For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, planning your finances is bigger than just money. We help you put your plans into motion and faith into action so you can do more for the ones in your heart.
Because sometimes, all you need to make a difference is someone to help you make it happen. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. Life Audio. Hi, from the Salvation Army, you're listening to Words of Life. Welcome back to Words of Life.
This is now our third week of our series with Dr. Carolyn Moore. If you don't know her, she is a pastor, a teacher, an author, a podcaster, and still fairly newly appointed Bishop of the Global Methodist Church. In recent years, she's become really good friends with the Salvation Army as she has spoken at several of our events, but this is the first time that we've had the honor of having her on Words of Life. We start off today's conversation with what may seem like kind of a strange question, but we ask, what are the perks of being a Christian? How does your life look different because you're a Christian?
And I would encourage you to do the same thing, like ask of yourself, how does your life look different because you're a believer? For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, planning your finances is bigger than just money. We help you put your plans into motion and faith into action so you can do more for the ones in your heart.
Because sometimes all you need to make a difference is someone to help you make it happen. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. Welcome back to Words of Life. I am so excited to have Dr. Carolyn Moore with us for the third installment of this series and the conversations that are taking place between these discussions to me are just enriching. We're having church up in here. I know. We are having church up in here.
We need an organist. I felt really good. We got one of your cameramen saved. That was a long time coming, but we finally broke it. I feel good about that. Oh, it's a good crew.
The thing is that these conversations are healthy conversations for any human to be in. If you are someone that God is calling or you're drawn to something bigger than yourself, I think we learned last week that God is going to use us in powerful ways and loves us even when we may not understand it. You said something about Eve and my pain. Right.
Right. He's not as afraid of my pain as I am because all of it, He can redeem all of it. It's Isaiah 61. He turns ashes into beauty, an oil of gladness out of the despair. God can redeem anything. Amen. That's why He's not afraid of your pain because once you've been redeemed, once your story has been redeemed, now it's your story to tell. And now it's a tool you have. And use it for His good. Right.
Amazing. Let's assume that everyone out there has fallen in love with the Lord and they're in a relationship with Him. What should their life look like?
What would be different for them as a believer? Well, it'll be all rainbows and unicorns. Pretty much from the day you say yes to Jesus, your life is perfect. Everything's happy and there's just rainbows and unicorns. And you get great parking spaces when you're a Christian.
Not. Well, the thing is, there is suffering in the world whether you're a Christian or not a Christian. Suffering is no respecter of persons. And just this week as we're taping this, something like 70 people in a country in Africa were beheaded because they called themselves Christians. Because they called themselves Christians.
Somewhere in the world this week, so many families are both lamenting a loss and scared to death because they are Christians and have been identified as such by people who are enemies of Jesus Christ. So there is no guarantee what will happen to you as far as your personal comforts. But those are not the things that make being a Christian worth being a Christian.
It's not your personal comfort. That's not why we become a Christian. We become a Christian, first of all, because the gospel is true. It's what the disciples said to Jesus.
Where else are we going to go? There is nobody else who has the words of life. And so the first reason that I am a Christian is because it's true.
And what is it like to be a Christian? Well, it is to live the truth of the universe, that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. There is no other way to the Father except through him.
It also is learning to live according to my created design. I discover as I follow Jesus that there are gifts that have been given to me, spiritual gifts that have been given to me, placed into my life, both for my own sort of operation as a human being, but also to edify the body. It's how I love other people well by using the gifts that God has placed into my life. I know now how I'm made, I work out of those gifts, and now the world is blessed because I am operating out of my created design.
And then there is this piece also. Most Christians, I think, struggle at some point. It's like you get right up to the threshold of, am I going to completely surrender myself to everything God has for me? Am I going to go all in? And right there at that threshold, there is this tension between, I believe in Jesus.
Isn't that enough? I mean, I assent to this set of doctrines. I believe Jesus is the Messiah. I believe God the Father made us. I believe that Jesus is reconciling the world to himself. He was crucified, dead, buried, raised from the dead. I believe these things.
Isn't that enough? There's another kind of way of being Christian though, and that is I am hungry for everything the Father has for me. I want to go as far as he will take me. I want to know his voice, which I think is maybe the most important thing a Christian can learn, to learn the voice of God. I want to know his voice.
I want to know his heart for me. I want to let my heart get broken for the things that break God's heart. That's a big difference between those two ways of being Christian. We are saved by grace through faith, but there is so much more. When the Holy Spirit fills me, and he ignites the gifts in me, and he activates the character of Christ in me, I am consumed by the mind of Christ, and I get hungry, and my heart gets broken for the things that break God's heart.
There is so much more. I begin now to walk in power. What begins to happen in my life is that I go from having intellectual conversations about the truth of Jesus to casting out demons, curing diseases, proclaiming the kingdom, and healing the sick, which is what Jesus taught those first followers to do. When Jesus talked about what was the center of the Christian life, that's what he talked about. He pulled the twelve together, Luke chapter 9, and he said, I am giving you the same power and authority that I had to cast out demons, cure diseases, proclaim the kingdom, and heal the sick. He sent those twelve out, and when seventy-two people came back with them, and they were all filled with the Spirit, filled with excitement, they'd been healed, saved, and delivered, and Jesus sent them out to do the same thing. That, in my opinion, is the center of the Christian life and the power of it. Wow.
I mean, it doesn't take much to get this preacher going. I know it. I love it. That's true.
You've got to break in. I love it. And I am encouraged at the thought that, as you say, not everything is roses. Right.
For sure. And we know that, right? The world is a crazy place.
Satan is interested in people that are trying to fall in love with the Lord, to break that up. Kill, steal, and destroy is what the Bible tells us. But, man, when you think about the craziness in the world, and even just the horrific act that you talked about, seventy or so many people being beheaded for declaring themselves as Christians, I take heart that God has overcome that madness.
He has overcome the world. Right. Right. And when you think just about that peace, that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, think about that for a minute. Stealing implies taking things. Can things add anything to my life if we're thinking eternally? No.
Take all my stuff. I still have faith in Jesus. Even if He can kill the body, He cannot kill the soul. That's in the scripture.
Destroy. What can you destroy that can't either be built again, that has any eternal value? The only things that will endure, Paul tells us this, are faith, hope, and love. And those things, that's what Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, that's what is constantly being nourished in us. He calls us to deeper faith, calls us to this story that has an enduring hope.
It is hope beyond this life. And ultimately, He wants to break our hearts for the people, for the things that break His heart, because people are not the problem. People are the prize. People are only the problem for the enemy of your soul.
People are the prize for Jesus. Our team are busy behind us, writing things and sharing notes. You're saying things that they want to highlight, and it's good because they're godly things. That's why they have me pointed the other way. Don't be distracted.
Don't be distracted. I just love how the relationship that God has had with you just bubbles out. I tease about not needing to give much for this preacher to keep going, but obviously there's a passion there and it's a beautiful spirit that's alive. I just think any of us, if you love Jesus, if He's redeemed your life from the pit, what's not to want to talk about? Any one of your rehab centers, there are people in there saying, I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Any one of them. I know what I have the capacity of being. Thank God that He has pulled my life up from the pit. Amen. Yeah.
Wow. Again, I really hope you're being blessed by these conversations with Dr. Moore. I personally hadn't met Dr. Moore prior to this recording, but all of us in that room could have hung out with her for another several hours. She was just a passionate, kind woman of God, and it's an honor to be able to share these conversations with you. We do have a favor to ask of you.
For an upcoming series that we're developing, we want to know if you have done a Bible study reading plan where you've read Genesis to Revelation in a year, whether you've done that in a recent year, or if you're in the middle of doing that now, were there any revelations that you had or anything new that you learned about God or yourself that you didn't know before that was brought to your attention reading the Bible cover to cover? We would love to just hear your insights. So please just send us an email hello at words of life podcast.org. That would be incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for listening.
Until next week, have a great week and we'll see you then. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, planning your finances is bigger than just money. We help you put your plans into motion and faith into action so you can do more for the ones in your heart. Because sometimes all you need to make a difference is someone to help you make it happen. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com.
Hey, what's up guys? This is Ed Escobar, one of the voices for the Salvation Army's Heartbeat. Heartbeat is a one minute show about everyday life, ranging in topics from finances and prayer to dating and mental health.
Heartbeat is a great way to unplug for a minute and bring your focus back to God. If you're looking for a quick message to challenge you and brighten up your day, listen to Heartbeat on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmySoundcast.org. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmySoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit LifeAudio.com where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible reading, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening.
We'll see you next time. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, planning your finances is bigger than just money. We help you put your plans into motion and faith into action so you can do more for the ones in your heart.
Because sometimes all you need to make a difference is someone to help you make it happen. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with us at Thrivent.com. Hi, I'm Dr. Michelle Bankson, a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and host of your Hope-Filled Perspective podcast. After 30 years in the mental health field, I am passionate about helping you regain hope and transform your life. Join me and my amazing guests as we tackle real-life struggles with compassion, vulnerability, and biblically-based insights. If you're ready to renew your mind and find practical solutions to life's most common concerns, subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform.
