Rekindling Podcast

Ep03.27: Unpacking Series - Power & Strength

POWER & STRENGTH: a fire in the bones; the spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, or verbal capacity to exert power (energy) to either remain steadfast & unchanged by another force/desire or to influence or produce some effect.

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a quick recap of the previous episode on Joy; an introduction to the concepts of power & strength, including their original wording and underlying definitions; noting other related concepts to this.

26:33 - based on all the relevant passages, looking at what the Bible says power & strength are, what this means in regard to God's omnipotence, and how this plays out as God offers us to tap into that power so that we may accomplish good, love, and justice.

1:28:43 - other notes on where weariness comes into play, what can hinder our ability to tap into God's power, and what the benefits to using God's strength for good are; final thoughts on implications, application, and personal take-aways.

Ep03.26: Unpacking Series - Joy

JOY: a merry contentment moving to high-spirited exhilaration leading to expressions of bounding celebration, that comes from simply choosing to think thankfully on a plethora of good & noble things.  (Joy takes place in mind, heart, and body; sowing cognitively, reaping emotionally, celebrating actively.)

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a quick recap of Peace; an introduction to the concept of Joy and looking at its original wording and underlying meanings; discussing the issue of contentment and its relationship to joy.

24:31 - coming to a conclusion on the biblical definition of 'joy'; understanding that joy and happiness are the same thing biblically; elaborating on the implications of that and discussing a practical approach to experiencing more joy.

56:02 - working through the six 'baskets' of joy, the variety of sources of joy and what you can think on and experience to find more happiness (God, transformation, justice, 'spices', community, and Heaven); Jesus as a great example of someone with a lot of joy.

1:44:14 - realizing the benefits of joy; pointing out hindrances to it; final thoughts and wrap-up.

Ep03.25: Unpacking Series - Peace

PEACE: 

• a state of external undisturbed tranquility, free from any kind of turmoil or unpleasantness
• a state of internal prosperous serenity, free from any angst or damage, thriving in spiritual/emotional/intellectual well-being
• a state of relational pure harmony, a strong, close bond of friendship, free from any hostility or distrust

[Note: the Scriptures talk about each, with a focus on internal and relational.]

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a quick recap of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, & counsel; some initial thoughts and challenges when it came to recording this episode and the need for peace.

17:19 - looking into the original wording of peace, finding a biblical definition, and discussing its details, nuances, sources, hindrances, and benefits.

1:26:36 - final thoughts, implications, and application for peace.

Ep03.24: Unpacking Series - Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom, & Counsel

KNOWLEDGE: to perceive & consider some truth or fact (varying in significance, scope, or certainty); to experience something & acquire knowledge through it; to recognize by some mark or be intimately acquainted with (such as a person)

 

UNDERSTANDING:  achieving a thorough familiarity with the meaning, nature, or significance of something

WISDOM:  acquiring deep, penetrating insight that results in skillful, practical mastery (such as self-governance)

COUNSEL:  to offer wise ideas or guidance in the systematic, arranged pursuit of some objective (after first giving careful consideration to what you know)

 

What do Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom, and Counsel refer to?  How does one achieve them?  And what do they result in?

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a quick recap of the previous episode; an introduction to the concept of knowledge and its associated topics; original wordings & initial foundation.

23:05 - a summary definition of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and counsel; breaking down the Scriptural patterns, nuances, and details of these.

1:05:35 - final thoughts, implications, application, and take-aways.

Ep03.23: Unpacking Series - Humility

HUMILITY (as a vassal):  having a deep, awe-filled adoration of my perfect Lord, excitedly yielding to & serving Him, comfortably conscious of my low-ness & shortcomings, letting Him take care of me. / kneeling in adoration, submission, & security  (“kara kana” ) 

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - recap of the previous episode of 'fear'; discussing a little about the unpacking process and the confidence it builds; looking at the original wording and foundational ideas behind biblical humility.

22:40 - working through the key passages on humility, figuring out what exactly it is, and how to achieve it.

59:33 - understanding the benefits of humility; looking at the relationship between humility and suffering; final implications and take-aways.

Ep03.22: Unpacking Series - Fear

DREAD-FEAR:  an unpleasant, intense uneasiness or reluctance to experience some potential ill, pain, harm, or loss [shaking in dread, avoiding]

EXCITED-AWE-FEAR OF THE LORD:  a profound awe of God, intensely interested in His extraordinary superiority, resulting in the unafraid, unswerving loyalty and sincere reverence that is due Him [shaking in excitement, drawing to]

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a recap of the previous episode that put the pieces of the puzzle together (looking at a snapshot of all that we have been teaching so far this Season).

10:19 - diving into the concept of fear, looking at the initial Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek wording, along with the key principles from this study.

32:27 - going specifically into the Scripture passages on 'fear' and 'fear of the Lord', and discussing the practical implications of how to increase your fear of the Lord while decreasing your fear of all other things.

1:35:45 - wrapping up the conversation.

Ep03.21: Unpacking Series - PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

We've been talking about this episode for some time.  In this season, we have spent 52 hours, 4 minutes, and 27 seconds presenting our research on Scripture, hope, Heaven, faith, maturity, love, glory/glorify, inter-determinism, good, evil/sin, suffering, prayer, grieving, patience/perseverance, righteousness/justice, judgment & punishment, grace, compassion-mercy & forgiveness-mercy, and anger.

Now we try to tie it all together, putting each of these individual pieces into one portrait, and present to you some of the core concepts of what the Scriptures are telling us about life and what it means to follow God.

Because we've laid out so many elements in a complex flowchart, we thought it would help to create a visual for you (shout out to Tory Doughty for creating this!). So use this picture and follow along with us through the episode.

 

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - explaining what this episode is about, what we're aiming for in this season (why we've been doing all this), and a quick rapid-fire defining of the eighteen pieces of this puzzle.

23:31 - walking you through this mapping:  who God is and what He's doing, what our initial, core responses should be, what happens when we obey, what happens when we disobey (understanding how punishment & rebuke work), the point of repentance, and how to handle it when someone wrongs you or a friend.

1:25:26 - the benefits of this picture, how to practically live this out, final thoughts & implications, and telling what's next.

Ep03.20: Unpacking Series - Anger

ANGER: a strong feeling of displeasure (annoyed, vexed, irritated, agitated, distressed) that results in some form of hostility or affliction toward.

This is an interesting topic, with a challenging conclusion - namely that God intends for His mature followers to release themselves of anger in any and every situation, and make no decisions nor take any actions in anger.  Anger, as powerful a tool as it is, is left only for the perfect, all-loving, all-wise, all-powerful God to use if needed.

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a recap of where we've been so far this season & where we're headed; a recap of the previous two epidoses on Punishment and Mercy.

25:11  - an initial observation on what the Scripture says about anger; looking at the original wording and key definitions; a theory on the difference between anger and hate; going through the OT & NT passages on God's anger.

1:35:10 - going through OT & NT passages on man's anger; forming a conclusion about anger - that it plays no role in the mature believer's life.

2:18:30 - addressing push-back and those who disagree with these conclusions; benefits of resisting anger; final thoughts.

 

Ep03.19: Unpacking Series - Mercy (Compassion & Forgiveness)

MERCY: 

compassion-mercy: 

• having affinity for another (‘womb’ cherishing),
• sympathetically aware of their distress,
• and actively, practically, softly contributing to the alleviation of that distress (for both victim and victimizer)

forgiveness-mercy: 

• restraint in the midst of provocation,
• releasing oneself of any anger or resentment toward an offender,
• refraining from enforcing what may be due or right,
• moving the responsibility for compensation & penance off of the wrong-doer and onto God (trusting Him to compensate you for your suffering),
• extinguishing the offender’s guilt (because of God’s atoning work),
• and gaining or regaining goodwill and favor toward them.

 

I (Shannon) love this episode, especially explaining the practical concept and process of Forgiveness.  Here we look briefly at what compassion-mercy looks like (which plays a lot into the love concept we did earlier this season), and then dive deeper into what forgiveness is, why it is so hard and yet powerful, and what it looks like in action.

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a quick recap of what this season has been all about, a quick review of the previous episode of 'grace', and an introduction to mercy.

15:09 - looking at the key original wording and definitions of mercy (compassion and forgiveness) and discussing the overarching idea of compassion (what it is and what it looks like in action).

41:06 - going deep into the concept of forgiveness (reviewing the issue of sin and wrong-doing, exploring what humans typically want/expect after someone does something wrong, seeing what Psalm 51 can tell us, and discussing how much a healthy grieving process helps).

1:36:30 - coming to a full definiton of forgiveness and what the implications and applications are for it (as well as how it intereacts with love, justice, punishment, etc.).

2:20:47 - looking at the benefits of mercy, a last few thoughts & comments on the topic, and wrapping up.

Ep03.18: Unpacking Series - Grace

GRACE: showing favor toward another

• delighting in another …  and in sincere goodwill, freely offering them generous, beneficial gifts
  • (fueled by your love for them, singling them out in delight … thus these are simply unmerited, awesome gifts)
• pleased with another … and in sincere goodwill, offering them generous, beneficial rewards
  • (due to noticing their good actions … thus these are simply merited, awesome rewards)
  • thus it is possible to seek & increase one’s favor in another’s eyes, through good actions

 

Grace is a word that is used frequently among Christians in a wide variety of ways - unmerited favor, getting what you don't deserve, patience, compassion, prayer, etc.  Thus it can be confusing when reading about grace in the Bible; what it is it referring to?  Well, that's what this Unpacking episode is for.  What exactly does the Bible say 'grace' is?  How does it play out in God's kingdom?  What are the implications for us in our daily living?  Listen and learn some cool things!

 

TIMESTAMP:

0:00 - a quick recap of what this season is all about and where we're headed, as well as a specific recap of Judgment & Punishment; some thoughts on grace before we get started.

21:12 - looking at the original Hebrew and Greek wording for the concept of grace; getting into the nuances and complexities of grace (including merited vs. unmerited grace); benefits of grace.

1:12:53 - a concluding definition of grace, implications & applications for us, and tensions between grace and other concepts; personal take-ways and wrap-up of the discussion.