Forgivin' Livin' Daily Podcast
Our podcasts are 5-8 minutes in length. We create these messages using one or two brief verses from the Bible that come from a devotional book. Our purpose is to help you hear the grace of Jesus in these verses so that your life may find its grounding in Christ alone. It is this grounding in grace that makes forgivin’ livin’ your way of freedom.
10/20/2026
-
00(Irishcast) Turning From Idols To Christ (Ex 32v31 32; Acts 17v23) (Repentance)
Last Tuesday our tour group walked on Mars Hill. It is where St Paul proclaimed the message you will read in today’s texts. We might have been among the tourists in the photograph I created. Do you think Paul’s message could be attracting tourists to the hope that we have in Christ like it did the thinkers Paul was speaking to? In yesterday’s texts, we read that each of us is called by God to be a messenger of the hope we have in Jesus. We are God’s “Paul” wherever God will lead us. Just know when you are among a group of people, say a prayer to our Lord. See what good ideas the Holy Spirit will give you, like He did Paul, to connect with those around you. You won’t make it into the Bible…but your purpose is not about you getting into the Bible. Your purpose is to get them into the Book of Life. Ready? Get set! Pray and then GO!
10/19/2026
-
00
10/18/2026
-
00(Sundaycast) Prospering Through Our Pain (Haggai 2:9; Mark 11:17) (Trust)
Yesterday we were swimming in the Mediterranean off the coast of Malta about 20 miles from where St Paul was shipwrecked as it’s recorded in Acts 27. Every follower of Jesus has shipwrecks in their lives. It’s a part of following Him. The book of Job helps us understand that these shipwrecks are God’s way of getting His message into places where they may never have come otherwise. But as in the case of Job, we will always have friends who want to blame the shipwreck on us. And we may also feel that way. Our purpose in the Forgivin’ Livin’ ministry is to free you from the curse of blaming yourself when things go badly in your life. Jesus has taken that curse upon himself on the cross. The cross of Christ now cuts all the connections between cause and effect. It’s not that we don’t have problems, but we no longer have to bear the guilt for them. And when you’re free from the guilt, you’re free to be a witness to the Risen Christ, who works everything together for His good (Romans 8:28). And of course it is for our good too since it’s no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us. We are the temple, the house of prayer, in which Jesus lives.
10/17/2026
-
00
(Mission Cast) Bear One Another’s Burdens (Jeremiah 22:3; Gal 6:2) (Discipleship)
Jeff and Mim are joined with their good friends Clarke, Iris and Nathan. Mim has been traveling in the Midwest promoting the work of China Service Ventures. Today, we discuss the concepts of being just and doing right. It was the duty of the king to protect all people within in domain, not just the citizen but also the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Human kingdoms and governments tend to exploit such people. In Jesus Christ, we have a savior who is establishing his kingdom and reign of righteousness. He, who was without sin, bore the burden of our sin upon himself, so that he might cleanse us and give us his righteousness so that we might live and walk in the Spirit doing right and being just with one another. We will not experience this perfection until Christ comes again and makes all things new under his power and authority. Jeremiah warned Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, that unless you are just and do right, you will bring desolation upon yourself. We cannot merit our salvation. This is by grace through faith in Christ alone. We trust that the Holy Spirit is at work in us to conform us into Christ’s image — the true king — to will and purpose according to his pleasure.
10/16/2026
-
00(Jj Cast) Trip Reflections (Ps 85:9,19; Eph 5:9) (Prayer)
Today’s podcast uses the T.R.I.P. way of meditating on the texts to give insight into how God’s word connects to our souls. Each of us can use this simple way to pray the Bible that was first used by Martin Luther when his barber asked him, “Dr. Luther, how do you pray?” Luther wrote a 35 page response to this question practicing this method with the Small Catechism that he had created. We have used this way of praying the Bible since 1989 when Ingrid Trobisch introduced it to us with the “Daily Texts.” It has been a great value in building intimacy in our life as these questions force us to reveal things to God about ourselves. Those around us who are listening get to share this honesty as well. It’s humbling to pray with this level of honesty but it is also healing.
10/15/2026
-
00(Theta) Good Lamentations (3:25 & Revelation 3:20) (Prayer)
Several from our group had the traumatic experience of lamenting yesterday. Their plane from Athens was late. The Lufthansa plane didn’t wait for them. Lamenting filled the day for each of them. Stranded. No bags. No tickets for travel. No hotel for a refuge. No solace from either the Aegean Airline company or Lufthansa. They were consigned to stay in the worst area of airports, the area where you check in. No place to sit. The ticket agents showed little or no concern for their plight. Lament was overwhelming. What do we do with our laments? When my father, mother and sister were POW’s in the Philippines in WW 2, lamenting was a regular part of their life. My dad’s solution at the beginning of his imprisonment was to read the Psalms and underline with a green pencil every time the psalmist lamented over his plight. Then when we would read the Psalms he could always see the green pastures where lamentations were expressed toward God. As you read today’s texts, think about those Psalms where you can find your rest in the words of the Psalms that voice your personal laments. Start with Psalm 3…”O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me…” Turn your book of Psalms into green pastures for your life. Lament is normal for us when we follow Jesus. It was normal for Him as well. St Paul helps us see this in Romans 8. We groan with our laments. Today as you pray, please pray with laments to God for our 15 stranded friends in Germany as we search for ways to get them home on Thursday.
10/14/2026
-
00(Awaken) Blessed (Psalm 97:11; Luke 14:13 14) (Hope)
BLESSED is what our Lord calls us. We were baptized into the kingdom of God in which we are declared blessed by God in our new birth in Christ. And we live into our blessing. For our Lord promises to continue to bless us as we walk with Him. Our people on our tour fly home today or depart to other regions of Europe carrying the memories that will bless us as we go forward with Jesus. We have have used the good word from God that declares that we will continue to live in our blessings from our Lord; The one benediction that we often used while we were traveling is found in the back of your “Daily Texts.” “AS YOU GO ON YOUR WAY MAY CHRIST GO WITH YOU. MAY HE GO BEFORE YOU TO SHOW YOU THE WAY. MAY HE GO BEHIND YOU TO ENCOURAGE YOU. BESIDE YOU TO BEFRIEND YOU. ABOVE YOU TO WATCH OVER AND WITHIN YOU TO GIVE YOU PEACE.”
10/13/2026
-
00
(Irishcast) Follow Me (Joshua 24v18 Luke 5v27,28) (Discipleship)
FOLLOW. When the Apostle Paul was first speaking to the people in Corinth, believers were called followers of the way. It wasn’t until later that they were called by the term Christian. I like the word follower because it identifies us as having a relationship with the person who has called us to be with Him. That personal awareness of being called is found over and over again in Paul’s writing. The other important value is that we believe that Jesus is alive and he is leading us into relationships in our life that have eternal meaning. Several of us on this tour recognized God’s presence in conversation that we had with people over here. Your prayers made those conversations a real connection for the listener to know that we follow a person, not just believe in certain statements about Him. Keep praying for those people you know who need to walk with you as you follow your Lord.
10/12/2026
-
00(Tourcast) Remembering (Psalm 143:5;Luke 1:50) (Prayer)
Our tour community (lined up one more time to get passports today) REMEMBERS God’s ministry being upon us throughout these first 12 days. As you think about their words, consider in your own life how God‘s wondrous works (as we heard in the hymn yesterday) blesses us over and over again. Today we visit Corinth where in our Lord’s Supper we are called to our life in remembrance of all that Jesus has done, does, and will do for us.
10/11/2026
-
00(Sundaycast) Rule (Judges 8:23; John 20:28) (Trust) 2
What RULES us when our expectations are not met? Standing in line is a big part of travel. We stood in line for over 3 hours on Saturday. Getting on the boat. Going through the checkin process. Standing in lines on the island of Patmos where John had his vision that led to his writing the book of Revelation. What do we discover in ourselves when this happens? How do we let Jesus rule in the midst of our disappointments? We all know how deeply we need the grace of God to fill us when we are standing in line on empty! May Jesus fill you with His grace again now so that this power rules you.