Our Verse: 2 Chron 16:9 paraphrased! “God is searching everywhere for strong hearts to use!” In our new series, we learned a hero is a person, facing immense challenge, who suffers and even risks death to accomplish the task, the goal, no matter how difficult. Ever wanted to do something great? Watched Captain America or the Black Panther do amazin…

Our Verse: Psalm 90:8 You spread out our sins before you—our secret sins—and you see them all. This verse in Psalms is echoed in the New Testament.The writer of Hebrews says that “nothing in all creation is hidden from God, everything is naked and exposed to His eyes. We are accountable.” Heb 4:13 Somehow people think that God isn't looking at them…

Our verse: Eze 22:30 “So I looked for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before me..” In this verse,God is looking for a person who will pray for others: others in need, others in trouble. The same is true in 2019.. God is looking for people who will pray. Let's get down to the nitty gritty of learning this prayer skill! Y…

Our Verse: Romans 12:12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. What if you had an almost magical device to help people wherever you went? You could change people and nations. Here's a statistic to explain this unique social device: A Mountain Podcast friend has been doing an experiment for over 15 years. The resu…

Our verse again: Psalm 23:4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, You are close beside me.” This episode is a continuation of our “Heroes” series. These concepts are echoed in an earlier episode, “Hot test”. This time we go a little deeper in discussing the dark difficult places Christians must go. We call it the “Dark…

Our Verse: 2 Chron 16:9 “God is searching everywhere for strong hearts to use!” Ironman is down! Crushed, burnt, struggling to lift a steel girder off his chest. Is all lost? We all know what happens, even if we are watching the movie for the first time. He will draw on incredible reserves and win the day! Go Hero! Our world desperately needs heroe…

Our Verse: Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Psa 144 What could make your new year the best ever? Most would say, and I think you would too, “I'd just like to be happy.” News and events don't help...Politics, war, storms, family crises, money problems- all these things work against happiness. The world is full of problems large and small …

Our Scripture: Romans 8:20 “The creation (mankind) was subjected to futility (emptiness).” The famous philosopher and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” Pascal was born to a life of priv…

Our Verse: John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works...” Last episode we learned about First and Second Wave servants of God. Meet First Wave servant Lillian Trasher. In 1910, as a young woman, she went to a totally new field, southern Egypt. A scary place for westerners, …

Our Verse: Acts 18:27- Apollos thought about going to Greece, and the Christians in Ephesus encouraged him. Let's consider what we call the Second Wave**. It's an idea that could inspire you to change the world. First, let's explain the First Wave*- that's someone like the apostle Paul visiting Greece as the very first person to speak God's message…

Our Verse: Psa 37:7 “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.” Here is a staggering proposition...You can leave your permanent mark on the Earth, actually change the world. Wow! In the next few episodes, we get down to the hard facts of how you can do great things. There's a little word here at the Mountain, one of o…

Our Verse: “...anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works...” John 14:12 In this series, we are discussing the incredible possibility that you, one human, can change the world. You are listening to this because God is calling you to change the world. Buckle up! Ears and heart open to God's adventures for yo…

Our Verse: Psalm 23:4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.” Let's restate our premise for this series. If we do the right things, we can change the world. Put another way, we can make it better for everyone. Being a world changer requires that you face what the Bible calls “the darkest val…

Our Verse: Matt 5:13-14 “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop” So, what is a world changer? Heres our definition: A human who brings long-term change to the world, emotionally or physically. Said differently, that's a person who changes many people on the inside or alters the physical world- science…

Our Verse: Heb 12:1 “...we are surrounded by...a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith”. A tribute to Pastor Chuck Smith. Part of becoming a better you in 2018 is studying those people who changed the world before us... and we mean exponential change. They are part of “the HUGE crowd of witnesses” to the reality of Jesus Christ. These witnes…

Our Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “...anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”. It's really true! That old person you were, the one who said, “I can take care of this myself!” is gone! That old you who cheated, lied, stepped on others... that person's gone. It's the exactly the same for a brand …

Our Verse: 2 Cor 5:17 All new! You are created new in Jesus! Here it is- “...anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” How can you be better in 2018? We call it- You 3.0!” A new version of you, different, more effective in your world! While some of us may be happy with who we are today, most …

Our Verse: John 10:18 Jesus said, “...I have the authority to DIE when I want to and also I have authority to LIVE again.” (full verse below) Lots of death all around us today...Looking at the picture above... it looks very final. People are fascinated, curious, but deep down, everyone is scared to die! People constantly seek ways to extend their l…

Today for Easter ... Revelation 1:18 Jesus said, “I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever Come with me into a small cold cave. The entrance is blocked with a big rock. On the floor, there's a bloody tortured corpse. The body is all wrapped up and very cold. No hope here, an evil end to a really good life. There's a lot of …

Our Verse: Ephesians 4:29 “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Cynics are everywhere...in the news, on social media, on TV. They say, “It's hopeless, the world's goin' down!” Will you be sucked into this? Here's some advice to make 2018 much more positive. Culture, society…

Our Verse: Col 3:13 “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” This is a sad story about 2 good men- Adam and Will. Both served on church staff; both had public responsibilities. But there was a problem. There was a sense of mistrust between them, and probably a bit of envy. On a Sunday, in the middle of the service, the two men met at the back of the sanc…

Our Verses: Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Psa 144. And Colossians 3:13- Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. We all want to be happy. We want peace, we want to be satisfied with life. Strangely, we're often unhappy. We learned last time the way to happiness is to point our lives towards our Creator- the source o…

Our Verse: Mt 2:11 The wise men “entered the house...bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We love getting presents! It says we are loved. It says we are special. Ever wonder where this tradition comes from? Here it is: Long ago, in a tiny village, God our Creator, starte…

Our Verse: John 1:14 “So the Word became human and made his home among us.” We are all aware of the Christmas story, a miraculous event where a young virgin has a baby. We need the big story behind it all. God, the Maker of all things, launched Himself onto the planet to meet with us. Every human is wired to want that meeting. At the beginning of e…

Our Verse:1Tim 2:1 I urge you...pray for all people. Ask God to help them; speak up for them, and give thanks for them. Yikes! The holidays are upon us! Soon it will be time to celebrate Christmas. Many will gather around the table and share good times. Others will find themselves alone and lonely. The question arises, “How can I best spend my Chri…

Our Verse: Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” You are home, there's money in the bank, everyone is healthy and safe. Things aren't perfect, but they are really good. You are set to have a great Christmas. How can you make the best of this season? Not just for yourself, but for those in your life cir…

Our Verse: Psalm 40:2 “..He brought me up out of a horrible pit.” Not every Christmas is Merry. Many face this Christmas holiday with loss, separation and loneliness. Think of those who live on after a horrible tragedy. Think of those who have lost loved ones. Think of those far from home. How can you have a good Christmas when times are bad? Let's…

Our Verse: Rev 5:11 ...thousands and millions..they sang in a mighty chorus... Now that we have discovered a bit about the book of Revelation, let's learn about the most amazing piece of choral music ever. Its described in chapter 5. Sometime in the future, the largest chorus in the history of the world will gather somewhere outside the earth. Reme…

Last episode we learned about everyone's post death experience. (Link below.) That episode explained the truth about a different life that happens after physical life here. So what happens when that life starts? Are there more details? There are. God tells us what comes next. It involves us and an amazing set of records. There is a library in Heave…

Our Verse: John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” The Mountain has a great pastor friend, Huck. His church family isn't large, but after many years, they have changed the world- first their town then...places around the world! Through the years, Huck has come up with great sayings to help peo…

Our Verse: Isa 2:3 Come let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord. A bit more on why we do The Mountain App and Podcast. Here it is.... Life is full of noise and stress, full of difficult situations and difficult people. Sometimes we slam into the walls of life- troubles, sickness, dangers... or the “moral wall” when we do wrong and just don't know …

This episode wraps the The Daniel Adventures. How about news you can really believe? 2017 real news! Daniel 7:13 “I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds... He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.” Every day we see and hear “fake news”. Wouldn't it be great to have some facts, some trustworthy news? We have both …

Daniel 5:27 “...the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have dishonored. The fingers of the hand were sent from Him” Human fingers appeared out of thin air and began writing on the wall. What was happening? A thousand partiers had done the unspeakable. Years before, the king's dad or granddad conquered Daniel's hometow…

Our verse: Daniel 6:16 “So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions.” Welcome back to the Daniel adventures. We have experienced dreams, giant gold statues, a raging furnace and the fall of a world class city. This story is just as wild and crazy. There are four players in the action. Actually, two ind…

Our verse: Daniel 4:33 The king, “ate grass like a cow, lived this way until his hair was as long as eagle's feathers and his nails were like bird's claws.” We've heard a lot about this king, we call him Nebb. (Nebuchadnezzar) Daniel and his friends served in his government. God was using Daniel to display His power in Babylon, since it remains the…

Our verse: Daniel 3:19 “With fury burning in his eyes, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated 7 times hotter than usual!” Welcome back to the Daniel adventures! This time our story changes direction. We learn about Daniel's friends- Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego. In chapter 3, citizens of Babylon were required to bow down to a golden statue of …

Our verse: Daniel 2:28 “...there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future.” Welcome back to the Daniel adventures! Here's what happened with the king's crazy dream... When we left our 4 young men in Babylon, they were scheduled for execution! As part of the king's counselors, they w…

Our Verse: Daniel 2:5 “I'm serious. If you don’t tell me my dream, you die!” Welcome back to the Daniel adventures! A young man serving God in an amazing one of a kind adventure.. Dream world is a crazy place. Sometimes you remember every detail, sometimes they disappear- Poof! soon as you're wake up. It's really hard to figure out! This happened t…

Our Verse: Daniel 1:8 (Daniel) “asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat unacceptable foods.” Welcome back to the Daniel adventures, one of the most exciting stories in the Bible. A young man serves God in an amazing one of a kind adventure.. This time- An ethics test for our four young men... “Eat this Babylonian food and we dishonor God…

Our Verse: Dan 1:3 “...young men of Judah’s royal family and noble families...were brought to Babylon as captives.” Welcome back to the Daniel adventures! It's one of the most exciting stories in the Bible. A young man's one of a kind adventure serving God. Now, Part 3...Slaves! It was a grim day. Destruction all around, merciless executions. Surre…

Our Verse Again: Matt 24:15- Jesus said, “spoken by the prophet Daniel..” Welcome back to the Daniel Adventures, one of the most exciting stories in the Bible. It involves a young man serving God in an amazing one of a kind adventure.. Now... Prequel 2 of The Daniel Adventures! Let's meet a young man who was exile, slave, hostage, dream interpreter…

Our verse: Matt 24:15- Jesus said, “spoken by the prophet Daniel..” Welcome to the Daniel adventures! This is one of the most exciting stories in the Bible. It involves a young man serving God in an amazing one of a kind adventure.. This prequel is God's view of Daniel and the world. Prequel 2 explains Daniel's ground level view of his world and fu…

Our verse- Acts 17:6 This was said about Paul and Silas, 1st Century God followers “These men are turning the world upside down!” The Roman world of the 1st Century was revolutionized by the gospel- the story of Jesus. The entire civilized world was flipped, but not upside down, rather Right Side UP! Today, God's followers are flipping the world, r…

Our Verse: 2 Tim 2:25 That God will grant them repentance. Last time we talked about God's mechanism called repentance. We discovered that repentance is a gift from God and not from ourselves. Let's meet one Bible person who learned the hard way. A mighty king, Nebuchadnezzar, ruled the Empire of Babylon with brutal force. One day, as he strolled t…

Our verse: Heb 7:16 “but by the power of an Indestructible Life.” We talk about the Fountain of youth. We support research seeking genetic fixes so that we can live long beyond a normal age. All of mankind seeks an Indestructible Life. It is often said there are two things that are absolutely certain- death and taxes. You might escape taxes, but yo…

Our Verse: Acts 20:22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem.” Conviction is a strange word. It can mean on lot of different things. We are going to focus on what the Bible says about conviction. It has two different functions. But before we get to that, let's define the word. Conviction is a strong sensation in heart and mind of what…

Our Verse: Phil 2:13 “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Ever feel frustrated with God? It seems like He gives us rules that we can't keep. We know He wants us to live a righteous life, but we just don't seem to have the will power to do it. Deep inside us, we know what's right. So how do we obey Him…

Our Verse: Psa 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Some things are just plain impossible! Here is an example of God giving a woman her childhood wish- something that could not happen... Without Him! A small girl sits in a darkened theater. She watches an amazing movie. At the climax of the film the orchestra in…

Our verses: I John 5:3 “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not a burden.” Isa 28:10 “...precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” Earlier we discussed God's will. We explained that God's will means His thoughts and His personal principles. The…