How can we apply God’s promises to our daily lives? Are God’s promises conditional? What does it mean to be a child of God? What are some key promises found in the bible? Are God’s promises for me? How can we be sure God will keep His promises? What‘s more important than getting a life-changing handle on what God has promised you specifically? Expect this podcast to help you know who you are...REALLY & to help you live fully believing God‘s promises to you...REALLY.
Episodes
Friday Sep 09, 2022
Friday Sep 09, 2022
Deuteronomy 31:8 (New Living Translation) -
"Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
(and verse 7 of this chapter says: "Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, 'Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors He would give them...")
#FromTheVault
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises available at Amazon
Key Points ~~~
We need to listen up - take notes - pay careful attention - and do whatever we are called to do when we study our Bible and sense the Lord speaking to us.
Don't be an inactive, indifferent student of the Word!
This promise is massive - it is so big that it leaves us no room to talk our way out of it or wiggle our way around it in order to avoid it...we must simply believe it.
The only way God's promises will not be for you is if you refuse to move with the Lord & instead just sit down on the sidelines. Do not sit out on your own life!
The promises of God should go hand-in-glove with our prayer lives. Appropriating God's promises is the real point of knowing God's promises.
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Well hello there, and welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast.
Take the quiz "Which Promise from the Bible is for You?" here
Take the quiz "What Kind of Mom Are You?" here
Today we are taking a look at four verses from Psalm 27, which is an excellent passage of the Bible to read if you are in need of some extra encouragement or some reassurance that God does hear and answer your prayers.
It’s one of David’s psalms, and those are always encouraging to me in part because they are honest and real and kind of raw. What a good reminder to be honest with God when we pray. He can handle our honesty! He made us with emotions, and He can handle us having emotions. But hiding stuff quote / unquote away from God when we pray, well, it really only harms us, and stuffing stuffing stuffing emotions is hard on us - look, He already knows what we are struggling with and how we are feeling. So let the words of Psalm 27 spur you toward more and more honesty and transparency with the Lord when you pray.
In today’s episode I would like to take a look at verses 7 through 10 of Psalm 27, and I am going to read from the NLT.
7
Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
8
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9
Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
10
Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.
Asking God, crying out to Him, almost pleading with Him to hear you as you pray - that’s heart cry praying, isn’t it? Be merciful and answer me! Sounds very much like a man crying out from the depths of his heart, and there is actually a boldness to this kind of praying. Now I am not saying you get to wag your finger at God and tell Him what to do. No, that’s irreverence and that is unbiblical. However, boldly asking Him to hear you, because you are in a bad way and you really need to be heard! That's boldly coming to His throne of grace to find help and to obtain mercy at your time of need (that’s from the book of Hebrews).
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me,” and my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Did you know that the Lord calls out to you to come and talk with Him when you are in those hard, long, taxing places of life? He does! In our modern era, we can so often miss Him calling to us because we are so busy, almost undone at times due to the hectic pace of life, and the constant scroll on our phones only adds to our inability to hear Him calling to us. Remember Elijah’s experience with the Lord, when the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake or the mighty wind or the fire, but was a still small voice, more like a rustling. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God of the Bible is the God of right now. He didn’t yell when Elijah needed to hear from Him, and He most likely is not going to start yelling at you and me today. We need to listen, to pay attention, to heed Him calling to us, saying, “Jan, come and talk with me.” and our response should be, “Lord, I am coming.”
We are not always the best about that, if we are totally honest and forthright.
We want Him to hear us and answer us right away.
But we don’t hurry to spend time with Him when He calls us to come and talk with Him.
Let’s have an attitude of listening well for His call, knowing that His Word says He will call us to come and talk with Him, and then let’s answer Him. Like, without delay. As soon as possible, just get busy about going to talk with Him. Put the phone away. Get somewhere quiet, even if it’s in your car or in the bathroom. Use the john, hit the head, to use old school dude terminology, and shut yourself away for a bit to talk with Him.
With.
Talk WITH Him.
Not at Him. Not just to Him. Not you talk talk talk and then go back to your work or grab your phone again or whatever.
Talking with Him is a conversation, it goes both ways. Talk to Him, yup. And also, be quiet and listen. He has something to say to you, if He is calling you to come and talk with Him. But, are you really listening?
In verse 9 we see what is kind of like David dumping out his feelings, like literally doing a pour out. Maybe that’s not an actual thing, but I like to think of it that way - do a pour out of all the things that I am feeling, thinking, my emotions that are screaming loudly and want to dictate my decisions and what I believe about God. Get that all out, pour it out to the Lord and just purge it. Don’t bottle it up inside.
Let me read verse 9 again - Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
This is kind of intense! David had so much emotion, he really was dealing with a whole slew of emotions and feelings that could have left him overwhelmed.
Don’t let your feelings make your decisions.
Take them to the Lord and do a full pour out, share it all with Him in prayer, and then hear what He has to say to you after that.
Just tell Him that you feel like you are on the verge of being rejected or abandoned, if that is how you are feeling. Ask Him not to leave you, but to be a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Ask Him to keep His promise to never leave you nor forsake you. And He never breaks a promise, because our God is a perfect promise maker and a perfect promise keeper.
It’s like a good cry, remember that my female friends, from your teen years? Cry it out. Have a good, long cry and then feel so much better. I’ve heard there is some science to prove why you feel better, that it actually releases endorphins after a good hard cry and also that toxins are expelled through your tears. It’s not a bad thing to cry! Maybe we could start normalizing the “have a good cry” again. I kind of would love that for all of us! How helpful would that be?
The God of your salvation is not going to leave you or abandon you. In fact, dare I say, the God of your salvation isn’t going anywhere! Hang your hat on that truth, my friend!
Verse 10 declares that even if my father and mother abandoned me, the Lord will hold me close. David, the psalmist, is making a very strong point here. He is speaking in extremes so that you can be 1000% certain about this - hope in this - rely on this - know this to be true - even if the craziest things happen in your life, your God, He ain’t going no where. He will not budge. Not one iota. His love for you, it will not stop. It will not cease. He is there, right there with you and that is where He will remain.
This is your promise.
And all of God’s promises prove true, it says in the OT book of Joshua.
In the NT we read that all of God’s promises are yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord.
So in the Old or New Testament, we are guaranteed that every single promise is true, will keep on being true, and will come to pass.
Today is going to be a slightly shorter episode of the podcast, but I want to mention just a couple of things real quick.
God is for you, my friend. He is more for you, more in your corner, than you may realize. But I am praying He shows up, shows off, shows out how in your corner He is this fall!
Hang on to Him, do the pour out as often as you need to, and listen to Him in your prayer time. He wants to bless you, and I am encouraging you to believe Him for the blessing today!
See ya next time!
Bye bye.
Saturday Aug 20, 2022
Saturday Aug 20, 2022
Well hello again! Thanks for joining me here at The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God, just stacking up those promises week after week, and praying that God’s people would be so given to belief, that our natural bent would be toward believing fully every single promise from God’s Word, that we would leave a mark, a holy mark, on our generation.
Get access to the Psalm 91 audio course here
The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises available at Amazon
Wouldn’t that be an awesome legacy? To be able to look back in your old age, during those golden years, to pause and reflect and know that you truly believed God’s Word and you prayed big, bold, daring and sometimes perhaps even audacious prayers based on nothing in the visible realm but based on what the Bible says. Wowza, what an impact! What a legacy that would be! I want in on that, gimme some of that - more of that, please!
That’s why I do what I do week after week, so that you can have that kind of legacy. A legacy that is rooted in a Kingdom impact. And today, well today is a big day on the show because today we take a look at two verses from the prophet Isaiah that are astoundingly, incredibly remarkable. If we would just choose to believe these words from the Bible.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 118.
Alrighty, well here we are in the heat of summer here in Wichita, Kansas. And the Farmer’s Almanac says we are going to have an arctic kind of winter, snowfall above normal and hibernation temps. What a contrast from the blasting oven of heat that lies just outside my front door today, to think of cold that is described as a hibernation zone, glacial, snow filled. And that is the kind of contrast we see between Isaiah 55:10-11 and the way we often pray and what we do or do not believe God for in our actual, walking around lives. Blasting heat it’s an oven outside versus arctic hibernation winter temps. What it says in the Bible versus how I pray and what I believe is going to prove true as a result of how I pray. Often a very stark difference, if we are totally honest. But, is that how the Lord wants it to be?
Isaiah 55, verses 10 and 11 are ones you have probably heard many times, and portions of these verses are regularly mentioned when people pray. So if it’s familiar, well, that’s good - it should be very familiar to us. I know for me personally, I want people who will pray these verses over my life, over my requests, my needs, my emergencies, my future, my children, the work of my hands, my marriage, and so on like ad nauseum. Pray this, please! And pray it as often as you want to! I’m thankful for it!
Let me read it to you from the Amplified.
For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, making it bear and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me void (useless, without result), without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Anybody else get a little bit excited, pumped up, when you hear those words?
This is God speaking in quotes here in Isaiah 55. God is making this promise about His Word, and He has not stated this in secret, in a quiet corner, in obscurity. He has loudly and boldly proclaimed it and I believe, with all of my heart, that He wants us to take Him at His word.
He meant what He said here, and He said exactly what He meant.
We can know with absolute certainty the will of God when it comes to His Word accomplishing what He desires. And when we know for certain God’s will on a matter, we need to believe Him and we should pray in accordance with what His will is. It is a dangerous game, and total folly, to do otherwise.
We are not like a senseless animal being led around by a bit in our mouth, right? We are the ones who have this great opportunity to believe God’s Word, right here and right now, in the midst of this generation. And I promise you this: you will never regret believing God for what He has said in the Bible. Conversely, what you doubt Him for, where you refuse to believe, that may well become a regret that weighs on you for a very long time.
Because what we believe God for, especially when it comes to what we ask God for in prayer, has an eternal impact, one way or another. For good or for not good. Your prayers matter. And when you pray knowing that God’s Word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He desires and will succeed in the matter for which He sent it? Oh that’s big time praying, my friend.
That’s money, right there. That’s the good life, in the most literal sense that I know of.
Anybody here ever heard of the author Susie Larson? She writes books, like a lot of them, and she has a daily radio show and is a speaker. I really am blessed by her show, by her books, her speaking appearances. She is someone who lives life in the real world, prays boldly based on God’s Word, and believes the Lord continually, at times in the face of a whole lot of difficulty and at times with the devil throwing lies right into her face. There is one thing Susie Larson often says that is just so true, it’s kind of like once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it, ya know? She says that the devil always overplays his hand. It’s like satan can’t not over-do things! He just is so full of pride and loathing for God and is such a liar, like can’t not lie and cannot ever stop lying, that he overdoes things. Susie kind of describes it like this: you and I, we may be thinking that what’s happening in our lives, it’s just life on this planet. And so we just endure it. We bear up under it. We keep on keepin’ on. We may pray about it a little bit, but mostly we just trudge along under the weight of it because we don’t recognize it as an attack sent by the enemy. And then, one day, all of a sudden, something just a wee bit more happens (or maybe something kind of big happens). The thing that happens is linked somehow to what you’ve already been dealing with. For example, health issues. Finances. Maybe your children’s behavior. Like, just that one more thing and then, boom, you see clearly that this is the enemy and it is for sure from him and you know God is not expecting you to just keep taking it. You sort of take pause and realize that this is too much to be just life in a broken world. This is not just life; this is from the enemy. You realize this isn’t about growing the fruit of the Spirit in your life, this is a satanic attack and there is a huge difference in how we respond. I’m talking about a realization that this is something that God wants you to be out from under, and you know that by prayer you will be freed from this particular attack.
Satan has overplayed his hand. And now that he has overplayed his hand, it’s all over but the crying. It’s over, Rover. Done deal. Finito.
Have you had moments like that? When you just knew, in an instant, based on that one more thing, that satan was behind it and now you could see it all clearly, whereas if he had just kept quiet and left well enough alone, so to speak, you never would have known it was him and you would have just kept enduring it. He always, always overplays his hand. He can’t NOT overplay his hand. It’s like a temptation he is unable to resist, gnawing at him, until he adds just a bit more…and then, you see it all clearly and you seek God’s help and then it all turns around for you.
These verses from Isaiah are in direct contradiction to satan overplaying his hand. They give us the keys to overcome him, and we do that in prayer and often in fasting along with our praying.
When it rains, when it snows, the earth is watered. It’s not possible for rain to not water. God sends the rain to water the earth, causing it to bear and to sprout, to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eater. It’s a beautiful picture of how God sustains us. Jesus is the Living Water, and all who come to Him will never thirst again (as He said to the woman at the well). He satisfies spiritually, which is far more important and vital than our physical bodies. And God sends rain to make sure that things keep working according to His design, that we would have seed to sow, to keep on growing more and more food, to keep on harvesting, to keep on sowing more and more seed. And for bread to eat, which of course is a result of the harvest which is a result of sowing, or planting, which grows because of the rain that God sends for that purpose.
And what God sends the rain to do, that is what gets done. Period. It doesn’t get to talk back and tell God it isn’t interested in doing what He wants it to do. It just does as it was sent to do. The intention is fulfilled, always.
And guess what? That is how God wants us to see His Word. It works in our lives, it does what He intends for it to do, it is life giving and life changing and life sustaining. And it never stops working. God set it up that way!
And boy oh boy, I sure don’t want to be one who tries to undo God’s order for things. I don’t want to be a woman who pushes against the way God set things up. I want to honor my Lord, with my daily life, and I want to trust Him so completely that I feel weird not trusting Him. I want to believe His Word so much that I feel out of whack if I don’t believe. I hope you want that, too.
So we have this picture of how rain does what it is sent to do, how it waters the earth and provides seed and food.
In verse 11, God says, “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth”.
Oh boy, that right there gets me excited. Do you know what this means? It means that what God has said is EXACTLY what will take place. You can call it what you like, I’m gonna call it how it be. The word of God, as we find it in our Bibles, that is how it is going to be. Might as well get on board with that starting right now, today. It’s the truth, like it or not. So might as well choose to like it.
So will My word be which goes out of My mouth.
That is a promise for the ages!
How could I ever pray a tiny, small, faithless prayer when I could instead pray a big, bold, believing prayer that reminds all of hell that the word of my God always and in all ways accomplishes that for which He sends it?
The only way I can pray itty bitty snack sized prayers is if I choose to.
I choose NOT to pray teeny weeny prayers, thank you very much.
I want to see the will of my God happening all over this earth that He made, that He created. I want to see that! And so I pray what His word says and I believe that not one bit of it will return to Him void.
Because He says here that it will not return to Him void, useless, or without result.
When God says “WILL NOT”, isn’t it pretty silly for us to say, “Well, maybe it will but maybe it won’t”.
Silly is a nice way of saying, bordering on sinful to doubt God so much.
If you play with fire, what’s the saying? You will get burned.
Expect the Word of God to do what God sends it forth to do. Expect nothing less. You know the One to whom you pray, to Whom you have entrusted your eternity, the One who holds the keys of death and hell, he took them back from satan - do you think He can’t handle whatever it is you are facing? You’re probably not facing death as in you are already dead, as Jesus was in that tomb for three days, and you for sure are not standing in hell, which is a real place, the Bible has a lot to say about hell in the New Testament and before your time here ends you need to read the Gospels and see what Jesus said about heaven and hell. What you are dealing with isn’t too hard for the Lord. He defeated death and hell. Why are you afraid to pray and ask Him to deal with your hard places?
Don’t give in to that fearfulness and thus pray small, unbelieving prayers. Don’t be afraid; just believe, said Jesus to the man whose little daughter had just died. Don’t be afraid, just believe. I think you can do that today. I’m asking you to do that today.
His word will not return to Him without accomplishing what He desires (not what you and I desire, what He desires but remember when you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, acknowledging Him in all your ways, He will make your paths straight - and on that straight path, you won’t be wanting things that aren’t what He wants. Psalm 37:4 tells us to take delight in the Lord and He will give us our hearts desires. That is the Word of God, my friend, and Isaiah 55 promises that it will not return to Him void but will accomplish what He desires. Isn’t this great news!!! I love this so much!)
The last part of verse 11 says this - and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
When God says something can’t be done, that issue is settled.
Pay attention closely when you see Him say clearly that something cannot be done.
What cannot be done here?
His Word can’t NOT succeed in the matter for which He sent it. It CANNOT return to Him void, useless, without result. It CAN’T NOT accomplish what God desires.
Let’s pray like we believe God on this, okay?
Call me crazy if you want to, I seriously do not care. Crazy enough to get everything God has for me in answer to prayer based on His word? I guess maybe that may seem crazy to the world but it certainly should not seem crazy to the Church, to the Body of Christ. It should be the norm. We should be shocked by unbelief more than bold belief.
Let’s pray big. Start today. Or tomorrow morning during your quiet time. Before you go to sleep tonight. Pray big. Never cease in praying expectantly, knowing God intends for His word to fulfill what He has sent it for.
Thanks for joining me today on the podcast. I’m grateful for you listening and I’d love for you to share this episode if it blessed you or encouraged you or even challenged you today. Share it on your social media maybe, or mention it to a friend or your small group, those are some pretty easy ways to share the show. And if one person is encouraged, wouldn’t that be so wonderful? The prayer they pray may just be the one that breaks that family stronghold, that emboldens someone to do God’s will in some certain part of their life, that brings healing, emotional or physical or both, into someone’s life. The prayer someone prays may be the very prayer God answers and by doing so, totally turns your life around. So, yeah, please share this episode.
I don’t usually feel an urge to ask you to share, but this episode I can’t not ask you to share because it’s not about what Jan says, it’s what the word of God has to say and somebody as a result of a shared post or text or old school email, somebody is about to experience something with God that will bless them and encourage them and be just what they need at this point in their life.
Thanks for sharing the show, and God bless you. Praying for all my listeners, and you probably have a good idea of how I am praying for you after listening to this episode. I’m expecting God to answer my prayers and do mighty things in your life.
See you next time when we will jump back to Psalm 27 and take a look at the promises God provides us there.
Bye bye.
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Thursday Aug 11, 2022
Well, hey there!
Welcome to episode #117 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, where it's all about knowing and believing God's promises. Because that's where the life-change really takes place!
When you know in your knower that every single one of God's promises is true, you'll never want to go back to a life of doubt and wondering.
This week on the show we are looking at a couple of verses from Psalm 27, which was written by David.
Verses 1 through 3 read like this in the New Living Translation:
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
Verse 1 is a kind of call to not be afraid - no matter what.
He is our light. He is our salvation. He is our fortress. He will never stop protecting us from danger.
He will enable us to see clearly as He leads us. As our salvation, he rescues, delivers and protects us.
Nobody and nothing get to you outside of the Savior's permission. We see ample of evidence in the first few chapters of the book of Job. The enemy wanted to do far more to Job than he actually did, but was not allowed to because God stayed his hand. When God says, "This far and no farther," even our enemy Satan listens and obeys.
God has His hand on the thermostat of your life, and it will never get hotter than His hand allows.
When you forget this, you give the enemy access that God does not want him to have in your life. Doubting, or even simply failing to remember or call to mind what god has promised in His Word is just a hairs breath away from giving in to fear.
Fear screams loudly and gives the enemy a seat at our table. Once he sits down with us, he does what he always does: lies and lies and lies some more.
But knowing our God decides what does and does not happen to us, well, that takes away the devil's seat at the table of our life. It pulls back the chair and sees him to the door.
It keeps his fear mongering at bay and reduces it to dust.
Jesus sets a table for us in the presence of our enemies, it says in Psalm 23.
But it doesn't say our enemies are dining with us. So let's not accept anything less than our Savior giving us rest and peace in the midst of our enemies and our hard situations.
When your enemy comes to attack they will stumble and fall, it says in verse 2.
Let this remind you that God sees what is happening, and God cares.
Rest assured that God's got His hand on the thermostat and His eye on your circumstances, and He is always, always good.
Get a free ticket to the summit I'm speaking at next week here:
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
A very special episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show coming to ya today.
I had the chance to interview my dear friend Kerry Beck about a special event coming up in just a couple of weeks - Homeschool Super Heroes Week.
Now, don’t run and hide or tune out just because you heard me say the word “homeschool”.
There are some things in this podcast episode that are beneficial for all parents and even grandparents, and there are some pretty awesome freebies available too.
Kerry hosts this online event every year right at the tail end of summer and part of why she has it in late August is so that parents and grandparents can get a jump-start on the school year (whether that includes home education or not!) Her heart is to equip parents and grandparents who are Christians to train up the next generation to put on their “Bible glasses” and view the world through a Christian point of view.
It’s the time of year when families start thinking about fall Bible studies and jump back into family devotionals after the more relaxed summer months.
The world in which we are currently living is very different than the world was 100 years ago…or even 10 or 15 years ago!
It’s important to recognize the signs of the times in which we live, and to work diligently and with focus on training our children and grandchildren in the ways of the Lord.
This summit is designed to that singular end.
And the way that Kerry treats her audience is remarkable and unique, and it is always the highlight of my year to work with her through her events. I’m sharing Kerry’s vision for Christian families with you today on the podcast because I would be a really lousy friend to you all if I didn’t! She is offering a caring, encouraging, Biblically solid environment to her people via her email list and her Facebook group - so if you could use some encouragement in a safe, warm, welcoming place as you grow in your walk as a Christian parent, then this event is for you.
In addition to the speakers at this week-long online event, Kerry is opening up a prayer room so attendees can share prayer requests, pray for one another, and be prayed for. Is that not the best idea ever?!? Who doesn’t want to have access to a prayer room as we head into a brand new school year?!?
So, yes, there will be workshops that focus on homeschooling - but there are also going to be workshops on parenting, discipleship, prayer, and loads of encouragement for moms and dads.
There will even be a daily superhero of the faith that parents and grandparents can do with their kiddos. As believers, we have a Christian heritage and getting a little snippet of info about that to pass along to our children is truly amazing.
The keynote speaker will be talking about the importance of Christian communication and the art of communicating well.
And if you are a grandmother who is raising and / or homeschooling your grandchildren, Kerry offers regular ideas, resources and encouragement for you. (Also, if you are serving in the Church in any type of children’s ministry, many of the ideas and activities she shares will work well in that environment, too.)
This year she has several speakers focusing on special needs in children, and she is thrilled to be able to offer several workshops that can be of help to parents of special needs children.
There will also be the opportunity to ask questions for the speakers, and get those questions answered. For me, as an extreme introvert, when I would travel to a conference or convention, I would sit in the back, take lots of notes, and skedaddle immediately at the end of the workshop. But having the option to ask questions via an online summit takes all the “people-y” parts of a traditional conference out of the equation. So if you are like me, and you don’t usually ask questions when all the people are around, then this type of setting is for you.
And Kerry has made different options available to attend the summit, even with a totally free option. (If you can afford free, then you can afford this event!) Even if you are on a tight budget, and who isn’t in our current economy, there is an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy way to enjoy the summit.
Visit Kerry's website here:
Get a free ticket to the summit here:
Friday Jul 29, 2022
Friday Jul 29, 2022
In this episode from the vault, Jan shares several verses from God's Word along with an important reminder that God is in the promise keeping business, and He has every intention of keeping His Word to you.
Happy Listening!
#FromTheVault
Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.
Today I am going to read a bunch of Bible verses to you and let the promises of God sink into your heart, into your mind (which changes the way that we think and that, my friend, changes the way that we live).
God keeps all of His promises so I want to encourage you today to live like you know He is keeping all of His promises to you. To your family. To your local church. To the church all around the globe.
Okay, so let’s dive into God’s Word and get some encouraging news in our ears, in our thoughts, shall we?
First let’s start with some powerful and hopeful words that Jesus spoke. I am quoting the NLT for today’s podcast & let’s look at Mark 12:27 - Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
It is so, so important to remember, when we are making the big bold decision to really, truly believe God’s promises - to live a believing life - that we don’t base our belief on anything outside of the Lord. We aren’t mustering up more faith. We are simply deciding that we will believe what the Bible says to us. And so, this verse is just a great reminder that you don’t have to make God’s promises work out in your life, in your kid’s lives, etc. Nope.
There are actually many, many things in this life that are impossible - for man. For humans. For wives and for moms and for employees and for church members. Humanly speaking, there is gonna be stuff that is just not possible. But not with God! Aren’t these words from Jesus incredible?
Think for just a moment about what our Savior is actually saying to us. But not with God. EVERYTHING is possible with God.
So bring God into everything, then!
Never intentionally leave Him out of anything. You want the God who makes the impossible, possible doing all the things in your life, am I right?
Get a sense of Jesus, today, looking at you intently and reminding you, firmly but with great love and compassion, that it isn’t about mankind's ability to make this thing fly. Because God makes everything possible.
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) says this - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Oh wow - what a verse! What hope! What assurance! This is quite a promise!
He is promising that He will direct your steps. And guess what? You can pray this verse over your loved ones, your co-workers, your spouse, your aging parents, your neighbors. And also, pray this over yourself.
Lord, direct my steps. I know my righteousness and any godliness within me is thanks to Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Father, bless me and direct each step that I take. Stop me when I am near a misstep. Thank You for this promise of Your guidance and direction over my life, from now until my last breath.
It says that He delights in every detail of our lives. So guess what that means for us? How does that relate to us living in total belief that God’s promises for us are absolutely true and are being realized on the daily? Well, take every little and every big detail of your life to God in prayer. You can do that! You should do that! He cares so much - talk to Him. A lot! Often. All of the time. And remember, keep on remembering, He delights, not tolerates or endures or notices, but delights in every detail.
Oh this is a great promise. And a great prayer verse too.
Quick side note here - anybody else feel kind of like we are on the verge of just a huge prayer event in the West? Like people are going to start praying individually, as married couples, families, in small groups, church settings, at work, on college campuses, gathering among neighbors - online even. To pray. I have a sense this is on the horizon. If you feel that way too, listen to the Lord as to what He is calling you to do as part of that, I guess prayer movement you might call it? And keep track of, write down, memorize, put in your phone verses that you can have at the ready at any moment to pray. Praying God’s promises is really amazing. Like, will leave you amazed again and again.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) says - So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
A lot in that verse. First, God says to be strong and courageous and that sentence ends with an exclamation point. So - let’s just do what He says to do! Be strong. Be courageous. Exclamation point. I am guessing you have one or more parts of your life right now, at this point in time, where you can apply this. So go ahead and apply. Be strong. Be courageous. How? By resting in the Lord and knowing in your knower that He is going to keep His word.
Don’t be afraid. Think on Jesus and the fear dissipates, really it does! Do not panic before them, it says. Well “them” of course refers to their enemies. Don’t panic before your enemy.
And here is the reason why you don’t need to be afraid, don’t panic, be strong and courageous. For the Lord your God WILL PERSONALLY go ahead of you. Boom. Mic drop.
When God says He WILL do something, He most assuredly will. You just be about the business of believing He will do all He has promised to do. Let Him be about the actual doing of it.
He will personally go ahead of you.
How’s that for a promise that can give you some big time faith?
And the verse ends with this - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
I’m going to say that once more - He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
He won’t. That’s that.
Revelation 21:4 (NLT) - He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying of pain. All these things are gone forever.
This is such a wonderful verse for us. I’m not going to deep dive into anything specific today - but we have had quite an 18 /19 or so months, all around the world. This verse is a balm for those who know Jesus. It’s key. It’s mission critical to remember there is a day coming when all the tears will stop. No more death or sorrow or crying or pain. Gone forever. I don’t even need to say more about this verse, this promise from Revelation, except that it is for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you don’t, you are welcome to email me at JanLBurt@outlook.com and I will reply. It’s so important to know Him, not know of Him, not just attend church, but really know Him. Not talking religion here. But true relationship with the Son of God, Jesus. I really do welcome you to contact me. Totally confidential and non judgmental. Just offering Jesus and how to have Him as your best friend forever.
Last verse today - Luke 1:37 (NLT) For the word of God will never fail.
Short and sweet. Doesn’t need explaining. No need for commentary. Just know that this is absolute and unchanging truth.
For the word of the Lord will never fail.
Anybody else need to know that today?
Take that thing, big and scary, and hold it up next to this verse, Luke 1:37. Does one seem bigger and one much smaller?
For the word of the Lord will - never - fail.
It won’t. It just will not.
Lord bless you today. I have prayed for you, all who listen to this episode, and I am going to continue to pray for you.
Live a life sold out for Jesus, a die hard for His promises, and just see what God might do in and through a life lived like that.
Find me on instagram @janlburt or on Facebook in the prayer group - Praying Through the Storm - and I have a book, a devotional, available on Amazon - The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises - with verses that have the word “WILL” in them. God does what He says He will do, and He never doesn’t do what He has said that He will do.
Praying Through the Storm online prayer retreat group
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
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Friday Jul 22, 2022
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Prayer Is...
*Asking & receiving
* Enjoying being in our Father's presence
* Laying our burdens down & receiving Jesus' peace
* Interceding for others ~ for their benefit & God's glory
* Fighting the good fight of our faith
* Worship & praise & thanksgiving
* The most powerful force in existence
* There will be no prayer in heaven; the only praying we will ever do is here.
Keep prayer as one of your top priorities this summer, into the fall, and the coming winter.
When you neglect your prayer life, the rest of your life reaps the results of that neglect.
Here are some verses you can study to learn more about the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian.
* Nahum 1:7 * Psalm 33:18 * Romans 4:21b * Colossians 4:12b * 2 Kings 19:16a * James 4:2 * Philippians 4:19 * Genesis 18:14 * Matthew 15:26 * Luke 18:1 * Proverbs 30:5 * John 17:15 * Psalm 18:28b * Jeremiah 29:13 * Proverbs 3:6 * John 15:5 * Ephesians 3:20 * Philippians 4:13 * James 1:5 * Proverbs 2:6 * Isaiah 40:10 * Matthew 11:28-30 * Romans 8:31 * Psalm 86:7 * Psalm 65:5 * James 5:16 * Psalm 142:3 * Hebrews 4:16 *
Enroll in the Psalm 91, Pray It & Believe It Course here
Get your copy of A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents here
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Psalm 91 Course - Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe Course with Jan L. Burt
Well hey there, hello to you today. So glad you’re listening to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today we are looking at some Bible verses that will encourage us in our praying.
Prayer is, I’ve heard it said, the language of heaven and for us right now, while we are living on this planet as we await eternity, prayer is how we talk to God. And in our prayer time, we hopefully make sure to be still before the Lord, quiet ourselves and listen. God will absolutely speak to us from His word, and His Holy Spirit is our counselor, so we want to be sure we are reading the word with a heart posture that listens to what the Word of God has to say, and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that His sheep would know His voice and the voice of another they would not follow (I believe you can read that in John chapter 10). So that indicates He intends to speak to us. Which means we need to be good at listening, right?
As we dig into some verses today, I hope they bless you and encourage you in your prayer life. Our God is a prayer answering God, and that is something to get excited about.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode number 113.
The first verse I want to share with you today is from the Old Testament book of Nahum. Nahum chapter one, verse seven. I’m going to read it from the NLT. It says -
The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
So the first thing I notice here is the statement, not the question, the stated fact that the Lord is good. Is. Present tense. He is good, today, right now. Whatever may be going on, God is good. Don’t forget that. He never ceases to be good, in the right now present moments of your life. And He won’t stop being good any time soon.
And because we know He is good, we can believe this verse when it promises that He is a strong refuge when trouble comes. And that He is close to those who trust in Him.
Look, if you tell me point blank that God is closer to those who trust in Him, then I want to be as close to Him as possible. If my promise is that the Lord will be a strong refuge when trouble comes, then I need to a) know that and b) believe that and live in the light of that truth when trouble comes into my life.
I cannot set up a world without trouble. Trouble is part of life here on earth. But there is so much hope in this one verse, isn’t there? The Lord is good, and that’s so hopeful! He is a strong, not a weak or wimpy or mediocre, but a strong refuge, a place of safety and security and strength, when trouble comes. And He is close to those who trust in Him. So, let’s get as close as possible to our God and trust Him with everything we’ve got.
Psalm 33:18 is another verse I want us to look at today. I’m going to stick with the NLT for this verse too and it reads like this:
But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
So the promise here is pretty clear, and honestly I love it when it’s this blunt. What has God promised? That He watches over those who fear Him, He watches over those who rely on His unfailing love.
What do you rely on during the course of a typical day?
That second cup of coffee? Encouragement from your spouse or significant other? Endorphins after your workout? Netflix to “not think about anything” after a long day? A glass of wine? (for my mom, it was black coffee and a smoke break and maybe a soap opera or two). Raw cookie dough is never gonna be able to offer us the hope that the Lord does. I know that you are already aware of that - but it can be helpful to say it out loud. You know how it gets kind of worrisome when they start saying the quiet part out loud? Ya know what I mean by that? When the “bad guys” (whoever the bad guys are in any given scenario) start to say loudly and with boldness and authority what they are going to do, saying out loud the part of their plan that is so bad it usually is only whispered about, when they start saying those things out loud, well, it’s another devil at another level, ya know? And sometimes when we say out loud the things that we know to be true but we don’t like to say out loud because it isn’t the cleaned up, prettied up, gussied up part of our lives as people who love the Lord - sometimes when we say the quiet part out loud, we get a little bit bolder. We get a bit more confident in what we believe, in what God has promised, in our praying, in our witness for Jesus, in our heart to love others well and to recruit for heaven. I mean, that’s kind of what we are to be doing, right? Have you seen the hoodies that say Heaven is my home - I’m just here recruiting? I love that! God’s Word tells me so much about who He is, and since I am going to spend forever with Him, I want to know the Bible as a way to know Him well before I step into eternity. And I want to remember that this world is not my permanent home, I am a pilgrim on a journey to my real home and I want to bring as many people with me as possible. When we say certain things out loud, we refocus and get bold about the things that matter most. People, my friends, people matter the most because they live on forever, in one place or the other. In heaven or in hell.
So when I say something that maybe seems like it should be whispered or kept nice and quiet and tucked away, when I speak it a little louder for the folks in the back, maybe that’s a good thing. Raw cookie dough, the smoke break, red red wine, Netflix binges, longer and longer vacations, the new boat, the new car, the new cellphone, the new wardrobe, losing ten pounds, winning that long-standing argument, the big bonus check or the new house can never be for you what the Lord alone has set Himself apart to be. He wants you and me to rely on His unfailing love. And He anchors that to this promise, and it’s a whopper of a promise, this promise to watch over us. God watching over you. His eyes are on you, He never removes His gaze from you, He does not sleep or slumber. He’s got you. Don’t jump past how amazing this promise really is. Rely on Him. The other stuff, some of it isn’t even bad stuff - but it’s not God sized stuff. It’s gravy, and that’s nice and all, but it’s not the meat and potatoes of life. Don’t sit around with a mug full of runny gravy when God has prime rib waiting for you. And if you’ve ever had really good prime rib, you know what I mean. Relying on Him and walking in this blessing of being watched over, at all times and in every situation, that’s the good stuff of life.
And when you pray, rely on the Lord. Take your burdens to Him in prayer and leave them there as if you really believe He is going to do something about all that heavy stuff. Relying means something, right? Rely on Him as you pray, and leave your prayer time unburdened because you’re not relying on yourself or on anyone other than the Lord God Almighty.
I’m going to share one more verse now, and it is from the book of Romans, which is in the New Testament. Romans 4:21, now this is actually the second portion of a sentence that began in verse 20, so if it sounds like I am reading part of it, well, I guess I am.
This time I am going to read from the Amplified.
being fully convinced that God had the power to do what He had promised
When you pray, be fully convinced that God has the power to do what He has promised. Now I’m not saying this is easy, at least maybe not at first, but the more you pray with this as your core belief, that He isn’t lying to you about these promises because it is impossible for God to lie, that He isn’t withholding good things from you because His word says that you will yet see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, when you pray as a man or a woman or a child who is fully convinced that God has the power to do all He has promised, and He has that power, oh yes indeed, you will be praying differently.
Ever hear someone who prays out loud and you just think, “Whoa!” They have so much faith. They seem authoritative when they pray!” They may be praying in belief, in reliance, in trust, with the authority that comes from Jesus. We don’t have authority to tell the devil nothing on our own, but when we pray in His authority, for His Kingdom to come and for His will to be done right here on earth just like it is in heaven, we are using the authority He gave us and we are using it rightly. You can pray for people to be healed of physical illnesses, and not just for the head cold. For cancer, for blindness, for heart issues, lung issues, not just for hangnails and the things that seem “safe” to ask for healing about. Pray for people to come to know Him personally so they can be freed from the ravages of a life of sin and have eternal hope that changes everything. Pray for God to open doors for you to speak into the lives of those who need to know about God. Pray for blessings at work so you have a platform to talk about the goodness of your God when people ask you (and some places, they gotta ask you first about your God or your faith and then you can answer them…well, pray for that.)
And when you pray, stay fully, not partially, but fully convinced that God has the power to do what He has promised. It’s His promise, it’s His word, so just ask Him to do what He said He wants to do. And be thankful when you pray. A thankful heart, an attitude of gratitude, is so valuable in the sight of God and man. Don’t you prefer to be around thankful people a bit more than super grumpy cranky complaining people? Silly question, isn’t it?
Okay, that is just about it for this episode, but I do want to leave a couple of things with you here as I wrap this up.
Prayer is big, it’s not just by rote at bedtime or before dinner. It’s so big, it’s this incredible gift God has blessed us with. Prayer is asking, for sure, and also expecting an answer. So it is asking and receiving. Nobody went to Jesus in the Gospels and asked and then just didn’t expect an answer. Nobody asks their boss an important question and then walks out of the room expecting nothing in reply. So prayer is asking, but don’t forget that you ought to expect an answer. This is the Living God you are talking to, and I doubt He wants you to leave your prayer time expecting little to nothing from Him.
I have a whole lot more about prayer that I could mention, but I will get back to that in the next episode and share some more verses with you. And if you would like to enroll in the audio course on Psalm 91, Pray It and Believe It, you can do that at app.hiro.fm/channel/psalm-91-pray-it-believe-course-with-jan-l-burt
I’ll put the link at the top of the show notes for easy access.
Pray big today, and remember our God is in the prayer answering business and His love for you knows no bounds. Ask Him for what you need. Pray for others who need what only He can give. Pray for your church family, for your pastor, for your children and your spouse and your coworkers and your neighbors. Pray. Rely on Him. See Him do great things in your midst because you took the time to pray.
See you next time!
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
Wednesday Jun 29, 2022
Wednesday Jun 29, 2022
Grab the eBook "So Long, Guilt & Shame" here
& sign up for the audio course "Psalm 91 - Pray It & Believe" here
Well, hey there! Hello hello to ya today.
Thanks so much for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. Today we are going to look at a really amazing verse from the Old Testament book of Esther, and a verse from the New Testament as well. The Bible tells us we are to be doing the work of spurring one another on toward love and good deeds. I’m hopeful that the podcast today is gonna do just that. It’s so very important for you to know that you are not a mistake, you are not here by accident, but that a very intentional God who loves you so incredibly much has purpose for you, for your life, for your days upon this earth. So, let’s chat about that.
You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode #112.
So here we are, summer of 2022, and the book of Esther, specifically chapter four and verse fourteen, has been on my mind. You probably know this verse, it’s on artwork, social media posts, t shirts, it’s been everywhere like Johnny Cash, ya know? It’s very encouraging, this verse, but first I want to share with you a verse from the book of Acts that goes hand-in-glove with Esther 4:14.
Acts 17:26 says this - From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.
And that’s from the CSB.
So, from Adam, way back at the very beginning, that would be the one man God made all mankind from. And God chose our appointed times and the boundaries of where we live. You hear people say I was born too late and in the wrong land, but actually that’s not possible if we believe this verse.
The NKJV reads this way - And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.
God determined you would be living in this part of the world at this point in time. It’s very precise, very exact. He chose the boundaries of our dwellings.
You weren’t born at the wrong time. You weren’t born in the wrong part of the world. The right here and the right now, this is where God has you. He is perfect in all of His ways, we sing that as a worship song, but let’s make sure we live like we believe that He is perfect in all of His ways. And all, means all, right?
Esther 4:14, from the Amplified and then I’ll read it from the NLT -
For if you remain silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish [since you did not help when you had the chance]. And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this [and for this very purpose]?”
14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
It’s the second half of this verse that I was going to focus on today, but ya know reading it, the first half is crucial. If you remain silent, if you keep quiet, at a time like this…oh it is just so easy for me to kind of play it safe, I guess. To not be quite as bold and direct as I should be. Not talking about being a loudmouth, lipping off, just uncorked all the time. No, I mean when I know the Lord is leading me to write a certain post with some things that are harder to talk about, and rather than try to pretty it up to appeal to the masses, to keep people as comfortable as possible, He wants me to be more direct. Like, this is what the Bible says, So this is what I am going to share. When I fight against that, I do what this verse mentions. I’m trying to remain silent in a way when I want to kind of obey His leading, and kind of talk about that subject matter, but so vaguely that it’s not totally clear what I’m talking about. Knowing the will of God should not be akin to nailing jello to the wall. If He has stated something clearly in the Bible, in His book, His word, then it’s as clear as it needs to be. I can handle it well, I have to be loving and gracious and led by the Spirit of God, but I can’t refuse to do what He says to do, and say my refusal is because I’m trying to be loving and gracious. Truth and love, justice and mercy, these are things that are mentioned side by side in the Bible, and if He is urging me to talk about something in this moment, because this is the era in which I am alive, and I don’t do it… He can just as easily work out His will through someone else. It’s just crystal clear in this verse, and I need to stop dodging the hard things He asks of me.
I’ve heard it said that God is not sentimental, and we often are. He is more willing to move a Saul along and raise up a David while we can hang on to Saul when God has moved on. That’s convicting! And it’s convicting because it’s often true. I’m not convicted of things that aren’t true. That’s not how conviction works.
Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this? And for this very purpose?
Who knows? Well, our God knows. Those two sentences moved Esther to action and everything changed as a result. You may be the one to say the words that spur someone on to the greatest action of their life, or you may be the one who takes action that changes things for, in the case of Esther, an entire nation.
Does this maybe sound a bit like our culture in the US?
It sure does.
What’s your role? To speak with boldness on issues that will move someone else to do the scary, but right, thing? Or do you need to be encouraged by someone’s words and out of that encouragement will be borne your bravery, your actions that will impact others far beyond just your own corner of the world?
We aren’t here at this moment in time by accident. This is not by chance. We need to know that God is involved in the details and the specifics of our lives, and that He is well aware of what’s taking place, what’s shaping up, in the places where we live. ARe we praying about our role in this world? Or are we praying and asking God to bless us in this world? Not wrong to ask for Him to bless us, He loves to, His word is super clear about that. But are we asking how we can bless others and honor Him in our current culture? Taking a hard stand based on God’s word can be tough, but doing it in a way that is vulnerable enough to let people see who you really are, it can be hard to do. We have the New Testament as a guide for how to do the hard stuff of ministry. And as disciples, we are commissioned, not asked if we feel like it if we get around to it sometime before we leave this planet could we maybe…no, that’s not what it means to be commissioned. We are under orders from the boss, we are not our own bosses anymore. Our lives are hidden with God in Christ Jesus. We are not our own, we were bought with a price, and that price was the precious blood of Jesus.
He has the right of way in our lives. We are to yield to Him. So, He put us here at this time. In this country. And this stuff, specifically Roe v Wade, is happening right now. Would you be willing to pray about this moment in time, what’s happening now and what will happen in the coming months? It’s not my place to tell you what to do, that would not line up with yielding to the Lord. But the Lord did put it on my hard to cover this subject on the podcast.
I am going to share a bit of my personal testimony, and then I’d just like to pray for our country.
I was very, very liberal. Really like intensely liberal. Not raised in a Christian home, but raised by a single mom who was a feminist. She wanted her girls to be feminists too. She really thought it was going to help us, protect us from some of the hard stuff she endured and honestly she was rebellious against her parents and didn’t want to follow them in their walk with Jesus. My siblings would all agree with that, all six of us, and that’s not me dishonoring my mom. Not at all. She would have told you that straight up, just as she told so many people that very thing. So my husband and I, we live in Wichita and way back in the early 90s there was what is known as the Summer of Mercy. You may have heard of it. Wichita was, for quite a long time, the abortion capital I believe of the world. And that summer there were protests and they were intense and all summer long, like the main highway through the middle of town they had it blocked if you couldn’t drive, it was all summer. And one day while driving my car, my husband was in the passenger seat and he leaned over and he tapped the horn in support of the protestors, the pro life people. I went off. I mean, really went off. We were on the opposite side of the city from our home, our apartment, and I very nearly threw him out of the car and left him there. I was enraged. How dare he use my horn in my car that I paid for to support something I, an extreme feminist who was pro choice, I mean it was a long rest of the day. Because I meant it. Well, fast forward about a year and half later, the Lord had been working on my heart, doing all kinds of things, and that’s another story for another day, or a lot of stories I mean I was pretty hard hearted, really dug in, so it wasn’t just bam I saw the light. No. I was just a mess, way too hard for one moment to impact me. But about 18 or so months later, in a different apartment, I was watching a tv preacher. And I prayed for forgiveness for all my sins, and I really wanted to be forgiven, I did not choose my way anymore, I chose Jesus and I surely did mean it when I made Him Lord of all my life. I fully yielded the right of way to Him when I prayed that day. As soon as I finished that prayer, like boom said amen, I did a total 180 degree turn around in my thinking. One of the biggest things that I instantly thought differently on was this issue, a woman’s “right” to choose. All those years of being so dug in, so hardened, just vanished in one split second. Gone forever.
People who knew me then were pretty shocked. I was so different in how I thought, and subsequently the way I lived, the way I spoke, every big and every little thing was impacted, I had people tell me they knew God was real because how else could I change so dramatically, so instantly?
I just knew in that moment how my thinking on this issue had been so far off from how God views this issue. I understood what child sacrifice is to Him. How it breaks His heart. For the mother and the child, and the fathers too. I’ve never had hate toward women in this position, which is another sign that God did a powerful transformative work in my life. But I have had grief and prayed so much over this really terrible terrible evil, and it is an evil, you may never listen to me again because I just said that abortion is evil. I did not say women who have had abortions are evil or unforgiveable so that’s not what I said. The actual act, it is truly evil. God did not so totally and instantly change my mind because it’s not a big deal. My mind, my thinking, changed because God changed it. And I am not a one-off. What God thinks on a matter is really the end of the matter, and when we ask Him to change our thinking so that we follow Him as disciples, right we are the followers not the leaders, when that change happens, it is because He made it happen. I could not have changed myself. The Lord did it.
That’s my personal change of heart about this very relevant right now in June of 2022 issue. I have prayed so much for the unborn, for the women in this country who are so hurt, going through such difficult times, for all those who have been wounded by having abortions, that the church Jesus’ church would be a safe haven and a place of hope and healing for them. Yeah, I’ve prayed. I’ve prayed. And a few days ago, I stood in awe.
Not everyone feels like this is a hopeful moment. But it is. It is. Keep it hopeful for those who need hope! And you are allowed to rejoice and thank God for this miraculous change. This kind of thing does not happen. And it did happen. In the 49th year it happened. And what’s the 50th year according to the Bible? The year of Jubilee. Thank God for what He has done, is doing, and will do. And ask Him what you ought to do in this moment in time. You are not here by chance. He may well have something for you to do that will reveal His love and His hope to those who need it so very much right now.
Thanks for listening today, and thanks for praying today.
Our nation needs to be covered in prayer.
We need Jesus. We need more and more Jesus in America right now.
God bless you.
Friday Jun 24, 2022
Friday Jun 24, 2022
Well, hey there!
Thanks for checking out The Burt (Not Ernie) Show & this special episode with a release from the vault!
I hope it blesses and encourages you today & reminds you that the Lord's promises to you are sure, certain, steadfast and guaranteed.
Be sure to sign up for my email list at my website, JanLBurt.com, and get "The Runway" in you inbox as a way to be encouraged, renewed & refueled. I'm cheering you on as you live out God's good plans for your life!
Enjoy this special episode from the vault!
~ Jan L. Burt
~ ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 32 ~
Acts 2:39 - The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.
When God gives us something that we can grab hold of & hang on to & believe Him for individually (as in, just for us as His dearly loved child) it's terribly comforting. It's very personal.
When God gives us as His whole body, His whole Church, a promise, that's just plain beautiful.
And when God gives us promises that are generational - as in, for those who will come after us (specifically our children and our grandchildren and so on) --- well, that is something else entirely!
When you spend time in prayer for your children - which I hope happens every single day - don't fail to utilize and make the most of the promise from this New Testament verse. I want to encourage you to use this verse in your beseeching (and if your prayers aren't exactly "beseeching" the Lord for specific things for your offspring, I guess this is your challenge to make sure they become "beseeching" prayers!). Please be willing to pray God's Word back to Him on behalf of your loved ones. Don't miss this!! It delights Him when His children know His Word and speak His Word in prayer. Praying in this manner reveals that we believe His Word is true. It reveals our faith in Him when we pray His promises in belief.
Ask God to give you specific promises for your children. And be sure to write those promises down where you will see them often and pray them often.
Be sure to put them down in ink, not with a pencil. God's promises are not able to be altered or erased, so don't treat them as if they might be "erase-able" by writing them down with lead rather than with ink, if you get my meaning.
Have you ever met a kid who just sort of keeps on this type of rant: "But you promised! You said you would do that! You said! But you said...!!!"
Believe it or not, we need to behave a bit more like this in our prayer lives and a whole lot less timidly. (God's Word tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in our time of need --- check out Episode #1 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show to hear more about that verse from the book of Hebrews).
We need to become more importunate in our praying.
Let's look at these words from Jesus when He taught His disciples about prayer:
Luke 11:5-10 (NLT) - Then, teaching them more about prayer, He used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this - thought he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you as for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
Luke 18:1-8 (NLT) - One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," He said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!' " Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?"
Definition of IMPORTUNITY: persistence, especially to the point of annoyance --- shamelessness --- lack of modesty --- urgent request
In the King James Version, Luke 11:8 uses the word IMPORTUNITY where the NLT uses the phrase "shameless persistence".
This is, my friend, how the Lord Jesus TAUGHT His disciples to pray. And it is how He wants us to pray.
*** Quick Side Note for Those Who Do Not Have Children ***
You are a child of God. There is nobody - and I do mean absolutely nobody! - on the outside looking in when it comes to the Kingdom of God. I want you to take it from me - take this from me right now and don't set it down somewhere...take it and hold on to it, please! - You are not an outsider. You are absolutely and insider in God's Kingdom. You matter. Did you hear me? I said, YOU MATTER!!! Having or not having children does not mean you matter more or less - and this podcast episode is a promise for those who don't have children just as much as it is for those who are parents. Remember, you matter! There are no outsiders in God's family. You truly do matter. Ask the Lord to lead you to godly friendships, to places where you will not feel as if you are on the outside looking in, but are on the inside inviting others in to join you. Don't give up hope - pray to the God of all hope to give you a place where you can know you belong and not feel as if you are merely tolerated. Don't resign yourself to staying on the outside and looking in longingly...that is not what Jesus died for. Never forget, you matter!
Now, let's take a look at the remainder of the promise in this verse.
This promise is for all whom the Lord our God will call.
There is a sense of the future tense in this verse. This is for all who will ever be called by the Lord. And we know that He wants everyone, as in all of mankind, to be saved and none to perish, so He is calling out to everyone. We can pray big prayers based on this promise!
Pray God's promises and pray them again tomorrow and then the next day and just do not stop praying!!
God's promises are for you ... & for your family... & for your circle of influence. So pray that way, believe this promise because it is 100% the truth.