Godly Passion, Holy Flame

Some of you some of you know what it's like to get to the end of yourself, after giving everything you've got, and then slam right into the brick wall of exhaustion. Long distance runners know all about it, but it's not just athletes that can deplete their resources.I'd like to give you two words that can help you bust right through that wall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Psalm 63:4 calls on us to "praise the Lord as long as we live, lifting up our hands in His name." For some of you, this gesture of raising hands to praise God might be perfectly natural for you. Others are a little less comfortable with this type of expression in their worship.  But regardless of your own personal worship "style", the fact that God asks us to do it should cause all of us to ask, WHY? Why is this important to Him? What does it mean? What should it mean? These are some questions that I have been pondering this morning, and I'd love to share my thoughts with you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today's episode I'd like to offer a years-end challenge to the men who are on a journey with the King.  Join with me as we pause for just a few moments on the side of the trail to take stock of where we've been and a gander at where we need to be going.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

[First published: Aug 2019]Some passages of Scripture can become so familiar to us (especially those that we hear every holiday season) that they are at risk of losing their impact in our hearts. It is my prayer that Isaiah's famous "Christmas prophesy" might be rescued from such a fate, because it is truly one of the most astounding portraits of our Savior in all of the Bible. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Recently I was inspired to study the backstory of one of the little-known characters in the Bible -- but one who has had a profound impact on the history of the entire Church. What began with just some curiosity on my part turned into a major historical/Biblical research project and a short (unpublished) article along with this podcast. It's all about the backstory of John Mark, the gospel author. I had no idea, when I first started researching him, how deeply I'd be moved by his life story. I'm sure I don't to justice to it, but, then again, that's why I wasn't selected to write a gospel!For anyone who would like the full text of this article, you can find it here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the first thing you do in the morning? When the snooze alarm is finally silenced, what is the first thing that you've got to get into your system? Because, whatever it is, it says a lot about you as a man -- about your character, about your values, about what really matters to you. Which is why I find this early morning picture of our Savior so captivating. So grab a cup of coffee, open up to the book of Mark, and take the next few moments to see what really mattered to the Messiah. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I can guarantee you that there has been nothing more critical to my own spiritual formation then learning to cultivate an intensity of intercession. This week I learned that this type of battle can literally shake the heavens. On 10/10 at 10am, two dozen men braved pneumonia to gather on the summit of a stormy mountain and intercede for our city. I think it changed us all. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today I'd like to share some of the painful, hard-won lessons that I've learned recently about what it means to really "need" God and why the spiritual life is sometimes just so blisteringly difficult. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From our series on Isaiah, today we are thinking about the focus of our eyes and heart. (Isaiah 1:4-8) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

AW Tozer once wrote, "Come near to the holy men and women of the past and you will soon feel the heat of their desire after God. They mourned for Him, they prayed and wrestled and sought for Him day and night, in season and out, and when they had found Him the finding was all the sweeter for the long seeking." Today, I'd like to spend a few minutes drawing near to one of those holy men of the past: Listen to the words of King David as he describes what his soul felt like when it had lost the vital connection it was designed to depend upon. He wrote, in Psalm 63, that the isolation and loneliness that comes from being disconnected from intimacy with God reminded him of the desperate drudgery of living in a hot, dry desert. Thankfully, he also left behind some clues to help the rest of us in our desperate efforts to quench our own thirsty souls. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Let the prophet Isaiah be your tour guide as we take a journey into the holy presence of God, and discover that one single glimpse of the Lord God Almighty will transform your life forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sometimes the Lord explodes our hearts with audaciously big dreams. But not always. Sometimes, the dreams He gives us are very, very small.1 Kings 19:12 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If Christianity is true -- I mean really, actually, capital "T" True -- how should that impact your heart? What would your life look like if you genuinely believed it all? Can you articulate the life-changing benefits of belonging to Jesus? Recently, I had the opportunity to have that conversation with someone, and in this episode, I'd like to try to express some of my answers to those questions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The "Godly Passion, Holy Flame" podcast started out years ago as a simple way for me to share what's on my heart for the guys in my life and community. It's all about what God has been teaching me, and what I'd love to say to the men who share my hungry heart. Here's my first-ever cast, recorded on my smart phone almost 3 years ago. It still captures the heartbeat of my desire to stir up the fire and fan the flame in the lives of men who are seeking the King. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.