S9E03 - Finding Hope Podcasts
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
A number of years ago we were thinking through Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 13:13 "Now these three powerful things: faith, hope, and love exist among us; but the greatest of these is love." This makes sense in that God IS love and we are made in His image. It would be great if we always loved the way He does - but we do not. We are surrounded by turbulence - from the inside-out. Even evil itself. Yet love is the most robust capital available to humanity, and those who live in true love draw close to our Creator. This "greater" means the most abundant. Deep inside we are motivated to...
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S9E02 - What Is The Kingdom To You
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
The levels of turbulence around us are massive. In every corner of our American and world culture we see division and twisted wisdom. There are three great gifts from God: Faith, Hope, and Love (1 Corinthians 13). Each of these may be found by those who choose to enter through the Door of the sheep (John 10). In faith we find a different and substantive present and future. Through love we make our lives count for ourselves and others. And in hope we find the fuel to live each day for something more. Once you have found a compass for your life the ability to reset your trajectory is open to...
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S9E01 - First King - Then Kingdom - Then Church
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
There is a basic understanding Jesus tried to communicate to humanity when He came to the earth. When we get this right there is fruitfulness in our lives - when we don't varying degrees of misinformation prevail. Both John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin) and Jesus proclaimed the same thing: "Turn away and turn toward, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7) The world had been languishing for centuries since the Garden episode. Genesis 1-11, the Law and prophets, and the Psalms are the story of the Jews - and all the nations. Not only is our condition...
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S8E13 - Jesus and Turbulence
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
I just finished Jordan Peterson's latest book "We Who Wrestle With God." I like how he reasons, and even though I am not ready to place him in the upper echelon of my spiritual teachers, he is a genuine, thoughtful soul. One premise of his book relates to the relationship between chaos and order, something many philosophers, scientists, and faith reflectors see as key for arriving at a satisfied mind. How do we align with incredible design and order while at the same time dealing with the often hurtful fruits of chaos? If you are like me this can be a quagmire of sorting through the...
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S8E12 - Jesus As Healer
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Jesus is our Savior, Healer, and Friend. He alone can restore the access of honor we need to reconnect with Creator God. Let's follow part of this thread! “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you,...
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S8E11 - Jesus As Healer
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Healing is a curious concept with many opinions on the what, how, and why. A survey of known history makes it quite clear that no one healed like Jesus did. Even within all of the other religions of antiquity there is no one like Him, and some religious healer's miracles were pretty lame. Jesus, however, did nothing in a corner. He was transparent and prolific. And those who witnessed what He did were not all His fans. In fact, the most zealous religionists of history do not measure up to the scribes and pharisees who were capable and willing to go to great lengths to discredit or stop Jesus....
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S8E10 - God's Home Base is our homebase
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Everyone operates from a home base. Our upbringing. Our experiences. Our choices. Even factors made on our behalf by others. Through all of this we build our home base. Scientifically we apply what we see and learn. Philosophical we land on what we have wrestled with in our lives - positively and negatively. And to the degree we have encountered and contemplated faith we solidify our beliefs. Or not. We have pondered this through the years, and often with each turning of a new year we have reset ourselves to sift through what has unfolded and what we hope - and the things we are committed...
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S8E09 - Shelter of Connection
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
One deep question for life seekers: "what does connection with God look like?" For years authors have pondered this, scientifically, philosophically, and through the optics of faith. For Moses it was all about shelter. Check out Psalm 90. A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man back into dust and say, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes...
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S8E08 - Shelter of The Spirit
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
As mentioned before, the trinity is in many ways a mystery to us. It is not to our Creator. In Genesis 1 "the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." The Father created and the Spirit moved. From His mind to His hands. And where was the Son while this unfolded? Apparently creating right along with Him. "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for...
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S8E07 - Shelter of the Father
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
God is a sheltering being. He provides shelter. But even more than this - He IS shelter. In fact, He is building the ultimate shelter family through the work of His Son. Jesus is the connector to our Creator. God wants to mentor us. We know this because He mentored Jesus. The Son’s best friend while He was on the earth was His Dad. He learned from Him. He was dedicated to His will. He gave up all things God and all things human for His friendship with His Father. You can find Mentored by God under books in the Fourthstream navbar. It investigates the ins and outs of how Jesus connected with...
info_outlineI am one of those nervous travelers. In fact, I would choose not to travel rather than embrace a self-imposed hassle with either highway or airport. I am sure there is some neurosis here, but I chiefly travel with people like Burnadette. She knows where we are going, how to get there, and steps right up when anything goes amiss.
As a spiritual being I am grateful to have a known start-point and destination. Some people do not care. They love mystery. I don't mind flying by the seat of my pants, but I am pretty particular about the how, where, and the why. I need some level of surety. When I submitted my life to Jesus over 50 years ago my question of destination opened for the first time, and has been a central consideration ever since.
Departure
There are three significant departure (launchpoints) in our lives. The first occurs when we land in this world. We have no control over the details. The second happens if and when we come alive spiritually. This unfolds uniquely for each of us, and for many this admittedly never occurs. Our final departure animates when we step from life into death. Once again - this day is by and large chosen for us. Inevitable. Mostly out of our control.
Process
While life has much reward it also holds inevitable pain. I wrote a book entitled "The Turbulence of Imperfection." Why is there so much pain in the world? Why don't things always work out? Why are some people's lives more smooth or successful than others? Why do bad things happen to good people? Life processes are ultimately in the hand of the Lord God. Each of our lives is a special recipe - one of a kind. We invest our time and resources in what seems best to us. Through process we have the opportunity to grow in faith, hope, and love. And each of these may be carried with us into the life to come, unlike the possessions we accumulate during our journey. Lots of unknowns. Process amplifies values, and our minds and hearts are given a chance to unlock our souls.
Destination
Inasmuch as our crossing over is inevitable (unless you know something we don't) there is much unknown apart from what is revealed in God's Story. This assumes, of course, that God is real and that He has spoken. Here is what we do know from the God Story:
√ We will all enter from life into death.
√ We will appear before the Judgment seat of our Creator and His Son.
√ We will be rewarded based upon deeds of righteousness accomplished in God.
√ Jesus is making all things new. All things!
"He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
"But when the religious leaders heard that Jesus had silenced the other prominent religious sect, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him in order to trap Him, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40
How we begin, travel, and arrive are all significant. And despite our frailties and failures, it is God who brings us safely home.
"So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." Romans 9:16
The mercy of faith brings us safely home!
We are with you,
Dave and Burnadette