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Praying for Rain in Your Searing Life

How the land of Israel offers encouragement to our parched lives.

Summer. August. Texas. Stir those together and you get blistering days, muggy mornings, and sizzling evenings like a heat lamp over cheap pizza. But Wednesday morning, something amazing occurred.

Wilderness of Paran

(Photo: Wilderness of Paran. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

The forecast showed no rain at all. None. So I prayed something crazy. I told the Lord I knew He could make it rain in a Texas August with zero chance of rain. If He was willing, He could do it. I asked Him to make it rain.

The next day thunder clouds rolled in, and Wednesday morning it rained—more than an inch. Happy trees. Happy grass. Happy house foundation. Happy lakes. Happy water companies. Happy me. But for more than the water.

I thought of the parched lives we lead and how the land of Israel offers encouragement.

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How to Hear from God Today [Podcast]

Mark 6:1-29

God’s grace makes it safe to see ourselves as we really are. Why? Because we know that regardless of what we see, God will never reject us. This helps us listen to God. But how?

In this episode of Live the Bible, we’re going to discover how to hear from God. But honestly, it’s not about the source as much as it is about how we choose to listen.

Episode Resources

How to Hear from God Today [Podcast]

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How God’s Promised Land Gives You Hope Here and Now

Abraham walking the real estate put reality in his hope.

Day after day of life demands we have faith in God. Lots of it. After all, so much of what God promises us is future. And honestly? It seems most of what we live for is a hope that never seems to arrive. God knows that.

Area of Ai, near where Abraham and Lot parted

(Photo: Area of Ai, near where Abraham and Lot parted. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Thankfully, the Lord also gives us tangible encouragement here and now to push us along toward that elusive, untouchable future we long for.

Abraham needed that same encouragement, and God gave it to him in an unusual way. He told him to take a walk—and to look around.

We need to take that same walk.

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When You Need to Borrow a Miracle [Podcast]

Mark 5

It’s easy to wonder why God seems to work in everybody else’s life, but yours. After all, when we listen to the answered prayers of others, or after we hear someone share their good news, it’s easy to think, That’s great, but why doesn’t that happen in my life?

This episode of Live the Bible introduces us to three people who interacted with Christ, and one of them will speak directly to whatever you’re struggling with right now. Whatever it is you’re struggling with today, Jesus hasn’t forgotten you.

Episode Resources

When You Need to Borrow a Miracle [Podcast]

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Mahanaim Teaches Us What to Do with Our Fears

God’s presence is with us long before our spiritual struggle arrives.

So often, fear floods our hearts, because what we see seems so overwhelming. But the true source of our fears—as well as their solution—comes not from what we see.

Mahanaim and fords of Jabbok

(Photo: Mahanaim and fords of Jabbok. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Our spiritual lives hold the solution to our fears. That’s what happened with Jacob.

Returning to the land of Canaan forced Jacob to face a problem he had run from 20 years earlier—his deception of his brother Esau. As he approached the border of Canaan, angels of God came to meet him.

The presence of the angels gives us a critical reminder during our times of fear.

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How to Find a Calm in Your Storm [Podcast]

Mark 4:35-41

I don’t know much about your life. But then again, I do. You and I both are struggling to trust God for something that feels urgent. And often, we find ourselves feeling swamped. Stuck in a raging storm.

In this episode of Live the Bible, Jesus shows us what to do in the storm— how to find a calm we never knew existed.

Episode Resources

How to Find a Calm in Your Storm [Podcast]

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When God Surprises Your Life with a Hard Left Turn

The crossroads we would never choose are often God's best gifts to us.

I recently heard that God is the God of hard left turns. So many of us began life headed one direction and ended up in a place we never thought we would. I bet that happened to you, didn’t it? Me too. And to the apostle Peter.

When God Surprises Your Life with a Hard Left Turn

(Photo: El-Araj, one possible place of Peter’s hometown. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

For Peter, it was a long, long way from Bethsaida to Rome—from his birth to his death. It’s the same in the changing courses of our lives.

So many of us grew up in certain towns or earned degrees for a particular field, but we find the Lord has led us in a completely different direction.

I went to college to study music theory and classical guitar. (Exciting, I know.) But nowhere in my wildest dreams could I have imagined today my profession would have me leading real tours and virtual video tours to the Holy Land. That seems to have little to do with music theory and guitar, you know?

Why does God lead us with hard lefts?

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What God is Doing When Nothing is Happening [Podcast]

Mark 4:21-34

Let’s be honest, sometimes it seems like the wheels are coming off—both in the world and in our lives. What is God doing?

In this episode of Live the Bible, Jesus will tell us what God is doing when nothing is happening. Frankly, it’s great to know that if God plants potatoes, then potatoes will grow? (I explain that more in the podcast.)

God’s plan hasn’t skipped a beat in the world or in our lives.

Episode Resources

What God is Doing When Nothing is Happening [Podcast]

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Bethsaida—With God Your Past is Never Pointless

The hometown of 3 disciples reveals God never wastes our past.

It’s hard feeling embarrassed about where you grew up. Maybe your family had problems. Perhaps your hometown or church seemed nothing special. You’re not alone. Three of Jesus’ disciples felt that way too.

Bethsaida—God Can Use Your Lousy Hometown

(Photo: Plain of Bethsaida. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

The slopes near the site of Bethsaida offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the Galilee. In the spring, wildflowers burst open to drink in the sun, and the surrounding meadows paint the whole area a bright green. From certain vantage points, I have looked at the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida and observed no modern distractions.

Most modern maps, signs, and tourists point to the site of et-Tell as biblical Bethsaida. If so, then this was the place in which Jesus performed miracles.

Peter, Andrew, and Philip had this as their hometown. A hometown that rejected Jesus. But God would still use the boyhood home in the lives these men.

God can use your lousy hometown too.

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How Your Life Can Make an Amazing Difference [Podcast]

Mark 4:1-20

With God, your life can make an amazing difference. That’s right, your life. In this episode of Live the Bible, Jesus shows us that no matter where you are or what you’ve done, you can always come to God and start fresh—and bear fruit for Him.

Your life can matter, and God shows you how.

Episode Resources

How Your Life Can Make an Amazing Difference