The Clear & Present Faith Podcast

People living their faith in the every day

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  • Growth

    The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 has long been a favorite of mine. There’s a lot to be gleaned from Joseph’s journey that we can apply to our lives. Yet, I want to focus on a different individual. One who displayed a great deal of growth over the course of this story – Joseph’s older brother, Judah.

    Genesis 37 introduces us to Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Israel (Genesis 35:21-26). He was held in special regard by his father who “loved Joseph more than his other sons” (37:3). Naturally, this created tension between Joseph and his brothers (37:4) compounded by the dreams Joseph had that depicted metaphors of his brothers bowing to him as if to a king (37:5-10). Needless to say, sibling rivalry was at an all-time high.

    One day, Joseph was sent to check on his brothers who were tending sheep in the fields. When they saw him approaching and plotted to kill him. Thankfully, his oldest brother, Reuben, talked them out of this, instead encouraging them to throw Joseph into a pit with the intention of coming back to rescue him later. However, while Reuben had stepped away, a caravan of Ishmaelites came by where the brothers were and Judah had an idea:

    ‘What do we gain if we kill our brother, and cover up his blood? Come let’s sell him to Ishmaelites, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and they agreed. (Genesis 37:26-27)

    And that’s exactly what they did. At Judah’s suggestion, Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers for 20 pieces of silver and then taken to Egypt (Genesis 37:28). During this time, a series of life experiences and Joseph’s constant reliance on God led to him being appointed as a high official in the Egyptian government that positioned him to prepare Egypt for a coming famine. Needing food, Israel sent his sons to Egypt to purchase supplies. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Through a series of calculated events, Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, was accused of stealing a silver cup from the palace and Joseph threatened to “enslave” him and send the other brothers on their way back to their father.

    And, Judah stepped up again; in a very different way this time (Judah’s soliloquy to Joseph is too long to post, but is certainly worth reading in Genesis 44:18-34). The man who years earlier had been the catalyst for selling Joseph into slavery, now advocated for Benjamin’s freedom and offered himself in Benjamin’s place. He specifically cited the sorrow it would bring to his father if Benjamin did not return home, something he’d had no regard for in the past. In the 20+ years since selling his brother into slavery, Judah had grown from a jealous, spiteful man into a protective, self-sacrificial brother.

    Growth as a person, as a child of God is essential in our lives. 2 Peter 1:3-11 really lays out this idea of what it means for us to mature spiritually. In verses 3-4 of that passage we read:

    His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

    Judah escaped that corruption. My prayer for you this week is that you will experience spiritual growth in your walk with the Lord. And if we can assist with that please don’t hesitate to contact us.

  • Reading Your Bible Ever Day (S1E7)

    We spent a few episodes talking about how we communicate with God through prayer, and in our last episode started the conversation with my friend, Andrew Roberts, about how God communicates with us through the holy scriptures and the importance of making Bible reading a part of your daily life. So, if you haven’t already, make sure you go listen to episode 6 first.

    As we continue the discussion in this episode, we talk about developing the habit of daily Bible reading, how your Bible can become a roadmap of your spiritual journey, and selecting a Bible for your study.

    You can find a list of the platforms on which we’re live on The Podcast webpage. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you enjoy my conversation with Andrew Roberts.

  • Praying through the Scripture

    This week’s blog post is going to be a bit different as I share a recent practice I added to my life that I feel is helping me spiritually. It’s not, by any means, earth-shattering. I’m certain the idea is not original to me – I borrowed it from a friend. Perhaps it could be beneficial to you as well…

    If you’ve tuned in for the last few episodes of the podcast (as well as the one coming out tomorrow!), you know we’ve been spending some time discussing prayer and reading/studying the Bible. Prayer and Bible study are both essential parts of our relationship with God:

    Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

    Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

    For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. (Romans 15:4)

    All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

    I recently began a daily practice that combines these two important components of discipleship that I want to share with all of you. I’ve been calling it “Praying through the Scriptures” and the idea is this:

    • Each day, select a short passage of scripture, 1-3 verses perhaps, and write it down in a journal, notebook, or some other physical medium. I suppose you could do this on a computer or in the notes app on your phone. For me, it just hits differently when I write it out by hand.
    • Then, I write a short prayer to God about that passage. Perhaps, I’m asking for the abilities or opportunities described in the passage. Maybe, I’m seeking protection from the things the passage is warning us about. Or, it could be a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings we have access to as portrayed in Scripture. It doesn’t have to be long. Most of mine have been 2-3 sentences. The idea is just to focus a prayer on the topic of the scripture.

    As for finding a passage to pray about – most of us probably have some kind of Bible app on our phone or tablet, or access to some kind of Bible website that we use regularly. Many of those platforms have a feature called “Scripture of the Day” or “Verse of the Day.” I did some really scientific research (aka crowdsourcing through social media, texting family/friends) to find out what people are using:

    …just to name a few (if you’re using one that we didn’t list, drop the name of it in a comment below).

    This is just one idea. If you have a daily practice that combines prayer and scripture reading, please let us know. In the meantime, I’m praying you grow closer to God this week through prayer and study.

  • Bringing Out Your Best

    Words of wisdom come from unexpected places sometimes…

    I was attending what amounted to the first concert I had ever attended. More accurately, I was attending my first concert that didn’t involve something like the President’s Own, the United States Marine Band (although it was really cool to see that trumpet player do Carnival of Venice, then Orange Blossom Special as an encore). No, these guys were playing guitars, drums, a piano, and the crowd was singing along to their music. As the show neared its end, the lead singer stepped to the mic and imparted some words of wisdom…

    “You can choose to surround yourself with two kinds of people in your life: those who bring out the best in you, or those who bring out the worst in you. And if you surround yourself with those who bring out the best in you, you will be much happier.”

    I don’t know what that singer thinks about spiritual things – but his point is spot on. God doesn’t intend for us to operate independently. He expects us to first put faith and trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 6:25-34). Additionally, He designed us to be “social” creatures. By that I don’t mean the proverbial “social butterfly,” but rather to operate as part of a society of people who can support us (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Galatians 6:2)

    So, what does the Bible say on the topic of the people we choose to associate with? Proverbs, once again, is full of thoughts on the matter:

    • The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm. (Proverbs 13:20)
    • Don’t make friends with an angry person, and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. (Proverbs 22:24-25)
    • Stay away from a foolish person; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. (Proverbs 14:7)
    • A righteous person is careful in dealing with his neighbor, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray. (Proverbs 12:26)

    I pray you have people in your life that bring out the best in you every day so that you can be your best for God every day.

  • What is God Saying to Us? (S1E6)

    We spent the last few episodes of the podcast talking about how we communicate with God through prayer. In order to have effective communication in a relationship it must be two-way communication. I’m excited now to spend some time talking about how God communicates with us through His Word.

    My guest for this interview is Andrew Roberts. Andrew is an evangelist in Lutz, FL and a co-host of the Text Talk podcast. I had a great conversation with Andrew about God’s revealed Word in the Bible. In this first part, we talk about how God has communicated with His people through the generations and the importance of being exposed to His Word regularly. This is the first of a two-part episode so don’t forget to tune in for the second half in a couple of weeks.

    You can find a list of the platforms on which we’re live on The Podcast webpage. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you enjoy my conversation with Andrew Roberts.

  • Our Father Knows Best

    Over the years, I’ve had conversations with people where they said something to the effect of “God doesn’t listen when I pray.” This has to be a challenging feeling. However, further discussion has often revealed an underlying disposition – because God didn’t give me what I asked for, it must mean He’s not listening.”

    One of the hardest words to grasp in any language is “no.” It is rarely the answer we are hoping for. A toddler asking for ice cream before dinner? You’ll ruin it. Guy asking a girl on a date? Definitely not the word he wants to hear. Do checked bags fly free? Hardly at all any more. “No” is associated with rejection, loss, limits, and exclusion. And no one likes feeling that way – not you, not me.

    And, yet….sometimes it is exactly what we need to hear. “No” can be a protection. It can be a well-placed boundary. And it can be the assurance that what was supposed to happen, happened exactly as it was supposed to.

    Consider Jesus the night before His crucifixion. In Matthew 26:36-44, Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray. Three times it is recorded that He asked God to let this cup pass from Him (v. 39, 42, 44). The Roman Crucifixion was a well-known form of execution – and the Romans were good at it. They knew how to wring every ounce of pain and anguish out of the process. Jesus knew the horror that His earthly body was about to experience. He asked God for there to be another way…and each time followed it with “Your will be done.”

    That night, God told Jesus “no.” And the next day, a pure and sinless Jesus paid the price for my sin, for yours, so that we would have the hope of eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:23)

    So, when we pray, and we feel like God is telling us “no,” let’s keep in mind a couple of things:

    • Just because the answer is “no” right now, doesn’t mean that will be the answer in the future. God’s timing is perfect. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 is a great illustration of proper times)
    • Just because the answer is “no,” doesn’t mean that God can’t. (Isaiah 60:22 – I especially like how the New Living Translation renders this verse)
    • God knows what we need better than we do, even before we ask Him. (Matthew 6:8)

    May God’s “No’s” be a blessing in your life this week and an opportunity to grow in your faith in and reliance on Him.

  • He’s Going to Lose

    While participating in a small group study with a few brothers in the local congregation I attend, one of them made a comment that stood out:

    “Satan is trying to plunder whatever he can in his losing battle – and that’s us.”

    The idea that Satan’s goal is to plunder our souls is no surprise. 1 Peter 5:8 admonishes us to “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” His desire is to destroy us, and he is willing to whatever it takes, say whatever he needs to say to convince us that his way, the way of the world is better option (John 8:44).

    It was the “losing battle” that really drew my attention. Any true cinephile or bibliophile despises spoilers. They want to find out for themselves, they want to be surprised – they want to get to the end and find out he was dead the whole time (it’s been over 20 years, surely you all know by now…). Yet, that’s not how God wrote the scriptures. He gave us the outcome. Jesus referenced it in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25: “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (v. 41) Perhaps even more connected to the quote above is how Satan’s rebellion against God will ultimately be crushed:

    When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10)

    Satan is in a battle for our souls. One he knows he is going to lose, and he is determined to take all of us with him. Our advantage? We also know what our fate is if we choose to serve God and follow Jesus or if we bow the knee to the temptations we encounter every day (check out that whole Parable of the Sheep and the Goats when you have a moment – Matthew 25:31-46). It just continues to emphasize the importance of guarding our hearts from the devil’s attacks on our souls every day.

    Satan is going to lose. Don’t let him take you down with him.

  • Where Prayer’s Power Lies (S1E5)

    Serving God requires a relationship with Him, and key component of any relationship is communication. We speak to God through prayer.

    Edwin Crozier is a preacher in Lutz, FL, author of Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer, and co-host of the Text Talk Podcast. I had a great conversation with Edwin about prayer and its purpose. So good in fact that it was hard to cut material, so this interview will be broken into three parts, so make sure you listen to parts 1 and 2 if you haven’t already.

    In this episode, we talk about the source of prayer’s power.

    You can find a list of the platforms on which we’re live on The Podcast webpage. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you enjoy my conversation with Edwin Crozier.

  • Let Them Come

    I remember my first few weeks of college, I was having some trouble adjusting. Managing my own schedule, maintaining basic functionality (e.g., doing my own laundry), navigating new friendships and social situations – even for an extrovert like me, it was proving to be challenging. I was attending a small, Christian school, and had become close to the gentleman who served as my admissions counselor, Dan. I stopped by his office and told him just how overwhelmed I felt by everything and the challenges this new phase in life presented. Dan reached for his Bible and turned to James:

    Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

    Trials are going to come. And while they are certainly not enjoyable, we need to adopt a mindset of “Let them come” for a couple of different reasons:

    1. We know that the trials will be short-lived (1 Peter 1:6). While some trials may be recurring throughout the course of our life, none of them are intended to last for eternity. Rather…
    2. The proven character of our faith results in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7). In this verse Peter draws a parallel between our proven faith and gold. In order to obtain pure gold, it is refined by fire to remove the impurities and present something precious.

    Trials test our faith. Testing our faith yields endurance. And when we learn to endure, we grow. My prayer for you is that when you encounter different trials, when your faith is tested, that you will endure, and grow into the servant God needs you to be for His kingdom.

  • Portraits of the Prodigal Epilogue: The Father

    The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) is one with which many people are familiar. We’ve spent the last three weeks examining the various perspectives of the prodigal son: the pride, the poverty, and the penitence (Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3). Just witnessing this transformation makes the story impactful. However, there is another mindset to consider – that of the father.

    The prodigal son comes to his senses and recognizes he would be better off being his father’s servant than remaining in his current circumstances (Luke 15:17-19). And so, he makes the decision to return to his home and accept his new, reduced role in his father’s life. Yet, something amazing happens…

    So, he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” And they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:20-24)

    As a reminder: the prodigal son had essentially told his father, “I wish you were dead. Having my inheritance is more important to me than having you.” How would the typical person respond? How would you? How would I? The father could have done a number of things. He could have said:

    • “No, you can’t come back. I banish you for life.”
    • ”Okay, you can come back, but you’ll be a slave and you’ll serve me for the rest of your days.”
    • ”You can come back and earn your way back to being my son again.”

    If he had responded one of those ways, there are many in the world who would have found that to be a perfectly reasonable response. Instead, we see a very different picture:

    • The father saw him from a long way off – he was watching for his return.
    • The father ran to him – he was so overwhelmed with emotion he couldn’t wait one second longer to embrace his son.
    • The father celebrated – he welcomed his son back with open arms!

    In the same way, God is waiting and watching for us to come back to Him. God doesn’t wish for any to perish and wants all to have the opportunity to find Him (Ezekiel 18:23; 2 Peter 3:3-9). Is that fair? After we’ve forsaken Him, and lived our life in a way inconsistent for someone who is His child? We’d like to think so – however, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll realize that there is an imbalance in these particular scales of justice. An imbalance in our favor. And that imbalance is God’s grace tipping one side of the scale.

    As long as we have breath in our bodies, we can come to Him, repent, and He will be ready to accept us. And the angels will celebrate (Luke 15:10).

    Thanks for stopping by the blog. We hope you’ve enjoyed this series. May we never take God’s amazing grace for granted!