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 Sep 10, 2020
Thursday Sep 10, 2020
This episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show shares some content from the new Susie Larson book Prevail -
Here's where you can get your own copy of the book:
Here's the info for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" (join the free group & find a group of women to pray for you and with you!)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Instagram @janlburt
Thursday Aug 27, 2020
Thursday Aug 27, 2020
Woah Nellie - this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show brings the fire!
We're looking at Psalm 138 from the Amplified Bible ~
I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.
2
I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.
3
On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.
4
All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5
Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.
6
Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.
7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8
The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;
Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—
Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.
Verse 4 - God's promise as He gives them to us WILL BE FULFILLED. This speaks to us of a good, blessed future. If you're in a dark spot, think on this truth today & believe for a brighter, better tomorrow.
Verse 6 - This is literally what God does for us - as in, right now! We are all lowly as compared to the greatness of our God. And yet, He invites us in - this is such good news!
Haughty = arrogantly superior & disdainful...vain...pompous...snobbish... (let's be careful to eliminate all haughtiness from our hearts & be humble so that we can be known up close & personal, not from a distance).
Verse 7 - The promise here is a kicker! Can you say, like Job said, that even if He slays you, yet you will keep on hoping in Him? No matter what?!?
Verse 8 - This verse is a CLOSER... David ends with the words: "Do not abandon the works of Your own hands." What bold verbiage! Compare this with what Jesus said about prayer in Luke chapter 18 & pray big, bold prayers based on God's good promises to you today.
Here's the info for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" August 3rd & 4th on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
Instagram @janlburt
Thursday Aug 13, 2020
Thursday Aug 13, 2020
Show Notes ~~~ Coming Soon!!
Join us for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" August 3rd & 4th on Facebook. No worries if you can't be there for the live sessions - you can watch them later on!
here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
on Instagram @janlburt
Friday Jul 31, 2020
Friday Jul 31, 2020
Show Notes ~~~ Coming Soon!!
Join us for the "Praying Through the Storm - Online Prayer Retreat" August 3rd & 4th on Facebook. No worries if you can't be there for the live sessions - you can watch them later on!
here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/627249051525444
on Instagram @janlburt
Thursday Jul 16, 2020
Thursday Jul 16, 2020
Well hey there, hello & thanks for checking out this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.
Super excited you stopped by & praying this podcast episode is a blessing & reminds you that God's promises for you are absolutely true!
We're taking a look at Psalm 60:12 - "With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies."
Sounds a bit intense, right?
But there is a whole lot of promise here for us, so hang in there with me while we take a look at just what God has promised to us from this verse.
God is always, always giving us hope. Always.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul stated that 3 things will remain after this life has ended - and those 3 things are FAITH - HOPE - and LOVE. (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). The greatest of these 3 is, of course, love. But hope - it may not hold the #1 spot, but it made the top 3!
Hope is right there on the short list of what will remain, of what actually matters most, and that lets us know for certain that God wants to give us hope & to keep on giving us hope.
Let's find the hope in this verse.
If God were to say, "That right there, that's a keeper," which one of us wouldn't want to have that exact thing in our lives in abundance? Have it in spades?
That's sort of what He says to us about hope. He means for it to be a "keeper". Not temporary or fleeting, but something that remains. Literally, a "keeper".
When we read this verse, Psalm 60:12, we see one little word written two times. The little word WILL.
Can you read the verse just once more, to humor me, and put the emphasis on the word "WILL" when you come to it?
With God we WILL gain the victory, and He WILL trample down our enemies.
That word WILL is important.
You are going to gain the victory, my friend.
Jobless right now? Depressed? Friendships waning? Tired of living life as a single person who wants to get married and start a family? Angry? Grieving?
It's a long list of things you might be dealing with right now - things you are wrestling with, things you are bearing up under. But you've got this hope right here - with God you WILL gain the victory!
WITH GOD.
This is our key to obtaining and securing and receiving the victory. WITH GOD.
Are you flying solo? Or are you really, truly doing life with God?
Is He in charge of all of your life...or is He not in charge? (There isn't really wiggle room to say, "Well, God is kind of in charge...He is mostly in charge..." He either is or isn't...there is no kind of or mostly.)
It's a yes or no question...either He is in charge of your life or He isn't. Period.
We want the Lord to be in it with us, in our daily walk of life, and we do not want Him marginalized or ignored, right?
And that's where you will find this promised victory - right there and nowhere else (because anywhere else takes the Lord out of His rightful position and if He is not in His rightful position, how will we gain the victory?) Put God in His rightful place, fully in charge of the entirety of your life, and watch Him give you the victory.
So let's be sure to bring God in. Right into the exact mess, that very thing right there, whatever feels super messy in your life right now. Invite the Lord into it. The sooner you do this, the better!
Okay, here's the deal. Please, please pretty please do not lose the hope of this verse!
Hang onto it and don't let go. Hope in the Lord, in the reality of His faithfulness to you, is an anchor for the soul. Don't lose your hope!
First, we do life with God, walking with Him at His pace (key point here - HIS PACE! Not our own pace & not the pace others want your life to move at) & then He gives you the victory, then He tramples down all your enemies.
And keep in mind that when you march to the beat of your own drum, it means you're a little bit different...that people can't get you to do what they want you to do when they want you to do it - because you're marching to the beat of your own drum, and aren't marching to their drumbeat.
It's similar when you march to the beat of the Lord's drum for your life - not everyone will understand or approve. That's to be expected! But stay close to Jesus, and He'll take the sting out of that sense of being "different" than people would like you to be.
When we do life with the Lord, we get to gain the victory alongside the Lord. READ THAT AGAIN...
We also get to watch, from a place of complete and total safety & security, while God tramples down our enemies. Those enemies could be fear or work issues or health problems or relationships - could be a lot of things. That word "ENEMY" is a broad word.
Keep trusting Him! Keep hoping in Him! Believe you will see Him trampling down those enemies. Because, after all...won't He do it? Oh, yes, He most certainly will!
Lord bless & see you back here next time!
on Instagram @janlburt
Thursday Jul 09, 2020
Thursday Jul 09, 2020
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.
And a quick FYI - at the very tail end of July/start of August I am going to be hosting an online prayer retreat. It will take place via a Facebook group and all the prayer sessions will be there to watch & rewatch & members will be able to invite friends to join. And it will be totally, completely free. Stay tuned for more info or follow me on Instagram or Facebook to keep up with updates.
Lots going on the next few weeks - I would love your prayers as I work overtime to get done in about 10 days what normally has about a 3 month runway...it's gonna be wild!
Lord bless you - see you back here next time!
on Instagram @janlburt
Friday Jul 03, 2020
Friday Jul 03, 2020
Psalm 18:1-2 - The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
A refuge for the weary.
A rock for those who are unsteady.
A clear place for those who feel confused.
A safe haven.
Always dependable.
What a beautiful reminder of who our God truly is.
The Lord is all we've really got in this life and the next...and folks, He is all we really need.
Here are a couple of additional versions of the verses featured in Episode 31:
The Lord is my steadfastness, and my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is mine helper; and I shall hope in him. My defender, and the horn of mine health; and mine up-taker (My God is my helper; and I shall trust him. My defender, and the horn of my salvation, or of my deliverance; and my rescuer). I shall praise, and inwardly call the Lord; and I shall be safe from mine enemies. (I shall praise him, and I shall call on the Lord; and I shall be saved from my enemies.) --- from The Wycliffe Bible
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.
--- from the New Revised Standard Version
on Instagram @janlburt
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
Luke 21:33 - "Heaven and earth will disappear but My words will remain forever."
The promise we can lean in and trust God for from this New Testament verse is this...this world is not going to last. But God's Word and all the promises it holds will remain. Forever.
Think back to last year --- way back in 2019 --- (that feels like a decade ago, not 6 months ago!!) --- I remember pondering what it would be like if the Lord began to call His servants home. And He has for sure called some modern day spiritual leaders home to glory, to be with Him. And it is a strange thing to consider, what might be happening on this tired old planet as the end of all things as we know them draws ever nearer, day by day.
The reason this podcast episode is important is because we need desperately to grab hold of that which will not change.
Nothing is stable right now.
Every few minutes we find new and updated information about the state of the world we live in, and it's almost surreal how flexible things have become in such a short period of time.
Having something solid in the midst of all this fluidity is tremendously comforting. It is necessary.
God's Word will not change. The words of our Lord Jesus will remain forever. It truly is necessary to know that.
When we remember that this promise includes every single promise that the Lord has given us in the Bible, we can grab hold of those promises and live in belief. Which enables us to live securely.
If you have some promises that you are clinging to right now, do not forget that no matter how dark things look, no matter how bad things get, those promises are going to come to pass. No matter what. No matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.
Lord bless you today as you continue to believe God for all His good promises and live in such a way that others are drawn to God because of what they see in your life.
on Instagram @janlburt
Thursday Jun 18, 2020
Thursday Jun 18, 2020
Thanks for joining me for this episode - it's another opportunity to remember the faithfulness of our God & to bring to the very forefront of our minds one specific promise He has given us from His Word.
John 14:27 (AMP) - "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart and the peace I give you isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or confused."
Can you take a moment and think of Jesus speaking these words of comfort directly to you, face to face, right now, today?
The Lord knows what we need and He knows just when we need it. Hopefully someone listening today (or reading the Show Notes) finds this verse to be just what they need right now. If that's you, please know it is a sign of how much the Lord cares for you. You did not end up here by accident - God set aside this day and time to share this exact verse in order to bring you His comfort, peace of heart and of mind, and to let you know that He sees you and He hears your prayers and He loves you fiercely.
In this verse we see Jesus telling His disciples that He is going to give them a gift. A gift? That's great! What is it? What could possibly be better than a gift from Jesus?!?
They had seen Jesus do the miraculous: raise the dead to life, take a handful of food and feed thousands, walk on top of the water...they had literally seen the impossible become reality right before their eyes time and time again. And none of those had been referred to as gifts from Jesus for them. I am certain they were paying attention in order to hear what Jesus' gift for them would be.
We, like the disciples, want to be sure to grab hold of and make the most of any and every gift the Lord has for us. If Jesus has left us something, then it was left with us to be of benefit to us while we await the time when we can be with Him forever. The gift was left to bless us, to help us, to be an actual gift for us.
And boy oh boy, peace that comes from the Lord is a gift worth treasuring.
We need it. We do not want to leave this gift unopened and unused. We want to utilize it in our every day walking around life.
Peace of heart & peace of mind.
How good Jesus is to us to make sure we know this peace is for both our heart and our mind...because sometimes our mind works through a situation one way, while our heart veers off in a totally different direction. And our loving Savior makes sure we have this gift of peace to cover BOTH aspects of our lives. Thank You, Lord!
To make sure that we really get it, that we fully catch His drift and understand the value of this gift of peace, Jesus says this peace is not like the peace that the world gives.
The world's peace is temporary and fleeting and frustratingly hard to grab hold of and keep hold of.
Jesus' peace envelops us, overcoming us from the inside our and from the outside in all at the same time. It's DIFFERENT. And that is really, really good!
None of us needs one ounce more of the same ole', same ole'. We need that which is different, that which is so much better.
Jesus' peace envelops us and comes upon us directly from Him as a precious gift, while the world's peace is always slipping away from us, just out of reach, no matter how hard we work to grab hold and fight to hang on.
The raw truth is that this world & all our current circumstances are just too much without Jesus.
And there are people around us who are trying to do life without Him. Can I encourage you to pray for those people? Jesus wants to give Him His peace. Please pray for that to become a reality in their lives!
The last few words of this verse say, "So don't be troubled or afraid."
Anybody got some troubles? Anyone feeling a bit afraid? It seems as if we are standing on the ledge of a Grand Canyon sized hold of uncertainty. So much new, overwhelming, uncharted territory looms large right in front of us.
Yes, we need to hear Jesus speak over our lives, over our unsettled and uneasy hearts and minds, "Do not be troubled or afraid."
God's promise in John 14:27 to give you the lasting gift of His peace is still as true today as it was when Jesus first spoke these powerful words. The disciples went through a very dark night of the soul when Jesus died at Calvary. They needed this promise like oxygen! It's okay if you need it like oxygen, too.
Believe this promise today.
Just sit back, take a deep breath, and believe that this peace of heart and mind is yours for the taking right now. He is going to make a way for us to live untroubled and unafraid. That offers a whole lot of hope right now. Believe it and trust Him to make this your reality.
I'll be back here with you next week for a look at another verse from the New Testament in Luke chapter 21.
Feel free to DM me on instagram or leave a comment on this episode. And don't be slow to use your gift of peace - be at peace- give grace and peace to others - walk in the certainty that Jesus keeps all His promises and this one is your promise for this season of life.
Thanks for joining me in my quest to make the name of Jesus famous in this generation.
Lord bless you!
- Jan
on Instagram @janlburt
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Hey there! Thanks for checking out this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I hope you are blessed & can see evidence of God's promises for you showing up all over the place. He has so much good for you, right here and now!
Zephaniah 3:17 says this: "The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
This is a beautiful verse of promise. It is spilling over with hope and the assurance of God's love and care for us. This is rock your world kind of goodness right here!
There is plenty in this verse we can believe God for.
And hey, just a friendly reminder: What you believe the Lord for is also what you should be praying for and what you are thanking Him in advance for. Do all 3 of those things - believe Him for it, pray and ask Him for it, and thank Him for it right now, before you even have it.
Sometimes we believe God for something and then we don't pray for that certain something or praise Him for working on our behalf regarding that certain something.
What we believe God for is also what we should be praying for and thanking God for.
Believe for ~ Pray for ~ Praise God for the same exact things.
#1 - The Lord your God is with you.
~ God is super close and super personal. He is right there with you.
#2 - He is mighty to save.
~ There is a 0% chance that you are in this thing alone. And a 100% chance that God is just as mighty to save today as he was when the prophet penned this verse thousands of years ago. Remind yourself often that the Lord is with you, and He is mighty to save.
#3 - He will take great delight in you.
~ What is God going to do? He will take great delight in you. And He is going to keep on taking great delight in you day after day, week after week, year after year. Think of something that just flat brings you delight in life...get a picture of that something in your mind. Now, realize that the thing that brings the Lord great delight...is...you. How great is that?!?
#4 - He will quiet you with His love.
~ We never want to miss it when God promises that He WILL do something. That word "will" in a promise from the Lord is like solid gold. Don't discard solid gold; don't let go of it. Take good care of it. God's promise for you here is pure, refined solid gold. Watch carefully over this treasure He has given to you. He WILL quiet you with His love. That's a promise with a whole lot of meat on it's bones.
#5 - He will rejoice over you with singing.
~ What kind of ruler or god would ever declare that they choose to sing and rejoice over their followers/worshipers/subjects? None but the Lord God Most High! Our Living Savior is so completely secure in His sovereignty, His deity, His reign and His rule, His perfect power and His perfect plan that will be perfectly fulfilled, His perfect timing, His perfect judgment, His perfect patience, and of course His perfect justice - He is so secure in Who He is and in His total & absolute control over all things at all times, that He can rejoice over His people with singing.
Does this verse not bring you comfort today?
I am praying that as you listen to this podcast episode, a whole new understanding of the depth of God's great love for you floods your heart and your mind and your soul.
See you back here next time, friends! Lord bless you today!
on Instagram @janlburt