Talk Bible To Me

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 2:15-27. In this episode, Megan mentions a book and professor but could not remember his name. The book is The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament and the author is Edmund Clowny.

For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. For a FREE copy of the "How to Study the Bible" guide, visit: https://theboldmovement.com/freebies. 

This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc.

Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 2:7-14. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. The youtube channel for The Bold Movement, which is mentioned a few times is https://www.youtube.com/@tbm_ministry. For a FREE copy of the "How to Study the Bible" guide, visit: https://theboldmovement.com/freebies. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc.

Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 1:8-2:6. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. The blog Megan mentions near the beginning of the episode about annotating Scripture can be found here: https://theboldmovement.com/blog/how-to-annotate-scripture. For a FREE copy of the "How to Study the Bible" guide, visit: https://theboldmovement.com/freebies. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc.

Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 1:1-7. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc.

Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they introduce 1 John to you. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc. 

Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan as she walks you through what 2022 looked like and what 2023 has in store.

Join Emily and Megan as they study the last chapter of Hosea.

Join Megan and Emily as they study Hosea 13.

Join Emily and Megan as they finish 11 and 12.

Join Megan and Emily as they study Hosea 11.

Have you ever been in a season when everything seems to be going wrong? During that time, it’s usually pretty natural to call out to God regularly. When I went through postpartum depression after having both of my kids, I felt like I was constantly praying, whether I was asking for God’s help or thanking him for getting me through.

But when life settled down and depression didn’t consume my days, suddenly, life was good! All my needs were met! However, because of this, I slowly quit talking to God and acted like I no longer needed him. I knew I did, of course, but when there were no immediate trials, I had nothing to remind me of my need for a Savior. In fact, in times where things are going right, I will often attribute the success to myself or my circumstances!

I say all of this because I have a feeling you’ve been there too.

Chapter 10 of Hosea begins with showing how the Israelites’ prosperity had caused them to forget God. They didn’t see their need for him because they wanted for nothing. They even went so far as to build altars and pillars to false gods to give them the credit! As their wealth increased, their spiritual health decreased.  As a result, God would take away their kings to show them that they had no one worthy to rule them since they had deviated so far from God’s standards.

So often, when we’re going through trials, our first question is to ask God why he’s letting it happen to us. And that’s valid; sometimes what we’re going through is truly awful and we just want answers. When God doesn’t give us those answers, it can feel like he’s turned his back on us. But James 1:2-3 says, “Count it all joy, brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

The definition for steadfastness is “the quality of being resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.” So our answer to the trials we’re going through is that God can use it to make us more firm and unwavering in our faith. Romans 5:3-5 shows us that steadfastness, or endurance, creates hope! And 2 Peter 1:3-9 points out that when we have this quality, it keeps us from falling into sin. Pretty incredible how that works, huh?

And this is exactly what the Israelites were lacking. They didn’t possess steadfastness. They were lazy and entitled. So when things were good, their relationship with the Lord didn’t endure and they fell into sin. Then when God began to bring judgment on them, they were completely ignorant to their sin and wandered even further from him.

God doesn’t just want your attention when you feel like you need something. He wants all of you, even when your life is going well—maybe especially when your life is going well! Just like any parent-child relationship, if a child only goes to mom or dad when they want something, it feels a lot less like love and a lot more like they just want you to be their benefactor. But when your kids come and snuggle up with you and tell you how much they love you in the middle of a day for no reason at all, well, there’s just nothing better.

The best way to keep God at the center, even when your life is great, is to stay in the Word. Scripture reminds us that we need a Savior even on our best day, and it also helps us hear from the Holy Spirit so that we walk through our day doing what he wants instead of what we want.

Now go out and be bold in what he has called you to do today, even if it’s simply sitting in his presence and thanking him for his love for you!

Up to this point, we’ve got a pretty clear picture of the cycles of Israel’s sin. We’ve seen how often they chose other gods before the one true God. But something about chapter nine really gets at the depth of the corruption they had fallen into. As you listen to this week’s podcast, you’ll hear the story about the darkness of the men of Gibeah referenced in verse 9 and how Israel had become bad enough to be compared to them. All of this really sets the stage to show why God was no longer satisfied with any of their sacrifices, so much so that part of the purpose of their exile and captivity was to take away their ability to follow any of the Law when it came to sacrifices and worship.

All of it brings me to think about Jesus’ words in Luke 6:46-49, where he asks the question, “why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and no two what I tell you?” (V. 46, English Standard Version) and then goes on to talk about obedience: those that obey are like a man who builds his house on a solid foundation, and those that don’t obey are like a man who builds his house with no foundation at all. Just one storm reveals the durability of the house and the wisdom (or lack thereof) of the man.

The Israelites had no foundation; they relied on false gods for their provision and fulfillment, so when God’s judgment came, they had nothing to stand on. Their lack of wisdom was revealed, and all that was left was their guilt.

It can be so easy for us to read the Old Testament and wonder why God made so many rules! We can be tempted to scoff at the idea that anyone was ever expected to live up to the incredibly high standards, but my friends, it’s not really about the laws at all. The Law was meant to help us see how desperately we need God. And while, yes, we need to follow God’s commands to us, if our hearts aren’t in it, then following his commands is meaningless.

We see another example of this in Revelation 2. The church in Ephesus had many wonderful works to boast of; they were even accurately identifying and calling out false teachers. But God tells them he has one thing against them—“that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4, ESV). They had all these wonderful works, but without a love for the Lord, those works were pretty much worthless.

It doesn’t matter how “good” we try to be if we aren’t willing to change our hearts. Obedience means nothing without love.

But in the same way, love means nothing without obedience, and this is what the Lord desires of us. This is why the first commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37). Because everything else should filter through our love for him. If we love him, we will obey him (John 14:15).

This was the biggest piece that the Israelites were missing. The Lord was not first in their life. Sure, he was part of their life; they were still giving half-hearted sacrifices to attempt to honor him. But they had other gods before him. They had other priorities. So God took away their sacrifices and fake worship because he is not satisfied with halfhearted allegiance. He wants every bit of his people’s hearts.

What areas in your life might you be putting before God? Work? Kids? Maybe even church volunteer time? Let Hosea 9 be a heart check for you. Maybe you aren’t as corrupt as the Israelites had become (i really hope not!), but could it be possible that you have forgotten your first love? As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to turn back to him. Recalibrate your life to put him first today. Because one day, it will be too late, and all the things you put before God will disappear. Be bold, my friend. Get rid of any sin that hinders you, and follow Jesus with your whole heart because it’s your heart that he wants.

We’ve officially made it over halfway through the book of Hosea! This is the part where readers usually feel a bit worn out with the amount of repetition…and I get it. It’s a lot.

If you’re exhausted reading through how many times these things must be said, then you’re on track to understanding the extent to which the Israelites were betraying God. Over and over and over again, they were worshipping idols and pursuing the things of this world, and over and over again, God was merciful to give them warning after warning. It’s repetitive because their sin was repetitive. It had become habitual to the point of exhaustion.

Verse 12 gives us a glimpse into God’s heart:

“Were I to write for [Ephraim] my laws by the by the ten thousand, they would be regarded as a strange thing.” (Hosea 8:12, ESV).

Basically, it didn’t matter how many different ways God tried to tell them how to follow him; they simply refused to do it. They had become so familiar with their idolatry that God’s will was strange and foreign to them. They were stuck in the cycle of sin, and something needed to happen in order to break that cycle.

Unlike the Israelites, you have been given the way out of destruction. The Israelites had been warned and would have to pay the price by going back into slavery. But Jesus paid the price for your sin and brought you out of slavery.

This is why it’s so important to look at Scripture through the lens of Jesus. Everything points back to him. Everything points back to the cross. The Old Testament is one giant foreshadowing of the coming Savior; it helps us understand the enormity of sin and the depths to which Jesus went for us to pull us out of that sin.

Jump back to verse three for just a moment.

“Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him” (Hosea 8:3, ESV).

When I first read this verse, I immediately thought of Romans 8:28: “God works all things together for the good of those who love him.” What is the good? The good is to become more like Christ. Israel had been given the Law to become more like Christ, but they rejected it. The result was that the enemy had an open door to overtake them. We have the same opportunity to become more like Jesus. Don’t miss it. Don’t get stuck in cycles of sin, but get in the Word and be obedient to it. When you do, the enemy doesn’t have a foothold any longer, and the cycles and repetition of sin are broken.

It changes the way we read Hosea now, doesn’t it? Every time you start to feel tired of reading the warnings and accusations, let it be a reminder to you of God’s grace when his people turn from him time and time again. Let it frustrate you that the Israelites could be so thoughtless and evil. Let the exhaustion of sin exasperate your mind so that you might see more clearly how patient our God is with his children. Then let it be a reminder that you are also one of these people. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (emphasis mine). If you’re a believer, then you’ve heard the Gospel. You know God’s standards, and you know that you fall short. You know that you turn from him daily, even if you have heard his laws ten thousand times. Yet because of his grace, you don’t have to be caught in that cycle of sin.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Now with this, go out, and be bold in that freedom!

Join Emily and Megan as they discuss Hosea chapter 7.

Is there someone you’ve been following on Instagram for so long you feel like you know them personally? You could name all of their kids; you know what their house looks like, what happened to them last summer, and what their vacation plans are. It sounds weird to know all of these things about a person and not know them in real life, but such is the nature of social media.

But I think, in a sense, we do the same thing with God. We read about him, we talk to our friends about him, maybe even go to church and learn about him, but do we really know him?

In chapter six of Hosea, God is fleshing out his frustrations with the Israelites, and one of his biggest arguments against them is that none of them really knows him. He tells them their “love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away (Hosea 6:4, ESV). In essence, they act like they love him, but when really tested in the heat of the moment, that love disappears. It’s conditional. If they truly knew God, however, that love would last.

Just a few verses later, God tells him what he wants from them:

“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6).

This might have come as a bit of a shock to those Old Testament Israelites. I mean, just read a few pages in the Old Testament and it looks like everything is about sacrifice and the Law. But God is telling them it’s not actually about their works. He wants their hearts. He wants a relationship with them. He wants to be known by them!

The word knowledge here is the same word used for the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Creation story in Genesis. When Eve took the bite of the fruit, she gained a total understanding of the things she had been innocent of before. She understood fully how far she could go not only in goodness but in evil. Shame was introduced into Adam and Eve’s world when they had a full understanding of both good and evil. In other words, the knowledge being spoken of here and in Hosea is a TRUE understanding, not just a reference point.

So why does God want his people to know him with this deep level of understanding? Because he knows that when we truly know who he is, we cannot help but love him, and that love forms the foundation for true faith and obedience, which leads us to righteous living and true love in action. And then it becomes a cycle. When we live righteously and love the way God intended, it spurs us to love him even more, to want to know him more, which leads to deeper faith and obedience. See how that works?

True love seeks to know and understand the source of Love. It’s not works that give us knowledge of God, but love. God didn’t want a “morning cloud” kind of love from his people. He wanted them to reflect the love he had for them, steadfast and lasting.

And he wants the same for you, my friend! He wants you to experience that love and to come to a full knowledge of who he is, so that you cannot help but want to stay in a faithful relationship with him. Why? Because he loves you so much!!

So go out, and be bold in that love today!

How timely that on this week’s podcast we’re talking about sin and the slow movement of the boundary lines between right and wrong.

We are seeing this now more than ever with the overturn of Roe V. Wade in our country last Friday. Americans, even some Christians, are outraged over the decision, going far as to tell other believers not to celebrate because of the emotional harm it may do to unbelieving pro-choicers. And while I’m not going to get into those details—that’s for a whole other article—I do think there is so much to learn in this fifth chapter of Hosea.

This chapter contains the warnings to the priests, people, and king of Israel. Their punishments are laid out, along with the reasons why they’re about to be punished. The Israelites were pretending to love the Lord, going so far as to bring him sacrifices, but God is clear with them that their hearts were far from him. In verse four, it says “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God” (Hosea 5:4, ESV). They were spending all their time in sin, not in obedience, and the consequence was that they no longer had access to their Creator.

The verse that really stood out to me though, was verse 10.

“The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water” (Hosea 5:10, ESV). In ancient times, boundary lines between neighbors were made by laying out stones in a line, so moving the landmark implied moving the stones—in this case likely in the secrecy of night. In essence, they were stealing land that was not theirs. But God is not talking about physical boundaries here; he’s talking about spiritual ones. His people were slowly moving the boundaries between right and wrong, between the true God and the idols they had created.

In the same way moving physical boundary lines probably didn’t happen overnight, spiritual boundaries don’t change overnight either. It starts with one little push past what we know to be right and good. “It’s not a baby, it’s just a fetus.” Right? Little by little, we allow ourselves to believe things that are not only lies, but completely fly in the face of what God says is right. And just like the Israelites got themselves into deep trouble by shifting these boundaries, we will do the same if we aren’t actively searching God’s word for His truth. There are consequences for opposing God’s truth in search of our own “truth.” Our “truth” will not save us. Only God’s truth will. Take heed from the Israelites downfall. Go back to that simple verse:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT).

Our understanding will always cause us to shift those boundaries according to what feels right in that moment. Trusting in the Lord alone will keep those boundaries straight.

Trust Him, my friend! Now go out and be bold!

I have been a lover of TJMaxx for countless years now. I’d go shopping with my mom for school clothes, then after getting married and having kids of my own it became one of my places to escape for a few hours of solitude. Coffee in hand I would wander the aisles and inevitably I would end up in the journal and book aisle. I always loved that I could find notepads with scripture or maybe a discounted book from my favorite Christian author, but over the last few years, I’ve noticed a shift in products, at least in my part of the country. Prayer journals are being replaced with witchcraft and meditation journals; books about deepening your faith are being replaced with books teaching how to read your tarot cards. Where you might have simply found home decor you can now find crystals to use for their healing energy and good fortune. I’d like to think no one is actually buying these things, but I’ve seen the trends myself and I’ve had conversations with women I know who believe they’re harmless, even helpful tools.

Y’all. 

I hate to tell you but tarot cards are just pieces of paper. Crystals are just rocks. And getting into these things is getting into a false religion that can lead to dangerous places. Why? Because the point of tarot cards and witchcraft and crystals is to find some special kind of knowledge, right? We want to know our future or we want to know peace. When we meditate with a crystal, we’re looking for a way to connect with something, to know ourselves or the world around us better. And in Hosea 4, we see repeatedly that looking for knowledge outside of God leads to destruction. Specifically, we see in 4:12 that using a physical, manmade or natural, object for wisdom is considered idolatry. 

“My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.” (Hosea 4:12). 

Yikes.

God is showing how ridiculous it was for the people to worship their man-made idols by reducing their elaborate carven images to “a piece of wood.” But what makes worshipping these things or inquiring of them for knowledge so dangerous is shown in the next sentence: a spirit of whoredom had led them astray. When we dabble into the spiritual world, we are opening ourselves up to real spirits that can gain access to our lives. Deuteronomy 32:17 shows that the spirits we entertain are actually demons. There can be real power in meditating on crystals, but I’ll tell you it’s not the kind of power that will save you but destroy you. 

The bottom line in the whole of Hosea is that the people were seeking knowledge outside of the Lord, and it led to their total destruction. Seeking knowledge apart from God gives us a worldly wisdom that isn’t wisdom at all, it’s actually foolishness. First Corinthians 3:19 says “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” 

So if you want to find wisdom from a rock, let it come from the Rock of Ages. If you want to find a spirit of understanding, let your understanding come from the Holy Spirit. His ways are higher than our ways, and his way is the only way that leads to life. Let’s follow it. 

Now go out and be bold! 

Have you ever been given a gift from someone and instead of telling them “thank you”, you go to some other random person and tell them “thank you” instead? No? I mean that would be super weird and rude, right? Or if someone did this to you after you’d given them a gift, you would be totally offended! But what if I told you the person giving the gift is actually God, and that most of us have done this countless times… probably without ever thinking twice about it.

We get a pretty real picture of this exact situation in this next section of Hosea when God is talking to the Israelites about their behavior. He had bestowed many gifts on them, but instead of giving God the credit, the Israelites credited other nations for all of their provisions and then sought out those nations for further provision.  Naturally, God becomes angry about this. He had given Israel everything, but in return, Israel had betrayed him. So he vows to take everything back from them, forcing them to come to terms with their unfaithfulness.

It’s easy to look at this as just some crazy Old Testament story that might be hard to relate to, but let’s be honest: when was the last time you gave God credit for the things you have in your life? Maybe you prayed for something for a long time, got it, and then completely forgot to go to the Lord with thanksgiving. I’m not saying this from some higher place either—I do the same thing every single day.

It’s so easy to cry out to God when things are going wrong. When we are suffering, we feel the need for His presence and even his intervention in our lives. But when things are good, when we feel like we have everything we need, we’re quick to not only forget our Creator but we might even give the credit to someone else, maybe even ourselves!  Look how hard I’ve worked. I deserve all that I have because I built this life myself. I am just thriving right now! But then the convicting part—how quick are we to take the credit when things go wrong? We usually don’t. It’s a lot more convenient to blame God when things don’t go the way we planned, so instead of taking the credit like we did when we had all the provisions, we cast the blame when it seems like those provisions are gone. God, why would you do this to me? Why would you allow me to go through this?

Again, I’m preaching to myself here.  My friends, we have to remember that “every good and perfect gift comes from above” (James 1:17).  When things are going well, let’s not forget to give the praise to the one who gives us everything we have. Sure, we work hard and we steward well, but we are not the owners of our belongings. In fact, no one else is the owner but God. The Israelites had to learn this difficult lesson by losing all of their gifts so that they might seek the Giver of gifts instead.

None of us will do this perfectly, but really it all just comes down to the heart. The Israelites had a heart far from God, so even when they did give him credit it really didn’t matter. They didn’t love him or truly seek his will for their lives. But I believe when we are truly pursuing our Father, thankfulness will come naturally. When we understand the depth of his love for us, we won’t be able to help reciprocate that and thank him whenever we can.

So this week, let’s let boldness look like humility; being humble enough to give God credit for the gifts in our lives! Now go out, and be bold!

The start of the book of Hosea is like one of these dramas. We’re introduced to his family and, poor guy, not one of his family members has a good character description, aside from himself. We’ve got his wife, Gomer, the unfaithful betrayer. Then you’ve got his three children who are so much like their wayward mother that even the names they're given are a representation of how far the family has fallen from God. And it’s easy to look at this first chapter with two reactions; either you’re awkwardly laughing at how messy this family seems to be, or you’re thinking it’s a bit unfair that faithful prophet Hosea has been tasked with such an awful family situation. Either way, you’re not totally wrong, but here’s the thing: we are this family.

The story of Hosea is not just a scandalous love story between husband/wife God/chosen people, it is also a glimpse into the catastrophe of what happens when we stray away and the ramifications our children have. It's a tale of redemption, hope, and the Gospel. Tune in to see all that the minor prophet Hosea has for us.

In this episode, we will look at Philippians 4:21-23. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, Emily and Megan navigate through Philippians 4:10-20.

In this episode, we will look at Philippians 4:2-9. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

Hey friends! I’ve got a question for you: If you could tell me what you spend most of your time thinking about, what would it be?

If you’re not sure, it might help to think about what you pray about the most. I’ve heard it said that “prayer expresses desire” and it totally makes sense when you think about it:

We pray about whatever is most important to us in the moment.

Whether it’s health, peace of mind, money, friends, relief, comfort, and regardless of the depth of your faith, what you pray about expresses what you care about because taking the time to talk to your Creator is something you have to be pretty intentional about, right? And I think it gives us a glimpse into what takes up the most space in our heads.

Paul is in the middle of talking about what is important in life when he throws out this little nugget: “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:13). There’s a couple of things we can understand from this verse:

1.    What we think about matters.

2.    What we do with those thoughts has an impact.

In the first half, Paul tells us about the importance of forgetting what lies behind. Now, he’s not saying don’t ever think of the past. Remembrance is all over Scripture! But what he is saying is that we should not dwell on the past. All the things we’ve done, all the things we have been through, have shaped who we are and who we are becoming. But those things are not our focus.

So this is why I asked what you think about the most: is your focus usually on yourself or your problems? Or is your focus on eternity?

In the very next verse, Paul says “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (V. 14).  If you’re been watching any of the pre-Olympic footage, you’ve probably seen some of the runners. Paul is using Greek Olympic games language here! The word “goal” literally means “goal marker.” A goal marker is the focus of the eye when a runner runs the race. Paul’s focus, his goal marker, was on Christ and eternity with him. What Paul thought about most was eternity!

So the second half of verse 13, Paul encourages us to “strain forward to what lies ahead.” The original phrase for “straining forward” was another athletic metaphor. It brings to mind the straining of muscles, the clarity of focus needed to run the race, and the complete dedication required to finish for the prize. Straining forward required both mental and physical discipline! Basically what he’s saying is this: staying focused on Christ and eternity is difficult, but rewarding. It will impact the way you live your life.

Just like an Olympic runner, you don’t make it to the Olympic Games without being intentional with mental and physical disciplines. You can’t just go for a run once and call yourself an Olympian. It takes hard work and dedication. In the same way, our lives as believers should be intentional and dedicated. It will take the hard work of getting in the Word often and being in relationship with other believers so that you stay encouraged to walk with Jesus toward eternity with him!

While it’s easy to spend our days thinking about all of our problems or wants, both great and small, those thoughts won’t benefit to us! When you’re tempted to complain about your circumstances, try to lay them at the feet of Jesus and turn your eyes toward eternity. Pay special attention to your prayers

Have you ever noticed how hard kids sometimes work for something make-believe? My kids will go outside, gather sticks and buckets of rocks almost as big as they are, drag them to another side of the yard, drop them into a useless pile, and then go right back to get more, sweating and grunting the whole way. I’ve often watched in wonder at how hard they’ll work for nothing, but the second I tell them to clean their room they fall on the floor crying “BUT IT’S TOO MUCH WORK!!!” Like, what? 

But if you think about it, don’t people kind of do the same thing with God? So many of us spend our entire lives working and straining to achieve goodness and righteousness, picking up spiritual sticks and rock buckets full of “good works” and then carrying them across our yards only to drop them into a pile that does absolutely nothing for us. We’re just doing the same things over and over again in hopes that it’ll make us better humans. It’s truly amazing how hard we’ll work for nothing.

Paul gives the church in Philippi a similar story in Philippians 3:1-11 when he talks about the religious leaders who were doing the very same thing. They were spending their days boasting about their buckets of good works and how everyone else should pick up their own buckets and get to work, but Paul argues back that their buckets are full of trash.

(Yes, he literally says those kinds of good works are trash. Paul was not boring!) 

And the only way he knows this is because he too used to carry buckets full of trash until he realized Jesus had a better way: faith.

See, there are only two ways to try to become good enough to get to God: through works or through faith. 

When you try to get to God through works, you have to be able to meet the standard he’s set. And if you’ve ever read one page of Leviticus you’ll quickly realize there’s just no way you’ll ever be able to do it all. Or if you’re like the religious leaders and you think for a second you can, then you’ve missed why God actually gave us the Law. He didn’t give it expecting us to actually meet the standard.  He gave it to us so that we realize we can’t. Because the minute we think we’re good enough, we’ve just put pride in our hearts and made ourselves equal to God and broken the Law. It’s kind of a brain bender, isn’t it? 

To keep it simple: we will never be as good or holy as God. Which takes us to the second (and truly only) way to get to God.

Faith.

A super church-y word, but Biblical faith just means means “confidence” or “assurance.” Paul tells us in verse 9 that we can get to God through “faith in Christ.” In other words, we get to God when we have the assurance that Jesus is enough. When we have the confidence that our works are useless in getting favor with God. And that faith opens our eyes to all the people around us carrying those rock buckets back and forth and makes us want to tell them “stop!!!” This is exactly what Paul is doing for the Philippians here. He’s saying “guys, I’ve been there! I was the best of the best according to the standard, but my heart was prideful. I completely missed the need for a Savior. Don’t do what I did. Stop following the people teaching these things and follow Christ!” 

In the same way, put down your spiritual sticks and rock buckets, ladies. Quit letting yourself believe that going to church every week and picking up your Bible once a month is making you holy. Quit believing you have to have a perfect, put-together family. Stop carrying heavy loads you weren’t meant to carry. Feeling like you have to do it all and then some. Jesus did it all already. Rejoice in that! 

I pray

This week I made a poll on my Instagram to see how many of my Christian friends currently have an older mentor in their life, and then I asked how many of them are currently mentoring someone younger. The results were actually pretty interesting: 

First of all, more than 60% of these women do not have an older mentor and are not mentoring someone younger. Of those that do have an older mentor, almost 100% of them were also mentoring someone younger, a statistic I found to be fascinating! I’ll get to why in a minute. 

On the other hand, of those who do not have an older mentor in their lives, 100% were also not mentoring someone younger. Is there a correlation? I absolutely believe the answer is yes. 

We live in a culture that really struggles with multigenerational relationships. Most church groups are divided by age or phase of life. We’ve got children’s ministry, youth group, young adult ministry, young marrieds, young families, and senior groups. But you rarely find a church where the groups are intentionally mixed regarding age and phase of life, and I truly believe we are missing out on something God has actually called us to. 

Throughout Scripture, we see examples of these relationships. Moses and Joshua. Eli and Samuel. Naomi and Ruth. Jesus and his disciples. Yet, in our own churches and our own relationships, we struggle to find mentors and become mentors. Somewhere along the generational lines in America, older women stopped teaching younger women. Younger women stopped seeking out or even respecting older women. But we need these relationships more than we could ever imagine.

In Philippians 2:19-24, we see the results of what mentoring does to spread the Gospel. One of the most impactful mentor relationships we see in all of Scripture is Paul and Timothy. Now, in this section, we don’t get to see how their relationship has been built, but we see the impact it has made! Paul trained up a very young man named Timothy to become his apprentice in the faith. Timothy followed Paul and joined him in the good and the bad of ministry. We see in 2:22 that they had become so close that they were like a father and son, and because of this relationship, Timothy became a leader who was key in spreading the Gospel in ancient times.

How do we have one of these mentor relationships? The common phrases I hear about why women are not in mentor relationships is that “there is no one seeking me out” or “there is no one that wants to hear what I have to say.” Philippians 2:21-22 helps us out!

1. Seek Jesus’ interests, not your own (v21). Our flesh says, “wait for someone to come find us” instead of “seek her out.” Our interests might say “find the popular one,” where Jesus might say “the quiet one will have more for you.” Our flesh is intimidated. Jesus says, “perfect love casts out fear.” Boldly seek out this relationship, ladies. It’s more than worth it.

2. Seek service above comfort (v22). It’s uncomfortable to seek out a mentor relationship. But Jesus doesn’t call us to comfort. He calls us to serve. And we desperately need women who are willing to serve other women, whether by mentoring them or being mentored by them, because it is one of the surest ways to spread the gospel. This means having a relationship that withstands the good, the bad, and the ugly. Older women: let the younger ones see the real you, not the polished you. Younger women: let the older women speak into those hard moments; be willing to hear where you need to grow and mature.

Going back to those statistics: The fact t

Last week, we talked a little about humble obedience and how important it is in becoming more Christ-like. But what does that look like, practically speaking? How do we know if we are being obedient to the Lord and why is it really that important? 

In Philippians 2:12-18 Paul gives us three ways to practice humble obedience and why it matters:

1. LIVE OUT YOUR FAITH (verses 12-13)

Paul says to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Okay, Emily, what does that mean..I thought we were saved by grace, not by working it out ourselves in fear!

I promise this verse isn’t a contradiction! What Paul is saying here is that when you are saved, you want to act on it because you don’t want to live the life you lived before (that’s the working out your salvation part) and you do this with a holy reverence of God that trembles at the thought of sin (that’s the fear and trembling part). It’s kind of like if you were raised in a Christian home, you live out your parents’ faith until you come to the realization that it has to be a personal choice. Paul is telling the Philippians “don’t live out my faith, live out your own!” 

And once you make that choice and you start becoming more like Christ, the thought of sin will be totally awful to you so you’ll do anything you can to run from it! Living out your faith looks like desiring a different way than the way of the world.

2. BE JOYFULLY STEADFAST (verses 14-16)

So now that you’re living out your own faith with a hate for sin, you’ve got to find a way to be in it for the long haul, because it is a loooooong haul, amiright? How do we do this? Paul tells us to “do all things without complaining or arguing.” The Greek word for “all things” is literally all things. 

Try this: throughout your day, every time you complain or argue about something, make a tally on a piece of paper or your phone. Then go crawl into bed and cry and complain about how hard it is to not complain! Boop. This one feels impossible.

We can laugh (or cry) about how impossible it feels, but Paul says it’s super important because people who don’t complain or argue stand out. Think about that person in your life who always seems to just joyfully go with the flow. If you’re even able to think of someone like this, they’re probably rare. Paul is telling us that in order to look like Jesus in this world, we must become this rare person! And we all know our world desperately needs this kind of influence because each day this world becomes darker and more hopeless. When we are joyfully steadfast in our run towards eternity with the Lord, we will “shine as lights in the world” against “a crooked and twisted generation” of unbelievers. 

3. LET MINISTRY BRING JOY (verses 17-18)

Paul uses some Jewish/religious language in verses 17-18, but what he’s essentially saying is “even if I have to sacrifice everything in order to help you know Jesus better, I will do it with joy!” Wow. I know I don’t feel this way about ministry super often, and I’m a pastor’s wife! People can be really draining or hurtful, and I naturally just want to run away and get comfy on my couch to protect myself from getting hurt instead of drawing myself deeper into those people’s lives. Ministry is messy. But Paul says we’re supposed to live the same way, choosing joy in the mess instead of avoiding the mess. 

So friends, joyfully (and boldly!) go live out your l

Humility. It’s not a word we find much in our self-love, self-affirming world, right? Yet we wonder why our world is so divided. 

After Paul has made an exhortation to the Philippians to become united with the same love and the same mind, he gives them the practical way to do this: 

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:3-4)

In other words: Be Humble. Ugh. 

Paul is telling us that in order to be united, we have to put others before ourselves. It makes sense, really. Every time I get into a fight with my husband, we both have this horrible tendency to fight to win. But when we stop to actually care about each other’s thoughts and feelings, we listen more. We talk less. One of us might still be right (usually me, of course...HA) but when we aren’t trying to shove our own ideas in each other’s faces we’re much more likely to listen and then we become united in trying to come to an agreement instead of divided in trying to win. Paul knows what he’s talking about here, friends.

But this humility thing is really hard for us. Why? Because humility does not come naturally to us. We believe we deserve so much. We deserve to have a night off from the dishes when we’re the ones who made dinner! We deserve a thank you from our kids for all the work we do for them! We deserve a raise for all the hours we put in over everyone else! Treat yourself, you’re the best! All the while, we’ve forgotten that we aren’t actually the best. We’re completely full of sin, and we actually deserve death because of that sin. We see this exact situation in Genesis, when Adam and Eve choose to eat the forbidden fruit. Satan tells them they will be just like God if they eat of the tree. But this was the big lie: Disobeying and trying to be like God made them as opposite of “like God” as they could have ever been. It made them prideful.

Of all the people who had the right to self-love and pridefulness, it was Jesus.  He is literally equal to God, he IS God, yet he didn’t use this against anyone. He could have said he was too mighty for death (he was!) but he chose to go through it because obedience to God’s will was more important than his significance. It was because of this humble obedience that he was exalted. (Phil. 2:8-9).

Humble obedience makes us most in God’s image. That’s the great irony. The more humble we become, the less we want to be like God because we know he is the only one who deserves all the glory. Yet the more humble we become the more we become like God. And while we will never become God, because of his humble death on the cross, all of our sin is covered and we will get to share in his victory when he returns. Incredible!

So when your home, your marriage, or your church family feels divided, maybe you can ask yourself: am I putting my family’s needs above my own? Or do I feel like I deserve all the glory right now? Am I putting down the thoughts of my brothers and sisters in Christ because I feel like mine are better? Or am I humbly listening to their side and choosing to look to their interests in the same way I look to my own?

And if and when you fail to be humble, look to Christ and praise him that he chose humility every step of the way to cover when you couldn’t.

In this episode, we will look at Philippians 1:19-30. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Philippians 1:12-18. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at the first 11 verses of Philippians. This is the beginning of Paul's letter to the church in Philippi. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

Hey guys this is Megan Rawlings and you are listening to the Talk Bible to Me podcast presented by The Bold Movement.

How are you, friend? I am thrilled that you are joining me on this very first episode of season 3. This season, we are going to be working verse-by-verse through the book of Philippians. If you are new to our podcast, howdy, -- so glad you found us and I hope you like the podcast. Real quick, I want to let you know that this podcast is an extension of The Bold Movement which is a ministry that trains women to boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God. There are tons of free resources on the website as well as Bible studies 

In this episode, we will look at Esther 9:1-10:3. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 8:1-17. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 7:1-10. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 6:1-14. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 5:1-14. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 4:1-17. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 3:1-15. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 2:1-23. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

In this episode, we will look at Esther 1:1-22. This podcast is recorded by The BoldMovement. The Bold Movement is a women's ministry that offers an allied collective to help women with Biblical literacy so they can boldly step into their role in the kingdom of God.

Hey, there! Welcome to Bold is. Have you ever heard of the transfiguration? Do you know what that word even means? Well, if you have great! If you haven’t, no swear! We have made it our goal to help you learn the Bible verse-by-verse and we started with the book of Mark.It is hard to believe, but we have slowly made our way to chapter 9! If you have not heard the first few chapters of Mark, I highly encourage you to check it out! I cannot contain my excitement any longer -- are you ready to study into Mark 9?!

If you are new to our podcast, we are glad you’re here! Real quick, let me explain how our podcast works. I will read a passage of Scripture and then we break it down as we go. I will be reading from the English Standard Version (also commonly referred to as the ESV) today if you are interested in following along.

*So, here’s the thing. We don’t really know how long Jesus ministered on earth.  It may have been for 2-3 years or longer. British scholar N.T. Wright argues given that amount of time and the rather limited amount of material we have in the Gospels, Jesus could have said the things recorded in the New Testament many, many times—just think of how often a preacher repeats things from the pulpit to the same audience!

*In Mark 9:1 Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”  He also states this in Matthew 16 and Luke 9.  What was He referring to? One Bible commentary lists eight different interpretations!   Some say He was referring to His second coming, some say He is referring to God’s judgment on the Temple, which happened in 70 AD, some say it is His death and resurrection,  and some say He is referring to what is about to happen, the Transfiguration of Jesus. Following N.T. Wright’s point that if Jesus said it once, He may have said it a dozen times or more, so it might mean many things depending on the context BUT in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, He is recorded as saying it right before the transfiguration, so, for now, let’s assume that’s what He was referring to…

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 

*Notice that Mark records this happened on a “high mountain.”  This is an allusion to Exodus 19-20. God descends on Mount Sinai and forbids anyone to approach except Moses and Aaron to approach.  God then gives the 10 Commandments to Moses, which is the heart of the covenant. Now God is preparing a new covenant where only a few disciples are allowed to witness. 

*Jesus is “transfigured” before them into purity showing them who He truly is.  But why Moses and Elijah? In his commentary, James Edwards argues, following Acts 10:43 that it supports the assertion that all the prophets testify to Jesus or, as John 5:39 records, “the law and the prophets testify about me” and Moses and Elijah represent the law and prophets.  BUT, it also may point to the fact that it w