Tuesday, September 9th: In this episode, we explore what the Bible means by “heart”—not just emotions, but the integrated center of your person where desire and decision converge. Drawing on Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and passages like Luke 6:45 and Mark 7:21, we show why real transformation always starts inside. We contrast first-century public piety with Jesus’ insistence that the Father “sees in secret,” relocating spiritual life from performance to the place of truth before God. Along the way we bring in a word-study snapshot of the Hebrew lev and Greek kardia, and why Scripture speaks about the heart so often. We then put our moment in context: billions of social accounts and hours online mean our attention—and therefore our hearts—are being formed every day. That’s not reason for fear but a call to honest, heart-level friendship with Jesus. You’ll hear simple, doable practices—truth-telling prayer, secret generosity, attention fasting, embodied worship—that open your will to God’s grace. We name both the hard news (a divided heart) and the hope (God’s promised new heart in Ezekiel 36). Finally, we unpack Willard’s claim that from the heart our whole lives “become eternal,” because what’s done in union with Christ carries the durability of His kingdom. By the end, you’ll have a three-minute daily rhythm to entrust your heart to Jesus and live from the inside out.

Email me your questions, comments, and suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If y'all wanna talk more 'bout this, I'm all ears. Just give me a holler. You can also help by sending me your favorite trivia or dad joke(s) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠spencerjd@thedailygrind.website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Or respond below with comments, trivia or jokes.

Monday, September 8th: God Wants to Be Seen: Learning to Notice a God-Soaked World. God is not playing hide-and-seek; He is love, and love moves toward being known. Drawing from Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy, this episode explores the biblical claim that God wants to be seen—in creation’s song, in covenant and temple, and most fully in Jesus, “the image of the invisible God.” We name why many of us still miss Him: our hurried attention, our craving for fireworks, divided loves, and seasons when God feels hidden. Jesus retrains our vision by blessing the small and ordinary—sparrows, wildflowers, cups of cold water—and by teaching us to truly see people. A brief tour through Israel’s story, the early church, and Brother Lawrence shows how believers have practiced God’s presence in every century. We then move into five simple practices: two-minute awareness pauses, “Scripture walks” with Psalm 19 or Matthew 6, a threefold glance toward God in routine tasks, weekly confession of competing loves, and the “table test” of noticing the most unseen person at a meal. A guided prayer helps listeners start this right away. The goal isn’t to conjure spiritual feelings, but to consent to reality: God is already near. As we learn to pay attention, the blinds open and the room brightens. This week is an invitation to live as if the world is God-soaked—because it is.

Email me your questions, comments, and suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If y'all wanna talk more 'bout this, I'm all ears. Just give me a holler. You can also help by sending me your favorite trivia or dad joke(s) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠spencerjd@thedailygrind.website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Or respond below with comments, trivia or jokes.

Friday, September 5th: In Luke 11:23, Jesus draws a hard line: with Him or against Him; gathering or scattering. In a culture that often likes Jesus but is wary of His followers, we ask what it means to gather people to Him instead of scattering them away. We walk through the Luke 11 context—deliverance, accusation, and Jesus’ kingdom logic—and show why neutrality isn’t really neutral. Then we name common scatterers: fear-first messaging, proof-texting, platitudes, performative positivity, grievance postures, and moralizing people before they meet Christ. We contrast those with gathering practices: leading with Jesus, pairing prayer with presence, quoting Scripture in context, normalizing lament, practicing sturdy hospitality, and refusing culture-war shortcuts. Along the way we note the landscape: many Americans remain open to Jesus even as trust in Christian credibility lags—so we focus on humble confession and steady faithfulness. We offer practical steps for the week so listeners can embody the message at home, school, and work. The aim isn’t winning arguments; it’s joining Jesus’ mission of rescue and restoration. Gatherers tell the truth in love, carry real burdens, and make space at the table. This episode is an invitation to align our lives with the One who still gathers the scattered.

Openness vs. skepticism: 71% positive toward Jesus; “hypocrisy” is the top barrier people cite about Christianity. (Barna Group)
Religious landscape (2025): 62% Christian; “nones” ~29%; the freefall has stabilized. (Pew Research Center, AP News)

Clergy credibility: “High/very high ethics” now ~30–32%. (Gallup.com)
Scripture engagement: ~18% of adults are “Scripture engaged” (≈47 million); Gen Z ≈11%. (Religion Unplugged, 1s712.americanbible.org)
Giving to religion: still the single largest giving category (~$146.5B; ~24% of total U.S. charitable giving in 2024). (givingusa.org, NPTrust)
Persecution: 380M+ Christians face high levels globally; 1 in 7. U.S. religion-based hate crimes exist but are dominated by anti-Jewish incidents. (Open Doors, Department of Justice)
Fear appeals research: effective when paired with clear efficacy; otherwise can backfire into avoidance. (PubMed, American Psychological Association)
Toxic positivity: mainstream psychology warns it suppresses emotions and harms resilience. (The Washington Post)
Satan’s development: sparse in the Hebrew Bible; demonology expands in Second Temple Judaism under Persian/Hellenistic influence. (Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, DukeSpace)