202-Accumulating Stuff or Treasure

“What if you could have a piece of wisdom that could fix nearly every problem in your life? Would you want it?

This might sound incredible, but many of us reject this vital key to life because we prioritize the wrong things. In today’s podcast we continue our look at the Sermon on the Mount and we review a principle that is easies to see through the lens of money.

Join me now as we see beyond our debt and finances into the principle that if followed, can transform not only our lives, but the world around.

201- Fasting NOT Performing

“Have you ever met someone who admits to being a hypocrite?”

Of course not. Hypocrites are always other people, right? In today’s podcast and post we examine yet another way Jesus calls religious people hypocrites; through fasting. Fasting in our modern world is usually employed for health and dietary benefits, but historically it has been a religious practice.

Join me now as we see beyond fasting at the real problem behind our hypocrisy and I offer a fasting challenge that will allow us to see that hypocrisy is not someone else’s problem, its ours.

200th Episode!!

Four years in the making and now this Podcast has reached its 200th episode. In this special edition podcast I talk a little about what makes this podcast unique and why it has gradually gained a steady audience. I’ll read some notes and letters from the audience along with sharing some reflections on the common themes that are discussed. Thank you to all of you who have made this podcast part of your regular feed.

199-Praying NOT Performing

“What does it mean to pray like a hypocrite?”

If we’re honest, how often is prayer something we have to endure? How often do our minds wander? How often does praying make us uncomfortable? We’ve encountered prayers so long and verbose they have sermons within them. We see demonstrative prayers, sometimes standing in circles at restaurants, or bowing on blankets in airports, or threatening with a loud speaker in public venues. To whom are such prayers directed; God or everyone around? Jesus calls it hypocrisy. 

In today’s post and podcast we continue Jesus’ deconstruction of religious acts of righteousness and see beyond praying as performance. Join me now as once again we enter our hidden place where God dwells but religion can never come.

198-Giving NOT Performing

“What does it mean to be a church going hypocrite?”

When I was a church going pastor, I worked hard to distinguish myself from those who said one thing and did another. I wanted the world to see that there was a different way to do the faith. There was, but I couldn’t see it until I finally learned how to give without being hypocrite.

In today’s post we explore our charitable giving and expose the dirty secret that institutional religion doesn’t want us to see. Turns out Jesus is no more impressed with our modern churches than he was of the temple.  Join me now as we see beyond what motivates us to give and expose why we prefer the lesser reward of recognition to something more hidden.

197-Enemies and Perfection

“What do you think it means to love your enemies? Do you have any enemies?

In today’s podcast and post we reach the passage on loving our enemies. When viewed in the common framework, this passage is extremely difficult to understand, yet a lone apply. The additional command to be perfect just makes things worse.  

Join me now as we see beyond our enemy and discover what perfection is really all about. Learn why we can’t do perfect, but we can be authentic and that causes our enemies to disappear.

196- The Impulse to Retaliate

“What do you think about retaliation? Is there a time and place to get even?

In today’s podcast and post we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount and explore the impulse to retaliate. The ethos to retaliate is a vestigial residue from our pre-rational consciousness, it’s a low-level impulse upon which we have built the world. What would happen if we just let go of retaliation in favor of something more?

Join me now and we see beyond the impulse to retaliate and look closer at a far more powerful alternative.  

195- I Solemnly Swear

“Are you the kind of person that really needs to be proven right?” Is it hard to say “No” or let things go?

In today’s podcast and post we continue our series rediscovering the sermon on the mount as we take a closer look at the meaning behind taking an oath. We take oaths in court, or when we marry, or in certain kinds of jobs. It seems oaths and keeping promises are integral to the truth and to a society seeking to avoid corruption.

But what if oath taking has a dark side that remains invisible to us until its almost too late? Join me now as we see beyond oath taking and explore how it takes away our freedom and what the alternative might be.

194- The Divorce we Don’t See

Do you think you understand divorce? If you’re like most people, you probably see it as the very end of a marriage.

In today’s podcast and post, we continue our journey into the sermon on the mount as we reveal the wisdom behind Jesus’ teaching on divorce. We discover that what most of us think is a marriage is actually a legally binding divorce.

Join me now as we see beyond marriage as a powerplay and go deep enough to heal the wounds that keep us entombed in relationships of obligation, anger, or pain, as we discover the true meaning of love and divorce.

193- The Eighth

“When you consider the scale of the universe, do you feel small? There is a reason for that.”

Sci-Fi movies emerged out of our shared desire to explore the vastness of space. Contemplating the universe can leave us feeling small, insignificant and often leaves us with unanswered questions which feel more like burdens. 

Join me now as we continue in the second installment of the Pslams greatest hits where we visit the eighth Psalm. These times of “reflection”can grow our soul as we peek within the deepest part of our being. May this series allow us all to see beyond everything.