Beliefs of the Heart: Reflections

The War of the World

December 15, 2023 20:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MB

For two thousand years, believers have prioritized the importance of “spiritual warfare” for Christian health. Heck, I was raised Presbyterian, and even Presbyterians taught it. The battle comprises three enemies: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. While most teaching mentions these three enemies, the spiritual warfare enemy most frequently publicized is the Devil. (Though some churches emphasize the Flesh.) But Scripture warns us of the perils of the World one hundred times more than th...

Inward Trials

June 21, 2023 17:00 - 13 minutes - 9.18 MB

Almost every person I speak with has suffered. We hear, "For to those who love God, everything works out for the good," but it doesn't work for us, or at least we have very different ideas of the "the good" is. What is God up to? How good really is that "good"? A reading and commentary on this article: These Inward Trials - Beliefs of the Heart by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of...

How Do We Handle the Evil Done to Us?

June 13, 2023 15:00 - 13 minutes - 9.34 MB

Almost every person I speak with has suffered some sort of betrayal from parents or teachers or bosses or spouses. And it affects us on so many levels, most of which we can't see--but our friends can. We are imprisoned. How do we handle the evils do to us? A reading and commentary on this article: The Evil Done to Us - Beliefs of the Heart by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keit...

Talking With God - Just Like A Friend

February 20, 2023 15:00 - 14 minutes - 9.97 MB

This podcast describes what is the single greatest lesson (and invitation) that God has been speaking to me about for the last five years. Maybe ten. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2022/03/09/just-like-a-friend/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

Controlling God

June 16, 2022 18:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MB

Three years ago, I dedicated the year to meditating on thinking of Jesus as LORD. Not just savior, not just friend, not just confidante, not as rabbi. But mild Jesus, JESUS AS LORD. And these are my thoughts. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2022/02/16/controlling-the-remote/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.ke...

When Helping God Is Lethal

June 08, 2022 14:00 - 12 minutes - 8.81 MB

We so often work directly against God in our greatest attempts to help Him. And our efforts wreak havoc in our lives and in the lives of our families and friends. What are we to do? A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2022/02/09/when-helping-god-is-lethal/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Sup...

I Was Mortified

May 10, 2022 19:00 - 12 minutes - 8.74 MB

Oh My Goodness! I've been mortified, humiliated, and embarrassed many times in my life (and some of you know those other times), but this was a double mortification: what it said TO me and what it said ABOUT me. Join me in rehashing my mortification. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2022/02/02/i-was-mortified/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more ...

The Measure of Our Lives

May 03, 2022 15:00 - 14 minutes - 9.93 MB

A friend's dissatisfaction with "I only have 6 million dollars to my name" led me to think more about how the world creeps into how we measure our lives. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2022/01/19/the-measure-of-our-lives/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

Imagine There's No Heaven

April 19, 2022 19:00 - 12 minutes - 8.88 MB

Lennon's haunting, beautiful, whimsical song has always fascinated me and frustrated me. It's delightful music sucks me into a vortex of lies and death. It is really a deadly song. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/12/08/imagine-theres-no-heaven/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Supp...

When Salvation Isn't Enough

December 01, 2021 20:00 - 15 minutes - 10.7 MB

I once observed a man--A Christian man!--desperately trying to gain approval from work colleagues, and it got me thinking about the breadth of God's salvation. Is there a heaven, a kind of heaven, that God wants for us today? A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/11/03/when-salvation-isnt-enough/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's musi...

The Pimps and the Prostitutes Are Closer to Heaven Than We Are

November 16, 2021 16:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MB

We don't let Jesus offend us enough. When he says things like, "The pimps and prostitutes are closer to heaven than you are," we should be shocked. But mostly we just miss his point, or don't even think about it. But Emmanuel Kant WAS offended, so much so that he completely, 100%, rejected the Gospel of God in favor of the gospel of self-deceit. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/06/30/is-it-dangerous-to-hear-god-outside-of-scripture/ by Sam Will...

Is It Dangerous to "Hear God" Outside of Scripture?

August 27, 2021 15:00 - 15 minutes - 11 MB

A friend recently corrected me for writing my book, "Hearing God in Conversation," by saying any kind of hearing God outside Scripture is dangerous and usually just wrong. And she was convincing. But I think she was wrong as well. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/06/30/is-it-dangerous-to-hear-god-outside-of-scripture/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. Yo...

When Success Fails

August 03, 2021 21:00 - 11 minutes - 8.15 MB

We want success, impact, significance. Right? But our success is not always the best thing for our friends. Not that they are jealous but that we are sometime insufferable without suffering. A reading and commentary on this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/06/23/when-success-fails/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Su...

Dregs of Culture

July 27, 2021 15:00 - 14 minutes - 9.81 MB

I am ashamed to admit my participation in a kind of humanistic viewing of evangelism prospects. We called it "Selective Evangelism, and this is my story. https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/03/17/enlightened-supernatural-light-switches/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

Can A Light Switch Really Disprove Supernatural Activity?

July 14, 2021 00:00 - 13 minutes - 9.52 MB

Too many people try to "save" Christianity by choosing to ignore core elements. One modern "salvation" attempt is to eliminate the supernatural. How important is the supernatural to Christianity? To you? https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/03/17/enlightened-supernatural-light-switches/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the...

Counterfeit Spirituality

July 06, 2021 19:00 - 13 minutes - 8.97 MB

The world gives us false answers to our problems. Initially, they sound good and God's answer seem week. But in the long run, the answers of the world are counterfeit spirituality, even when preached from the pulpit. Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/06/09/counterfeit-spirituality/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithm...

Why Can't We Admit the Evil Within?

June 24, 2021 15:00 - 12 minutes - 8.7 MB

The world tells us to cling to something inside us for significance; God says there is a better way. Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/04/07/why-cant-we-admit-hidden-evils/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show (https://beliefsoftheheart.com/giving/) Support the show

Fearing Go[o]d

June 12, 2021 14:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MB

The spiritual necessity of fearing God; and why doesn't our culture like this? Adapted from this article:https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/04/21/fearing-good/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

When God Seems Silent

June 08, 2021 15:00 - 13 minutes - 9.03 MB

God is always speaking, and one of the ways he speaks most powerfully is in His silence. Learn to recognize this amazing and comforting voice of deeds. Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/04/29/when-god-seems-silent/ by Sam Williamson. And very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

My First Parachute Jump Ever -- And My Last

June 02, 2021 22:00 - 10 minutes - 7.25 MB

Why do we all long so deeply to be a hero, to be seen, to be noticed? What is the longing beneath the longing? Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/05/05/my-first-parachute-jump-and-my-last/ by Sam Williamson, and very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

Political Popular Science

June 02, 2021 20:00 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MB

When we let our biases cloud the science. Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/05/12/political-popular-science/ by Sam Williamson. Why do we believe what we do? It is always the hard science? Does anyone really reject science? Or do we choose the science we believe. Remember: flat earthers believe in science, they just mistrust many of the scientists. A very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find ...

When Science is Politicized

June 02, 2021 20:00 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MB

When we let our biases cloud the science. Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/05/12/political-popular-science/ by Sam Williamson. Why do we believe what we do? It is always the hard science? Does anyone really reject science? Or do we choose the science we believe. Remember: flat earthers believe in science, they just mistrust many of the scientists. A very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find ...

Hunting Heroes

May 29, 2021 20:00 - 10 minutes - 6.92 MB

When Christian heroic counsel created villainy. Adapted from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/05/26/hunting-heroes/ by Sam Williamson, and very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

Bullied by a Boss

May 28, 2021 00:00 - 9 minutes - 6.66 MB

When a friendship sours, what is God up to? Adapted with reflections from this article: https://beliefsoftheheart.com/2021/05/19/bullied-by-a-boss/, by Sam Williamson, and very special thanks to Keith Medley for his FANTASTIC 27 string guitar background song, Ancestors. You can find more of Keith's music at: http://www.keithmedleymusic.com/ Support the show

Beliefs of the Heart: Reflections

Episodes