Jesus – The Road Home to You

Questions for God

Posted on April 16, 2019April 15, 2019 by The Road Home to You

“If it turned out there was a God after all, and you could ask one question, what would it be?”

THE BIG QUESTIONS

We’ve all got big questions about life.

What is my purpose here? What happens when I die? If there is a God, why is there still suffering in the world? How do I know if I’m on the right path in life?

These questions and so many more plague our minds and often leave us feeling restless, dissatisfied and often more confused in the end. But still, we ask them, constantly searching for meaning and wisdom and understanding.

Even as Christians who already believe that God is real, we still find ourselves wrestling with many of the same issues.

Matt and I are currently involved in a program called Alpha. It’s a multi-week video program that you watch with a group of people who don’t identify as Christian but are searching for understanding and clarity to some of these larger questions. We have the opportunity to serve as hosts for a new group that recently started and the question at the top of this post is the very question we talked over this last week.

It was interesting to listen to the questions that people have on their hearts. They’re fairly universal, in fact.

In this week’s episode, Matt and I share the questions we’d ask God if given the chance.

SEEING GOOD AND EVIL

The question Matt poses is this: why didn’t God create in us the ability to better see the spiritual evil that is all around us?

Imagine having the superpower called something like…. Dark Vision. I don’t know, maybe that’s already a superpower, but work with me. Dark Vision is the ability to see the evil forces that are constantly at work on this planet.

Not sure if this is the right job for you take? No worries, with the power of Dark Vision you can see clearly that the CEO and President of the company are cutting corners by employing children in economically depressed countries for pennies a day. Determination: Evil. This would be a bad company to align with.

Dark Vision gives you the ability to easily detect what is opposed to God so you can make choices that better align with your beliefs and values. It also helps you to recognize ways to pray for those around you who are struggling in their own ways.

Listen to the full episode here

WHO AM I?

Meanwhile, Brandy pauses to reflect on the same question that David posed to God, “Who am I that you are mindful of me?”

The fact is if God is real (and we’re working on the belief that He is), then it stands to reason that He made each of us with the same care and detail that He made the rest of the natural world. That means, that he carefully crafted each one of us with special talents and abilities, certain physical limitations, brain capacity, and emotional intelligence. That means we were born into the time and place that He chose for us. He knows the intricate details of our bodies, souls, and minds because he intricately wove us together.

And if all of THAT is true, that must mean He loves us, right?

But, who am I?

Who am I that the God of the universe would take the time to even consider me worth the effort? Who am I that He would send His son to die on my behalf in order that He could have a relationship with me? Who am I?

YOUR TURN

So, if it turned out that there was a God, and you could ask one question…what would it be?

Join us on Facebook to share your answer! Let’s talk about it!

You can also find us on Instagram and Pinterest or you can Email us any questions, comments or show suggestions!

Listen to the full episode here

20190414_135143-01[1] — This is right after we finished recording in front of the Newport Visual Art Center

20190414_103844-01[1] — Day 3: We took in the touristy stuff down on the historic Bayfront of Newport, including The Undersea Gardens, The Wax Works and Ripley’s Believe it or Not!

If Jesus is Love Why is God so Mean?

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by The Road Home to You

Listen to the full Episode here

“I like Jesus in the New Testament, but I could do without the God of the Old Testament. He’s just a bully.”

It’s a common complaint, so this week Matt and Brandy sit down with a special guest to talk about it. Is God the same throughout scripture? How can we trust that such a wrathful God is also a compassionate Savior? Join us for a lively discussion!

Gregg Chastain is the Pastor of Sandy Community Church in Sandy, Oregon. You can find out more about this church or contact Gregg by clicking here. You can also follow SCC on Instagram or Facebook.

Community Church of Sandy – A congregation of believers that merged from Community Presbyterian and Fellowship Bible Church circa 2015.

Listen to the full Episode here

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January 2019, Podcast Show Notes

TRHTY Flashback: Lessons from the Road to Calvary

Posted on January 29, 2019January 28, 2019 by The Road Home to You

The most important road trip ever taken was over 2,000 years ago when Jesus walked the road to Calvary. It wasn’t a glamorous road trip. There were no fancy drinks along the way, no stops to take in the sights. There wasn’t even a grand destination to look forward to at the end.

But that one trip gave each of us the opportunity to have a face-to-face relationship with the one true God.

This is our final January Flashback episode. Next week we will be back in the studio with all new material. We look forward to seeing you then!

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January 2019, Podcast Show Notes

TRHTY Flashback: Finding A Healthy Church

Posted on January 22, 2019January 21, 2019 by The Road Home to You

The world has been riddled with bad churches since the dawn of civilization. Corruption, infidelity, abuse, just plain old indifference can be seen throughout the generations, not to mention flat out heresy. So how, in a world full of so many choices, can a person find a church that, while flawed, isn’t outright dangerous? How can you recognize a healthy church where you can find both truth and grace, wrapped up in an atmosphere that appeals to you?

Join us this week as we Flashback to an early episode from season 1 where we address those very concerns.

Listen to the full episode HERE

This is a much larger topic than we had time to fully cover in just one episode, so if you have questions or need help finding a healthy church in your area, please contact us at roadhometoyou@gmail.com.

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Special thanks to James Swanson and James Page for their artistic contributions to our theme song, The Long Road Home.

Listen to the full episode HERE

January 2019, podcast

Twenty-fineteen: Everything’s Going to be Fine

Posted on January 1, 2019January 1, 2019 by The Road Home to You

Listen to the full episode here!

As we say goodbye to 2018, Matt and I reflect on some of what we learned over the Christmas holiday.

I learned that I’m a judgey, selfish, child who needs to learn to be thankful I get to sit at the feet of a Savior who loves me despite myself. (Yay for self-reflection.)

Matt is reminded of the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made simply by setting aside His Godhood to become a man in order to be with His people.

Clearly, we had different things going on.

After that conversation, we move into looking ahead to the new year and ways we hope to grow spiritually as we continue to seek after God.

Listen to the full episode here!

Special Announcement:
We will be taking the month of January off. Previously published episodes will be re-released during this time.

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December 2018, podcast

The Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told

Posted on December 25, 2018December 24, 2018 by The Road Home to You

Join us one more time by the fire as Matt reads the greatest Christmas story ever told!

This time, it comes straight from the Big Book, the Bible, Luke 2:1-19. Grab a warm drink, a cozy blankie and your loved ones and gather round to hear about the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Special thanks to James Swanson for permission to use the KJV 401 Reader’s Edition. You can download your own through Amazon.

Special thanks also for the use of “Silent Night (Holy Night)” as our outro music: by Alexander Nakarada
https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (cc BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

December 2018, Podcast Show Notes

Christmas Story: “Papa Panov” by Leo Tolstoy

Posted on December 4, 2018December 4, 2018 by The Road Home to You

This holiday season we’re going to do things a little bit differently than we normally do. Each week this month we’re going to settle into your earbuds and read you a Christmas story. It sounds a little awkward, but I think it’ll be fun!

To kick it off, we’re starting with a little ditty by Leo Tolstoy called “Papa Panov.” It’s a short tale of a shoemaker who learns a valuable lesson about what it means to see Jesus.

Turn on your Christmas lights, grab a warm drink and a cozy blanket and sit down for a little Christmas story.

Listen to the story here!

For a link to the story that you can print, as well as other Christmas resources, please visit Family Christmas Online

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advice, christian living, church life, friendship, humility, mental health, relationships, Transcripts

Transcript: “What is Love?”

Posted on September 26, 2018June 18, 2019 by The Road Home to You

In an effort to save my sanity, I am going to try this: publishing transcripts for each episode as a separate post here. Just click the link and it will direct you to this week’s episode.

Read the full transcript here

advice, christian living, friendship, Marriage and Dating, relationships

Love is Love is Love is love

Posted on September 20, 2018June 18, 2019 by The Road Home to You

“Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up,
never loses faith,
is always hopeful,
and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge
will become useless.
But love will last forever!

Three things will last forever –
faith, hope, and love-
and the greatest of these is love.”

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13

I have fallen in love numerous times.

First, there was Chris, in the 2nd grade. He was a real cutie and helped me produce a play that I wrote about Martians visiting McDonald’s. It was a smashing success. Next came Steve. He was a toe-head. We played a lot of dodgeball and four-square during recess together. Then there was Bobby, Jason, Danny, Mike, JJ, Ben, Brad, Dean… you get the point.

I fell in love a lot.

If you’re new to this blog, you may not recognize that none of the above-mentioned names is that of my husband, Matt.

I fell in love with him, too.

It was all so accidental. It just seemed to happen, this constant falling in love. Some said I was boy-crazy. Maybe. Probably. But I never meant to be. I didn’t look for love, it just had a habit of whacking me upside the head and there I’d go, tripping and falling right into it.

It wasn’t until Matt came into my orbit that I began to understand that all those other times, maybe couldn’t be called love. Sure the feelings were intense and sometimes even lasted years, but there was a distinct difference that I could see nearly right away.

For the first time in my young life, I actually cared about another person as much, if not more, than I cared about myself. I wanted to see Matt succeed. I wanted to help him reach his goals and achieve his dreams. I wanted to be an active part of making his life better.

Granted, I was a dumb teenager who didn’t know how to go about any of that, so most of what I tried still had the stink of selfishness on it, but my intentions were (mostly) pure. I wasn’t only worried about how happy he could make me. I wanted to reciprocate and give back to him because I…I loved him.

Deeply.

My love for Matt was and continues to fail on a regular basis. I am often impatient. Sometimes I’m (gulp!) unkind. I am highly irritable. (Please tell me I’m not alone?) My love is 100% imperfect 100% of the time. I never get it right. If I even start to, I am quick to boast of how well I am loving and well….there ya go. It’s blown.

The fact is, in our broken humanity we will never get it right. Books have been written on the subjects of loving our spouse, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors, our church body, our communities, and even our enemies. We continue to seek The Solution as we strive to imperfectly love imperfect people. There isn’t one.

Or rather, there is, but it has nothing to do with what we’re capable of alone.

The Solution – what perfect love looks like – is Jesus Christ. He alone has fulfilled the very definition of love. He alone has the ability to love perfectly because He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death and then defeated it.

He can love because He is love.

We can only hint at perfect love when we have Christ in us. Apart from Him, our ability to love is nothing more than a noisy windchime, being tossed about by the storms of life.

We have a God who loves us beyond all measure. How can we know that? Because He loved us so much, He sacrificed everything in order to be in a relationship with us. Look at John 3:16 with fresh eyes. Say it out loud slowly:

“For this is how God loved the world:
He gave his one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
will not perish but have eternal life.”
– John 3:16 (NLT)

That is perfect love. From a perfect God. And Jesus came to this earth to manifest that love in every tangible way.

Despite our best human efforts, we will never love anyone perfectly this side of Heaven. But with Christ in us, we can be emboldened to love freely, graciously, and extravagantly, in spite of those around us, not being swayed by our fickle emotions but standing firm in our choice to be obedient and answer the call to love God and love people.

Now go. Tell someone you love them. And mean it.

August 2018, Podcast Show Notes

Lessons from the Road to Calvary: Why the Cross Matters

Posted on August 21, 2018August 14, 2018 by The Road Home to You

Hey y’all! I’m really excited about this episode because my dad is joining me in it!

What? How can that be?

No, I haven’t figured out a way to communicate with people beyond the grave, but I am super fortunate that my dad recorded a bunch of his music over the years and I have some of it. So, at the conclusion of this episode, you will hear my dad singing a song he wrote in the ’80s. It was recorded in our garage studio, the original Throne Together Studios with his good friend, Phil.

(Shout out to Phil, who’s been a worship pastor for a lot of years and now has a ministry ministering to men and women who lead us weekly in worship. Go check him out here. He’s a cool dude.)

Anyway, this week’s episode is what it’s all about. It’s why we are so passionate about bringing you this show every week. It’s all about Jesus and the price He paid so we could come face to face with the God who made us.

Listen to the full episode!

You can also read the full transcript here.

Though only one scripture was directly referred to, many were referenced. Here are some of them:

*The Gospel accounts that relate the story from just before the crucifixion until Jesus’ ascension to heaven: Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 17-21

*Jesus clarifying the fulfillment of the law (“You have heard it said…”): Matthew 5:21- 22 and verses 27-30.

*Paul’s explanation of the fulfillment of the law: Galatians 3:10-29

*Grace is a complete and free gift: Ephesians 2:8-9

*God calling you the apple of His eye: Zechariah 2:8

If you have any questions or want to know more about dedicating your life to God, please get in touch with us. We would love to answer any questions we can or help put you in touch with someone close to you who can help guide you.

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