On the latest episode of the Mobile Word Podcast we discuss the idea of worship using Psalm 8. What is worship? How does God approach worship? How do we misuse and misunderstand worship? In Pslam 8 we find three fundamental motivations that direct us in the practice of Godly worship: Acceptance, Value and Purpose. Listen to Episode 5 by clicking on the Mobile Word Podcast page or by finding the episode on ITunes. Enjoy!
When things go wrong we have a tendency to blame God. However, how much of our disappointment is a result of us expecting things from God that He either never said or never promised? Check out this new episode four of the Mobile Word Podcast on the Mobile Word Podcast page or on itunes where we discuss Matthew 11:13-14 and how our expectations become a stumbling to our faith in Jesus and walk as Christians. Enjoy!
A personal encounter with Jesus Christ creates unspeakable joy in His presence and unparalleled agony in His absence. To miss something or to long for something, one must first love and desire it. We never despair the loss of something that we take no interest in. However, when our lives are completely invested in something or someone it is unthinkable to imagine living without what we’ve begun to see as a part of us.
Since Jesus Christ came for us and promised to never leave us or forsake us, how or why do we experience His absence? The truth is, we create His absence. By turning away from Him and indulging in our sinful natures we create a chasm between us and Jesus Christ. This chasm is not insurmountable as long as we repent and turn back to our true love, our Savior, allowing His unrelenting love to bridge the gap we’ve created. The wave of darkness that we feel when experiencing suffering, loneliness or pain is not the absence of God but the very real presence of the trials of a broken world. However, amidst the suffering we are offered the presence of our true love and Savior, that is, if we will have him. For a person that has experienced the presence of Jesus Christ, to retain and sustain the presence of Jesus in their life is worth trading this entire world for. For the person that has never truly experienced the presence of Jesus Christ, gaining the whole world is the equivalent of 30 pieces of silver and the denial of Jesus Christ is a reasonable bargain to make. The measure of hate we feel toward sin is equal to the measure of love we feel toward Jesus. The more we love Him, the more we feel in agony when we feel a separation between us and Him. Therefore, in order to avoid this agonizing space between us and Jesus, we actively fight sin so as to protect the relationship most dear to us. If we feel no despair in the fact that our sin separates us from him, and if we never find ourselves missing the presence of Jesus in our lives we must ask ourselves the same question that Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”
Episode Three of the Mobile Word Podcast is now available. This week we discuss the idea of justice and injustice at pertains to God’s character and our own. We explore this issue through Ezekiel 18:20-32.
The episode can be found by clicking on the Mobile Word Podcast link or by finding the podcast on itunes.
Enjoy and don’t forget to like, share, subscribe on itunes and feel free to send us your questions, comments or scriptures you’d like discussed on the podcast at mobilewordministry@gmail.com.
Enjoy and God bless!
For the next four weeks, we will examine the role of spiritual gifts in our Christian walk. Just as the baptism of the Holy Spirit has been debated throughout church history, the nature of spiritual gifts has also been a topic of much debate. This reflection series will outline four of the most debated spiritual gifts that often follow a baptism by the Holy Spirit. There are other gifts, such as prayer; however, for the moment we will only discuss four. The four spiritual gifts are:
All four of these gifts have a core purpose in common but as we will see they are unique from each other in the way they are used. This week, we reflect on healing.
In the same way that Prophecy and Vision come with stereotypes and judgments on the part of those outside of the Church, the idea of “healing” has also gone quite misunderstood. The gift of healing, like Prophecy and Vision, was a major part of Jesus’ ministry and the Apostles’ teaching and was well represented in the early Church. For us to dismiss it as something done in the past but not available to our present Church is illogical.
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. -Matthew 10:7-8
The gift of healing is for us in the Church to possess now, not simply to reflect back to in nostalgia as something done by our forefathers. While some are gifted with the gift of healing in dramatically physical ways, most people go their entire lives without seeing an actual physical healing in person and assume the absence of frequent resurrections and blind-to-sight healings as proof that the gift of healing simply does not exist anymore.
To assume this is to completely misunderstand the purpose of healing taught by Jesus for His Church to exercise. The purpose of the gift of healing is to express the impact of God. This impact is a visible, public transformation from old to new. However, this transformation from old to new cannot be reduced to simply the transformation of the physical body. In fact, Jesus Christ was adamant that our physical body means very little. The purpose of the numerous physical healings that Jesus conducted in the Gospels was not to discourage or intimidate by comparison. Those healings were conducted for Christ’s ministry and the people of that time, to fulfill the prophecies that illustrated the nature of the Messiah’s return, which would be characterized by physical transformation:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. -Isaiah 61:1-29
While physical healing and transformation is still present in the Church today and some are gifted in this area, the true healing available to all those professing faith in Jesus Christ is of a different nature.
Jesus Christ was clear that healing is impossible without his presence and his word. In his Word lies the power of God to transform and save the lost.
2When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” -Mark 9:25-29
While most will never see a dead body raised physically, the sharing of God’s Word to someone outside of the presence of God is more powerful than physical resurrection. Anyone raised from the dead in this world still faces the challenge of sin. However, sharing the Word of God that results in a life born anew and a new creation in Jesus Christ represents the ultimate healing. There is joy in this world when a dead body is raised. However, according to Jesus, there is immeasurable rejoicing in Heaven at the resurrection of a life dead in sin, reborn and resurrected with Christ and transformed in his image.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. -Luke 15:1-7
Physical healing means absolutely nothing as long as the sin within the body is unaddressed. The priority of Jesus’ healing targeted sin, not the body. Finding God in the words of Jesus Christ and His gospel is the true pearl, the true prize, the true goal. In this way, the Church today has been blessed with the privilege of spiritually raising the dead to life through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me. -Philippians 1:18-26
Episode Two of the new Mobile Word Podcast is now available! This week we discuss the issue of “worry” and our discussion and study is grounded in Matthew 6:25-34.
The podcast will have new episodes posted every Wednesday and Friday and can be viewed either on our site by clicking on the Mobile Word Podcast tab or through itunes. We recommend subscribing to the podcast on itunes so that each episode will automatically update in your itunes when they are uploaded.
If you would like a particular scripture or issue discussed on the podcast, please send us your input, questions and comments at mobilewordministry@gmail.com.
Read Ecclesiastes 2So much of our pursuit of happiness depends on steps we’ve yet to take, goals we’ve yet to reach and places we’ve yet to go. So much of our pursuit of happiness depends on future things. But how often have we seen people leave this world earlier than expected? How often have we witnessed a person die before ever reaching their full potential? Although all evidence points toward the fleeting nature of this world, we stubbornly commit to finding security in this world and true happiness from that security.
If someone were to come to you and tell you that they’ve found the secret to true happiness, what would you do? You would ask that person, “What is it? What is the secret?” And what if that person responded by saying, “The secret of happiness is simply to submit your life to a greater authority than yourself that can lead you in the way of true happiness. A life of complete submission and sacrifice of yourself for others, and a complete restructuring of your heart for His.” Would you continue the conversation? Would you ask more questions?
The truth is, while happiness will always elude us while we pursue the things of this world, it is obtainable at this very moment in Jesus Christ. The happiness you feel in having a large savings in the bank account you can have forever, knowing that in Jesus Christ we have been promised security and peace in the Kingdom of God. The happiness you feel in buying something new you can have forever, knowing that our truest value is in understanding that you are known and loved by the Creator of everything you can see. The happiness you feel in getting yourself in peak physical fitness you can have now and forever, knowing that our eternal life with God will be in spiritual bodies more perfect than anything we can ever achieve in this life. Our unhappiness is not a problem that we are meant to or ever will solve. The problem of our unhappiness has been solved by Jesus Christ. Our job is to investigate the truth of His claims and once we’ve found it, to believe. Happiness is meant to be found now, not later. It is ours to take and ours to own. Will you take it? And if not, do you know why?
We are happy to announce the launch of our Mobile Word Podcast! We are always seeking the Lord and asking Him how we can share our faith and our resources here at Mobile Word with all of you and we are excited to add this medium to our options for all people pursuing God online.
I will be uploading one or two episodes each week with the potential of more depending on the weekly schedule but the prayer is always for more in God’s timing. The format will essentially be the experience of sitting down with me and going through the scriptures much like you would if we were in a Bible study together. There is no over-arching plan or strategy concerning themes or topics when approaching the focus of each podcast. I will sit down, pray and pick a scripture before recording the episode and walk through the scriptures with you.
However, the prayer as it relates to format is to have the podcast be as collaborative and interactive as possible. The scriptures are so much more vivid and powerful when people come together seeking God’s presence as opposed to in seclusion and isolation. We pray that the podcast and other resources here at Mobile Word fulfill a need of yours, whether it be for Bible teaching and exposition or daily reflections and devotionals relating to the scriptures. But, we need you too! Often the scriptures look beautiful through our own eyes but stunning when combined with the perspective and experience of someone else.
With that said, we would love to hear from you! If you have a scripture you love or a scripture that you find difficult and need some help understanding, send us an email at mobilewordministry@gmail.com and your scripture or question will be the launching pad for the next podcast. You can find the podcast on our Mobile Word Podcast
tab or by clicking on the link below.
Once again, we are thrilled to start this new endeavor to better serve you in your pursuit of truth in Jesus Christ and we pray that the podcast alongside the other resources found here at Mobile Word lead you into a stronger faith in Jesus and a more confident understanding of the truth of the Gospel grounded in the Bible. Be well and God bless.
In Christ,
Nathan
For the next four weeks, we will examine the role of spiritual gifts in our Christian walk. Just as the baptism of the Holy Spirit has been debated throughout church history, the nature of spiritual gifts has also been a topic of much debate. This reflection series will outline four of the most debated spiritual gifts that often follow a baptism by the Holy Spirit. There are other gifts, such as prayer; however, for the moment we will only discuss four. The four spiritual gifts are:
All four of these gifts have a core purpose in common but as we will see they are unique from each other in the way they are used. This week, we reflect on prophecy and vision.
Numerous stereotypes obstruct the true Gospel of Jesus from effectively healing the world. One such stereotype is that all Christians claim to possess secret knowledge of the future. With the frequent prophetic pronouncements of certain evangelists concerning the coming Rapture or Second Coming of Christ that are invariably debunked, the non-Christian world has come to view the idea of Prophecy and Vision as something in which the “extreme,” “fundamentalist,” or “crazy” Christians dabble.
While “extreme” or “crazy” are not necessarily fair, “fundamental” is a word that says more than most who use it casually are aware of. In fact, the presence of prophecy and vision is absolutely fundamental to the nature of God and is a fundamental characteristic of the Church. Prophecies concerning God’s people have been spoken since the beginning and continued to be spoken following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The early Church exhibited the gift of Prophecy and for us to assume that at some point between the 1st and 2nd century, the gift of prophecy simply ran out, like air slowly leaking out of a balloon, is justifiably labeled “extreme” and “crazy.”
However, the gift of prophecy is one that can never be used to glorify an individual. While the gift of tongues is uniquely personal in nature, the prophecy is a collective and corporate gift. This gift is not for the gifted but for those whom the prophecy concerns. In all situations where the gift of prophecy is used, there is one underlying purpose for words spoken: to express the divine authority of God in all situations and circumstances. Prophecy does not illuminate the power or knowledge of the prophet. Rather it often bypasses the prophet and is aimed directly at the listener. Prophecy exists simply to remind us of the past, present and future nature of the living God, the great “I am.”
The gift of prophecy is rare to most people in the Church these days, and that begs the question, why? In my opinion, the answer lies with a closer examination of people professing the possession of spiritual gifts. People who chase after spiritual gifts are often hungrier for the gifts than for God himself. Thus, the sinful temptation to fake the actual spiritual gift for the sake of possessing one becomes increasingly powerful unless the Holy Spirit Himself is allowed to intervene. As a result, the gift of teaching can often be faked by charisma, knowledge and preparation. The gift of healing can often be faked by the presence of lighting, volume, adrenaline, emotionalism and again, charisma. The gift of tongues can often be faked by the presence of emotionalism, corporate enthusiasm and again, charisma. On the other hand, prophecy is verifiable. Prophecy cannot be faked. The gift of prophecy is powerfully alive in the Church today but, like the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, can only be given, blessed and used by God Himself.
Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way! -Proverbs 19:2A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will not go free. -Proverbs 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish. -Proverbs 19:9A corrupt witnessmocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil. -Proverbs 19:28
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. -Acts 1:6-9
Do you call yourself a Christian? Why?
A Christian identifies with Jesus Christ and believes confidently in his claims. While those who actually saw Jesus in person have long since passed away, to be a Christian is still to be a witness. A Christian is convinced in head and heart that what they have seen in the Bible and in their own life is evidence that Jesus Christ is who He said He is, and that His Spirit remains with us in the person of the Holy Spirit. To be a witness, a person has to have seen someone or something personally. To be a witness of Jesus Christ, and therefore a Christian, a person has to be a witness of His presence in history and in their own life. Before you answer “yes” to the question “Are you a Christian?”, ask yourself a much more important question: “Am I a witness?”
Have I personally witnessed the presence of Jesus Christ in my own life? Do I believe that the Holy Bible testifies to the evidence of Jesus Christ in history as a man and the incarnation of the living God? Are YOU a witness? If the answer is still yes, we must then understand and count the cost of what it means to be a witness. We must understand that we have been shown the living God in Jesus Christ, and that we are commanded to testify to our experience in His life, death and resurrection and what we hear Him say in the Gospels. Just as a witness in a court proceeding puts their right hand on the Bible and promises “to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” This oath poignantly and convictingly speaks from the place of Christian identity. Jesus identifies Himself as, “the truth and the life.” Therefore, as Christians we are not only proclaiming to the world that we have seen and believe in the presence of Jesus Christ, but we are also promising to share only what we’ve seen and heard, so help us God. We not only share what we’ve witnessed in the Word, but we primarily show what we’ve witnessed in bearing the Fruit of the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Our faith in Jesus Christ MUST replicate His spirit in our own. If we allow His spirit to become our own, we provide the world with the most honest and powerful testimony to what we’ve witnessed. If our lives bear witness to the life of Jesus Christ, we are loved by God as a true witness. But if our lives conflict or contradict the life of Jesus Christ, we stand condemned before a God who warned us not to bear false witness, so help us God.
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