Episode 7--Let’s stop a moment and catch up!

 

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 07 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal: 

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped into a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people--Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience!   

Body of episode:

 

So, let’s stop a moment and catch up! Which by the way is the title of this episode. How clever right? Well, how are you liking the podcast so far? Have you been sharing with and forwarding the episodes to your friends and family members? Have you been telling everyone you know about this new, slightly campy, WWJD limited edition, podcast?

If not, please do! 

You see, I really want to get the word out that Believers, Christians, serve a God who loves. We do not serve a dead God or a tyrannical God. We do not love and serve a God who breathes fire and hates people.

We love and serve the God who created us. 

 

Does this mean life will be perfect? No. Right now we are living through a pandemic. Thousands of people have died worldwide. And life has changed. The way we do life has changed. And at the risk of sounding pessimistic, life will probably never be exactly the same again. At least not for a long time. But there is still a living God. A God who sees it all and is not wringing His hands at the thought of an actual pandemic in the 21st Century. 

 

He sees that thousands of people have died and He is deeply saddened. And He hears the prayers of millions crying out to Him asking for healing. He is healing, in different ways. Not always in the ways we would prefer. Everyone would prefer healing for their family member, instead of death. But that’s not what is happening in thousands of families worldwide. What is happening is grief. Unimaginable grief. 

 

And silver linings. Those of us who are surviving this pandemic are being given more time to get things done we have not had the time to do for months or even years. Many Believers are finding themselves at a place of reckoning in their hearts, in their personal relationship with Jesus, with God.  It’s not enough to do church just ‘cause. God is talking to us in the deepest parts of our hearts, and I don’t know about you, but I am feeling compelled to listen. Like it’s now or never. 

 

This deep heart-check may come with pandemics. And pandemics are typically once in a lifetime. But there were recent pandemics that did not happen or have the same effect as this CoronaVirus. Remember the Ebola pandemic? According to Google: The Western African Ebola virus epidemic was the most widespread outbreak of Ebola virus disease in history—causing major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Wikipedia.

Number of deaths: 11,323, Start date: February 2014

 

So it wasn’t global, but it definitely affected an entire region of a continent. 

 

Then there was also the Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009, do you remember that one? What about the Zika Virus Pandemic of 2015? Did any of them seem like the pandemic we are currently experiencing? I don’t recall that being the case. 

This one is different. Different in so many ways. Every country on this planet has been directly or indirectly affected. The entire planet has been asked to stay at home for some period of time. The entire world! 

 As of this recording, more than 234,000 people have died from this virus. That’s a lot of people. That is a lot of ripple effects. Family members left behind to grieve, pick up the pieces, and move on.  

 

For those of us who are Believers, we feel God speaking to us. No matter who we are, how long we have been Believers, how old or young, He is going in, and doing some deep cleaning in our hearts. He is shedding light into some dark places.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 says “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”--Jeremiah 17:9 (MSG). And please, we all have dark places in our hearts. Places that need work. Because the Bible also says in Romans 3:23 ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…’ And even with all of the cleaning, we will never be perfect. I’ve said this in a previous episode, we will never be perfect but it’s not about perfection. It is about daily journeying toward perfection.        

 

With that said, I wanted to take a glimpse back at the last six episodes.  Like I say at the beginning of each episode, come along with me, it will be a really cool experience! 

Episode 1--I Believe Jesus was an introvert: Yes, there was an episode before this one. It’s the intro, so, well, it speaks for itself. Now, in Episode One, I really, really wanted that to be the first episode. I wanted to introduce Jesus to those of us who think we know Him as well as to those who do not, who did not. Now you have to admit, you never thought of him in terms of introvert versus extrovert right? But once you think about it, doesn’t it put a little bit of humanity on Him although you still know He is God? Like I say in the episode, ‘I believe He, like the typical introvert, needed that alone time to recharge.’ I still believe that. Look, I am convinced He was an introvert, from the very first miracle where He turned water into wine, He was not initially a willing participant. Anyway, take a listen to Episode One. What do you think?    

 

Episode 2--Caught in Adultery: So, we went straight from talking about Jesus being an introvert to talking about adultery! Well, the Bible is an interesting book isn’t it? Why not create a podcast that at least attempts to mirror that level of interest? The last thing I wanted to do with this podcast was to make it fakingly boring! Hey, I just made up a new word. Some will pretend that the Bible is filled with flowery words on how to live so that when we die we go to Heaven. 

Well, I am here to tell you, there is a lot in between. There is murder, adultery, theft, lying, slavery, gossip, unbelief, and just plain treachery. Just like real life. Just like life as we know it today. Why write a book on how to make it in a difficult world if that difficult world is not discussed and portrayed in the book? So, yeah, adultery? How did the religious people of the day deal with it? Is it much different today? You tell me.  And in the meantime, check out how Jesus dealt with it in episode two.

 

Episode 3--Church Hurt:  And then we went from adultery to being hurt in church. And they could be mutually exclusive... or not.  For the purposes of these two episodes, they were not. It was literally just how I went from one episode to the next. Now in some cases, as the podcast progresses, I will be putting some episodes in categories, but so far, that has not been the case. I produced them in the order I did so that everyone--Believer and non-Believer will see that there are all types of things going on in the church. Still. Today. 

At any rate, church hurt. Well, it’s just as it sounds. It is a hurtful event caused by a church leader or lay church member, that takes place in church. Check out the episode to find out the inexhaustible list of ways you can be hurt in church, and what to do about it, without leaving the church, or even more importantly, leaving your relationship with Jesus.   

 

Episode 4--True Religion, BC and AC--My Interview with Matt Farrell--Well, this is my first interview episode of the podcast, and what an awesome episode and interview it was. To date it is one of the most listened to of the six episodes. We talk about everything from being a God hater to cult religions to loving God! Take a listen. You will see why it is one of the top listened to episodes. It was the perfect first interview episode! 

 

Episode 5--The Case for Guns in Church--Yes, can you imagine? Guns in church! Is there no place sacred?! Well, actually, guns in church is nothing new: think wild wild west. They had guns in all aspects of their lives. But honestly, that’s not the time in history we discuss in this episode. We go way back to what we like to call the Bible days. Check out episode five to see exactly what I mean by that. 

 

Episode 6--Does God Create Pandemics--And finally, now for our current as of this recording, worldwide pandemic. As of this recording, we are still in the midst of the CoronaVirus pandemic. I never thought we would see the day! What do you think? Did God create this Coronavirus pandemic? Tune in to see what I think!

Scriptures mentioned, links, and articles, etc: 

 

• https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/

 

• Jeremiah 17:9-10 

 

• Romans 3:23

Episode Takeaways:

 

‘Many Believers are finding themselves at a place of reckoning in their hearts, in their personal relationship with Jesus, with God.  It’s not enough to do church just ‘cause. God is talking to us in the deepest parts of our hearts, and I don’t know about you, but I am feeling compelled to listen... Like it’s now or never.’ 

Episode quote:

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”--Billy Graham.

 

Don’t forget, I would love to hear from you on the question: 

 

‘Who is God?’ 

Episode outro:

Well, thank you for tuning in. Let me know via social media or by email if you have feedback. I would love to hear from you! You may email me at [email protected]. Please give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. And don’t forget to check the show notes for the sources used for this episode. Until next time!