There's a subtle, but huge difference, between knowing about God, and having a personal relationship with Him.

You can know that God is all powerful and all knowing, without experiencing the peace that comes from trusting Him.

You can know that God forgives sin, without experiencing the grace of His forgiveness for the worst thing you've ever done.

You can know that God wants you to have joy, without experiencing the patience He shows while you fight His plans to provide it.

You can know that Jesus paid for your access to this relationship, without feeling the love that compelled Him to pay such a price.

• (00:00:02) - Swimming in the Pool
• (00:03:08) - TRAVEL: Adventures along the Mississippi
• (00:04:11) - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
• (00:05:09) - Lost Phone
• (00:06:02) - Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
• (00:12:01) - Trusting God
• (00:16:18) - Heavenly Wait: Praying For Changes
• (00:19:45) - How to Strengthen Our Souls in the Lord
• (00:26:24) - Part 3 of Humility
• (00:31:57) - Knowing About God and Knowing God
• (00:36:37) - Getting Away From the World
• (00:41:45) - Quiet Time on Vacation
• (00:46:08) - Pray Without Ceasing for the Lord
• (00:48:16) - Another homework assignment for Philippians
• (00:48:33) - Philippians 1:21: To Live Is Christ
• (00:52:16) - Andy Griffith on His Face

As I grow closer to the Lord, the more I am marveled by His creation around us. I love to point out nice sunsets to the kids, or find a good place to go for a walk away from the man made stuff.

But it can be easy to forget that of all of God's creation, we are His most precious. He created the world around us to show us His power, but He created us to show us His love.

How can we be a light that points others to His love the same way the sun points us to His power?

• (00:00:02) - Hong Kong Phooey
• (00:03:23) - Dukes of Hazzard
• (00:05:41) - Andy Griffith on His Color Episodes
• (00:08:52) - Southern People Driving On Highway 401
• (00:11:43) - God Seeing Me As Righteous
• (00:15:31) - God Isn't Here for Me, but I Am
• (00:20:29) - How Can a Holy God Love Me?
• (00:23:31) - John 1: Truth in Our Hearts
• (00:28:44) - Labor Day is the earliest it can be
• (00:33:07) - Does Flood Insurance Work?
• (00:34:51) - Prayer: To glorify God
• (00:40:00) - Blowhard on His Condition
• (00:41:14) - Brain Task: Judas Never Had a Spiritual Interest in Jesus
• (00:46:37) - Separation of Judas and Jesus
• (00:50:17) - Pride is the Biggest Sin
• (00:53:14) - David at his lowest point
• (00:57:03) - Judea on Judas in the Bible
• (01:01:09) - Saved From Other People's Sins
• (01:04:46) - North Carolina History

Serving God isn't an obligation. It's a priviledge, one given by Him and Him alone. God doesn't take church attendance. He doesn't count Hail Mary's. We aren't credited with righteousness based on mission trips or Sunday school. We are credited by grace alone, through faith alone.

We are natually born scorekeepers. We appreciate that Jesus wiped out the bad that we've done. But we still want Him to credit us for the good He's done through us.

He doesn't need us. He can do anything, any way He chooses. And He chooses, above all else, to have a relationship with us.

He paid all He possibly could to offer us this gift, and we expect a pat on the back for accepting it.

• (00:00:02) - Benjamin on Confessions
• (00:00:57) - Daniel Had A Funeral
• (00:03:35) - Sausage in the City
• (00:06:05) - Birthday Gifts for Kids
• (00:09:09) - Swimmer's Swim Cap
• (00:12:31) - A Good Guy's Gift
• (00:14:03) - Brandon Gets A Birthday Gift
• (00:15:28) - Ben's 55th Birthday
• (00:18:05) - Kenny Westbrook on His Birthday Present
• (00:18:29) - God's Love For Crazies
• (00:22:03) - Don't Worry About Relationships at 25
• (00:25:37) - Don't Worry About Tomorrow
• (00:29:39) - God's Love for Us
• (00:34:11) - Walking by the Spirit
• (00:37:18) - Golf Lessons For Amateur Swimmers
• (00:39:15) - God's Weight on Us
• (00:42:07) - Daniel 9: In Jesus Name
• (00:45:17) - The Lord's Prayer
• (00:49:31) - He Uses The Sip Club at Panera
• (00:52:39) - How To Get Out of a Racket
• (00:54:14) - Daniel 9: The End of Man in One
• (00:57:49) - Patriotism in the South
• (01:03:24) - Understanding the Infinite Love of God
• (01:05:39) - How to Love Your Mother
• (01:08:40) - How to Pray for Your Own Life
• (01:12:18) - Ben's Car Gets Passed Inspection
• (01:14:12) - The 6 P's of Bible Study
• (01:18:43) - Reasons We Had A Pool

Have you ever gone out to eat and filled up so much on the bread that you didn't have room for the entree? How frustrating is that!? Load up so much on the free bread that you only have room for 3 bites of the main course. Worst of all, the bread only lasts about 2 hours. Then you're hungry again and settling for a $40 microwaved steak.

The same thing can happen in our spiritual lives. In our haste to be satisfied, we fill up on the carb loaded junk, leaving no room for God to truly satisfy us.

More often than I want to admit, I'm asking how I can seek God so He will give me what I think I need, forgetting that seeking God is all that I need.

• (00:00:02) - Biblical Questions for the Week
• (00:03:09) - Ticket to Heaven
• (00:06:06) - Easter Crosses on a Bank Sign
• (00:08:07) - God's Help For Hair!
• (00:10:17) - Mark 5: Legion and the Message
• (00:12:01) - MacArthur Study Bible: The Miracles of Jesus
• (00:16:27) - Luke 11: The Spiritual Healing
• (00:20:51) - Life is Not Equally Fair
• (00:26:26) - What She's Got and Don't Compare
• (00:27:05) - Ecclesiastes 9: The Prosperity Gospel
• (00:27:57) - The Secret to Living a Rich Life
• (00:31:03) - Scott Scheffler on Renewing His Mind
• (00:35:09) - PGA Champion Brandon Lee on the Trophy
• (00:38:50) - God's Love Is Not Promised
• (00:41:21) - How to Write a Good Sermon
• (00:44:32) - Pastor's Prayer for Saturday Night
• (00:48:07) - Colossians 3: The Most Important Part for Teens
• (00:52:49) - Demon Possession in the Gospel
• (00:57:20) - Pierce on the Spiritual Stuff
• (01:01:32) - Non-Baptists and Islam
• (01:07:22) - How to Convert a Muslim
• (01:10:25) - Are All The Religions Anti-Christ?
• (01:12:54) - Starting the Series on John 1
• (01:14:12) - God's Plan for Luke 12
• (01:17:28) - Pl polo

I'm the world's worst for keeping my car on empty. My theory is that I get better gas milage by keeping my fuel load light. $10 bucks at a time, every day or so, that's my game plan.

But apparently the shelf life on a 4-runner's fuel sensor is about 213,000 miles. So I recently started playing the old odometer game. Fill up, reset the odometer, and keep the odometer below 400. Now I'm not quite so confident in my splash-and-go stategy. I check the odometer more often than I check my mirrors, and if it hits triple digits I start second guessing if I remembered to reset it.

We can do the same thing with our spiritual tank. If we're not careful, we start relying on the fuel light to tell us when we're getting low. But God didn't create us to run on fumes. His desire is to fill us with the Spirit so we can fully enjoy the fellowship with Him!

• (00:00:02) - Prayer: Taking the scenic route
• (00:00:47) - Who Really Owns the Church?
• (00:03:27) - Seniors Get Confused By Birthday Texts
• (00:06:12) - Happy Birthday!
• (00:08:55) - How to grow a fig tree
• (00:11:31) - Big vines grow wild in Montana
• (00:11:48) - Israel Was Scattered For 2,000 Years
• (00:17:57) - Separation of Jew and Christian
• (00:23:07) - Adam Levine on Jews and Christianity
• (00:28:47) - Biblical parallels between today and the Bible
• (00:33:49) - How do you prove God is real?
• (00:36:50) - Is Doubt Just as Serious as Idolatry?
• (00:41:17) - Doubt in the Life of God
• (00:45:54) - Daniel the Man of Prayer
• (00:49:32) - Moses and the Prayers
• (00:54:06) - Praying for a Distressed Person
• (00:57:02) - Prayer for the World
• (01:03:25) - Reclaiming the Promises of God
• (01:08:16) - Taking the Longer Route
• (01:13:56) - Deacon's List

Awesome to have Brandon Goss join us this week. This was a lot of fun and we hope he'll come back whenever he can. (And the Monster diet does seem to work, by the way.)

How much fear, worry, and doubt to we carry around with us? These aren't fun, and they aren't what God intends or wants for our life. He wants us to trust in Him completely.

When we follow Him with our whole heart, there's nothing to fear, because we know He is with us. There is nothing to worry about, because we know He holds the future. And there's nothing to doubt, because we know He is faithful.

It's simple math: fear, worry and doubt show us the part of our heart the Lord doesn't have.

• (00:00:02) - How to Lose Weight on a Challenge
• (00:02:54) - Softball Coach
• (00:04:57) - Fat Kenny on 'This Morning'
• (00:07:36) - Brandon on The Fishing Podcast
• (00:08:46) - Kenny on Cutting My Grass
• (00:11:36) - How Real Is Podcast Analytics?
• (00:14:35) - Gardener Takes Over the Yard
• (00:15:55) - Eminem's "Use This Gospel"
• (00:20:16) - DJ Khaled on Eminem's 'All In'
• (00:23:56) - Josh Hamilton
• (00:30:10) - Josh Hamilton on Social Media and His Christian Calling
• (00:34:42) - Pastor: Do We Judge Others?
• (00:40:32) - Kenny on Judgeing People
• (00:42:26) - Another example of this is with Gabe
• (00:45:26) - Does God Allow His Anger to Last?
• (00:48:35) - Daniel the Book of Suffering
• (00:52:55) - When You Can't Get Down on Your Kids
• (00:53:25) - North Carolina drivers on the road: Too judgmental
• (00:57:32) - The Best Places to Live in North Carolina
• (01:01:13) - Malcolm Phelps on His Training
• (01:04:14) - Bob Phelps swims for fun
• (01:05:56) - Getting the Numbers this Week
• (01:06:24) - Joshua and Caleb: What Set Them Apart?
• (01:10:18) - Outcasts in Society
• (01:13:53) - How To Survive In the Heat

God desires truth in our inner most parts. That sure is inconvenient isn't it? None of us want to admit our struggles, maybe even to ourselves.

Kenny said people might be shocked to know who I really am, and you might be. So, brace yourself...

I cuss a lot. Not as much as I used to, and I'm working on it. But I say a lot of things I'm glad y'all don't hear. I also like Miller Lite more than I probably should. And I'm about two cute blondes in yoga pants away from actually gouging my eyes out. And the pride, oh, the pride.

To be fair, I don't say the Lord's name in vain, I'm rarely actually intoxicated, and I've never committed adultery. I mean, technically, according to Romans, well and Matthew....look, I've never cheated, alright?!

This leaves me just enough wiggle room to also struggle with self-righteousness. I'm basically the worst parts of the Old Testament masked as a Pharisee.

Why admit this? Because in the hidden parts, God shows us wisdom. It's only by admitting the truth that we allow God to start changing it.

I've had a lot of opportunities on this podcast to say some things I'd later regret. But of all of them, I think the line I regret the most came from the very first episode. I said "As long as I know I'm where God wants me, I don't care what the purpose of that is."

I don't regret it because it was wrong. Honestly, it sounds pretty righteous to me. I regret it because it turns out it was a lie. To my pastor. In chruch. God reminds me of this pretty much every time I question Him.

Sometimes we feel like we're running on a treadmill. No matter how hard we try, nothing we do seems to move us where we are trying to go. Other times, we feel like dust in the wind, blown all over the place with no control at all over where we are heading.

But sometimes God wants us to stay put for a while, so He sends us a treadmill to keep us busy. Other times, He knows that we can't get where He wants us on our own, so He sends a gust of wind to help us get there.

There's a lot of peace to be found in what I said in the first episode. If you mean it.