Red Letter Episodes

I find it sometimes helpful to imagine the scene and the emotion in the moment. We often read the Bible clinically and if you don't put yourself in the scene, you're going to miss it. You read the Bible as much with your heart as you do with your mind. Today, we walk along with Jairus and try to imagine what is going on in his world in this moment. More importantly, what is his emotion. Not what is he thinking, but rather, what is he feeling. This is hard for me, I'm not a super emotional person...

I think sometimes the subject matter of these passages causes us to not go deeper. It's uncomfortable just on its surface. If you just stop, put aside your preconceived notions and look at this story beyond the blood, you'll see the entire story of the Gospel. As we have followed Jesus through the gospels, every healing is revealing. Every miracle is a microcosm of the Gospel. Notes for A Touch of Faith Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/a-touch-of-faith/

Jesus walks on to the shores of Gergesa. A demoniac approaches Jesus. Now... we've seen Jesus cast out demons before. Why is this any different? Well, the name of the demon is "Legion... for we are many". This is probably the height of depravity and possession. Or more accurately, the height of demonic captivity. Jesus just calmed a raging storm - something His disciples recognize is Messianic. Little did they know that once Jesus stepped out of the boat and onto the shore that taming the raging...

You know, sometimes you get caught in the middle of some crisis. Your immediate thought is, "OK" how am I going to get myself out of this.". In our Red-Letter journey, today we see the disciples, experienced fishermen, in a boat with Jesus. Jesus is tired and sleeping. A storm comes up that drives these fishermen to the point of panic. We discover how the storm can be a test of faith. "How am I going to get myself out of this" is not the right response! Notes for "When the Storms Come" Episode L...

Every time I get into a small scripture, the larger message pulls me into a direction I didn't expect. Today is no exception. Jesus is explaining the present kingdom using parables. Through these parables I could hear the voice of Noah pleading to those of his day. He remained faithful, building the Ark. That same message is resonating through these parables, and we blow right past them. In the infamous words of the late Voddie Baucham: "If you can't say Amen, you oughta say ouch!". The world wi...

This has one of the shortest parables in the bible. And it's easy to say ok, when you plant a tiny mustard seed, it turns into a great big plant. I get it... and then you move on. But, not so fast. Let's watch the seed grow and see what Jesus is really saying about that very tiny seed. Notes to Great Things Come in Small Packages Episode Link https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/great-things-come-in-small-packages/

How many times have we blasted through this parable? The wheat and the tares. Today we slowed down and let the Word speak. What we ended up seeing was the entire story of the Bible unfolding in this simple yet profound parable. Interesting references fall into place. Remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? It's a clue! As it was in the days of Noah? It's a promise! And that pretribulation rapture? Probably not a thing if you listen to Jesus. Oh, and paradise? You're standing on it. Notes to Wee...

I think most Christians understand the Parable of the Sower. It is very familiar. What may be less familiar are the nuances between the Gospels and how each presents a slightly different, though complimentary view of the parable. We also dig into some of the English translation that trips people up relative to text in Mark 4:11-12: lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. Notes for The Parable of the Sower Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditati...

No, it is not in scripture, but we used scripture and the meaning to write this parable. I prayed even before releasing this Podcast. Please listen and consider the source material in light of the intent. We start where Jesus is called out of a crowd to His mother and brothers. We often are taken aback by Jesus's response. In fact, the emotional response to this passage is often about the rejection of His blood family in favor of His spiritual family. In that exchange we are as stunned as we can...

I started this like any other deep dive in Scripture and while I started looking at the external, obvious comparisons between the Pharisees and the Catholic Church - which is important to bring up - I found that my own personal journal crashed right into this scripture and I went down the self-reflection rabbit hole. I think from a personal, more disciple-oriented viewpoint, this becomes much more instructive and helpful. Yes, we need to be discerning about our leadership and our churches but no...

Jesus has just healed a blind and mute man. The crowd who has seen the miracle is speculating that Jesus could indeed be the son of David. The Pharisees have to divert that belief. They can't deny the miracle, so they attack the messenger. That is a very common occurrence, even today! No amount of showing them signs would convince them, they are not after proof, they are looking for escape. They are looking for a way to trap Jesus. It's like what happens when the defendant takes the witness stan...

Next in our Red-Letter series we encounter a blind mute. These passages (covered in Matthew 12:22-37, Mark 3:20-30 and Luke 11:14-26 are not just about casting out another demon. We've seen that countless times. By this point in Jesus' journey, casting out demons is almost common. Jesus heals the blind mute almost as a sidenote. There is a difference here though. This demon is mute. The crowd recognizes the Messianic nature of the healing, but there is another dumb, blind one there that Jesus ca...

While I read Matthew 11:27, this was knocking around in my head: Jesus said: “No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him”. So, let's begin with that seeming paradox - Matthew 11:27.. Jesus said, ‘All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.’ See me dilemma? I couldn’t figure out who was giving and who was receiving. Was the Father sending people to t...

Jesus gives a sharp rebuke to the local cities surrounding his ministry. Not just rebukes but Woe's. This is serious! In Matthew 11 he says to Capernaum (the town of his headquarters) - Mat 11:23-24 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” My immedia...

What is the fruit of faith? Check Luke 7:36-50. What seems like an awkward moment at the home of Simon the Pharisee becomes a beautiful depiction of how one responds to the forgiveness of sin. Notes to The Awkward Dinner Party Episode Link https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-awkward-dinner-party/

I did my Bible Study last night with our small church group and got some great feedback that helped me think about this in a more broadly applicable, and maybe less confrontational framework. We live in a world of constant choices. And face it, the guilds in Thyatira existed before Christians entered the picture. The Church drifted away from its first priority. We still have to make those choices. We live in the world but not of the world as one of the brothers in my group put it so succinctly. ...

We continue on our Red-Letter journey today and we encounter a Centurion who seeks Jesus to heal his servant-slave. Let's first understand how upside down this is. Romans did not bow to Jews... let alone Roman commanders. Yet this man, commissioned in Capernaum, had probably heard Jesus teaching any number of times. He may have even been commanded as a guard in these situations to maintain peace as the crowds grew around Jesus. Whatever the case, he is very clear on who Jesus is. In fact, he is ...

We follow up from yesterday's podcast and try to see how compromise works. Ultimately, we are trying to understand how Christians end up compromising with the very things that go against their religion. This is not a left vs right issue. This is not even political. This is how Christians compromise with evil... and that is never good! Notes to Sliding Into Sodom Episode Link https://www.rabbitholes.faith/e/sliding-into-sodom/

We wander of the Red-letter trail today. I was asked to host a Bible study about persecution in America, or the lack thereof. When we talk about persecution in America, most people shrug and say, “We don’t have any real persecution here. Not like China, or North Korea, or the early church.” But maybe the reason we don’t feel persecution isn’t because it doesn’t exist — maybe it’s because we’ve bent under it. We compromise, we assuage, we bow to the person with the loudest voice. Let's face it. A...

Don’t Miss Your Ticket to Eternity Imagine this: by some miracle, you were told tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers. You write them down. You know they’re right. But then you decide not to bother buying a ticket. The next day the numbers are called—and sure enough, they’re the winners. But you have no ticket. That’s not a money-loss story. That’s a tragedy of unbelief. Jesus paints the same picture about eternity. In John 3:16, God has given us the winning numbers: “Whoever believes in Him shall ...

Jesus closes his sermon on the mount with a warning about false prophets. 2000 years later, in the information age, I'm not sure we'd recognize the warning even if the wolf was looking at you straight in the face and said "Baa"! That's a funny picture if it weren't so true. As I dug into this, I reflected on my own journey. When I became a Christian, I wanted to absorb and understand as much as I could and today, there are infinite places to go. I went to different churches. Met with different g...

Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV) “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Did you ever want to dig deeper into this passage? Here's your chance. This presents a very sobering view for every Christian and every person that identifies as Christian. I know that Jesus says the road is difficult. But for me, while it is in some w...

As we continue our Red-Letter Bible journey, we arrive at Matthew 7:7-12 and Luke 11:9-13. It is so easy to just gloss over this and because of this, our prayers become either very superficial or sometimes even scripted. And that loses the meaning of this passage. To bring it closer to home, I started to think about some of the best podcast hosts that I have listened to, and Joe Rogan comes to mind. He never comes to meeting with a scripted show. He is genuinely curious. So, think of it this way...

They all but created a day online for today! It was Rapture Day! And then it wasn't. If you’ve followed this podcast from its inception, you’ve heard maybe 10 different podcasts about Rapture. Different theories, different timing abounds, and we’ve covered them all for the most part. So, what do we actually think? It’s interesting because I’m not a pastor but I kind of question those pastors who are discussing the imminence of the rapture. As a new Christian, I haven’t immersed myself in biblica...