Morning Briefings

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/c01e858b/vengeance-honor-and-the-king-acts-no-35 Sometimes it seems like God takes it on the chin.   Think of it--in many respects, God is painted as a bit of a weakling, hoping  people will consider he is real, hoping they will recognize he is powerful and can do all things.  It is strange to think how this could ever be thought true, but it is-- In today's world, God is oft cast in a weak impotent position, in that of the

You hold one very powerful key in your hand. Do you use it? Or wait--perhaps you do not even know such a thing is in your possession or it may have fallen down next to your console in your car, and you have forgotten about it! Time to find it again, and look at what this valuable key may unlock in your life. podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/3712fcda/you-have-the-key-to-the-lock-acts-no-34 Here's the thing: no one likes to feel powerless in life--as though

He walked in, looked from left to right, took the pulse in the room, and was blown away by the grace of God. 1 podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/267f7cf1/give-or-take-you-decide-acts-no33 I am riveted by the statement - even more so, when I think of just how the grace of God really impacts life. Clearly, Barnabas had been changed by the grace of God himself, so he got it. He was exactly the right person to be tapped to go and check out what was happening in

Words have power. Power to heal and power to destroy.  Power to build up and also tear down. podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/2792d218/a-chance-to-interview-yourself-acts-no-32   There are a few powerful words in the last verses of Acts chapter 11 that speak volumes, and make me wish I could step into the setting and experience it. Here is the context--Because of persecution, the Jewish believers flee Jerusalem, going all the way to Antioch, taking the gos

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/ecdc44a0/this-is-about-to-blow-the-whole-thing-wide-open-act-no-31 God is infinitely wise. He is outside of time and space as we know it. God. is. limitless. Why, the same Peter who had such a profound affect on the rise and spread of Christianity wrote, Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 1 Implication? While God is orchestrating som

Every once in a while, it is good to stop and find the arrow that says 'you are here' on the map. This is such a time. podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/21c6e541/ive-got-a-fire-heres-why-acts-no30 We are walking through the New Testament book of Acts which comes right after the gospels. Like the gospel of Luke, this book is also written by the careful historian and covers the start of the early church and the spread of Christianity. But, that sounds so dry

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/3818585d/what-do-you-hope-people-will-say-about-you-acts-no-28 Do you ever stop to think how you will be known?   If folks sum up your life in a sentence, what will it be?   If they remember you by a single word, what might it be?   Interesting thoughts to be sure. Just before our camera moves away from Saul for a while, consider one more element with me--the impact one man had on him.  To this point in the young church, Lu

Tom Petty, theologian? podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1e8f1059/waiting-is-the-hardest-part-acts-no-27 >What’s the reason some seasons seem so long, days marked with uncertainty? >What’s the reason God's timing seems to take forever? You know He has called you to a task, but it feels like he forgot about you. >What’s the reason God redeemed you, showed you the way, then seems to have left you in the desert? >And what’s the reason Jesus Christ stepped dir

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/22fff25e/sink-your-teeth-into-this-one-acts-no-26 Compelled by one provocative sentence, I am. But first, remember that Saul (who we know as Paul) has just rolled into town in a most unconventional manner. But his method of arrival and its accompanying transformation of the man is not known by all--in fact, only by the one sent to pray for him. Word is out, Saul has come to town to round up believers in Jesus Christ, and h

If God spoke to you, would you know it was Him? hmmm. podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/2704ce41/would-you-know-his-voice-acts-no-25 Full of fury and armed with authority, Saul was in hot pursuit of the Jesus followers--as they posed a threat to the Judaism he esteemed more than life itself. As they fled the persecution in Jerusalem, he traveled to Damascus to apprehend and imprison them. But a strange thing happened as he journeyed - suddenly, he was blind

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/315257b2/blinded-so-he-could-see-acts-no-24 I have met them, so have you ... know it alls. Sometimes people are so committed to how they see things, so convinced they are right, it takes something very dramatic for them to see things as they really are--for them to know and acknowledge truth. This is that story - about a know-it-all guy. You may be familiar with this part of his story, but as you consider it today, perhaps

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1b613eee/for-such-a-time-as-this-you-acts-no-23 For such a moment as this, you were born. It is no accident where you live, to whom you are related, and with whom you are connected--or for that matter, who you might 'serendipitously'? meet today. For such a time as this, you are here. And for such a time as that one, Philip, a very ordinary man did the extraordinary. We have the perspective of history to see how God was wor

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1e20dc6c/of-courage-murder-and-a-personal-question-acts-no-22 Just imagine the pen is in your hand, and you are having to deliver this news--'I'm sorry to tell you, but your son is dead.' But first-- this is drawn from Acts 6 and 7, where we glean a few things: --what courage under fire looks like --a brief overview of the Old Testament --an account of a deathbed vision --Christianity will be costly for some, and is today;

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1c836ae2/i-want-nothing-to-do-with-organized-religion-acts-no-21 Having said my favorite conversations with strangers revolve around faith, there are several 'objections to faith' I often hear, but chief among them is, "I want nothing to do with organized religion." In conversations of substance, words must be parsed - so, we ought stumble on the word 'organized'. Does that mean the person would consider a religion that was

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1a9d0ad0/change-the-world-one-person-at-a-time-acts-no-20 I'm afraid they will reject me. Maybe they will ask me something, and I won't know the answer . . . I won't know what to say. They know I'm not perfect -- well, not even close! I've been told it is the number one thing not to talk about. I don't want to look stupid. All of these are reasons people give for not talking about their faith with other people. But the in

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/2e7c6677/shut-up-will-you-i-cant-ive-got-the-best-news-ever-acts-no19 The apostles had been warned: "stop talking about Jesus or else!" But that did not shut them up. They counted the cost and preached Jesus anyway. Why? They had never known such love, joy or meaning as they now experienced in their relationships with Christ. His mercy and forgiveness--the hope he extended transformed them, and there was no going back. Besi

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/25004aeb/the-world-according-to-me-the-world-as-it-should-be-acts-no-18 When did it happen? When did we become so 'dug in' about having things the way we want them--indignant, even militant when someone disagrees with us?! Whatever we think we want or need, we find a way to get it; and with Prime, maybe the same day! The Consumer is king! When I look back over my shoulder, knowing it hasn't always been this way, it seems t

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/19d34850/why-it-is-so-vital-acts-no-17 Scripture is rich. Talking with people, near and far, they want to know about the Bible, they want to know more about God, but they have had it with 'the Church'. Today, we look at all three--the Bible, God and the Church. I am not sure there could be a more relevant topic, convinced I am that we get this right and then act on it. I take you back to first century Jerusalem, to what we

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/da015d63/wanting-to-feel-gods-presence-acts-no-16 Eureka! When you find it, you know. Why, this is like the Jerusalem church! Anxious to talk more about that great gathering, I must first speak of one verse. You will remember that when Peter and John went back to their people, they reported what had happened to them, jail and a stern warning not to speak of Jesus, Acts 4. Upon hearing this, the people spontaneously burst fo

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/271b75c4/courageous-living-miracles-and-the-greatest-adventure-acts-no15 " THESE are the times that try men's souls ," Thomas Paine wrote during the American Revolution some 249 years ago. 1 But how many times throughout history could those words have been uttered, including now--as we see pictures of precious little children swept away in Texas floodwaters, as we fight personal battles too big for us to manage or fix. " Th