Why God's blessings can be dangerous (so burn the chariots!)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
Release Date: 01/02/2026
He Burned Out as a Pastor (Then Discovered this…) w/Mark Buchanan
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
Most of us have quietly convinced ourselves that busy-ness is a badge of honor. Mark Buchanan believed the same thing — until it almost cost him his health, his marriage, and his connection with God. And what he found on the other side of that is something the modern church has almost entirely stopped talking about. In this conversation, Linda and I sit down with Mark Buchanan — author of The Rest of God, God Walk, and his new historical fiction novel What Is Left of the Night — to talk about why busyness kills the heart, what Sabbath really means as more than a day, how walking is a...
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You're Not Broke — You Have a Leak. Here's the Framework That Finds It.
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
You're not careless with money. You try to be intentional. But somehow at the end of the month, there's still less than there should be — and you can't quite figure out where it went. What if the problem isn't discipline — but a type of spending leak that even the most careful budgeters almost never catch? In this episode, I walk through the Cost vs. Frequency Matrix — a simple framework for identifying three invisible drains that quietly bleed most middle-class budgets dry. We talk about value decay (purchases that made total sense once, but quietly stopped serving you), what the...
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Why When You Feel Least Qualified Is When God Does His Best Work
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
The day Jesus fed five thousand people from almost nothing — he was also grieving the violent death of his best friend and cousin. He'd tried to get away to be alone. The crowds followed him anyway. And instead of sending them home, the Bible says "he had compassion on them." Out of his grief. Out of his exhaustion. In this episode, Linda and I walk through Matthew 14 and what was actually happening to Jesus during this wild 24-hour stretch — the grief, the exhaustion, the interrupted attempt at solitude, and the back-to-back miracles that came out of it. We also talk about what Linda...
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How to Hear the Holy Spirit About Your Finances (with Alex Seeley)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
She prayed for seven years for a breakthrough. The more she prayed, the worse things got. And she ended up on the bathroom floor saying she didn’t want to be alive anymore. What the Holy Spirit showed her in that moment — about control, about fear disguised as faith, about the difference between begging and believing — is something I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. In this episode, Linda and I sit down with Alex Seeley — author of The Divine Counselor — for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had on this show. Alex shares how a 20-year eating disorder rooted in...
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The 3 Money Tests God Gives Every Christian (And Why Most of Us Are Failing)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
Have you ever wondered why financial breakthrough feels so close yet so far? Bob and Linda Lotich reveal that God is constantly testing us with money—and most of us don't even realize it's happening. In this eye-opening conversation, they break down the three distinct money tests every believer faces, how to identify which one you're in right now, and what God is trying to teach you through it. What You'll Learn: The Three Tests - The Struggling Test - When you have less than you think you need The Surplus Test - When extra money comes your way The Stable...
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The One Verse God Said to Remember (That Everyone Forgot)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
In all of Scripture, there are only a handful of times when God explicitly tells us to "remember" something. Each time, it's attached to something vital—communion, Christ's resurrection, where we've fallen. But there's one verse where God commands us to remember a principle that much of the church seems to have forgotten entirely. In this episode, Bob and Linda explore 2 Corinthians 9:6: "Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop." Key Topics Discussed: Why This...
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Why I think God hates our money system (and what to do about it)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
Is our money system actually working against faithful stewardship? In this episode, Bob and Linda tackle a conversation almost no one in the church is having—but one every Christian steward needs to understand. Bob opens with a shocking reality: $100 in 1971 now buys about $12 worth of stuff. Same number. Far less value. So what happened? From there, the conversation zooms out to explore inflation, fiat currency, and why Scripture repeatedly condemns unequal weights and measures. Is our modern money system quietly violating biblical principles—and if so, what...
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Your Budget Is Not a Jail Cell—It’s a Spiritual Warfare Plan
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
When money is tight, a budget can feel like punishment. Like proof you messed up… or worse, proof your faith is weak. But what if that’s backwards? In this episode, Bob and Linda flip the script and show why a budget isn’t evidence of failure—it’s evidence of faith in action. Drawing from Scripture, psychology, and real-life stories, they unpack why budgeting is actually a weapon God gives us in seasons of financial pressure. If you’ve ever thought, “If God would just fix this, why do I need a spreadsheet?”—this conversation is for you. ...
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You're Meaner to Yourself Than God Is to You (w/ Earl McClellan)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
Get Your Spirit Back: Breaking Free from the Lies Holding You Back - with Pastor Earl McClellan What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your circumstances… but the lies you’ve believed about yourself? In this powerful, deeply honest conversation, Bob & Linda sit down with Pastor Earl McClellan, lead pastor of Shoreline City Church and author of Get Your Spirit Back, to talk about negative self-talk, fear, calling, identity, and what it really looks like to walk by faith when you’re scared. This isn’t a hype-up, “just believe harder”...
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Does a Church Salary Always Corrupt Pastors? (This Guy Says Yes)
SeedTime with Bob and Linda Lotich
A viral clip claims something shocking: any pastor who gets paid by a church will eventually be corrupted by money. It’s a bold accusation — and honestly, harder to dismiss than you might think. In this episode, Bob and Linda watch the clip, slow it down, and wrestle with the real tension underneath the claim. Is the modern church system broken? Does money inevitably compromise spiritual leadership? Or is this another example of painting faithful people with too broad a brush? This conversation isn’t defensive or dismissive. It’s thoughtful, biblical,...
info_outlineIn today’s episode, Bob & Linda explore one of the most overlooked spiritual tests in the Christian life: how to stay dependent on God in the midst of blessings.
Drawing from Joshua 11, they unpack the strange moment where God tells Israel to hamstring the horses and burn the enemy’s chariots—the ancient equivalent of destroying tanks after a battle. Why would God command that? Because victories can be just as spiritually dangerous as trials.
Through personal stories—from unexpected financial provision, to early blogging years, to painful seasons of health challenges—Bob & Linda reflect on how easy it is to place trust in the “chariots” of modern life: savings accounts, credit cards, systems, friendships, therapy, comfort, or even spiritual routines.
This episode is an invitation to ask the Holy Spirit: “What chariot in my life have I started to rely on more than God?”
It’s a vulnerable, practical conversation about dependence, provision, and the subtle ways our security can shift from the Lord to the blessings He provides.
(Scripture from NLT.)
Big Takeaways
- God sometimes blesses us with success—but the real test comes after the victory.
- “Chariots” today can be anything we lean on before we lean on God—money, strategies, credit cards, relationships, even good systems.
- Joshua’s obedience protected Israel’s dependence; Solomon’s disobedience eroded his.
- Trusting God doesn’t mean rejecting tools—it means refusing to let tools replace Him.
- Obedience may feel costly, but it leaves room for God’s provision to be unmistakable.
Key Scriptures (NLT)
- Joshua 11 — God commands Israel to cripple the horses and burn the chariots.
- Psalm 20:7 — “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.”
- Deuteronomy 17:16 — Instruction to future kings not to store up horses.
- Matthew 14 (referenced) — Jesus’ exhausting day of grief, ministry, feeding the 5,000, walking on water, and praying through the night.
Highlighted Quotes from the Episode
- “Getting the blessing is one thing—keeping God at the center is another.”
- “Some victories make you feel strong. God wants you to stay dependent.”
- “You can have a blessed life and still miss what God is trying to form in you.”
- “You’re not called to trust the tool—only the One who provides it.”
- “Ask the Holy Spirit: What chariot am I still holding onto?”
Timestamps
00:00 — The surprising test after a breakthrough
02:00 — Why did God tell Joshua to burn chariots?
04:15 — Dependence vs. self-reliance when life is going well
06:30 — Modern “chariots”: money, comfort, systems, relationships
10:00 — A real inheritance story: when provision can become a trap
11:00 — Bob’s personal story: the blog, losing his job, and losing their “income lifeline”
13:30 — How challenges can strengthen faith more than comfort
15:00 — Jesus’ exhausting day: grief, ministry, storm
17:00 — Joshua vs. Solomon: a tale of two responses
20:00 — Is God asking you to lay something down?
25:00 — Guided prayer: “Lord, show me my chariots”
26:30 — Final verse + encouragement
Weekly Action Item
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal ONE “chariot” in your life—a place where you’ve subtly shifted trust from God to a tool, resource, or comfort.
Write it down and pray:
“Lord, show me how to surrender this and depend on You again.”
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