Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

With this PODCAST, we break the seal on the last year of Jesus’ life here on earth.   And admittedly, His last year begins on a rather ominous note.   Immediately following this story, Jesus will leave the country. That is no exaggeration. For the first time in His storied 3½ year ministry, Jesus now has to get out of Dodge, fast!   As we have seen in past podcasts, Jesus was run out of His adopted hometown of Capernaum. He was then run out of Nazareth, His boyhood hometown. On top of that, Herod Antipas was hunting Jesus in order to kill Him (this in the wake of Herod’s senseless execution of John the Baptizer). And so we read this in Mark 7:24:   "Then Jesus left Galilee and went North to the region of Tyre" (in modern-day Lebanon).   Yes, indeed. Jesus was literally run out of Galilee and run out of the country.   Something significant happened in this story, here in Mark 7, that forced Jesus to go North and out of the country, rather than South to the familiar environs of His beloved Jerusalem.    What in

No matter how you cut it, this man was an enigma.   As you will hear in this PODCAST, this man -- handpicked by Jesus and elevated to the rarified air of the apostles -- repaid Jesus’ generosity by betraying Him to His executioners.   Is there any human emotion more painful than that of betrayal?    Ever felt it? Betrayal?   That midnight darkness of the soul that enshrouds us like an impenetrable fog when we have dared to trust someone -- with our deepest feelings, our most hidden secrets, as if we have just entrusted to the person our very hearts, perhaps our very lives -- only to have him or her shatter our hearts and break our trust by their soul-crushing betrayal.   Jesus sure felt it. The pangs of betrayal. Boy, did He ever!   That moment frozen in time when for the first time you see with crystal-clarity that you have been played.   Well, for 3½ years Jesus had been played.    Where did this man -- Judas Iscariot -- come from? What causes a man to make the fateful plunge from believer to betrayer? What

A bit of Bible trivia for you. A little factoid that is anything but trivial.   There is one miracle, and only one miracle, that Jesus performed that is recorded in all four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry.   Only one such miracle. And you are going to hear all about it here, it this PODCAST.   If you didn’t know anything about Jesus, if this discussion was the first time you ever heard of Jesus, if this was the first thing you ever heard about Jesus, you would walk away from this podcast with a heart filled with love for Him, overflowing with an irresistible desire to get to know Him better.   That is how powerful this story is.   Which may well explain why of every miracle Jesus ever performed, every mighty deed that Jesus ever did, the miracle embedded within this story is the only one that is included in all four Gospels.   Which is quite a statement, really, when you consider the fact that the Apostle John concludes his Gospel account with this observation:   The disciples saw Jesus do many o

It may sound strange to you, as you will hear on this PODCAST. But if I kicked a bottle and a genie popped out, offering to grant me but one wish, any idea what I’d wish for? I’d wish for the ability to point my finger at anyone, anywhere, at any time, and become that person for 10 minutes. On the surface of things, an odd request, I know. But if you think about it, for me it makes perfect sense. When people share with me their stories, invariably I feel an acute longing to become that person -- for 10 minutes -- so that I can truly understand what it’s really like to be them.  Just imagine if we each possessed that power. If we did, and become that person for just 10 minutes, we would completely understand. We would understand why they do the things they do; why they say the things they say; why they make the choices that they make; why they act the way they act. All would become so crystal clear. And in knowing the whys behind people’s words, actions, and attitudes, just think of how revolutionizing such kn

This is going to be So.Much.Fun for me. (And for you, I hope!) So indulge me here, because I LOVE this stuff. Look carefully and you might see my bemused smile on my face! It is just so comical to me how easily we take what Jesus made so simple, only to make it so insufferably complicated. And to be perfectly honest with you, I am awestruck. That’s the tone with which I want to teach this PODCAST’s passage. I am awestruck at Jesus’ ability to say so much in so little, so many thoughts communicated in so few words. All of which so practical, helpful, relevant, refreshing, and inspiring to us today. Let me set it up like this: You know the guy in the circus with the hundred plates spinning on a hundred poles? OK. So here’s my question:  What does that picture of a hundred plates spinning high atop a hundred poles have to do with this portrait that Jesus paints here in Matthew 10? The simple, uncomplicated picture of giving someone who is thirsty a cup of cold water? A picture, BTW, that forms the conclusion to

You might call this discussion “One Daddy’s Lament.” Or to put an even finer point on it, “My Daddy’s Lament.” Or even “This Daddy’s Lament.” The “This Daddy” in that title referring to me.   All if which I will explain in mere moments as you listen to this PODCAST.   But for now, I don’t have to tell you that Jesus was a radical in every sense of that word. Jesus did things things that were totally unexpected, unpredictable, unconventional. More to the point of this discussion, Jesus said things that were totally unexpected, unpredictable, unconventional.   I have no doubt that if we had been alive and well back then, privileged to watch Jesus in action, and to hang on His every word, there would have been situations weekly if not daily where we would have done a total double-take. We would have cocked our heads, blinked our eyes, pulled on our ears, and said to ourselves, “Jesus did what? Jesus said what?”    You talk about a guy marching to His own drumbeat, that was Jesus.   And that is certainly true her

It was without a doubt the absolute worst day of Peter’s long and storied and challenging life. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, we’re talking about one particular Saturday -- the day after the crucifixion.  The day after Peter had denied Jesus three times before Jesus’ accusers. The Saturday before the very first Easter Sunday.  And since for us at Safe Haven, tonight happens to be the Saturday before Easter Sunday, we would do well to consider exactly what was going on and why during that singularly fateful day. A very dark day in otherwise dazzling life of Peter. You talk about an epic fail, a spectacular fall from grace, a stunningly unpredictable turn of events, and crash and burn of mind-numbing proportions… Here’s a quick thumbnail of how Peter’s not-so-Good-Friday developed, leading up to his Horribly-Bad-Saturday before Easter. A day Peter no doubt spent cowering in a corner...  Disgusted by the arrest of his rabbi; Devastated by execution of his hero, mentor, friend; Demoralized by the dea

I want to show you something that I discovered this week. A treasure of a truth that is so practical and so refreshing. Especially in light of this discussion that we began last week.   As you will hear in this PODCAST, we are asking a vitally important question, this in light of Jesus’ words to His apostles:   Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.    Fairly intense words; a rather severe warning, right?    Everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.   So last week and this, we are asking the question:    What does confessing Jesus before men, or acknowledging Jesus publicly here on earth look like?    Or to put it another way:   How outspoken are we to be about our faith? How aggressive are we to be in sharing our faith?  How forceful are we to push our religion on others?   Frankly, over the years -- at countless ser

Welcome to one of the most practical and profitable passages in all of the Gospels.    As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus’ words hit us right where we live. I mean, this goes right to the heart of who we are as Christ-followers, how we interact with our world, and how the world consequently perceives us.   Given the positive responses of so many of the people at Safe Haven where this message was taught, I know that you will find this most helpful in your own Christian life.   I must admit that I approach this passage quite frankly with a fair amount of fear and trembling. This because Jesus’ words here in Matthew 10 have, at least in my experience, been misinterpreted, misused, and misapplied in a way that has caused enormous damage to the cause of Christ in our world, and unnecessary angst in the hearts and souls of far-too-many sincere and precious Christ-followers.   Yet, at the same time, I do not want to overreact to an extreme by becoming extreme myself. So this is an exercise in a balancing act on

So here’s my question: If you were Jesus, and you wanted to convey the idea in a way that no one could possibly miss,  That you loved someone… That you cared about someone more than they could ever even begin to imagine… That you would be there for that person No.Matter.What… That in their loneliest moments, when they felt totally abandoned and isolated and detached from everyone, that you were still there… That your love and care and kindness towards that person would never change… That you feel their isolation more than they know… And that you will be loyal to that person, never to abandon them, never to turn away from them… But that you are there and will be there now and forever… If you were Jesus, how would you convey that? What words would you use? What picture would you draw?  In this PODCAST, you will find out. And in finding out, you may never view Jesus in the same way again. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to b

As you will hear in this PODCAST, I have now reached a point in my life and ministry where I am easily bemused. Bemused by a question that I more and more frequently get asked.   When I am out speaking at a camp or a conference, often times a young man or woman just starting out in the ministry, or headed for his first ministry, will with furrowed brow and pen poised at the ready ask me this singularly significant question:   What do you wish you knew then that you know now?    Meaning, if I could turn the clock back and start over completely...    What is the ONE THING that you know now that you wish you had known then?   What one lesson have you learned over your now forty-two years and counting of ministry that you wish you had learned right out of the chute, right at the beginning?   Ironically enough, it is the very lesson that Jesus sought to communicate to His men here in Matthew 10, this right at the beginning of their first missions trip.   Please remember that depending upon your web browser and con

It is without a doubt THE single most unpleasant topic in all of the Bible. The subject of this week’s PODCAST: God’s wrath.   We discuss it here because here in Matthew 10, Jesus made reference to the iconic display of God’s wrath: the twin-cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.   And for good measure, Jesus also referred to “the day of judgment.”   Since Jesus brought it up, we will bring it up -- unpleasant or otherwise -- providing some Much-Needed-Clarification to an Often-Misunderstood topic.   Upon reflection, I suppose the overarching questions raised by this sobering subject are these: Is Jesus a gentle Jesus? Is Jesus a wrathful Jesus? Or both?    And if both, how does the one (gentle) square with the other (wrathful)? Especially in light of what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah.   My friends, as always, we have a ton to talk about.   Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play.   God bless you as you listen.      And

In this PODCAST, we will discover together an amazing privilege that is ours, especially given tormented world in which we live. We have been given a unique gift of God’s blessing that Jesus Himself empowers us to bestow on His behalf to others.   Just so you know, this is the kind of person I long to be.   This blessing and privilege defines a pretty amazing purpose statement for our lives.    This is HUGE!   There are so many troubled people in this tortured world of ours. In case you hadn’t noticed, this world has become a #Very.Scary.Place. There seems to be a fog of uncertainty that leaves many of us reeling from feelings of unease in our world today -- on a global level, as well as on a personal one.   It seems to so many as if the world spinning out of control, as if their world is spinning out of control. To the point where God’s peace is the polar-opposite of what people experience in their self-medicated souls.    Something that is as unsettlingly true in our day as it was in Jesus’ day. Believe me:

Truer words were never spoken. It is an axiom of life. An undeniable reality that is obvious on its face:   You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube.   What does toothpaste have to do with Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 10, you ask? Everything. Everything.   For the fact of the matter is that there are some things in this world of ours which, once they are done, there’s no going back. Which is so ironically true about the passage in this PODCAST.   I suppose on the one hand, one could ask: Then why even discuss this? If indeed it is how it is... If it’s how the game is played today... If it’s how the game has been played for years… If it’s not going to change... Not by you. Not by me. Not by anyone…   Then why even discuss this?   Because on the other hand Matthew 10:8 is in the Bible. Because Jesus did indeed say this. Because Matthew did indeed include this. Because these are the words of Jesus. So God obviously WANTS us to discuss this. So despite the fact that I have no illusions about changing anything,

The day before yesterday, I read a recently released report out of University of Missouri on the subject of Facebook Depression.   Well, as you will hear in this PODCAST, I really didn’t need to read a report about that. I know all-too-well what happens in my own rather sizable soul when I scan my FB newsfeed. Sometimes I just can’t help but to feel so deeply and compassionately and sadly for many of the challenges so many of my friends are going through, especially as they relate to their issues of health.   I, like so many of you, just want to wave a magical wand and fix everything. But I can’t.   Of course, as the cliché goes, I do know Someone (capital “S”) who Can.Fix.Everything.   But what happens when He doesn’t?   Perhaps amplifying my FB depression, this was the week for “I don’t know if I believe in God anymore” messages. Messages sent to me by a few of my friends, unsolicited on my part, each message unrelated to the others, in which their faith is floundering, seriously so. This precisely because

We have come in this PODCAST to a monumentally significant section of Scripture.   And yet ironically one of the most ignored.   As we will learn over the next several weeks, here in Mark 6, and its much more complete parallel passage in Matthew 10, we read of something that was for Jesus enormously emotional, and for us incredibly instructional.   Emotional because of its context (Jesus’ compassion for people will shine ever so brightly against dark backdrop of His own rejection); instructional because of its content (that includes wonderfully practical principles we can readily apply).   There is no way for me to overestimate the value of the insights that we will discover together here as we sort of eavesdrop on Jesus as He prepares His men for ministry.   Just to give you a sneak peak of just some of the things that we will learn together as we dissect and digest this that we could call The Master’s Message to His Men, we will discover:   How Jesus wants His ministers -- both then and now -- to conduct t

As you will hear in this PODCAST, on the night before He went to the cross, Jesus made a series of remarkable statements to His disciples, in the Upper Room, during their final Passover Seder together.   John 13-17, those 5 chapters, are often referred to as Upper Room Discourse. They contain rich and rewarding teaching that we’ll dissect and digest in, oh… 3 years or so when we get there.   There is, however, in that wide swath of Scriptural truth one statement that I want to highlight here, that really sets the stage for this discussion. In John 14, Jesus said this to His disciple Philip, in front of the other 10 (Judas having left to betray Jesus):   “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (vs. 9)   “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”   When we began this study of Jesus in HD, we said then, and I remind you frequently, that we are on a journey of discovery. Over two years ago now, we embarked together on an ongoing quest to discover exactly who Jesus is.   In this statement in John 14, Jesu

Well, I’ve got good news for you. Great news, at least as far as Jesus and His disciples were concerned. Just in case you were worried about this.   As you will hear in this PODCAST, Jesus finally got a break in the action.   Finally, mercifully, after His enormously long and draining and tiring day -- in which He taught a series of seven parables, sailed to the other side of the sea, stilled a raging storm, sent two thousand or more demons to flight, healed a bleeding woman, raised a dead girl, all of which we have discussed in minute detail over the past (if you can believe it) 4 months -- that one singularly momentous day has now finally come to an end.   Then, after an indefinite period of time, Jesus and His disciples once again took to the road. No sooner did Jesus get out the door, He was met by two blind men, begging Him to heal them.   It is most interesting that of the three Gospel-writers -- Matthew, Mark, and Luke -- who gave us the record of Jesus’ so-called longest day, it is only Matthew who re

OK. So I’ve got to tell you that I find this entire series of events that we will be discussing in this PODCAST…   All of which I will remind you took place in less than 36 hours…   This entire series of events that took place in just one day in the life of Jesus…   I find to be remarkably REFRESHING, while at the same time to the followers of Jesus’ faith utterly unsettling...    Absolutely REVOLUTIONARY to me, while at the same time to the leading rabbis of Jesus’ day disgustingly revolting…   Undeniably IRRESISTIBLE to me, while at the same time to the Torah-teachers of Jesus’ day scorchingly scandalous.   So unsettling, revolting, and scandalous that they hated Him for it.   Yet so refreshing, revolutionary, and irresistible that we love Him for it!   It’s been quite a ride, really, this journey that we’re on together. Two years ago, we began our ongoing study of Jesus in High Definition. The stated purpose of which is to rediscover afresh who Jesus really is, and what Jesus is really like.   Much to my s

She was a footnote in this chapter of the Jesus Story. But she was NEVER a footnote to Jesus.   And neither are you, as you will be reminded in this poignant PODCAST.   If I had to choose one word to describe this woman -- and let me assure you, there are many to choose from, such as desperate, fearful, impoverished, unclean, shunned, rejected, lonely, isolated, alone, damaged --    If I had to choose one word to describe this woman, the one word I would choose is invisible. She was indeed invisible. Totally and completely invisible.   She was invisible to her family, her former friends, her neighbors, her faith community…   No one gave a thought to, or cared one whit about, this poor precious woman.   Except for Jesus.   If you have ever been tempted to think that Jesus is mean, harsh, angry, impossible to please, time to meet this woman -- who will never look at Jesus the same way again.    And neither will you.   Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it might take up to