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
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Well hey there everyone - hello hello. Welcome to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God, one podcast episode at a time. This is episode number 77. And I am so glad you are here!
Today we are taking a look at a few verses from the NT.
Philippians 1:9-11 from the Amplified.
Let me read them to you:
And this I pray, that your love may abound more and more [displaying itself in greater depth] in real knowledge and in practical insight,so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin]; filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God [so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized].
Okay, wow so that is a lot, right? I mean, reading it was kind of like drinking from a fire hose. There is a whole lot here. How do we even begin to live this?
Well the answer, and you already know it, is we don’t do it on our own. It is literally impossible to do life as a disciple of Jesus on our own. We must have, rely on daily kind of must have, the Holy Spirit leading us, correcting us, teaching us, giving us wisdom, providing all the fruits of the Spirit, doing His good work in us and then through us.
We will find Phil 1:9-11 becoming our reality by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Right there, right from the get-go, we have this instruction about how to become people whose love abounds more and more, love that keeps displaying itself in greater and greater depth - in real knowledge (like, is it practical as these verses say? What good is knowledge that just puffs us up? No good, as far as the Kingdom of God goes - and time is too short to dabble around in puffy uppy knowledge. NO, thank you!)
Let’s just go through these verses one little step at a time and find the promises God has here for us. He is always speaking to us via His Word and that is not going to stop - so we need to get into our Bibles with a mindset that the Lord speaks through His Word. I believe we can expect that to happen.
First, make a plan to pray. And I mean, plan for prayer time. Don’t just hope you can grab a bit of time here and there to pray. Yes, pray here and there and talk to the Lord all throughout the day - do that, but don’t not do the other! And the other would be to have time to really just be with the Lord and pray. The kinds of things the apostle Paul was talking about here don’t happen with flippant, just got a couple of seconds praying, right?
What did he teach us to pray for?
That our love may abound more and more. This is for all Christ followers, for the big C church every one of us. That our love will display itself in greater depth. OOH, that’s good. And the reason it’s good, is because it’s gonna leave a mark. Like when one of your siblings pops you real good and another sibling laughs and says that is gonna leave a mark! Yeah, love that displays itself in greater depth will leave a mark. Will it sometimes be hard? Uncomfortable to love that? Sure. How did Jesus love us? He didn’t stay in the comfortable lane, and so part of our sanctification, our becoming more and more like our Lord, will be uncomfortable.
Paul prayed for real knowledge and practical insight - this is for the real world, the walking around world, the nitty gritty world we live in every single day folks.
Real knowledge will help you in your job - in your relationships - in your decision making - in your parenting - to know when to put down the phone and take a break from social media and when not to reply to somebody with that snarky comment. Practical insight.
Next Paul says, so that you will learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent. What is excellent? Um, well, whatever God would qualify as excellent, that’s also what we want to call excellent. Learn to recognize the goodness, the excellence, of God at work in this world, in your life. Learn. Look for it. Ask Him to make it clear to you. Expect Him to be doing stuff - because I promise you He surely is! And then, treasure those excellent things. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father, says the book of James. Every. No wiggle room there. Something good? Perfect? It’s from the Father. Period.
The AMP clarifies a bit about excellence - it says identifying the best and distinguishing moral differences. Yes! When we can identify the best, wow, just think of what that does in our lives? Time isn’t wasted so often because we can identify the best versus what’s pretty good. And distinguishing moral differences - hey, there has possibly never been a time when we have needed this ability more than now! Things like everywhere are moral issues now - everybody has a moral stance on an issue of the day. And hey, surprise, not all their moral stances align with the Word of God. We need to know what God wants us to know in these days.
And that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.
I don’t want anything getting in the way of my focus on having oil in my lamp, being fully ready when Jesus returns. And every day, every moment, literally brings us closer to His return. So, when I meet Him face to face, I want to be pure and blameless. But to be pure and blameless on that day, I need the Holy Spirit to help me be pure and blameless on this day and every day until that day. So yeah, praying these verses has an impact on my right now and on my last day. Thank the Lord He has given us His word and that we can learn from it, grow in it, believe it, pray that He will bring it to fruition in our lives. I am just so grateful for that! And I hope you are, too. God’s Word is always, always bringing us hope.
But we must yield to the Holy Spirit! When He is leading, don’t resist Him. Don’t fight. Where He leads me, there I will follow. I’ll go with, with Him all the way. He wants our lives to lead others away from sin.
Sin has collateral damage. It just does. Jesus wants that collateral damage to be the absolute minimal it can be. He wants people out of sin. And He wants us to live lives that lead others out of sin - away from it. Far, far away from sin.
Filled with the fruit of righteousness - think of the fruit of the Spirit. Having lives marked by evidence of the Holy Spirit, so that people can actually see the difference Jesus makes in our lives. And in their lives! If I am living for the Lord, it ought to make an impact on somebody else, too!
To the glory and praise of God - so that His glory may be both revealed and recognized.
Now if you start praying this over your spouse - your kids - your co-workers - your local church and your small group Bible study - over what you post on social media - your free time - your neighbors. Ummm, can you even start to imagine what could happen?
A lot. A lot, that’s what.
Also, if you would like to sign up for my email list at my website, I am going to start sending out more regular emails. Nothing overwhelming, our inboxes are so full already, but things like a Bible verse and a prayer and maybe the verse for the next podcast episode. I have seen my sign ups increasing the last few weeks and I think I should be better about encouraging listeners and readers with God’s promises.
Pray big prayers based on the Word of God this week and expect to see God move in answer to your praying!
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
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
This is episode 76 of The Burt Not Ernie Show podcast - and I am so excited because it is the week of September 30th - and that is International Podcast Day. And this little podcast is featured on Podchaser as one of the Top Christian Podcasts to listen to for International Podcast Day. How cool is that?
Today for this episode we are going to read some verses with promises that we can pray for ourselves and of course for pretty much everyone who may be on our prayer lists. Sometimes we aren’t exactly sure what to pray, how to pray, in a certain situation or for a certain person. And it’s really kind of handy, or actually it’s pretty important, to have some verses from the Bible sort of at the ready to pray for those people and situations. So that’s the focus of these verses today.
And hey, in case nobody let you know this as of late, God truly loves you. And He truly likes you. When you spend time with Him, He actually enjoys it. You’re pretty awesome. And I can say that because it’s true - and it’s true because God proves it to be true. Enjoy your life today. God loves you and He wants you to enjoy it - not down the road, but right here and now. Enjoy your life. You’re allowed to do that, ya know!
Let’s anchor our hope in the Lord to our praying by really believing His promises are true.
Romans 4:21b - … being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. (That’s the second half of the verse, and I believe that is from the NLT - it’s a good thing to ask ourselves if we are fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He has promised when we enter our prayer times. Do we believe it? If so, fantastic! Pray like you believe that this is true every time you come to the Lord in prayer.)
2 Kings 19:16a - Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see. (Ask Him to hear you as you stand praying. Ask Him to see you, to see your circumstances and to do a great work that glorifies Him in the midst of those circumstances.)
John 17:15 - “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one.” (Jesus did not ask the Father to take you out of this world. Sometimes we want out of it! It kinda sucks down here on earth sometimes, right? But we cannot be wanting or praying for something in direct contrast to what Jesus’ revealed will is. And this verse says His will is for us not to be taken out of this world. But to be protected from the evil one. Pray as if you trust your Father to protect you from the evil one as you do His will in this world. And pray the same thing over your families and friends and workplaces and finances and health and churches and believers all around the world. Pray like this is your promise and you will find yourself far less afraid of the dirty old devil!)
Psalm 18:28b - The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. (Do you have any areas of your life where maybe you don’t feel like you can see clearly? Any dark spots? Like those annoying floaters in our vision, ya know, but in our life? Ask your good and faithful and loving and so trustworthy God to enlighten those places. And He really will!) This verse has the word WILL in it - okay, gotta reiterate this like pretty much whenever I can. Will means will and All means all and my God don’t play. He will do every single bit of what He has said that He will do.
Romans 8:31 NLT - If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (I am hopeful that on my rough days I will always remember this verse, this promise. Who is for us? Who is for me - for me?? God, that’s who. God is for you.
So who can ever be against us? This puts things into their proper perspective, my friend. It’s all small potatoes compared to our God. Anything coming up against you is also coming against Him and there is nothing that can stand against your God. Keep your eyes on the prize always and the prize is Jesus. Keep Him as your focus and all else shrinks down to size. He is for you. Please don’t ever forget that!)
And just one more verse I want to share with you today - it is from the book of Isaish. Chapter 40, verse 10 and it is from the NIV - It says: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
That is a whopper of a promise. Combine this promise, actually a few promises here in this verse, with your praying and you are not going to end your prayer time the same as when you started. Try it and see!
Lord, thank You that no matter what, You have given me instruction not to fear, and so I will not fear. I choose faith, I shut down fear, I trust in You fully & absolutely. I will not fear because You, my God, are with me. Always with me. You will never leave me nor forsake me. So of course I do not need to fear - I am never alone, the God of heaven’s armies is with me always. Thank You for this promise and for an answer to the fears that try to press in upon me. You have told me not to be dismayed, and so I will do as You have told me and will not be dismayed. Why? Because You are my God and in You is all wisdom and understanding. There is no need for dismay, thanks to You, Lord. You promise to strengthen me and to help me and to uphold me with Your righteous right hand. If I am strong in the strength that You give, is there anything that can be stronger? No! If I am helped by You, can anything ever be bigger than that help? No! Since I am upheld by Your righteous right hand, is it possible for me to be under my enemy while being upheld by You? No!
I hope you are inspired today to pray God’s Word, the promises He has made to You, over every prayer request you have. I’m telling you what, things change when we pray or the devil wouldn’t work so hard to keep us from prayer. Satan does not want you praying God’s Word. So, get to praying it and smash your enemy under your feet.
Thanks for being here for this episode. And thanks to all who have left reviews of my devotional book on Amazon - The Power of God’s Will - 40 Days of God’s Promises has all five star reviews and I sure am humbled that it has been an encouragement to people.
Have a wonderful week and be sure to check out the Top Christian Podcasts to Listen to on International Podcast Day on Podchaser - here is the link: https://www.podchaser.com/lists/top-christian-podcasts-to-listen-to-on-international-podcast-107aIUuQ5o?fbclid=IwAR2F8UfTY1PQIiFkDm9ValDU4DFnRLhTtIN96jDb4agNyiY2haV6oderFPc
Also, if you would like to sign up for my email list at my website, I am going to start sending out more regular emails. Nothing overwhelming, our inboxes are so full already, but things like a Bible verse and a prayer and maybe the verse for the next podcast episode. I have seen my sign ups increasing the last few weeks and I think I should be better about encouraging listeners and readers with God’s promises.
Pray big prayers based on the Word of God this week and expect to see God move in answer to your praying!
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
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Well hey there, hello hello! Welcome back to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - this is episode 75.
I would like to jump right in today, and read a verse from the NT. As I read, would you think to yourself, “What exactly is the Lord promising to me in this verse?”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (AMP) But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.
And let’s also look at it in the NLT - But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
The verse starts with the word “But”, so let’s just take a look at what verses 1 and 2 said so that we have an idea, a framework, for verse 3. It feels a little disjointed otherwise.
(NLT) - Finally, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.
So when the message came to them, these people at Thessolonica, they were changed (because God’s Word is life changing so we should be more surprised when people’s lives aren’t changed than when they are.) They wanted to share about the life-changing message, about Jesus, and so the message spread rapidly. And you know, when we let God’s Word, when we let the Good News about Jesus change our lives, we honor the message of Jesus.
So Paul’s prayer request was that the message would spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes (still a really great thing to pray for!) And that they would pray he and his cohorts would be rescued specifically from wicked and evil people. And he ends verse 2 with such a simple and profound statement - for not everyone is a believer. Please don’t forget that truth. Not everyone is a believer. And there are wicked and evil people in the world who will push back and fight against and even attack those who want to share the Good News about Jesus.
That’s what comes before the word but we find in verse 3 - But the Lord is faithful, He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
I feel it’s safe to say that this isn’t just a good word, a good thing to keep in mind, for that particular church body thousands of years ago. It’s for us today, too. Yup - reality is there are wicked and evil people. Yup - not everyone is a believer. But the Lord your God, He is faithful. Count on that! It’s so true for us today & for many of us, we need to remember He is faithful! He will never cease to be faithful! And He will strengthen you (there is that powerful word will - what God says He will do, that is what He does!) And He will guard you from the evil one.
This is really quite a promise!
The AMP says He will strengthen you, setting you on a firm foundation.
That’s really key.
We all have our lives standing on, resting upon, some kind of foundation. So if we gotta have a foundation, it probably may as well be the best possible foundation, am I right?
The evil one God is guarding you from, according to this promise, is the one who as I mentioned appears as an angel of light - deceives the nations - is the prince of the power of the air, so he be controlling some stuff, almost all the stuff, that’s like in the airwaves...music, tv, on the Google, and so on. Am I stepping on any toes today? Uuf. The enemy will take some truth and twist it to deceive people - he is the father of lies. And he knows what the Bible says - he knows it very very well.
That is who God will guard you from.
This is a really important promise!
I think the key for us is to A) know what the Bible says so that we can know that we know that we know what God’s promises to us are and to B) apply those promises, those iron clad things God has for us, to our lives.
This is my verse. This is also your verse. How will you and I actually live our lives as if it is ours?
So I have three more verses I wanted to talk about today … and I am going to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and stop here because if I add more verses to this, what I just shared may end up lost in a pile of words, ya know? And I think God wants you to hear it today and just know it is true for you.
God will guard you from the evil one, from your enemy. He will, and even right now, He is guarding you.
Can you spend a few moments thinking about this verse? Praying about the exact things in your own personal life that feel like an enemy assault? If you know it’s the enemy messing with you, can you take this verse and apply it to the situation?
Let me read both versions once more, and then I would like to pray for you and encourage you to spend some time, even five minutes, praying about your life and the stuff of life that is coming at you fast and furious.
Okay - first the NLT - But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
And now from the AMP - But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.
Father, today I come before you, before Your throne of grace, boldly to ask that You do a work in the lives of every single person who listens to this episode. Make Your words from 2 Thessalonians 3:3 true for them, and do not delay. Move, Lord. Act, Lord. Hear us as we cry out to You and answer us. Protect us, guard us, from the evil one and also from those who oppose Your message and who are not believers. Let Your Word spread rapidly, even via this podcast, and may it be honored everywhere. Do in each listeners life exactly as You have promised to do. Protect them and guard them, set them on a firm foundation, strengthen them today and then do it again tomorrow - and show Yourself faithful in our world today. I ask this in Jesus name - Amen.
Thank you for letting me pray for you today. Please spend a few minutes with the Lord and let His promise renew your courage and strengthen your heart today.
I will see you back here next week for episode #76.
And also, this week in the online prayer group Praying Through the Storm with Jan L. Burt on Facebook, we are reading Psalm 91, verse 1 and praying that verse over our lives. The link is in the show notes if you want to join us and invite friends as we pray all the way through the 16 verses of Psalm 91 - one verse each week. It’s a fitting psalm for our times so please, join us there. Use the link or just search for the group name Praying Through the Storm.
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
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Friday Sep 10, 2021
Friday Sep 10, 2021
Today I am going to talk a bit about the promises God has made to us, given to us, is continually day after day after day holding out to us, in Psalm 91.
One of my friends, Sara, has this psalm as her life verses. Boy oh boy, she prays them over her family and she is a living testimony of how powerful this psalm is.
I cannot think of a more timely passage of the Bible to grab hold of and to absolutely believe than Psalm 91. At this moment in time, this point in history, this psalm is ideal. And this psalm is so needed.
When I say that I want you to believe it, I mean to lean on it - depend on it - rely on it. If I say I believe you, and I say I trust you but I am unwilling or doubtful about proving my trust & my belief… then do I actually trust you? Well… not truly, no. Unreliable trust is no trust at all. It is, in effect, worthless.
God’s word is not like that. But if we don’t rely on it, through thick and thin, if we fail to believe it, then we forfeit it’s surety. And why on earth would a follower of Jesus ever, ever want to do that?
Don’t forfeit anything that He died to procure for you.
When God makes a promise in His book, the Bible, just believe it and then live as if you believe it. The old saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating - in the tasting” . The proof of the quality of the food is not in it’s appearance, but is discovered in the actual eating of the food, right? The proof is IN the pudding, not in looking at the pudding.
So, let the proof of God’s promises be in the living out your belief of those promises. The proof is in the pudding. Stand on God’s word. Or don’t stand on it, and live your life on shaky ground.
As I read this psalm to you today, think about whether or not you really do put your trust in the God who makes the promises found in Psalm 91. Lean the full weight - all the varied aspects of the entirety of your life - directly upon the Lord, who is completely unable to not keep His promises.
Psalm 91 from the Amplified says this:
1He who [a]dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].
2I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!”
3For He will save you from the trap of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you and completely protect you with His pinions,
And under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.
5You will not be afraid of the terror of night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction (sudden death) that lays waste at noon.
7A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But danger will not come near you.
8You will only [be a spectator as you] look on with your eyes
And witness the [divine] repayment of the wicked [as you watch safely from the shelter of the Most High].
9Because you have made the LORD, [who is] my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11For He will command His angels in regard to you,
To protect and defend and guard you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
12They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you do not [even] strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra;
The young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].
15“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”
frequent question asks, “What’s your why?” - I am sure you’ve heard it. It can be a great motivator and bring a lot of clarity to our decisions and our workplaces and all the stuff.
Well, Psalm 91 is our why.
Why we rely on, lean upon, trust fully in, our God.
I am going to read verses 14, 15 & 16 once more.
And this is God in quotes - God is saying these things, and He is saying them to you. So listen to what He says:
14“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].
15“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”
In my private online prayer group, we are going through Psalm 91 starting the 10th of September. Just 16 verses - one verse each week for 16 weeks. I’ll go live in the Facebook group, and of course the videos will be available after the fact, replays will stay in the group forever.
Praying these verses, God’s promises. His living and active Word week by week.
I did not plan this - just over the last ten days or so the Lord put this on my heart and I have been working through the psalm and taking notes just in my own study time, and I felt Him leading me to go through these verses in the prayer group. And guess what? If we do one verse each week and plan to take one week off (probably around Thanksgiving) then we will finish on Friday December 31st (I plan to go live each Friday).
This is how we can spend our fall and end this year. And how we end one year is exactly how we begin the next one.
Can’t think of a better plan than to pray through this fall, wrap up the last day of the year in prayer and leaning fully on the Most High, and start 2022 in a state of total trust and deep and abiding belief (which leads to deep and abiding peace, btw).
Will you join me there? And make Psalm 91 and it’s promises the truest thing in your life, in your family’s life, for the remainder of the year?
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
Stay up-to-date and sign up for my email list at JanLBurt.com
Friday Sep 03, 2021
Friday Sep 03, 2021
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
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Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show we will take a look at what God has promised to us from Romans 16:20 & will also discuss how to apply this verse to our prayer lives.
Sadly, I recorded this episode immediately following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August of 2021. As a military family, this has touched a nerve.
As a follower of Jesus, this has wrenched my heart.
Our fellow Christians are dealing with things the likes of which I have never seen. So today, I just want to read Romans 16:20 from the AMP & just lean into the Lord and by faith believe the promise in this verse for myself, for each one of you, for my entire family and of course for those who follow Jesus in Afghanistan and in particular Kabul right now.
Romans 16:20 says this:
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
What a profound verse!
Now just for context I am going to read a few verses prior from chapter 16 of Romans (using the Amplified) Verse 17 - I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations (for others) to commit sin, (acting in ways) contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them.
So that sort of sets the tone for the verse we are looking at today. A stern warning from the Apostle Paul about who to keep your eyes on and who to turn away from. We honestly don’t do this all that much in our modern era! When is the last time you really turned away from someone who was causing this kind of trouble within the church? Yeah, for those outside the church, it is easier to step back from their sinfulness, and not get drawn into all the stuff… and to also still be loving and share about Jesus and pray for them. Yet within the body of Christ, there simply is not the call to holiness that the NT teaches. Just sayin’! This means exactly what it says - it doesn’t mean anything more but it surely does not mean anything less. So I want to encourage you, and myself, to apply this broadly - and not to ignore this wise counsel and instruction when it comes to those sitting in the pews with us on Sunday mornings. Holiness unto the Lord is truly important enough that we at times speak hard Biblical truths in order that people might get a better idea of how they are living does or does not align with God’s Word. That seems clear as mud - I hope it makes some sort of sense!
Let’s read verses 18 and 19 -
For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting (the innocent and the naive).
For the report of your obedience has reached everyone, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
So there is it. There’s that. Look, if I were to tell you that Romans is a book that does not bring heavy teaching every time I open it, I would be flat out lying to you. It’s intense. Because the author, led by the Holy Spirit, intended it to be intense.
And in these days in which we live, closer and closer to Jesus’ return, we need that intensity. It’s like medicine for our souls. It keeps us healthy and prevents us from falling ill.
If someone is serving their own appetites and base desires, they are not serving Jesus. That’s what Paul says and that is the unarguable truth of the matter. It’s a litmus test that works well. Watch out for smooth and flattering speech. Flattery is very different from a complement. Pray for a heart that is shored up and guarded and that won’t be deceived, and pray not to remain so naive that you don’t see deception for what it is until it has done some roughing up nasty work on you.
Let the report of your obedience reach others. Let it! Be so obedient to God and to His Word that it actually reaches people - reaches out and touches them, makes an impact. They should notice your obedience. And ask the Holy Spirit to make you wise in what is good and also innocent in what is evil.
And after all of that, we land on our verse for today, our promise for us straight from the Bible, Romans 16:20.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
He is the God of peace. And peace can be ours right in the middle of stressful situations. Peace can be ours, ought to be ours, during health problems and disorder on the other side of the globe and changes in our jobs and every single thing. He is the God of peace. Allow Him to totally be the God of peace in your life, in all of it, in every little and every big thing in your world.
He promises that He will (oh that amazing word WILL!) will soon (another amazing word - soon!) crush Satan under your feet.
What a tremendous promise!
The God of peace will soon crush Satan (how awesome is that promise!) Under whose feet? Yours and mine. Wow. You’ll see this, my friend, and not from afar but up close and personal. And you will be a part of this promised crushing of Satan.
And the second part of verse 19 says - The (wonderful) grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
The grace of Jesus truly is wonderful, too wonderful for words in fact.
And may it be with each one of us as we stand in prayer, for ourselves and our situations and our families and our nation but also for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Afghanistan today.
We can and we should pray with boldness for God to keep His amazing promise and give all of His children peace because He is the God of peace. Appeal to Him on His own terms - He said it, and He wants us to stand in faith and believe that He really does mean exactly what He says. The God of peace is going to soon crush Satan under our feet. May it be so, Lord Jesus, even this very day! Bless your people with Your supernatural peace - move us forward to advance Your kingdom and to show You to a hurting world - do the miraculous on behalf of those in harms way in Afghanistan - hide them, provide Damascus road experiences to members of the Taliban who are bent on evil but need to meet Jesus personally - send your angels to be a hedge of protection around those who are being hunted down just as You promise in Psalm 91 - never stop moving and showing us who You truly are and how You long to answer our faith filled, bold prayers that are based on the promises found in Your Word - do the impossible and then do it again - crush Satan under the feet of Your followers today, right now, and all the praise and all the glory and all the thankfulness we can muster up from the depths of our hearts is Yours Lord. Thank You for teaching us how to pray and for giving us promises that we can believe You for. Never stop moving. Never stop working. Never stop touching hearts and changing lives. Never stop crushing Satan under our feet. All of our hope is in You. And it is not a misplaced hope. It is hope that is certain and will yield amazing results. Keep us in a state of undying belief. And Lord, save and rescue and restore and heal and do what only You can do in Afghanistan. We ask this all in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen
Please keep praying for believers around the world, for Afghani's to come to know Jesus personally, and for military men & women serving in Afghanistan.
I hope to see you back here next time for episode #73 - in the mean time, you can find me on instagram @janlburt and at my website JanLBurt.com and grab a copy of my book "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" on Amazon.
Lord bless you richly as you stand on His good promises to you!
~ Jan
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
One huge thing to keep in mind about authentically Biblical generosity is, of course, John 3 16 - God so loved that world that He gave (gave - that’s generosity in action) His one and only Son that whosoever should believe in Him would have everlasting life.
It’s a very drastic different kind of generosity as compared to what the world considers generous.
We have probably all been witness to someone who claims to be generous, but who is sort of a miser in reality. Right?
A gift no longer belongs to the giver once it has been given away. It just doesn’t! Yet many of us act like it still does! If you gave it away, you are officially done with it. It is not yours.
Generosity is akin to unselfishness.
The trait of being willing to give
The spirit and action of freely and frequently giving to others
Being willing to share
To willingly give help of support especially more than is usual or expected
A habit of giving without expecting anything in return
The virtue of being liberal in giving
How do we stand as compared and contrasted to that definition?
Metered generosity is not Biblical generosity.
It simply never has been and never will be.
God is generous. A Google search of Bible verses about this topic will bring up dozens of references.
God’s generosity is big - it is not metered and controlled.
If you find yourself weighing out what you give and when you give, may I pose a question?
When did that begin?
Whose teaching got you thinking that metered generosity was actually generous?
Where do you fit in the parable Jesus told about the workers in the vineyard when he hired workers all throughout the day, so some worked far shorter shifts than others and when he paid them their wages for their work, he first paid those who began working last. So those in the rear of the payout line were watching and thinking ooh we will get much more than that because we worked longer - but they got the same wage, exactly what they’d been promised when they were hired for the day’s work. And in the parable, the vineyard owner says Can I not be generous with what is mine?
Where do you fit in that parable (it’s in Matt 20 verses 1 thru 16)? Can not God be generous with what is His?
Of course He can!
So then the question becomes, well, what is His?
Every single thing.
Every red cent is His.
Nobody, Christian or not, owns anything. How do I know? Here’s how: my grandma used to say she had never seen a hearse pulling a U Haul. It ain’t going with you. Does not matter if they pack your coffin with gold coins surrounding your corpse, it stays in that coffin. God is eternal. It is His now, just as it all was from Day One.
It is not yours. It is not mine. It is all the Lord’s. And can He not do with what is His any old thing He chooses to do? Should His people kid themselves into thinking they are generous when they participate only in measured, metered out giving? They may be able to say they gave something, but that does not mean it was generous giving.
Metered generosity is not Biblical generosity.
People say stuff.
You will hear a lot of stuff, so much stuff, that people are gonna say and say and say.
Your job is to go the Word of God, dig into your Bible read it daily - and via prayer talk to your ABBA Father about what He says in His Word.
Obey Him. Trust Him and don’t be too quick to assume all the things people say must be what God is saying to you.
This applies to our level of generosity, not just to other parts of our lives.
What’s your attitude when you give? What’s your ability to totally let go of a gift as soon as you’ve given it? Who is teaching you and speaking into your life and over your life about money and generosity? Do they say it’s your money? Are you more stressed out about money now than you were before you started their program or bought their book (which you’re paying them for, don’t forget! They like to keep getting paid, just like the rest of us - keep that in mind folks!)? Can God rule and overrule your plans in this area? Are you generous with your time, your prayers for others, your love, your compassion, your radical obedience to Jesus too? Generosity is about a lot more than just a few measly bucks!
Does your ire get up regarding this topic? If so, it’s time to pray. Like, pray a lot.
And to get that Bible open. Read what it says. Jesus’ words in red in the NT will very quickly get your head on straight about Biblical generosity.
You will not give an account to some self-proclaimed money guru - and if you feel like you have to do that, would you ask God if that’s His will for your life in regard to His property? He’ll let you know! If you ask, He will give you the wisdom you need (see the book of James for that incredible promise!)
Real Biblical following of Jesus and only Jesus, not Jesus plus the Law, not Jesus plus a system or a program, not Jesus plus anything. Just Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life - not any old way, not whatever truth suits us - He isn’t an option. He is the Great I Am.
Real Biblical following of Jesus is crazy in how radical it actually is.
All your life will get turned upside down.
And it’s the only way you want to live, my friend. Because it’s the only way you want to die.
You are a steward.
But are you a truly generous steward?
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)"
2 Corinthians 9 10 & 11 “[God] will also supply and increase your store of seed … {11} You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion”
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)
Those are some fantastic promises. And they are for you, my friend.
Lord bless you and make you generous and guide you in good and wise and godly stewardship of all He has entrusted you with!
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - winner of the 2021 Spark Media Podcast Conference award for Best Solo Podcaster. What an honor to be blessed with that award! Every listener helped make that happen - so when I say thanks for listening, I really do mean it!
Lord bless you!
~ Jan
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Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Show Notes Coming Soon!
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Tuesday Jul 13, 2021
Tuesday Jul 13, 2021
Show Notes Coming Soon!
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Friday Jul 09, 2021
Friday Jul 09, 2021
Today for the show, we are looking at a promise but also sort of taking a glance, a little look, at the life of someone from the OT.
You may have heard of her before. Her name is Hagar. And we find the story of her life, or at least the portions of her life that were recorded in the Bible, in Genesis. Chapters 16 and 21.
I am going to read first from Chapter 21 and then bounce back to Chapter 16.
And I am reading from the CSB today. The heading for this section reads “Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away”. So, yeah, right away we see this isn’t exactly a happy season of her life.
Can anyone relate to being in a not-so-cheery time right now? If so, this is for you.
And as always, there is hope here. So much hope is available to us in God’s Word, if we just take the time to look for it.
Just to set the stage for what I am about to read, the Lord told Abraham he would have a son - and he was elderly. His wife, Sarah, was too. So Sarah gave Abraham her slave Hagar for him to have a child with (not uncommon in that era - but if we are honest about it, this is not kind treatment of this woman. Period.) Hagar gave birth to a son, named Ishmael, and then later on Sarah, even in her old age, had a son who was named Isaac. We are reading about the celebration that took place when Isaac was weaned, so think of him as a toddler, somewhere between two and three would have been the age of weaning in that culture. When Hannah took Samuel to the temple after he was weaned, he would have been about three years old. That’s not weaning age in western society today.
I’m going to read a few verses from chapter 21 now -
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”
11 This was very distressing to[a] Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed[b] about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac, 13 and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”
14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes 16 and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” While she sat at a distance, she[c] wept loudly.
17 God heard the boy crying, and the[d] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
You may feel like things are just so bleak right now, and since this is a mother/son story, of course we can apply this to our parenting. Maybe your kiddo is really struggling with something unjust, unfair, just plain wrong. I want to point out to you, to your heart as a mom or a dad today, that God sees. He has seen it all as it happened, he has seen the being sent away into some sort of wilderness without nearly enough supply (like a bit of bread and one waterskin) and He knows it is hot, there isn’t a place to really rest, you are weary and sitting your child under a bush as you go a little ways off and sob your heart out. He sees. And whatever plans He has for that child, whatever promises He has made, He is gonna keep them.
Right now, He may be on the verge of opening your eyes, showing you a well of fresh, living water, and asking you to take your child by the hand, help them up and encourage them to keep on believing the Lord. Because He does what He says that He will do. Your waterskin may be totally dry. Your God is still in the business of bringing water from the Rock.
Jesus, the Living Water, is very much alive. And He is moving and acting on your behalf, on your child’s behalf.
Now, I am going to step back a few chapters in the book of Genesis, to chapter 16. Let me read verses 1 through 16 (also from the CSB).
Oh, and the names are different, Abram and Sarai, because God had not yet renamed them Abraham and Sarah (that is in chapter 17)
Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. 4 He slept with[a] Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering![b] I put my slave in your arms,[c] and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you.”
6 Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”
She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael,[d] for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. 12 This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.”
13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,”[e] for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” [f] 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi.[g] It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
Okay, so when Abraham sent her away with Ishmael, it was not the first time she’d been out in the wilderness, nearing death. It has also happened many years before, when she was pregnant with her son. Sarah turned on her and became mean, and it seems like she was unbearably mean. And the angel of the Lord appeared to her. Verse 10 (read it again) implies God was who was speaking to her. This is often referred to as the pre-incarnate Christ, like Jesus appearing to people in the OT, before He came as a baby in a manger. It says a promise was made, “I will greatly multiply your offspring and they will be too many to count” and an angel does not have the ability to make or keep such a promise, so I see evidence that supports the pre-incarnate Christ in this passage.
And here is more proof that it was the Lord speaking to Hagar - in verse 13 she gives God a name - El Roi. That name means “The God who sees me.”
She asks, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?”
What an astounding thing for her to say!
What a remarkable life experience!
To have God call you by name and ask you where you have come from and where you are going, this is really amazing. Would that not change your life? Now Hagar was from Egypt, and in Egypt at that time, they were the world’s greatest superpower so to speak. Egypt was the stuff. And they had a plethora of gods they worshipped. To have a living God, the one true God, speak to you personally, calling you by name, asking you where you had been and where you were planning to go, and then making you such a profound promise about your unborn child and your future descendants. Well, this must have rocked her world a bit. Or a lot.
And He told her to go back to Sarah and to submit to her.
So, that’s what Hagar did. Doesn’t seem to fix the problem, per se, but I am guessing that by doing what the Lord told her to do, and by remembering that this God is the God who sees her, from start to finish, beginning to end, all of it is seen, she was able to go back and bear up under whatever came next. She had a promise from the Lord. And that is so, so important.
Can you bear up under something just because God, El Roi, sees you and has given you great and precious promises from His word?
It’s sort of a rhetorical question, because I know that you can bear up. I know that you can believe Him for all His promises. I know that you can have an encounter with El Roi - and I know that He is, right now, the God who sees you. You are seen by the God who sees you, and like Hagar, you can expect to see Him at work and moving in your situation.
So when Hagar was sent away with her teenage son, back out into the wilderness, she was not suddenly un-seen by God, by El Roi.
There isn’t an un-seeing happening here. Not for Hagar, not for me, and not for you.
I don’t know where you may be feeling mistreated, unseen, in a wilderness, crying out and sobbing. All I know is that God’s Word is true for you in any and all of those places.
The promise is that God is your El-Roi just as much as He as Hagar’s.
And you can never, ever be un-seen by Him, my friend.
Thanks so much for being here today - and sorry about the tinny sound of this episode! Every now and then my recording software gets wonky & results in not-my-normal sound! Yikes!
~ Jan
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