Faith Episodes

This podcast is responding a listener request about reincarnation. During the discussion, we learned a number of things. While addressing the issue of reincarnation, we also found out the following, and I have a feeling this is more common among professed Christians than you might think. These statements are telling. I find it really difficult to read the Bible; it’s just too hard to understand. I’m a good person. I think all people end up in heaven. Bad people come back reincarnated to lea...

I don't know about you, but if the four Gospels were identical copies of each other, what would be the point? If four people walk into a courtroom as key eyewitnesses and they deliver exactly the same testimony, what would you think? Why should you expect the eyewitness accounts in the gospels to be any different? As a Christian, I always read knowing that I'm seeing the gospels from different perspectives. If you want to view the Gospels from a single narrative, look up the Gospel harmonies th...

The first time I read the DaVinci Code by Dan Brown I was fascinated by it. It was a work of fiction, but it felt absolutely true. At the beginning of the book, it even says this: “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” I happened to be on a flight to Paris when I was reading that book, years ago. One stop among many was the Louvre’, which, as you know if you’ve read the book, is the setting at the beginning of the book. In The Da Vi...

So, I’m in the midst of writing a book and the first part takes place in Israel and I’m trying, as a Christian, to understand the Bible from a Jewish perspective. IT IS REALLY HARD! I don’t know if it’s just because I have not engaged the scripture so much from that side of the fence or not. In a game of Christian vs. Jew, the Christian ideology seems to make more sense of the text. The Jews have an obstacle that they have to dance around - namely Jesus and the Cross. Notes for Jews and Chris...

With yesterday being Tax Day in the US we thought it would be appropriate to dig deeper into the tax trap presented to Jesus. I just did my taxes yesterday. I always wait because I always owe money. After putting in a solid 10 hours just trying to complete the forms and forage through my financial maze, it got me to thinking about how much money really does rule our lives! Often the first thing that comes to mind when you're do your taxes is "I earned this, why isn't it mine?" Then you think abo...

We take a break from the Red-Letter journey today to just discuss the elephant in the room. And to be sure, your elephant might look different. You could be looking at the tail or a foot. Or at the trunk. You're just a speck on this huge planet, and your perspective will drive your agenda... or perhaps your agenda will drive your perspective. I'm not sure in which direction we travel. As I was looking at this, I recognized that I, too, have an agenda. So does President Trump. So does Netanyahu. ...

One might be inclined to indict Judas for his premeditated betrayal. I think we come at Judas and pre-judge. But I've often considered the idea that Judas's intentions might have been good. I think this because I can't see how a person can walk with Jesus for that long and not think otherwise. Whatever Judas is doing, in his own head, he thinks he's doing the right thing... until he realizes he was wrong. In any case, we can't separate the betrayal of Judas from the denial of Peter and say that ...

We are on the other side of the crucifixion. Easter has passed, and on our Red-Letter journey, we come up to what I can only describe as jarring! When you have invested as much time as we have and focused on the harmony of all four gospels, there is something in Mark's last chapter that I've simply highlighted and marked as OPTIONAL. Let's explain. We have added Mike Winger's research and transcript to this Podcast. Mike has done an in-depth study of Mark 16. We summarize his video transcript i...

As usual, Google will put things in my path that it thinks I want to see. This was no different. 3.4 million views in three weeks. The good news is that people are very interested in this. The bad news is that people will use this as their resource for knowledge. We want to address this. The name of the YouTube video is Father Chad Ripperger - Signs of the Mark of the Beast & Rise of the Antichrist We are not criticizing Father Chad Ripperger per say. We are issuing a caution regarding how yo...

This was a tough podcast to study for. The journey to Calvary is depicted in all four gospels, and each provides detail that paints a grueling picture of suffering. What you immediately notice about Jesus is not the agony of his suffering but his outreach and concern for the men doing this - and for His Mother. There is mockery from everywhere, even from the criminals beside him. When you bear the weight of this scene and see what Jesus is doing for all of those lining the path to see Him crucif...

How many times have you blown over the passage. Yeah, you marveled that Peter heard the rooster crow, which recalls what Jesus told Peter would happen when they were in the upper room. But let's really dig into this. There is so much we can learn from Peter in this moment and the subsequent restoration. Notes for Lovest Thou Me Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/lovest-thou-me-the-restoration-of-peter/

Often when you listen to a debate between a Christian and an Atheist you get lost in emotional tension. Feedback from the Unabashedly Apologetic podcast we ran recently prompted this follow-up. Fortunately, my YouTube feed seems to know what I'm looking for. I stumbled across this video between Wesley Huff and Steven Bartlett. These are raw, honest questions from someone who is seeking answers about Christianity. The notes for this YouTube discussion include a full transcript for the discu...

I think today's podcast is a helpful example of how we study. I spend a good part of my day in a variety of different resources. This is daily and habitual. In between all of that, I actually retreat to work, which has nothing to do with my biblical studies. My commercial breaks during the day usually return me to my Christian studies. I usually open with a section of the Bible I want to read in the morning. But my brain is saying, " Hey, that's cool - remember this from yesterday or a few days...

We hear Jesus last words to the eleven before the cross, and Jesus answers the question the disciples are too distraught to ask. For many Christians, even today, the Cross is a mystery that it doesn't need to be. Jesus spells it out. It is proven and acted upon. Today, we go deep into John 16:1-11, asking the questions that Jesus knew were on the disciples' minds, even if they could not see clearly through their tears. Notes for Why Jesus Had To Go Episode Link:

If you have been traveling with us and followed the words of Jesus chronologically through the Gospels, then you have been the proverbial fly on the wall. Do not lose the immediate context when you read this - it is so easy to do because the theology is so rich. We are in the upper room for pages of scripture, and Judas has left the room. What Jesus has to say is not for Judas. But it is for you! Without stating exactly what will happen in the next few hours, Jesus addresses the tension in the ...

If you can read John 14:4-14 and are not waiting for the same answer to the question that Thomas asks, then I want to talk to you some more! I think we are all taught the theology, but do we grasp the how? Thomas is not weak in his faith. He has spent the last three and a half years and has witnessed the miracles that transform faith to proof bound experiential belief. Thomas is the kind of guy who says I saw it with my own eyes, I know it. He doesn't just believe it, he knows it! I think we ar...

Have you even sat in a business conference or meeting and totally missed the point? You look at the speaker and go "Wait........ What?" Like you thought you understood it until you just realized what he was saying is not what you were thinking. We've walked through the red-letters all the way to this point and never have the disciples let go of the idea that Jesus is the conquering king. They have been told at least three times that He would be killed. They've been told that He will return. The...

Did you ever sit with the Lord's Supper and just think, I really don't get it. I know something big is happening here, but did anybody ever walk you through what "This is the NEW COVENANT in my blood means? When you read that, you should immediately think - OK, I need to go back and understand the OLD COVENANT. And more, I need to understand why we need a new covenant. Today, in our Red Letter Journey, we listened to Jesus pick up and offer the bread and the cup and we asked what it all means. ...

If somebody tells you something that will happen 10 years from now, you're likely to forget it. If somebody tells you something that will happen 10 minutes from now AND it happens exactly the way they said it would, you're likely to never forget it. If that same person has told you stuff about the future, now you're actually looking for it. Notes for Something Happened on the Way to Supper Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/something-happened-on-the-way-to-supper/

There are a LOT of books written about Matthew Chapter 24. This podcast is NOT the last word on the subject. It is a perspective, and we think one worth noting. Look, the discussion of End Times sells books! It gets clicks. But the question to ask is how it will change your perspective today. I think the beauty of prophecy is in the not knowing. It draws you to the text. It is human nature to want to know. But if Jesus had said His return happens Easter Sunday in the year 2253 (or whatever, pic...

On our Red-Letter journey, we just stepped onto the ground of Matthew 24. This is where many modern wannabe prophets will hang their hat and create grandiose predictions about raptures and end times and date setting and all that. Spoiler alert, we are not trying to figure out when the end of the world will come. I think about this when people ask me why I don't want to go there. First, I can't deny that I have gone that. I have. But I think about this as a reason why I don't. I used to work in ...

Ok, if you want to know why we call this Podcast Rabbit Holes, you're about to follow how my brain works! I started today covering the last three woes and that ends in another lament by Jesus over Jerusalem. That got me wondering about the judgement that fell in AD 70. Then I thought, well, I don't really know what happened to the Jews after that. I know somehow, they survived, but how? So I followed that track all the way to 1948 where the Israel becomes a nation state. Then I think, ok, so why...

Jesus is constantly being tested. We're in Passion week. They're looking for a defect in the Lamb. Today, something has changed. In our last podcast, we saw one of Scribes almost do a fist pump upon hearing Jesus response to the Sadducees regarding Resurrection. Why, because Jesus' answer was something that put the Sadducees back in their place. They were quieted... something the Pharisees had failed at for 100's of years. So for a brief moment, at least one of the scribes was siding with Jesus....

It was early last night. I thought, I'm not getting anything productive done, I'll just turn in. So I did what I always do. I open my Bible - just where we left off on our Red-Letter journey. We are on the Temple court still early in Passion Week (most likely still Monday). A couple of Greeks ask a question that would keep me up for the next three hours. Not because of what they asked, but because of how Jesus responded...and how God responded. Notes for The Glory of Jesus is the Glory of God E...