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Mental Health Minutes

Better Tasting Food
Food tastes better when someone else makes it.
By: Brian Sheppard
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 09, 2024
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A daily word of encouragement

Self Control in a world of indulgence.

First I want to point out that self control is a fruit of the spirit, which means its not a fruit of our flesh. That means it's going to take work. We don’t just become Christ like over night.

By: Allison Hawkins
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 09, 2024
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Day by Day - 1 Samuel

Behind The Scenes
There are moments in our lives that we can look at and see the hand of God at work.   ~~~   One of the most exciting stories in scripture takes place in Judges 4. The Israelites are at war with Jabin, the King of Canaan. One of God’s fighting men, Barak, is chasing down the commander of Jabin’s army, Sisera. Sisera runs to a location and to a tent that he thinks is a safe refuge, and he asks the lady there, “Please give me a a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So the lady gave him some warm milk and a blanket and a place inside the tent to take a nap. But while he was napping, the woman, Jael, took a tent peg and drove it through Sisera’s temple, killing God’s enemy on the spot, literally. In verse 23 of chapter 4, the text reads, “So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of of Canaan before the people of Israel.” In another war story, the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, is at his wits end on what to do against the armies of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, who have come to invade the land of Judah. Jehoshaphat prays, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Then he receives a word from the prophet Jahaziel, who tells Jehoshaphat, “You will not need to fight this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD.” When it came time to fight, Jehoshaphat sent out the praise team, and they began to sing praises to God. The bible is full of stories like these, where the people look back on an event, and say, “That had to be God.” Sometimes the stories and narrators themselves provide the commentary we need to see that God was the one responsible for what took place. But then there are other times where the narrator is silent in that regard, letting the story itself provide us with the clues. Consider the book of Esther, where God is never mentioned. Are we to think that the story has nothing to do with God at all? Of Course not. We have one such occasion in our text for study starting next Tuesday. God is only mentioned in passing by a pagan king. Otherwise, he is nowhere to be found in the text, but his fingerprints are all over the story. And we can identify with that can’t we. Each follower of Christ here today, can look back over his or her life and see God working behind the scenes at different points and seasons in his/her life, to teach, to instruct, to remind, to warn.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 12, 2024
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Day by Day - 1 Samuel

Spread The Message That The King Has Come
Believers must let the people in our lives know that Jesus has come.   ~~~   One last instruction for you, as we wind down 1 Samuel 28. Take note that someone, probably Samuel, Nathan and Gad, wrote this down so that others would know that God provides a better king. They wanted others to know. I want you to think of at least two people, whether they be someone who doesn’t know Jesus as Savior and King, or whether they have made a profession of faith of having Jesus as their Savior and King but yet are struggling to see Him as such. Two people. Pray for them right now. Right now while I am talking, you can call their names out to God. Pray that God would open the eyes of their heart. Pray that God may grant them strength through His Spirit so that Christ would dwell in their hearts richly. And then I want to challenge you to do this—send them a text that simply says, “I just wanted you to know I am praying for you today. Is there anything specific I can pray about?”
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 11, 2024
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Day by Day - 1 Samuel

Stay Close To The King’s Word
We should be careful not to seek the benefits and blessings of God without trusting Him.   ~~~   When the people did not like God’s instructions, they chanted, “Give us a king like the nations.” They minimized God’s word because it didn’t fit their agenda. It offended them. And then they received a king who made a habit of disregarding God’s word. When God spoke to him a word he did not like, Saul sought out other voices. Saul always sought the benefits of God, the gifts of God, but He never sought God. He didn’t trust God or His word. And the original readers would have understood this, and its final outcome in I Samuel 28, where the most miserable words a man could hear are given to Saul—“The LORD has turned from you and become your enemy.” But didn’t God turn away from Jesus as well? He did. He absolutely did. But don’t forget why. In that moment, Jesus was bearing your sin. Jesus was absorbing your punishment. Jesus was cursed on your behalf. And God turned His face away from Him, forsaking Him for a moment, so that God would turn His face towards you in blessing and pleasure for eternity.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 10, 2024
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A daily word of encouragement

Do our thoughts really matter?

I mean if we never say what were thinking out loud then it never hurts anyone right?

By: Allison Hawkins
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 08, 2024
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Day by Day - 1 Samuel

Judged By God
Sorcery and astrology are pagan practices forbidden by God.   ~~~   In 1 Samuel 28:15 we have a conversation between dead Samuel and Saul. Now this scene makes us very curious about side issues, and can very easily take us away from the main focus of this text. But let me just address a few of those side issues to satisfy a bit of your curiosity concerning hearing from the dead. First, this is a forbidden practice for God’s people. God clearly forbids it Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 27; and Deut. 18:10-11. The use of mediums, sorcerers, necromancer (person who channels the dead) was prevalent in those days. Most pagan people and religions relied on their usage. And God never says that these people are without power. But God forbids them and calls their usage abominable and whoever uses them an abomination to the LORD. So horoscopes, enneagrams, these sorts of things fall into these categories. Why? Because they take your mind and heart and trust off of the LORD and put it on an alternative spiritual option that is less than, that is opposed to the LORD. So how is it then, that Samuel appears? Does this woman really have this power? Well, two things to think about. First, she screams when she sees Samuel, which leads me to believe this was something new to her. Either she was just a fake and was very surprised to have actually called up the dead, or there was something distinct about this appearance because, number 2, God was pushing and pulling the levers in this situation. God was calling the shots. And what does Samuel say to Saul? He pronounces judgment, the same judgment for the same reasons as Samuel has done before, starting back in chapter 13, repeated in chapter 15. Nothing new with Saul, right? We cannot forget that this was a history lesson for that very first audience and for us. It was the people who rejected God as king over them, and wanted a king like the other nations. A king who was, on the outside, everything they desired, but on the inside, turned out to be a scared little man who had no real hope or confidence in the strength and power of God, no spiritual life, and never any repentance in his life. Saul is in no way the King God’s people needed or we need. But here is the lesson for us. We cannot, we have no capacity to choose a fitting King for ourselves. We choose based on outward qualifications, and when we do that, we end up with someone who is fearful, a spiritual disaster, and then judged by God. This is like Eve choosing Cain to be King here. We need God’s choice for King. We need Him to set a King over us! And that is who we have in Jesus! Jesus was not fearful of man! Jesus was perfectly spiritually mature at every turn and event in His life, always hearing from God the Father, and doing the work of God, always obedient, fulfilling all of the Law. But as the story plays, we read that He, too, was judged by God, and entered into the darkness of death, just like it is forebodingly foreshadowed for us about Saul in the last verse of chapter 28. So why was Jesus judged by God? Because that was part of the gospel plan. Jesus was the only One who never should have been judged by the wrath of God, but He was also the only One who could be the perfect payment for sin, and be powerful enough to overcome the sin’s sting of death. You see, Saul was judged and then died for his sin. But Jesus was judged, died for your sin, and then resurrected, overcoming Satan, sin, and death.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 09, 2024
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A daily word of encouragement

He will send you!
By: Allison Hawkins
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 05, 2024
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Day by Day Hacks

Day By Day Hacks
It takes discipline to read through and study the Bible on a regular basis.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 08, 2024
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A daily word of encouragement

Do you have church hurt?

If you have had a bad experience at church or with a Christian this video is for you.

By: Allison Hawkins
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 04, 2024
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Lori Cline

Jehovah-Rohi
Our Shepherd has prepared our way and will guide and comfort us through the ups and downs.   ~~~  

Is the Lord your shepherd? If you’re tired of wandering and ready for complete peace and rest, follow Jehovah-Rohi. Rohi is the Hebrew word for shepherd. Jehovah-Rohi is one of the names of God. He is the Lord my shepherd. The Lord IS my shepherd. I gladly follow Him. Sometimes I try to go my own way, that never works great and I usually get stressed out. So back to His green pasture I go.

In a previous season of my life I was a radio promoter. This was in the days before smartphones. We had blackberries, mobile phones, fax machines and no GPS. As a radio promoter I would promote Christian artists to Christian radio. Part of that job was taking artists all over the country to meet radio programmers and convince them to play my artist’s latest single. To prepare for a promotional tour required lots of planning and back then, printing out directions. Before a trip I had a folder full of directions. It was all on me to get us everywhere we needed to be. It was so much fun. It was also exhausting.

Today you simply ask siri to tell you where to go and GPS tracks you the whole way there and tells you where the best restaurants are. I never think about directions like I did back then. I jump in the car, put in a destination and the GPS on my phone guides me. Life’s a breeze.

Tracking your own way in life is exhausting. If you didn’t know it, you don’t have to do it anymore. There is a good shepherd that knows the best place to eat, the best place to get a cool drink and the best place to find rest. You don’t have to worry about all the things. He will lead you, you only need to follow.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

All the things in this life you used to worry about, you don’t have to anymore. The shepherd has it all laid out for you. The journey may get crazy, but He will guide you and comfort you. When you follow the shepherd, you’re never alone. And the cool thing is as you begin to follow Him here on earth, you dwell with Him here as you will in Heaven. How cool is that. The journey never ends, but you can rest because He’s got it all mapped out for you. And it’s full of goodness and love.

That’s the truth.

The Lord is my Shepherd. Jehovah-Rohi. I will follow Him and He will lead me wherever I need to go.

I’m Lori Cline.

By: Lori Cline
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 30, 2024
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A daily word of encouragement

Just one touch…
By: Allison Hawkins
(Lifeword)
Aired on Apr 03, 2024
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