The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - Believing God’s Promises & Understanding Your Identity in Christ

Back to Basics Episode 137

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.

 

Let's get back to basics.

 

What are the "basics" for a disciple of the Lord Jesus?

Get into the Word of God - read your Bible daily.

Spend time in prayer - talk to the Lord & listen quietly for His reply daily.

Don't forsake the gathering of the saints - allow iron to sharpen iron by spending time with other followers of Jesus.

And specifically relating to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show Podcast, get back to the basics by finding out what God's promises are and live in a state of chronic, contagious belief that those promises are true and will continue to prove true for you.

 

In this episode, we look at Psalm 12, primarily verse 6, to remind us that God's promises have already been perfected and are trustworthy and certain. 

 

Psalm 12 - New Living Translation

¹ Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
    The faithful have vanished from the earth!
² Neighbors lie to each other,
    speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.
³ May the Lord cut off their flattering lips
    and silence their boastful tongues.
⁴ They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.
    Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

⁵ The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
    and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
    as they have longed for me to do.”
⁶ The Lord’s promises are pure,
    like silver refined in a furnace,
    purified seven times over.
⁷ Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
    preserving them forever from this lying generation,
⁸ even though the wicked strut about,
    and evil is praised throughout the land.

 

You have a hope, you have a future, you have a purpose, and I implore you to find a promise in the Bible that you can grab hold of, hang on to, and pray back to God in utter, sold-out belief.

 

Join me starting in episode 138 for a special podcast series on HOLINESS.

~ Jan L. Burt 

 

Sabbath Rest & A Faithful God - the Promise of Hebrews 10:23 - Episode#136

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.

 

Well hey there, hello to ya today. Hope you are doing well, growing in God’s grace, receiving all that the Lord has for you, blessing and encouraging others around you in your day to day life, just living for Jesus on a continual basis. Really, isn’t that what it actually means to be quote/unquote living the dream? And hey, just in case nobody has told you this today - you are pretty doggone fantastic. God put you in this world intentionally. He loves you so very much, and you are incredibly valuable to Him. That makes you one in a million. One in a zillion. I’m so thankful you’re listening today. Should we grab hold of a promise from the Bible and see what God has for us, those He so dearly loves?

You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show podcast, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode number 136.

In the New Testament, there is this incredible, amazing, profound book. The book of Hebrews. It’s a winner winner chicken dinner kind of book, ya know what I mean? It grows me up whenever I read it, encourages me, emboldens me, increases my love for others and my heart for the Lord, it disciplines and it unites and it is powerful and so worth taking the time to read, to study, and of course to believe. When we read our Bibles, I hope that we end our time in God’s Word believing Him more than we did before we started reading. Like, that ought to be happening every single day. I actually mean this, not kidding at all, not just speaking fluffy words, but seriously. I mean this. Believe that what God has said in the Bible is exactly what He means. He meant it and He still means it. So, our job is to believe. To do the work of believing. And ya know what? That work of believing changes everything. 

 

Hebrews chapter ten, verse twenty-three in the Amplified says this:

 

Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and faithful and trustworthy (to His word).

 

The King James reads this way:

 

Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised)

 

Now this is a verse to get excited about. I can stand on this one! And it is firm, it is solid, it will hold up under whatever may be pressing down on me. All I have to do is just what it says - hold fast. Seize it and hold tightly to the profession of our faith. The confession of our hope. Look, we need to be verbal and vocal about the Lord. I’m not talking about getting on a soapbox here, this is not about your social media presence. I want to encourage you, remind you, to say out loud to yourself, to the devil, to your little dog who is sleeping at your feet, say out loud that you are holding tightly, you are holding fast. Say out loud that you trust the Lord, that you know His Word is true, that His promises are for you, that the hope you have in Him is not misplaced, it is sure. It is certain. It is rock solid. And you will not be moved from your belief. Sometimes we need to say this to ourselves, out loud. Maybe even with our outside voices. Do you need to say it out loud today? Remind the devil of this verse. He will not, cannot win. The end game is finished. Jesus takes it all. Isn’t that great news? Seize it. Take hold of it, hold fast, hold tightly. And do it without wavering. 

 

You don’t hope in hope; you hope in God! You don’t hope in circumstances, bank balances, the state of the union or the state of the world. You hope in the Lord! Jesus did not remain in that grave, my friend. He is not there. He is risen, just as He said He would be. That is the One in whom you hope. His name is Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah.  And that is why we hold fast to the profession of our faith WITHOUT WAVERING. Because He who promised is faithful. I’ve said it many times before, but it’s so true and such a great reminder that I’m gonna say it again. He is faithful, and He cannot ever for a single solitary moment be unfaithful. The Lord won’t just oops, by accident be only partially faithful. He is always going to do what His word promises. Do not waver in your belief. The place you put your faith roots down matters. If that place is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, King Jesus, then you have good roots. You will be like a tree planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in season and out of season, stable and rooted so that you will grow stronger in life’s storms, not weaker. You have the Living Water. Jesus holds the keys to death and hell. He holds the very keys to life. You have what you need, all that you need, for all time if you have Jesus. So you ought to hold fast to the profession of your faith without wavering. When Jesus returns He will have two names written on him - Faithful and True, it says in the book of Revelation. Those are His names! And they tell us who He is! Faithful. True. You are in excellent hands. No need to waver when the One whose names are Faithful & True is your Lord. Isn’t that great news?!

 

Those last few words of this verse in the King James are so, so important.

 

For He who promised is faithful. 

 

You have probably heard that said many times. It comes straight from the Bible, right here in Hebrews 10:23.

 

For He, being God, who promised is faithful. Right now, He is faithful. Tomorrow, He will be faithful. And so on. His faithfulness won’t wear out or dry up or expire or anything like that. He is faithful and so He will keep on being faithful. God’s faithfulness remains. Isn’t that comforting?

 

It stays. It never recedes. It just simply IS. 

 

Breathe easy today, my friend. For He who promised is faithful. That’s your promise. And it is pretty critical to remember this truth today. I have a feeling that some of you listening are facing some stuff that is not good, not fun, sort of just plain icky. This is a perfect promise for you! He who promised is faithful. 

 

Your job is simply to seize and hold tightly the confession of your faith without wavering. 

 

Do you remember what it was like, that moment when you first realized how much Jesus loves you, that He died for you, that He was holding out forgiveness and eternal life to you? Like, the moment when you went all-in with Jesus because you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He went all-out for you. He died to give you life. Remember what it was like to see that truth clearly, and to know it was yours? 

 

Don’t let this moment today pass by without remembering what it was like. Because that right there is the confession of your faith that you need to hold tightly to. Seize it anew today and hold on for dear life. Let times of refreshing come from the Lord. Ask Him to fill you today with overwhelming peace and joy, and believe that His will for you is good. And rest in Him, right in those hard places of your life, you truly can find rest. You are allowed to rest. Did you know that? He has things for you to do, Kingdom work, for sure. He wants you to love people and to go to your job and work well, as unto the Lord, for sure. And He has rest and peace of heart and mind for you, too - that is also for sure. Some of you need to know that the Lord has given you permission to rest, and to enjoy that rest. 

 

Look at how Jesus described the Sabbath in Mark chapter 2, verses 24 thru 28. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. You are allowed to actually rest, and taking a day of rest is something both the Old and New Testaments say is good for us. 

 

Do what’s good for you. Do what Jesus told you to do. Obey Him because you love Him. Rest - have a weekly time of Sabbath rest. 

 

That is a big change for some of us. But listen, I was raised by a mother who was a worker. Growing up, there were a lot of years, like a lot of years in a row when mom only had one day off a year, and that was Christmas Day. I really am not exaggerating at all, not even the tiniest bit, when I say my mother worked 80-100 hours a week, week after week, every single week. That’s a lot of hours. She lived on a few hours of sleep each day for decades.

 

Work was obviously a huge focal point in my family as I was growing up. Not a lot of recreation, basically no vacations. Mom’s recreation was gardening, and that is work for sure. Resting was hard for her. So her kiddos, all six of us, have each been workers to some extent. But you know, for me, I got sidelined when my heart problems came about. Now I still did far more than I should have, I just kept going and going, and it did get to where I paid a steep price. My recovery time from mid-week long days would get longer…and then it got to worse and worse. Now I have never been confined to bed, like I have been told by cardiologists and electrophysiologists I should be, and I believe that is because I simply by faith choose to believe God’s promises more than anything else. But I did hit a point when I was literally forced to slow way down physically. Some days, I struggle with that. I get upset. I want to find a way to be able to do more, force myself into some different state of mind…but this is not a state of mind, and while I live by God’s promises alone, I can’t force God’s hand and do all the things I used to do. In a way, I am in a sort of long term Sabbatical rest mode, I guess. 

 

And my GRRR attitude at times, my desire to be able to do more and to quote/unquote improve my life by being able to do, do, do so much more…that has made it harder for me to actually rest in the Lord. Because the Sabbath rest isn’t just about catching a nap or chilling out for a couple of hours, maybe like sitting on the porch bird watching or something like that. It’s about God giving us rest. And when you are a worker, that kind of slow down and rest and just be with the Lord and receive from Him and just resting and knowing it is a gift from Him, well, it can be hard to actually relax. 

 

Practice it anyway, even though it is hard. It’s good for you, I promise. And also, it’s been hard to have this forced slow down due to my health. I’d much rather nobody else ever face a health diagnosis like heart failure and be able to take that weekly Sabbath rest and not hesitate to enjoy it and really recharge the way God wants you too, I’d rather that happen than being made to take the rest while sort of fighting against it. If God has it for you, then trust Him enough to take it from Him, knowing it is for your good and His glory. 

 

Because He who promised is reliable and faithful and trustworthy. 

 

I hope you walk today in more and more of the love of the Lord than you did yesterday or the day before that. His love for you is so deep and wide and high and vast, you’ll never really understand it fully in this life. But my prayer is that you understand is as much as you can, and that you experience more and more of that love daily.

 

Thanks for listening to the show today, and hey, don’t forget, if God is for you (and He is!) then who can be against you? Remember that truth today.

 

See you next time.

Pouring Out Your Heart Before the Lord - The Promise of Psalm 62:8 - Episode 135

21 Days of Prayer - 21 Prayer Devotions by Jan L. Burt

 

Well, hey there! Welcome to this episode of the podcast. I am so very thankful that you have taken the time to listen to the show today. You know, listening is so important for any relationship. Parent / child, marriage, boss / employee, good friends are good listeners, am I right? And I think that is also true of our relationship with God. If we listen well, good things will come of it. Listen well to God’s Word by applying what you read in your Bible each day, what you learn in your small group, what the pastor has to say in his weekly sermon. Show you are a good listener by the application of the Word to your life. And also, during your prayer time, don’t just talk talk talk, say amen, and never slow down and listen. God may have something really important, terribly encouraging, challenging at times, that He wants you to know. So be sure to get quiet enough to hear Him (having a pen and a journal handy is super helpful for me - but I am a very wordy person, so it seems pretty spot on for me to listen well with a pen in my hand because I remember best what I right down, but if that is not helpful for you, ignore it and do what works). Today’s verse holds a whopper of a promise for us. It’s big, it’s vast, it’s important. So, let’s get to it.

You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app. This is episode number 135.

Today we are going to look at one single verse found in the books of psalms, smack dab in the middle of the Bible. Psalm 62, verse 8. I’m going to read from the Amplified version for this episode.

 

AMP - Trust (confidently) in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. 

 

So, the promise in this verse comes attached to some things. First, we need to evaluate the state of our hearts and discern whether or not we are fully trusting in the Lord. At all times. And the Amplified Bible uses the word confidently as an adverb to help us really understand how we are to be trusting in the Lord. Confidently. By definition, that word indicates certainty and total trustfulness. Full of conviction. Having assurance. Confidently.

 

Trust confidently, full of conviction, having assurance, certain and totally, in God at all times. 

All means all, doesn’t it?

When are we to trust confidently in the Lord?

Oh, only at all times.

Every single moment of every single day. At all times.

 

And we are also told here in Psalm 62 verse 8 to pour out our heart before Him.

Pour it out.

Don’t hold on to bits and pieces of the things that are weighing heavily on your heart and mind. 

Do not hold back when you talk to the Lord about what’s troubling you, about what’s happening in your life and in your world. 

If He didn’t want you to get it all out, ya know, like let’s get this totally out of our system, God would not have said to do this. He doesn’t mince words with us. He isn’t playing hide and seek with us. He loves us with an everlasting love. And out of that love for us, He calls us to pour our heart out before Him.

 

Jesus said in John chapter 14 that we will obey Him if we love Him. 

Could it be possible that this directive to pour it all out, all that heavy stuff in our heart, before Him feels wrong in some way, and so we don’t really do it? Like, we kind of pour out our hearts during our prayer time, but only kind of. Not totally, since that could involve tears possibly at times or real, raw honesty that doesn’t feel very Christian sometimes. It can leave us feeling a bit exposed, maybe like shaky or wobbly. 

And yet, God wants just this exact thing from His dearly loved children. And according to 1 John, that’s exactly what we are - dearly loved children. 

 

We are safest when we are smack dab in the center of God’s will. No place else will ever be more safe, more secure, for us. 

And one way we can know God’s will is to find out what He has told us in His Word. The Bible in this psalm tells us to pour out our hearts to Him and to trust in Him confidently at all times.

When we do those two things, we are in the will of God. We are safe. We are secure. Period.

 

And then, look out now, cuz here is where it gets really. And then, the promise comes. 

 

God is a refuge for us.

 

IS.

 

A beautiful present tense verb.

 

IS.

 

God is a refuge for you. 

 

Go ahead, turn to Him in confident trust right now today, whatever the case may be, like where you are dealing with some junk in your life, right in that exact spot, turn to God in confident trust and pour your heart out to Him. And then, just you watch Him show up as your refuge. 

 

Your shelter, your protection, in a dangerous or difficult situation.

He is going to protect you right there in that place of distress.

And God will keep on providing you with protection and shelter for as long as you need it. This isn’t a promise with an expiration. Friendships can be like milk, and can have expiration dates but God’s promises are not at all like milk. They don’t expire or curdle or go bad. 

They last. They prove true. And they always hold up, no matter what.

(Ask me how I know…)

God as your refuge means God is your recourse in times of trouble. 

Recourse - think about that.

Legal recourse comes to mind when I try to think of how that word applies, where I’ve heard it used before.

Can you think of a better source of refuge and recourse than the Lord God Almighty? The One who was and who is and who is to come? The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end? The Great I AM? 

 

Nothing and no one can stand against the power of our God. 

 

You are not alone, you are not abandoned, you are not set aside, you are not forgotten, and you never will be.

 

Because God is, right now, today, in this very moment, a refuge for you.

And tomorrow, He will be a present tense, in that very moment, refuge for you.

 

You don’t walk alone through this life. 

And you certainly don’t battle alone. 

Put on armor of God, pour out your heart before your trustworthy Lord, and enjoy the benefits of being hidden away in your place of refuge. 

 

Look, not to be too blunt here, but the truth is that so many of God’s promises are for us right now, here in this place, while we are living this life here on this earth. In eternity, in heaven, the new heavens and the new earth that are to come for those of us who know Jesus as Lord and Savior, look we won’t be needing many of the promises we find in our Bibles. When we can see Him face to face, when He makes all things new, when He wipes every tear from our eyes and all things are set right and there is no longer the impact of sin and death will be gone forevermore…we won’t be living by faith, because our faith will have become sight. 

So today is the time to believe God’s promises. They are not for later on, down the road, after a while. They are for right now. And they cannot be used up or worn out so when you need this promise again in a couple of days, which is normal for me at least, been a day or so time to take up another one of God’s promises and choose to believe it, ya know? They’ll be plenty good for all of your tomorrows. But for your today, don’t leave them out of your life. Because they are for today. God wants you living in the light of His blessings right now, this very day. Jesus did not endure the cross and procure your freedom so you could wait around to live in that freedom, eh, ya know, maybe later one, next month I’ll really get serious and start applying this to my life, and kick my prayer time into a higher gear.

 

Well, how ‘bout now? Like, today? Right now? What’s wrong with now? 

There’s a lot more wrong with, “I’ll get around to walking in the freedom Jesus offers me later on,” than is wrong with, “Today I am going to live in state of chronic and contagious belief - what God has for me can’t not be for me, and it is for this very moment in time.” 

Which one honors the Lord more? Which one stretches and grows our faith more? Which one gives us a testimony that points to Jesus? Which option is the option God wants us to choose?

 

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Isn’t that how the saying goes?

Well, today don’t be putting off what it says in Psalm 62:8.

 

Do it now, today, and get yourself the full blessing of this promise.

 

Let me end this episode by reading the verse to you just once more real quick.

And I will also add a link to a free prayer resource I created, oh golly, it’s been a few years back that I put it together, but it’s on the subject of prayer so it’s still not expired, right?

 

Psalm 62:8 - Trust (confidently) in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. 

 

Would you do that today?

And expect Him to keep up His end of the deal, because He always, always does.

 

Lord bless you, thanks for listening today and I’ll be back next time for episode number 136.

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.

In Need of Some Direction? God’s Got You Covered! The Promise of Isaiah 30:21 Episode 134

A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents on Amazon

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To enter the giveaway, you can DM Jan via Instagram @janlburt 

 

In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, we take a look at the promise we find in Isaiah 31:21.

 

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will heart a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 

 

God is fully aware that you have decisions to make in your daily life. And He has help for you regarding those decisions, those crossroads, those moments when you aren't exactly sure where to turn or which road to take.

 

This verse promises some key things.

 

As always, when we find a promise in the Bible we need to make a conscious decision to believe that exact promise. 

 

Your level of belief is actually very important if you want to "level-up" in life. 

You have an enemy, Satan, who never takes a day off and never misses an opportunity to hit you where it hurts. He only & always wants to hang you out to dry. 

God never, ever wants that for you.

 

What you believe, what you have faith in, is the foundation upon which you build your life. It matters tremendously because it will either stop Satan's lies & manipulation & accusations... or allow those things. 

Let's go for the stop.

 

Whether you go....

That's what this verse says.

Whatever comes up, whatever choices or options you have, you will (WILL!) hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 

 

Jesus often asked if His listeners had ears to hear. Clearly, listening well matters. We need to listen up, listen closely, listen carefully. We must listen in order to obey. "This is the way; walk in it."

Not "This is the way... but you do you, do whatever ya want..."

Listen to heed. Listen in order to obey. Remove the spiritual wax from your ears. 

 

If you ask God for His direction, and He answers by giving you direction, then you ought to go that direction.

 

God wants to be involved in your life. He wants to give you the help you need, along with insight and wisdom and favor and blessing. This verse make that totally clear. 

So, what do you want? 

Life is too short & too hard for us to miss out on what God is offering us here in Isaiah 30:21.

Don't miss out and take a misstep.

Ask - Listen - Obey

God will keep His promise. 

You can walk in that!

 

See you next time!

Jan L. Burt

 

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.

What Happens When a Four-Year-Old Gets Caught Breaking & Entering? A True Story from My Childhood Episode 133

The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional on Amazon 

 

This special episode of the podcast focuses on a true story from Jan L. Burt's childhood when she broke into her babysitter's mother's house and did a whole lot of damage.

 

Jan shares some insight about coming to God as we are and not waiting until we "have it all together".

She also encourages listeners to be a blessing to others with a super-easy-to-do technique... that of listening well when they speak, and offering to pray for them when they are facing a difficult situation or circumstance.

 

Enjoy this episode and listen to hear exactly how a four-year-old managed to break into a house, and why she was certain something terrible would happen to her when she was caught.

 

Jan L. Burt

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.

The Faithfulness of God & Why It Matters - Episode 132

Psalm 91 -  Pray It & Believe audio course discounted to $14 for The Burt (Not Ernie) Show listeners. 

 

2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year (instant access to printable digital download) 

 

Well, hey there and hello to you. I’m so incredibly thankful you’re listening to the podcast today and I’m super excited to share some encouragement via one of God’s promises that we find in the book of psalms. 

 

Take a look at the faithfulness of God with me for this episode and let’s just see what God does as we take Him at His word and believe His promises are 100% true.

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 132.

The faithfulness of God matters. 

In every moment, it matters. 

And honestly, it may matter far more than we realize.

 

God’s faithfulness keeps everything going. Every heartbeat is thanks to the faithfulness of God. Every single time we take a breath, it is proof that our God is faithful. When someone texts you to let you know they care about you, are thinking of you, have just spent some time praying for you, guess what? God put you on their heart and His faithfulness is what actually moved them to reach out to you. God’s faithfulness is something that is so certain, we can miss it on the daily. And in spite of the fact that we so often just don’t see it, recognize it or acknowledge it but it keeps on being our reality, that in itself is proof of just how faithful the Lord God Almighty truly is.

 

Now, one thing that has been on my heart and mind a lot lately is this: holiness, God’s holiness. And how we, as His people, ought to be living our everyday lives as a response to His holiness and His call for us to be a holy people, a people set apart for His glory and His purposes. So that’s not exactly what today’s podcast is about, but I wanted to share that because I really doubt that I am the only one thinking about this currently. I’ve found that whatever God is doing in my heart, it is often being done in many, many hearts at the same time. If that’s you, be encouraged that He has a purpose in leading you to think about holiness, to be more aware of what you think and say and do and that He is always working on a zillion levels all at once. It’s a good work He is doing in and through you. You just keep leaning in, praying and listening and following His lead, and trust Him to finish every good work that He has begun in you. Cuz He is a finisher!

 

Today I want to read from the Amplified, Psalm 91, verse 4, the end portion of this verse. It says:

His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.

 

I’ll say it again, because it bears repeating: the faithfulness of God matters!

He IS completely faithful - this goes beyond a behavior that we might see or experience now and then. The utter and complete and unyielding faithfulness of our God is as unending as the vastness of the universe, but actually would far surpass that, even though we cannot comprehend it. Galaxy upon galaxy of faithfulness. He is, always and in all ways, faithful.

 

Does that stir hopefulness within you today? Or maybe you find yourself wondering, “How can that be true? How can it be true for me?”  A mix of both, perhaps? Nodding your head in agreement as to the amazing faithfulness of the Lord and also hoping that same faithfulness will be true for you in a hard situation?

 

This very faithfulness is, to us, a shield and a wall.

Those are not my words, they are the words in this verse. And Psalm 91, well, it does not play. It’s in the Bible on purpose, intentionally, and we need to acknowledge that it is the truth, straight from the very Word of God. 

 

And this faithfulness is a shield and a wall to us.

 

Okay, so in 2023, what does that really mean? Like, a shield? A wall? Those don’t mean so much to us. I’m not sure what I can liken it to for our modern day and age, but just think ultimate protection. What does a shield do? The intercept specific attacks. They protect from projectiles and from close range weapons. A shield can actively block dangers and attacks. It can also close lines of protection, kind of linking up with other shields, as a more passive form of protection. 

 

Okay. Sounds pretty good to me!

 

What about a wall? Walled cities were places that were safe in days prior, we know that for sure. Think of all the places in the Bible that mention city walls, or think of those cities of refuge that a person could run to and be safe if an accident happened and someone lost their life - you were able to flee to a city of refuge and be safe there, behind those city walls, until it was determined that it was, or was not, an accident. If there had been no walled cities, those would have not been refuge places because the walls keep some things in and other things out, right? Keeping this in, while also keeping that out. Walls do that. 

 

Other things do that in our day and age. Passwords and secure logins for your personal info. Key fobs for the car. Places to keep your valuables safe. Locks on doors. Security systems and doorbell cameras. Modern types of walls. This stays in here, nice and safe and protected, and the not so safe things can kind of stay out, on the other side of the wall. Good fences make good neighbors and all of that.

 

Walls also bring to mind the idea of fortifications, of a first line of defense. LOTR movies, Helm’s Deep, that was a walled city, protected. 

 

God’s faithfulness is THAT to us. Protection. Intercepting specific  attacks that are aimed directly at you. Protection from projectiles, and that can be words spoken to you, about you, over you. I’ve seen a social post that says something to the effect of, don’t worry too much about people that God removed from your life, He may have heard you mentioned in conversations where you were not present. And yeah, there could probably be some truth to that. If Psalm 91:4 is true (and it most certainly is true!), then there could be conversations that were about us but not with us, not to our face, we were not in that conversation but it was about us, and maybe at times God just sort of moves us along a bit and we lose contact with them or something. Could that not be a form of shield for us? Because words can have so much weight. You and I know  it’s true, there is no point in pretending we are bad enough to let it all roll off like water off a duck’s back. I am not a duck. You either. We are not water fowl. Words can be heavy, can carry a lot of weight. And sometimes God just flat shields us from those weighty words. Anybody want to say amen to that? It is one of the best blessings of my life! (I had a time when I had to let a couple of folks know that I was not interested in any more phone calls - this was back before texts, btw - no more calls to let me know what so and so had to say about this, that and the other. And when I didn’t want to be part of the family gossip train, they stopped calling me. The opposite of Cameron in Ferris Bueler’s Day Off. He’ll keep calling me… Nope. The phone quit ringing and I was all the better for it.) Words can have weight and the faithfulness of God can protect us from weighty words. That is a blessing beyond measure!

 

Close range weapons. Projectiles. Need to be hidden away. Need to have some stuff, some enemy attacks, away from us. His faithfulness is a shield and a wall for all those things. Isn’t He good? And isn’t He good to you?

 

That is what you have in the Lord God Most High. So much faithfulness that it is a shield and a wall --- FOR YOU! Sure, this applies to every disciple of the Lord Jesus. And it right now applies to you. Don’t miss the forest for the trees. This promise is meant to be your promise. That is why you are listening to this podcast episode today. So you can hear and believe this specific promise for your specific life at this specific moment. This is for you. And that is really, really good news.

 

Here and now, in the middle of the first month of the new year, it’s yours. 

For some of you, that’s what you needed to hear today. 

I hope it goes from your ears right into your heart and mind. Let God soften your heart and like, literally, bless your heart (not like a southern saying, but really be a comfort and a blessing to you in the places of life where you most need it) and change your thinking with this promise. Because how you think, well, that’s how your life goes. The direction of your thoughts is the direction of your life. Think well. Think on these things, the New Testament says. Think on the truth of God’s Word and the truth of Jesus. Praise God for His truth!

 

Here today, this is when we praise Him for His faithfulness to us. Through it all, He never abandons His own. Thank Him for that! And make that thankfulness a sort of first fruit offering to Him at the start of this year. Be thankful, right from the get-go. For the next twelve months I am expecting Him to be faithful, utterly faithful, to you. And to me. I’m believing for that. I hope you can believe for that, too. 

 

Don’t go to sleep tonight without reflecting on His faithfulness to you and the truth that it never ends and is all encompassing. Before your head hits the pillow, remind yourself that Psalm 91:4 is the reality of your life, because He who promised is faithful. 

 

Your shield of protection and your protective walls before you, behind you, all around you. That’s God’s commitment to you and He never tells a lie (it’s actually impossible for Him to lie) and He does not deal in partial or half truths. (think of Flick getting the blame for the bad word Ralphie said in A Christmas Story). Aren’t you thankful you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother, a friend in God, and that He is nothing like even your very best earthly friend? 

 

Because we are human, and deal daily with humanity in ourselves and in others, we can sort of do this by-product thing where we start to inadvertently attribute human behavior to God’s behavior. We sort of humanize the Lord, in a way. In our thinking. In our expectations. But that’s not right! 

 

According to the Bible, that is not correct at all. We don’t conform the Bible to our thoughts, right? We conform our thinking to the Bible’s truths. To the Living Word. and the truth of the Word of God to us here is that God’s faithfulness is (present tense!!) a shield and a wall.

 

 I need you to believe that today. Believe it now like you’ve never believed it before. 

 

Jesus is coming for His Church (hear that, for HIS CHURCH, we belong to Him and it’s wise and prudent to remember that). Sooner than later, sooner than we think most likely. We should live believing Him fully because that’s how we will be ready when He comes. May He not find us doubting, but believing. May He not find us waxing and waning, but on fire for Him and living for His kingdom purposes. 

 

When He comes, our faith will become sight. 

 

This is our time for faith. 

This is our time for faith-based believing. 

As Jesus said Himself, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Isn’t it incredible that you can be one of those whom He was talking about? You can be one who has not seen Him face to face and yet believes. 

 

This is your year for believing. To live believing.

 

Start today, with Psalm 91 verse 4, and believe.

Tomorrow, believe again. And believe even more of what the Bible says. Keep on that path, my friend, and you will not ever regret it, not for a single moment.

 

You will be blessed, said Jesus, if you believe without having seen.

Can you say this is your blessing right now?

Why not make it your blessing today?

Thanks for joining me today for this episode.

 

Hey, I have an audio course I created based on Psalm 91, and I am going to put the link for that in the show notes. It’s like nineteen dollars right now. (The option I have for this course does not allow me to use coupon codes but I was able to take $5 off the price, dropping it to just $14). Check that out if you might like some encouragement in living a life in a state of chronic belief.

 

I can tell you from experience, there is nothing like it and no better way to live.

God’s Promises & a New Year & Great Expectation - Episode 131

 

2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year (instant access to printable digital download) 

“The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional”

Well, hey there and hello! First of all, Happy New Year. More than that, blessed and filled to overflowing with God’s love and grace and mercy and guidance and favor to you. What a year it will be if we see God’s hand at work in all sorts of areas of our lives. And what honor He’ll receive if we live out 2023 intentionally, with our eyes on the Lord, seeking and doing His will, praying like we believe our God answers those prayers, loving others like we believe God loves us fiercely, as the apple of His eye. Why not make it just that type of year? I’m in. How ‘bout you?

 

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 131.

A new year.

Resolutions, recommitments, restructuring of all sorts of areas of our lives, renewal and revival and basically all the words that start with “re”.

 

We want the new thing.

 

We want hope, we want a good, good future. We want the betterment of our own worlds and the whole world. Hope is rekindled in the new year. 

 

What does God’s word say about hope, about that search we tend to have for something new, something good, when a new year begins? We kind of do this at our birthdays, too. What are we looking forward to in this year of life, what hopes and dreams do we have for the upcoming 12 months, and so on. 

 

Is it just foolhardy wishful thinking? Is it people being people, it is optimism rearing it’s head at this time of year? Or is it something God puts inside of us, this interest in and desire for the new thing?

 

I’m going to read a few verses, all from the New Living Translation, because there are some promises for us from the Bible that can be very, very encouraging to take with us into the coming year. 

 

First, from the very last book in the Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter 21, so the very tail end of Revelation, the very last portions of the Bible, chapter 21, verse 5. Here is what is says in the NLT:

 

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 

So, who is speaking here? The One who sits on the throne. And there is one King of kings, Lord of lords, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, the only One worthy to sit on that throne. 

 

These are some of the last words in the Bible. There are 22 chapters in the book of Revelation, and this is from chapter 21. Jesus is telling us something important, because what people say when they are closing something out, like a book or a sermon or a speech, those words are more likely to stick, to be remembered, to be carried out with the person when they get up and leave the auditorium, much more likely to be remembered than the words in the middle of the hour long speech. Ted talks are short for a reason, right? That brevity lends to the sticking power of what’s being shared. It also forces the speakers to hone in on the key points and cut the fluff out (reminds me of Strunk & White’s book The Elements of Style…isn’t there a rule in that book about eliminating words?). Ted talks work for a reason. And the reason is, they are direct, to the point, cut to the chase, they get right to it. 

 

God wanted us to read these words toward the end of the book of Revelation, and that’s where He placed them. So, we are kind of starting at the very end of the Bible as we start at the very beginning of 2023. 

 

He who sits on the throne says to us, “Behold. I am making all things new.”

 

All really does mean all.

 

That chronic pain you’ve dealt with the last couple of years? That’s on His list of things that will be made new. Finances tight in this economy? Well, He’s gonna make that all new one day. Not sure what you do on the daily to serve your family, your church, in your workplace is making much of a difference? No worries, when He makes all things new you are going to know the actual eternal impact of what you did. Like the widow who gave two mites, which seemed like very little, Jesus may well reveal that what you gave was more than you know. 

 

He also says that these words are faithful and true, they are accurate. The Amplified says they are incorruptible and trustworthy. That’s important for us to know as we roll forward into 2023. God’s words, and His promises made in His word, are accurate, true, faithful, not able to be corrupted, trustworthy. And His promise here is that He is making all things new. What He is telling you in the Bible is trustworthy and true. 

 

And hey, if you need some encouragement, I can say that you can find so much hope and encouragement by reading the book of Revelation. It doesn’t have to be viewed as a scary book that we avoid reading because some of it is hard to understand and some of it seems stressful and some of it seems like it will happen in a whole ‘nother lifetime. It’s a book that holds a promise to the reader (and I am gonna let you read it to find out where it says that and what that exact promise is!) but there is so much hope about the future, our future, in eternity with the Lord, about His coming again and setting all things right, about the joy we will have in His presence. It’s actually a very encouraging book, and reading it could be a great way for you to garner hope as you begin this year.

 

Jesus has promised that He is making all things new. He is working on all the things! Isn’t that a great promise?? Behold this promise! Take a look at it. And then, choose to believe it. There are blessings that come when we choose to believe God’s promises. 

 

In the Old Testament book of Ezekial, chapter 11, verse 19, we read:

 

And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart.

 

Isn’t this an awesome verse? Look at the promises here! God is saying that He will do the impossible. Now, if you’ve ever known someone with a heart of stone, then you get my drift. It is the most miraculous thing to see someone go from a stony heart, like stubborn in a way that defies all ability to reconcile or reason with, from that to a tender, responsive, soft heart. It is a miracle of miracles! And that is what God does. He specializes in it. He does this every single day and it will never stop being one of my favorite things in the entire world. 

 

And just a reminder, when we see a verse of promise in our Bible that uses the word will, it really does mean will. God does not play. God does not mince words or misspeak.

He says it because He truly means it. 

 

He WILL give us singleness of heart. He will put a new spirit within us. He will take away our stubborn, stony hearts and give us tender, responsive ones in place of that old stony hunk of junk.

 

This is a verse you can remember when you are praying for people. We all know people who are hurting, who have hard hearts, who need the Lord in their lives. I mean, maybe you don’t know anyone like that, but golly most of us do. Because this world is hard to live in. That’s true for us all. So there are people who are hard in one or another aspect of their life, and we can pray and ask God to do as He has promised here in Ezekial, to give His people a singleness of heart (that’s a great prayer to pray over your local church for the whole coming year of 2023 - jus think what might come to pass if you prayed that over your local church every single week of this whole year… what kind of an impact might that have by year’s end?) And for those people who need the Lord, pray that God will keep His word as found here in this verse and soften their hearts, draw them to Himself, put a new spirit within them. What a beautiful way to invest in others and to pony up, ya know, and put our money where our mouth is. Like, if we believe God’s promises only in word, we probably aren’t praying for those promises to be true for us, or for others. Let’s be praying believers! Can we make this year the year we, as individuals, become praying believers? We believe God’s promises and we pray big, bold, daring prayers based on those promises. Let’s do this thing! 

Now, from the New Testament book of 1 Peter, chapter 1, the very last part of verse 3 says this in the NLT:

 

Now we live with great expectation.

 

When we know what the Word of God says, and then live and pray with that knowing underpinning what we think, how we act, the decisions we make and most certainly how we pray, well, we are living with great expectation. 

 

Not tiny, miniscule, itsy bitsy spider sized expectation.

 

GREAT expectation. Yeah, I think maybe God’s Word said it first and Dickens took a cue from the Bible. GREAT. EXPECTATION. (Dickens title is in the plural, ours is singular - we set all our hope on Jesus, and all our expectation is from Him. We don’t have a bit of hope over here in this religion, some over there in that self-help plan, a bit more in our own John Wayne pull yourself up by the bootstraps mentality, getting by with a little help from my friends over this a way… No, our expectation is from the Lord. Beginning to end, it hinges on Him. And remember the first verse from Revelation? Trustworthy and faithful.)

 

Hope resting firmly on Jesus is rock solid. That’s what we need, and that’s what we need to share with others.

 

I’m not saying you can never have a bad day. I am saying Jesus on the side is not the answer. He is the One who says to take up your cross daily and follow Him. He is the One who says the servant is not greater than the master. He is the One who rose on the third day and sent His Holy Spirit to be with us, in us, when He sat down at the right hand of the Father. That does not sound to me like a bit of Jesus on the side, Clyde. That sounds like the Great I AM as the Lord of all.

 

There is hope for you this year, because the Bible tells you so. 

 

And there can be hope for those around you who are hurting, because you can pray for God’s promises to become their reality.

 

You can encourage your pastors, you can be a blessing to your coworkers, you can make a difference in the furthermost corner of the world because you know how to pray according to the Word of God. 

 

The only thing that can stop you from praying is, well, you not actually doing the praying.

 

Start now, start today, start with this: Lord, who can I pray for right now? 

 

Ask Him to remind you of verses with promises and hope to pray for people, and He surely will. Ask God to hear your prayers and to answer them, to be glorified in this hurting old world, and to be expand His kingdom and do a work in this world that makes a mark, makes a difference, ask that by the end of your life, the world would be a better place because you prayed and you believed God’s promises.

 

May 2023 be your year to leave this kind of legacy, this kind of impact. And may you be blessed in all your ways, in all you do, as you seek His kingdom first and foremost. 

 

Lord bless you and thank you so much for listening today. I’m thankful for you and I’m praying for you (if you want to know what I’m praying for you, check out the link to the 2023 Prayer Planner… spoiler alert, I don’t pray small prayers for you. I pray big and I really do trust God to do amazing things for you as I pray based on His word.)

 

See ya next time! Bye bye. 

 

2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year print book at Amazon

Episode 130 A Prayer for You in the New Year & the Promise of Psalm 18

2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year digital download 

2023 Annual Prayer Planner - 21 Days of Prayer & Journaling to Plan Your Year print book at Amazon

 

Well, hey there! So good to be with you today on this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are trusting fully in the Lord as we move toward 2023. My prayer for you is that you will know God better, hear the voice of your Good Shepherd more clearly, have more joy and peace and faith than ever before, and see the miraculous happening all throughout the coming year. Is that a big, bold prayer for me to be making on your behalf? Perhaps. But isn’t that what makes it a prayer worth praying from the very depths of my heart? Definitely.

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 130.

Recently I have been reading through the later chapters of the book of Genesis, along with 1 Peter and Hebrews. And every single day it seems like the Holy Spirit shows me places where He wants me to yield more, trust more, believe more, grow up more. Looking at the life of Joseph in Genesis, from his childhood to his difficulties with his brothers to his betrayal to his time in Egypt that was anything but sunshine and roses, to be honest, I have been encouraged, convicted and challenged. That’s not always the most fun place to be in my walk as a disciple of Jesus, but it is always a healthy, good place for me to be. And so, as it says in chapter 4 of 1 Peter, I am finding joy in the hard things (that’s a very, very loose paraphrase, btw). 

 

I’d like to read a verse from the NLT out of Psalm 18. Let me read verse 3 aloud to you. 

 

It says:

I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies.

 

Here it is from the Amplified:

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies.

 

Very small differences between the two versions, but the Amplified Bible changes the tense a bit. From called in the NLT, past tense, to CALL in the Amplified, present tense. And the last portion - and I am saved from my enemies. 

 

Right now is the moment we can call upon the Lord and be saved from our enemies. We have enemies, like it or not. The devil, of course, is our ultimate enemy. But so often, in my own life, I am my own enemy. I fear failing at some new thing so I sort of put it off, do some other stuff, work on this, fiddle around with that. But fail to do that thing I should get going on, fail to do it because I don’t want to fail in doing it. Anybody else? 

 

I know that failure is not fatal, that failure is actually not doing anything. Trying at something, learning and growing and slowly at times taking baby steps forward, that is actually a part of success. Failure isn’t as big a deal as I give it credit for, when I frame it correctly. Failure when I am doing what the Lord calls me to do is falling forward, toward His good and perfect and pleasing will for my life. Failure is falling backward when I do nothing, try nothing, attempt nothing for God’s glory or for His Kingdom or for other people’s benefit. Failure, according to the book of James, is when I know the good I ought to do but do not do it. 

 

So as I live out the last couple of days of 2022 and step toward the new year, which feels new even though technically it is simply turning the page on the calendar and not one single thing beyond the date change may be even remotely new at this point in time - as I live in this moment and move forward into the next moments of my life, I am choosing to remember this truth about failure. Because there are some things I need to work on, some prayers I need to pray, some tasks I need to be about, some people I need to love better, some dreams I need to dream with the Lord, and some nonsense and baggage I need to drop right here and never pick up again. And I am thinking you may need to leave some stuff behind too. Maybe you need to redefine failure for the new year. Maybe we need to, collectively, give each other ample grace while also extending that grace to our very own selves. 

 

Back to Psalm 18, I’m calling on the Lord today and have plans to call on Him as often as need be in 2023, and I am believing He will save me from my enemies. Even if the biggest enemy is me at times. 

 

I’d like to take a moment and pray a blessing over you for the New Year. 

 

Lord, my prayer for each listener is that they will wholeheartedly, with fervency and devotion, love you more in 2023 than at any other time in their life. Would you be their strength, and not only when they face trouble or trials or difficulties or stress, but every single day. Be their strength as they parent their children, as they grieve losses, as they do their job week after week, in their finances, as they face what may feel like difficult economic times that are heavy and hard to bear, in their family relationships and in their ministry roles and even when they lie down to sleep each night, would you be their strength in those times to rest fully in you and be able to sleep and get the rest You want them to have? Be their rock, fortress, and rescuer in this new year. May they turn to you and take refuge in you as often as they need to. Be their shield, their high tower where they will be above the stresses of daily life and able to see things from Your point of view. Be their stronghold, a very certain help and comfort in their time of need. 

 

You are worthy to be praised, Lord. May they praise You often and with great adoration. Save them from their enemies, whomever and whatever those enemies may be. Hear me as I pray today, and keep this prayer before You all year, one You will answer on their behalf again and again. Open dry paths for them to walk on when it seems as if deep waters are hindering their way. Where You lead, may they follow, and may they be blessed in that following of Your daily leading. Reach down from on high, rescue them, delight in them, bring them out into a broad place. Enable them to live clean lives before You, honoring You in public and in private, keeping the ways of the Lord. Help them to remain in Your Word, to spend time in prayer, and to be part of the local church that blesses them and is a blessing through them to other believers. Show yourself kind to them, and may Your kindness spur them on to kindness that overflows onto others. Save Your people who are afflicted, and remind them of the need to remain humble before You. Keep them from arrogance, foolishness, and haughty behaviors or thoughts. By Your power, Lord, they can crush a troop or scale a wall. As they do great exploits spiritually for Your kingdom, may You receive all the glory and praise. Bring them healing in every area that it is needed - emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually, relationally, and every other way that healing will bless them. Encircle them with strength, be their rock, make their way blameless. 

 

Make their feet like hinds feet, stable and sure and able to climb on the heights - because we know that the high points of life require sure footing so we don’t forget You or Your blessings in the good times, or think we caused the good things of our own accord, or focus so much on the good life that we stumble due to not caring for those around us who may not be in a good times season of life. Make us able to stand firmly and walk safely in the midst of trouble. Set us securely on the high places You have ordained for us. Train our hands for the battles we fight, and to be in the fray and in the fight by praying for those You lead us to pray for. May we be able to bend a bow of bronze and see the prayers we pray through to fruition. Uphold and sustain them with Your right hand. May Your gentleness, Your gracious response to them as they pray and on their behalf as I pray this over them today, may Your gracious response make them great, for Your kingdom and Your purposes in this world that needs You so desperately. 

 

Enlarge the path before them and make their steps secure so that their feet will not slip. They will pursue their enemies and overtake them this year. They will not turn back until their enemies are consumed. Satan will not have the final victory, and I am asking that he will not win in the battles they are fighting in 2023. Lord, with humility I am making this request on their behalf. Lord, do not deny me my requests today. May I be like the woman in Luke chapter 18 - like that parable You told about praying and not giving up, I will ask and ask and ask again like the persistent widow. Do not withhold from me answers to this prayer. Answer it again and again on their behalf, all throughout the next twelve months. May their enemies fall wounded under their feet, as it says in Your Word. Encircle them with strength for the battle, strength for whatever comes in 2023. Subdue those who come against them in ways that will not grow them, sanctify them, or honor You through them. Rescue them from contentious people, place them as the head and not the tail, may they be positioned for service among those who are Your people, Lord, and those who are in need of You in their lives. May they live in obedience to You, to Your will and Your call on their lives. And may they see the fruit of the Spirit in their life again and again and again, all year long. You, Lord, live. Blessed be Your name! May You, the God of our salvation, be exalted! 

 

Rescue these ones for whom I am praying today. Life them above those who attack them and rise up against them, whether those are people attacking, circumstances attacking, or satan attacking. Deliver them from men of violence. We are Your people, we are a people of peace, and may we live in peace and at peace as far as it depends on us. We choose today to honor You with our lives all year long. We set this year before You and offer it to You before it even begins. And we give You our worship, our love, our adoration, our hearts. You are good, and You cannot be otherwise. You do nothing apart from Your lovingkindness for us. We give thanks to You, we praise You, O Lord among the nations, and we will sing praises to Your name all throughout this new year. Thank You for Your care for us, for hearing my prayer and answering it, for Your Word which teaches me how to pray and what to ask You for, thank You for Your steadfast love toward us and the mercy You extend. Thank You, and once again I say thank You. 

This I pray in the name of Jesus, and may it be done according to Your Word. Amen. 

I am always so blessed, so thankful, for the opportunity to pray for you. And I really do mean that. It is a privilege to pray for others, isn’t it? And one thing that gave me sort of a heart jump-start when it comes to prayer was the realization that I won’t need to pray when I am in eternity, in heaven, with the Lord. I am still going to praise and worship and adore Him, revere Him, honor Him. But He will set everything aright, He will make all things new, and He means it when He says in Revelation that there will be no more crying or death or pain and so I won’t need to lift those requests before Him since they will be gone forever. That realization moved me to pray with more fervency, more intensity, more longing for Him to hear and answer when I pray because I don’t have forever to be about this work of praying for others. I only have right now. And that’s, I suppose, why I am so thankful to be able to pray for you in this episode. 

 

If this is something that blessed you, I have three things to quickly mention. One is my private prayer group on Facebook (and it is a private group because prayer requests are confidential sometimes and so it’s just a private group for that one reason). I do videos and pray in the group a couple of times a month, so it’s not an overwhelming amount of notifications from the group. It’s called Praying Through the Storm Online Prayer Retreat with Jan L. Burt on Facebook and the link will be at the top and the bottom of the show notes for this episode and also on my website, Jan L Burt . com. 

Second is the new podcast I am working on. This one will be here focusing on God’s promises primarily, and the second one is called The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt, and it will be, you guessed it, about prayer. 

Third, a resource I created for the new year (based on something I do each year and on something I did with a group of people via email in early 2022 that ended with so many people asking me to turn the content into a book of some sort, and so that’s what I did) is called The 2023 Prayer Planner. It’s 21 days of verses, devotional type content about each verse, and a prayer for each day with some journal type pages with room to pray and plan and take note of what the Lord is saying to you about the coming year. 

It’s a way to give the Lord the first fruits of the year, as an offering to Him. And man, it is a great way to start a year. To begin with the Word of God as our foundation. If you’d like to get a copy, it is available as a digital download on my website, it is also on Etsy and TPT and as a print book to order via Amazon. 

The price is between $7 and $8, depending on the platform where you buy it, so it’s not a huge financial investment per se but it is an investment that will pay huge spiritual dividends so check that out if you want to kick off the year praying and seeking the Lord intentionally and to grow your faith, your trust and your prayer life. 

 

Expect the Unexpected: A Lesson from Mary’s Song Luke 1:46-55 Episode 129

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.

Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.

Sign up for Jan's email list & get info about The Praying Podcast right here. 

 

Well, hey there! Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - the podcast about God’s promises and the impact that believing and praying those promises has on our lives as disciples of Jesus. I’m so glad you’re listening today and my prayer is that this episode will be an encouragement to you, right where you are in your life at this very moment. Because wherever we find ourselves, our God is there, too. And whatever we are facing today, we never face it alone, thanks to the goodness of our God.

 

I’m trusting God is going to answer that prayer on your behalf as I share from Luke chapter one today. You ready? I’m ready. Let’s go!

 

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 129.

 

Luke is a go-to book during the month of December. The first two chapters are just so rich, filled with the hope of Jesus’ advent, the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, the prophecies fulfilled. But sometimes we kind of wander in our thoughts during those Christmas sermons or during worship at church when we’re singing some of the Christmas songs we’ve had as part of our lives this time of year for as long as we can remember. Sort of second-nature and we just don’t focus or pay attention as well as we could, or should, ya know? 

 

It’s good for us to remind ourselves to focus and renew our focus right in the middle of the sermon, shut down the continual to-do list that can start running in the background of our mind (without us even thinking about it - I mean, it just sort of happens!) and decide to listen with some attention, to be an attentive church-goer, take some notes (have a plan for that - use the notes app on your phone, bring a journal and your favorite pen, use the outline that may be right there in the bulletin you were handed). You are going to miss something if you don’t shut down and shut off the wandering thoughts that are all the things you need to get done because it is almost Christmas… spend that time paying attention to a message about the Christ of Christmas. Even if you feel like you’ve heard sermons from this particular text many times before, so? Listen. Take some notes. And expect the Lord to have something to say to you. Your pastor worked to put that message together, and God doesn’t intend for you to leave emptier than when you arrived. But you gotta dial in.

 

All of that to say, as I begin to read today’s passage, I really want you to listen. With your ears, but with ears to hear and a heart to understand. With a mind that wants to grow in your knowledge of the Word of God, with a desire to know Jesus better than you ever have before by the time this Christmas has come and gone. God loves to bless a heart like that. I mean that seriously, with all the sincerity I can muster. When we want to know Him better and better, well, don’t you think He will honor that? 

 

I’m going to read some words from Luke chapter 1, verses 46 to 55. This passage of Scripture is known as The Magnificat. It is also known as Mary’s song.

 

This is a young woman, a very young woman, verbally out loud praising the Lord as she meets with her cousin Elisabeth, who was expecting a child in her old age… the one who would grow up to be John the Baptist, forerunner to Jesus the Messiah. Two women, separated by a wide age span, both expecting the unexpected at seasons in their lives that were pretty well figured out. Mary was engaged, soon to be married, ready to begin her new life as a wife and to step fully into womanhood and Elisabeth, an elderly woman, far beyond hope of having her heart’s cry of prayer for a baby to be answered. And here they were, stepping into the most vital, important roles of their lives. As a very young teen and as a very old woman. 

 

The Christmas story reminds us that we are living with wisdom when we live with an expectancy of the unexpected. 

 

As I read, I hope the Lord speaks to you about expecting the unexpected. Our God is still doing His profound and amazing work in this day, and I have a feeling He may just have something unexpected up His sleeve for you, for your life. 

 

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has looked (with loving care) on the humble state of His maidservant; for behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God! For He who is mighty has done great things for me; and holy is His name (to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory). And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who (stand in great awe of God and) fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His (powerful) arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thornes, and exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent the rich away empty-handed. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, just as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 

 

I was reading from the Amplified. And isn’t it just beautiful? 

 

How do you, how do I, respond to the unexpected? Mary was going to deal with scorn, ridicule, accusations of infidelity and unrighteousness not just for the short term, but for the long haul. And this was going to be somewhat scary, a somewhat difficult path to walk, this pregnancy. She did not immediately know whether or not Joseph would divorce her or continue with the marriage as planned. She did not know in any way, shape, or form what her future held. Did she give way to fear or anxiety? Did she doubt the goodness of God toward her? 

 

I can’t say she never had any anxiousness - I mean, every mother has some twinges of anxiousness when pondering labor and delivery, so that could for certain have crossed her mind as this pregnancy went on. But overall, I don’t think she had doubts, as in doubting or questioning God. And here in her song we see her talking about all of Israel being blessed, all Abraham’s descendants receiving what was promised. She wasn’t thinking about herself all that much, from what I can tell! She was too busy praising God and rejoicing in His faithfulness to His people, to the entire world, to think on her own self, her own problems. This is truly remarkable, isn’t it? 

 

Here she is stating that God’s mercy is upon generation upon generation. 

The times she mentions herself, it is with thankfulness and rejoicing and exalting the Lord. 

 

Do you think our lives would look a bit different if this kind of response, this level of trust in God that rolls right on over into worship and thanksgiving and praise and rejoicing and thinking of the way this will bless others rather than thinking of the ways this will be difficult or trying for us, do you think our lives would look different with this kind of response?

 

If we thought of ourselves less? And rejoiced in God more? 

 

Even when we don’t understand the unexpected things that come upon us, could we possibly try to stand on what we do understand - which is that we are in the hands of a trustworthy God, every moment of every day, and we really, truly can rejoice in what He is doing? Perhaps, maybe even especially, in the unexpected things He is doing? 

 

And even if, even when, people don’t get it… like, they’re asking out loud or wondering to themselves, why would God lead you in that direction? Why would God do this in your life when it doesn’t seem like the thing that everybody else sees as the best thing for your life? Even when we are misunderstood, even if God is misunderstood (and based on the things we read in the Bible, isn’t God often misunderstood??), can we still rejoice and be grateful and celebrate in advance, celebrate ahead of time, the ways He is working to bless many, many people? Our lives do not operate in vacuums, and God is always wanting to bless people on an ever-widening scale. He has not stopped being in the rescuing, saving, redeeming, healing, restoring, blessing business. Why do we seem surprised when He does what He loves to do? 

 

We ought to expect God to be about His work of redemption and healing and sure, conviction and guidance, because decent fathers discipline and provide guidance and instruction, right? We ought to expect it when He does the unexpected in our lives. We should believe that He is both trustworthy and very, very good, perfect in all of His ways, and thus we should believe Him for the unexpected. 

 

There is hope for us this Christmas. 

There is hope for YOU this Christmas.

 

God is on the move, but it may not be in the way you’ve been expecting.

 

But He is too good to merely meet our expectations.

He is so incredibly good that He fully intends to exceed our expectations.

 

May His work in your world, in your life, surprise you and provide you with exceeding joy this Christmas. And may you find joy and peace as you trust in the God who works in unexpected ways.

Merry Christmas to you - and I mean that from the very bottom of my heart. Merry, merry Christmas. 

 

From Luke chapter One:

 

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord,

47 

 

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 

 

“For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant;

For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God!

49 

 

“For He who is mighty has done great things for me;

And holy is His name [to be worshiped in His purity, majesty, and glory].

50 

 

“And His mercy is upon generation after generation

Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him.

51 

 

“He has done mighty deeds with His [powerful] arm;

He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

52 

 

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,

And exalted those who were humble.

53 

 

“He has filled the hungry with good things;

And sent the rich away empty-handed.

54 

 

“He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 

 

Just as He promised to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

 

Facing Reality While Standing on the Word of God - Psalm 18:31-36 Episode 128

Take the quiz "Which of God's Promises is for You?" via this LINK.

 

Sign up for Jan's email list & get info about The Praying Podcast right here. 

 

Well hey there! Hello to ya today. Welcome back to the podcast, I’m incredibly grateful for all who listen. And I gotta say, a couple of episodes ago I think I must have touched on something that maybe a whole lot of believers are dealing with right now. I talked about James chapter 4, and how God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and really I looked at several verses from that portion of the Bible. I was pretty blunt, I guess you might say, and I was honestly a bit concerned that I might offend some listeners. But the opposite seemed to happen - I had some record setting download days, new listeners in record numbers, and a reach globally for that particular episode that went far, far beyond the norm for this show. 

 

That is very interesting to me. I am guessing that people are feeling the same way all around the world. We just need more and more of Jesus as this world gets darker and darker. And I am presuming that’s why that episode, on James chapter four, was listened to in record numbers.

 

I think people want the straight truth from God’s Word, not all prettied up, but just what does it say and how can I live a life of belief, pray big and bold prayers based on God’s Word in this day and age. Because we don’t need to hear that it’s all gonna be okay just wait for the next election or the next economic boom or the next whatever that this world has to offer. We need to know that Jesus is always, always the answer, whatever the problem might be. We need encouragement from the Word of God because these last couple of years have been so incredibly hard, in ways we have not experienced hardship before. On a global scale. And so much of what changed in 2020 has not gone back to “normal”. I do not honestly think we are going to get that old life back. We are here now, and as it was in Daniel’s time, the writing is on the wall.

 

What we do with the reality we face now, well, that’s up to us. But as disciples of the Lord Jesus, I think we need to to stand firmly on the Word of God and we don’t need it sugar coated or gussied up or added to. We need Jesus, we need the Spirit of the Living God guiding us daily, moment by moment, we need the truths we find in the pages of our Bible, and we need to be a people of prayer. That’s what we need. And I think I caught a glimpse of how needed that is when I saw the response to episode number 126 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show.

 

So I gotta follow where the Holy Spirit is leading, and I’m gonna do that. 

 

Today’s episode is step one of me following. More steps come after that. 

 

I don’t want to serve up things that are not what is most needed in your life right now. 

So, I’m going to share God’s Word via this show. And I’m praying about a second podcast, tentatively called The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt (because that is kind of a broad title for a show and in case it’s already another podcast title I think I will add my name to kind of not step on someone else’s toes.) I think God is calling me, at this point in time, to keep on hosting TBNES and talking about God’s promises in a way that will be frank and honest and helpful in this day and age, with the particular struggles and hardships we are facing right now, and add a second podcast to share Bible verses and to pray, like actually just pray on that podcast, very specific things based on the Word of God.

 

I’d love to hear from you about this, what you think, and you leave a comment directly on the podcast (I don’t get notifications from all the varied platforms, but you can leave a comment on the podbean page for TBNES or email me your thoughts at JanLBurt at outlook . com).

 

Looking forward to hearing from you, and looking forward to praying for you on the new show. But this show, it’s not going anywhere. Okay, let’s dig into Psalm 18, sound good? 

 

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 128.

 

I’m going to read verses 31 thru 36 from Psalm 18, and I am referencing the Amplified Bible today. Listen as I read and then let’s dive deep into these verses. 

 

31 

 

For who is God, but the Lord?

Or who is a rock, except our God,

32 

 

The God who encircles me with strength

And makes my way blameless?

33 

 

He makes my feet like [c]hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];

He sets me [securely] upon my high places.

34 

 

He trains my hands for war,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 

 

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;

Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.

36 

 

You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,

So that my feet will not slip.

 

These verses pull no punches when they state that there is one God, He is a rock for us. The only God is the God of the Bible. That is offensive to a whole of people today. But I am pretty sure it has kind of always been offensive. We want, by nature, to have the approval of others when we go our own way, do our own thing. The God of the Bible does not allow us that luxury. For who is God but the Lord? 

 

If He is Lord, then isn’t there lordship? 

 

There is territory under His jurisdiction. That territory is the whole of our lives, and the whole of our hearts. That’s just the way it is when we follow Jesus. Lordship matters. It’s not a terrible idea to regularly remind ourselves that Jesus is Lord of all, and that we most certainly are not. Then, live like that’s the truth. 

 

When you bump up against something, a desire or some speck of greed or selfishness, remember who is Lord and who is not. 

 

Our God is our rock and He encircles us with strength and makes our way blameless. 

That doesn’t really happen when we are living in our own strength…because then God isn't encircling us with His strength, ya know? 

 

I want my way to be blameless, especially the older I get and the ickier this world gets. When I study Matthew 24 and Mark 13, for example, and I see things that for sure fit the description Jesus gave as birth pangs, I don’t read those chapters and think, “Gee, I wonder if I can goof around and not take the Word of God seriously and just do my own thing and put my head in the sand and not dig in and pray with fervency, not keep short accounts with the Lord, I wonder if I can dawdle and refuse to see that the things Jesus described are happening right now. Gee, I wonder if I can read my Bible and then totally flake out on what it actually says? Gee, can I do that and still expect God to make my way blameless?” 

No. No I cannot. 

 

If I want God to make my way, which is the entirety of my life, the whole of all the individual parts of my actual life the way that I am living it, for God to make my way blameless, I can’t refuse to believe the Bible. I just can’t. I can’t lapse in my praying, my communication with God Most High. I cannot forsake the gathering together of the saints. I cannot run around sinning sinning all day long, blatantly thumbing my nose at my Savior, and think I am gonna get this blameless life kind of guidance.

 

What do we really want, like, the most? 

Some people really want success, comfort, prosperity, things that may not be God’s ideal for them. Do we want holiness unto the Lord? Do we want to know the Word of God so well that any attempt at deception will be noticed right away? Do we want His church to grow, to thrive, to mature? Or do we mostly want things that are all about us? The all about me myself and I lifestyle really does not fit well with Jesus' call on our lives, does it? 

 

You want God to lead you in the way that is blameless? I hope so! I believe God wants us to want that, and that’s why it’s in the Bible for us to read and to apply. Like, we read it and it changes us because God intends for us to be continually bettered and made more like His Son Jesus. We are being sanctified, or at least hopefully that’s the goal. 

 

Okay, verse 33… oh we’ve got a promise here. This is good, good stuff for us, right now, in this funky kind of world since 2020 and things turned upside down and have not turned right side up again. This is the kind of promise we need, like oxygen we gotta have it, and whaddya know, God provides what we really, really need. 

He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];

He sets me [securely] upon my high places.

 

Yeah, that’s what we need. To be made steady and firm, sure footed, in the way that only our God can do. My prayer as I’ve been working on this episode is that you, and I, will be given hinds feet, that we will be able to stand firmly, not wavering, not waffling, not unsteady in any way, shape or form, but steadied and standing steady because God makes us that way. Treading safely on paths that can only be called difficult, paths of testing and trouble. Sound familiar at all? It does to me! Sounds like life on planet earth these days. Did ya blink? Well, wouldn’t ya know it, more bad news. 

If I am going to stand in faith and pray big, bold, daring prayers for my friends and family in their hard places, I have to be able to stand firmly and tread safely. This is the promise of verse 33 from Psalm 18. It’s a keeper, isn’t it? Yeah, yeah it sure is. 

 

And it goes on to say that God sets us securely on our high places. . That is the need of the hour, isn’t it? And as always, God shows up, shows off, shows out and meets our needs. I’ve said this before, but it is worth saying again as a reminder: God has not abdicated His throne. He is large and in charge and is not going to give any quarter to the enemy. He intends to make our feet like hinds feet. We will be able to handle this stuff because He will equip us. The Holy Spirit is never going to lie down on the job. You are in good hands, my friend, and thank God that doesn’t just mean you have Allstate insurance. The hands with the nail scars are the hands you are in. You will be set securely upon your high places. Things will be under your feet because the Lord has put you securely atop them. 

 

Verse 34 says God trains your hands for war so your arms can bend a bow of bronze. He’ll equip you for the fight, and there is a fight, of course, because Satan is on the prowl seeking whom he may devour. Not whom he may snarl at, but devour. So God gets us ready and gives us promises and strengthens us. He never abandons us or forgets about us. If He is doing the work of training your hands for war, let Him. Let Him do that work in you. How do you become a prayer warrior? By warring in prayer. And that really only happens in hard times. You don’t start battling in prayer if life is a breeze. Let yourself be readied for the fight. Run your race. But run it well, ya know what I mean? Don’t apply the loser's limp as soon as it gets hard and say, “Oh I did the best I could but I just, oh, it’s hard and I’m not feeling it.” Run so as to win the prize, it says in the New Testament. Run your race. And I’ll be here spurring you on, reminding you that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. 

 

35 

 

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds and sustains me;

Your gentleness [Your gracious response when I pray] makes me great.

36 

 

You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,

So that my feet will not slip.

 

The last two verses we’ll look at today - and aren’t they encouraging? 

He has promised to give us the shield of His salvation - never forget just how wonderful it is to be saved. Jesus’ gift of salvation is the gift that keeps on giving, this ain’t the jelly of the month club and aren’t you thankful? His right hand upholds and sustains you - there’s a promise worth remembering! His gentleness, His gracious response when you pray, makes you great. 

 

I may have, at times, wanted to be some kind of great… I am such an introvert, that this probably is like great at being the world’s best ever sit in your own home and read books as my form or great. But isn’t it wild to consider that God wants to make His people great? He has a form of greatness for each one of us, and we can attain it when we let Him be God and we get on out of His way. Let Him work. Let Him act on your behalf. Expert the Holy Spirit to counsel you, guide you, instruct you, remind you what the Word of God says, bless you, shore you up, strengthen you daily, and lead you on, step by step. He is literally walking you home. He wants it to be a wonderful long walk home. Let Him do His work in your life with the least possible resistance from you. Because your Father knows best. And He only wants the very best for you. Let Him make you great, whatever that looks like. 

 

And He promises to enlarge the path beneath us and make our steps secure. Why? So that our feet will not slip. 

 

Let’s start praying this verse and believing God will answer this prayer, like, over and over again. Lord, enlarge the path beneath me. If it is where You intended for me to be walking, as in living out my daily life, would you enlarge the path where my feet trod, just as Your Word says you will do? Will you make my steps secure? If I am not in Your will, would You show me and direct me to the right path? And will you keep me from any and all missteps. May my feet never slip, no stones in my path, no rocks in my shoes, no twisted ankles, no potholes on the path of my life. 

 

That’s a good prayer, because it’s based on the Word of God. He put it in the Bible for us to read, and to believe. We show our level of belief when we pray. Did you know that? Your level of belief shows up in the way that you pray. That’s just the way it is. No way around it. If you don’t really believe what God has said in His Word, that becomes very evident when you pray. 

 

Let’s pray with belief, with hope, with expectation, with trust, and with hearts that truly love the Lord our God more and more and more, as we get closer to eternity. 

 

I’m going to go ahead and wrap this up today, but I do want to mention that if you’d like any info about the launch of the upcoming podcast, The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt, you can sign up on my email list and I’ll share two ways to do that. One is a quiz, which promise from the Bible is your promise, that link will be at the bottom of the show notes and also right at the very top. And the other way is via my website, that first page you land on, an invite to sign up is right there and I am going to change the wording for that sign up place to mention the new podcast so you’ll know you’re in the right place. And I don’t over email, I am not a hyper emailer, so don’t expect to get a whole lot from me when you sign up. But I am planning on sending out a link to each new episode of the new podcast, and maybe this podcast too, so that’s my big plan. 

 

Pray some big, bold, daring prayers this week, and I’d love to hear how God moves in answer to your prayers. See ya next time!

 

Jan L. Burt

Find me here:

Jan is the author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon).  Find Jan on Instagram: @JanLBurt, TikTok @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.