance that all His promises are true. Ya know, you get the comments from people on different platforms when clips from the show are shared, and people can say things that are really heart wrenching to read…not what they say about me, because who cares, right? But also, usually what they say is about the Lord, and that is what’s heart wrenching. Maybe they’ve experienced serious hurt or disappointment, maybe they just have no idea who God is or how much He loves them, maybe something else entirely. But those comments don’t move my needle regarding my belief in who my God is for me personally and as a whole, to all who will come to Him. It moves my needle with heartbreak but not my belief. In thinking about this, the comments and what’s possibly behind those comments, well I wonder if some of those commenters are lacking peace, maybe? It’s a hard life, in a dark world, for a million different reasons in every stage and season. Inner peace, inner security, that’s missing in so many lives. The verse from Isaiah that talks about perfect peace, that’s the verse that comes to mind. And that’s the verse I’m sharing with you as one of God’s most beautiful, life-giving promises in this episode. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You. That’s what Isaiah 26:3 says in the New Living Translation. It’s a hefty promise, and as always, our God does nothing but deliver on this. Does that mean we never have to pause, do a reset, pray, seek His peace, remind one another of verses like this, ponder the fact that Jesus said in this world we will have trouble but we are to take heart, He has overcome the world and that His peace He gives to us, His peace He leaves with us, but not the world’s peace. His peace. It’s a different kind of peace. It’s sitting in the doctor’s office getting really awful news, but you have an inner calm and peace that is so rock solid, you’re able to not endure that hard moment but rather, not be shaken by it. It’s a prodigal’s parent able to fully trust in the Lord and have peace, not be up all night fretting, ...
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    22 分
  • God's Promise to Wipe Away Every Tear - Episode #205

    God's Promise to Wipe Away Every Tear - Episode #205
    2025/03/14
    Hello there, and welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. You know, hope is not something random. We don’t stumble upon it, trip over it, bump into it and viola - lookie there, life-change occurs. That’s not hope, especially not from a biblical perspective. The Bible has a lot to say about hope, and there is one book in particular that is brimming with hope for us today…if we’ll just take the time to read what it says, and, of course, to believe it. Looking for some hope? Then this episode is for you. This is The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, available on the Edifi app, and this is episode number 205. I’m so grateful you’re listening, and I hope today’s episode encourages and blesses you. When I am reading my Bible, and I see the word will or the word all in a promise God makes, I take it seriously. I usually underline it twice and often I will read it out loud and put emphasis on the word will, or on the word all. There’s nothing special about doing that; it simply reminds me that whenever God makes a promise, and says that He will do something, well, then He will. And I found that to be pretty significant, that decision to actively believe that He means what He says. So, recently I was reading Revelation. Hold up. Don’t panic, it’s not just a scary book (although what is going to come upon the whole earth in the final days is very serious, I’m not denying that, not at all). But for the believer, for those who love the Lord, it’s a terribly hopeful book in the Bible. And, it kind of shouts about hope, because it’s not a past-tense, this already happened and it shows us God’s character, He’ll take care of me because He took care of, say, David, or Ruth, or Esther; those people inspire us to trust God all the more, and that is so important, such a blessing to have their real life stories to learn from, to be encouraged by, and to know God’s character, even in the dark times of life. But Revelation, well, there’s all this stuff that has yet to happen, prophecy to be fulfilled, and so much of what we read there is crazy encouraging. It’s profound. And we know it will happen, that what the Lord has promised will come to pass, well, that’s exactly what’s going to come to pass. So it’s a hopeful book, and a hope-filled book. Proverbs tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick (that’s Proverbs 13:12). But with Revelation, we need to bear in mind that even though it feels like so long since John received this revelation from Jesus, as Peter wrote, God isn’t slow in keeping His promise, but is patient, because He does not want anyone to perish. To spend eternity apart from Him. That’s from 2 Peter, chapter 3, I believe. Let me read to you from chapter 21 of Revelation, verses one through eight. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then He said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And He also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega - the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children. But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars - their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Got a whole lot of hope packed into these eight verses. The old heaven and the old earth are going to disappear. That’s just a fact. Jesus says so, and so it shall be. Disappear. Gone. No longer here. If we are loving the world so much, trying to maybe hold on to aspects of it, to make it better, improve it, help it along, maintain it, keep it going…well, that’s not the best use of our limited and finite time, because it is not going to last. Why spend all our strength on what is guaranteed to disappear? A 100% negative ROI. The sea will also be gone, says verse 1. When the old earth disappears, God will finally have His Eden. At the appearance of the New Jerusalem, which comes down from God out of heaven, there will be 1000 years of this world in perfection. Think about the hope and the promise of that. One thousand years of perfection. More than ten full lifetimes, as we know them know, more than ten lifetimes...
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    29 分
  • Don't Live Like an Orphan When You're Part of God's Family - Episode #204

    Don't Live Like an Orphan When You're Part of God's Family - Episode #204
    2025/02/24
    Hey there, hello to you today. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today’s subject matter is of the utmost importance, but not necessarily something that is talked about enough within the Christian community. And that’s our tendency to live like orphans even though we are now part of God’s family thanks to Jesus. God's promises devotional on Amazon Good verses to read about your true identity: Psalm 17:8 Isaiah 43:4 Psalm 147:3 Psalm 18, verses 2, 18 & 19, 28, 32, 35 & 36 Romans 12 John 8 We have so many promises from the Lord to assure and reassure us of our new identity in Christ, and yet we struggle with feeling unseen, abandoned, alone, wondering about unanswered prayers and the things in life, big and small, that wear on us and weigh us down. How do we reconcile the way we feel with the promises God has given us? That’s the heart of this episode of the podcast. You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, which can be found on the EDIFI app, an all Christian content podcast option - as well as anywhere else you listen to podcasts. This is episode number 204. If I could give a definition of a believer living more like an orphan than like a child of the Most High God, I would put it like this: there is a strong and sometimes even extreme sense of aloneness and possibly abandonment that can at times define some aspects of a person’s character, their attitudes, thoughts, feeling, beliefs and intentions. This sense of aloneness and possibly feeling abandoned almost seems to operate on its own, like it has its own life force or something, working to mold the person’s self-image, actions and reactions. Sometimes it may seem like the words someone speaks are misheard and interpreted very differently than what was being conveyed (which can lead to strong reactions). Decisions may be made based on feeling orphaned. This can also lead to rapid decisions and reactions, as in too quick and not thought out or prayed over. Ready, fire, aim sort of a thing. We have a God who loves us and because of that love for us and because of our love for Jesus, we have an enemy, Satan. And I think our enemy works to get us feeling alone, abandoned, orphaned. The devil is in the details, isn’t that the saying? And the devil also works in darkness and tries to push God’s children into darkness as well. Operating in the darkness and pushing that orphan-like feeling on people is an attempt to manipulate people. And to keep the evil influence secret. Satan doesn’t want us to know that he is harassing us; he would like us to wrongly believe that the problem lies within us. The father of lies, the devil, always lies to us because it is his native tongue (that’s what Jesus said in John 8:44). Some of the things our enemy often does is try to hide what’s actually going on from the Lord’s followers. He lies, he deceives, he manipulates. Now what if a person starts to counter the sense of aloneness with the truth from God’s word? Does the devil ever try to push back on the truth? Yeah, he probably does. So what are we to do? One thing I know for sure; Jesus died to give us freedom, and when we bump up against areas in our life where our freedom has been stolen or where we maybe have given our freedom away, we don’t want to just give up. Pray and keep on praying, isn’t that what Jesus taught His followers in Luke chapter 18? It can be so hard to keep on fighting the good fight of our faith in prayer sometimes. But I really want to encourage you to keep fighting. Keep praying. Keep your Bible open. Keep believing, even if it feels like it’s hard to believe those promises. Pray and don’t give up. Paul wrote about this in 1 Thessalonians - pray without ceasing. God won’t lie to you, leave you or forsake you. And you are not an orphan. When we read Galatians chapter five, we get this beautiful picture of freedom. Not just freedom like we celebrate on the Fourth of July here in America. But freedom in Christ, next level freedom, freedom that impacts our life here and now but carries over into all eternity. It’s not a temporary freedom, there is no way that it can be taken from us (in spite of the fact that at times we may not feel free, our freedom in Jesus isn’t something that ebbs and flows, that comes and goes - it is permanent and eternal and everlasting, while our feelings don’t alway speak the truth). From the J. B. Phillips translation, Galatians 5 verse 1 says this: Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery. As I read that verse once more, imagine yourself being freed from literal shackles of slavery and then think about letting yourself be re-shackled and enslaved. That is what we are told not to do. Plant your feet firmly with the freedom Christ won for you. Stay planted, rooted in Him. And...
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    27 分
  • The God of the Impossible & the Mark of the Beast - Episode #203

    The God of the Impossible & the Mark of the Beast - Episode #203
    2025/01/29
    Well hey there and hello again to ya. Welcome back to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Created for You Freebies at JanLBurt.com The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional on Amazon Let’s go ahead and get started. God’s got good for you, and I am hopeful that this episode will remind you of that, no matter what kind of stuff life is throwing at you today. You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, blessed to be part of the ministry of the Edifi app. That’s EDIFI, and you can find it in your app store. And if the show blesses or encourages you, I’d like to formally invite you to subscribe. This is episode number 203. Today I am going to read a bunch of Bible verses to you and let the promises of God sink into your heart and also into your mind (because when the word of God gets into our mind, it literally changes the way that we think and that, my friend, changes the way that we live). And I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to prepare you right now, before I even quote one single verse, to ready you and prepare you to believe His amazing promises to you so that you can live from here on out like they are taking place, being accomplished, in your life. Live like His promises to you are true. Because they are! God keeps all of His promises so I want to encourage you today to live like you know He is keeping all of His promises to you. To your family. And to His people all over the world. Okay, so let’s dive into God’s Word and get some encouraging news in our ears, and into our thoughts, shall we? First let’s start with some powerful and hopeful words that Jesus spoke. I am quoting the NLT for today’s podcast & let’s look at Mark 12:27 - Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Okay - this is where we are going to begin. It is so, so important to remember, when we are making the big bold decision to really, truly believe God’s promises - to live a believing life - that we don’t base our belief on anything other than the Lord. We don’t search out something in addition to Him in order to increase our faith. We aren’t mustering up more faith by trying to make ourselves have more faith. Rather, we are relying fully on Him. And we are simply deciding that we will believe what the Bible says to us. And so, this verse is just a great reminder that you don’t have to make God’s promises work out in your life, in your kid’s lives, etc. Nope. The pressure isn't on you to make happen what God has promised. But so often we live as if the pressure is on us, somehow, to do what is impossible for us. Only God is God, and only He can keep the promises He makes. Now only you can live by faith, believing God. But you and I have no ability or power to make it happen. We cannot get it done. But what we can get done is choose to believe Him, to take Him at His word, and to abide in Him moment by moment, even while we are expecting to see His promises fulfilled. There are actually many, many things in this life that are impossible - for mankind. For humans. For wives and for moms and for employees and so on. Humanly speaking, there is gonna be stuff that is just not possible. But not with God! Aren’t these words from Jesus incredible? Think for just a moment about what our Savior is actually saying to us. But not with God. EVERYTHING is possible with God. So bring God into everything, then! Never intentionally leave Him out of anything. You want the God who turns the impossible into the possible - you want that God doing all the things in your life, right? Get a sense of Jesus, today, looking at you intently and reminding you, firmly but with great love and compassion, that it isn’t about mankind's ability to make this thing fly. Because is is God and God alone who makes everything possible. Psalm 37:23 (NLT) says this - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Okay, this is a great verse! What hope it provides! What assurance! This is quite a promise! He is promising that He will direct your steps. And guess what? You can pray this verse over your loved ones, your co-workers, your spouse, your aging parents, your neighbors. And also, pray this over yourself. Lord, please do as You have said in Your word and direct my steps. Lord, delight in every detail of my life. Lord, direct my steps. I know my righteousness and any godliness within me is thanks to Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Father, bless me and direct each step that I take. Stop me when I am near a misstep. Thank You for this promise of Your guidance and direction over my life, from now until my last breath. It says that He delights in every detail of our lives. So guess what that means for us? How does that relate to us living in total belief that God’s promises for us are absolutely true ...
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