192- Adultery and Dismemberment

“What’s the real problem with lust and adultery?

Our world is saturated with sexual content. Lust and adultery are constant topics in all forms of modern entertainment and fewer and fewer people seem to be able to discern the line of sexual immorality, some even reject the notion all together.

In today’s podcast and post we take a closer look at lust and adultery. While most of the world thinks the problem is cheating or lying, we discover today that the problem is something far more common. Join me now as we see beyond our failed morality codes and discover the true meaning of the commandment against adultery.

191- The Freedom Illusion

Do you possess true inner freedom?”

Our country promises tremendous freedom. Despite all the great things that can be said about it, most people live in great captivity rather than freedom. Every institution holds us captive on some level and few of us find the key to inner and outer freedom.

In today’s special Fourth of July broadcast, we will explore why institutional religion promises is constituents inner freedom, but in the end becomes one of worlds biggest captors. Join me now as we see beyond power plays of captivity and learn why we seldom find personal freedom.

190- Way Beyond Anger

“How much of your life is spent feeling angry? Do you struggle with anger?”

In today’s podcast and post I continue our study of the sermon on the mount and examine an area that imprisons countless people. Some people live in so much anger that they don’t know how to live without it, nor want to.

Join me now as we see beyond anger and learn why it is a prison for so many people. We’ll learn why Jesus’ antidote to anger is NOT to run to God, and why most of us will prefer the living hell of anger instead of healing and liberation.

189- Freedom from Fundamentalism

“Do you see yourself as a fundamentalist?”

I’m willing to bet that you answered “No!” We often think fundamentalism is solely the jurisdiction of religion. While religious fundamentalism abounds in the headlines, we must look closer and see how fundamentalism oppresses everyone in every walk of life.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a message to people who were oppressed and thought the world was too far gone and needed some other kind of external intervention. Join me now as we see beyond our own inner fundy and explore an unconventional and unpopular way of liberating us all from the tyranny of fundamentalism. 

188- The World is the Margarita; You are the Salt

“What does it mean to be Salt and Light?

If you are like most people, you are probably disregarding this post as “Stuff you already know.” Yes this is perhaps the most familiar sermon subject in the world, but given that “everybody knows this”, why do you suppose there has been so little transformation around it? Why is there so much confusion on what it actually means?

Join me now as we continue our examination of the Sermon on the Mount and we learn to see beyond the Salt and Light and look closer at the intended audience. This fundamental shift requires a wider more inclusive interpretation which allows us to see beyond everything.

187- Power will NOT like this

“Are you free enough to speak truth to power?”

That’s a loaded question. Most people, if they are honest, will have to admit they are not. We are free enough to “like” a meme posted on social media. We are free enough voice our opinion when it’s safe to do so, but we are not free to “rock the boat” within our places of employment, our family dynamics, our social structures, our religious frameworks, or our government.

In today’s podcast and post, we continue our look at the sermon on the mount and we examine the punchline statement of the whole thing. Join me now as we see beyond what we thought was persecution, and into the disappointing reality that exposes our lives being lived in captivity.

186- Happy Suffering

“What is your solution to the suffering in the world?”

Most people recognize the enormity of suffering and feel as though they are too small to make a difference. Thus we look to governments, religions or scientific fixes that might be big enough to eliminate suffering. 

What if suffering has a purpose? What if there was a way to deal with suffering that didn’t avoid it, but transformed it into something beautiful?  Join me now as we see beyond the beatitudes into exactly what it means to experience happy suffering.

185-Blessing evokes gag reflex…

“What is your response when someone says they are “blessed?”

For many modern people, we are triggered by this phrase. I think it’s because our culture has made blessed synonymous with material gain or prosperous living. It’s actually the sub-plot that says, “God is on my side, not yours.” that makes us so disturbed.

In today’s podcast and post I examine what it really means to be blessed and expose how far off the trail we’ve gone. The beatitudes are not eight tips for living better than everyone else, but the required lens through which we can discover not only the paradox of wisdom, but the humility to see our self in the lives of everyone else.

184- Awesome Beige Minivan said no one ever…

“What can words do for the state of our world now?” Aren’t we beyond rhetoric and “Thoughts and prayers?”

Our world’s attention span is shortening. We have less interest and tolerance for big transforming ideas. Sound bites and instantaneous answers have eroded that part of us where big questions were once carried deep within our hearts. It’s the automotive equivalent of car makers producing beige minivans. Our thirst for practicality has displaced the drive that once inspired us.

In today’s podcast and post, I begin a series that for many is so played out and tired that few may even have the resolve to look deeper. Join me now as we begin to see beyond the sermon on the mount and recapture just how disruptive a big idea can be.

183- The First…

“Is your soul in need of some care?”

If we never attended to the hair on our heads, over time we would possess a giant mess of disorganization that could become harmful to our health and well-being. Our soul (psuché/ true inner self) functions in a similar manner. We must tend to it, or comb it through if we are to bring order out from internal chaos.

Join me now as we begin a series that will be interlaced over time (not all at once) as we examine the Pslams greatest hits. This time of “combing” will serve us by bringing order out of the chaos that emerges within the deepest part of our being. May this series allow us to see beyond everything.