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.
10/10/2026
-
00(Missioncast) Testimony Of A Turkish Pastor (Numbers 11:23; Mark 4:41) (Persecution)
OBEY is the critical word when your faith is being persecuted. Today we will listen to a pastor who knows what it is like to have people around you who despise you and want you to be punished for your faith. He challenges us in America to move out of our comfort zone into the zone that Jesus is calling us to live into. Wherever we went in Turkey, believers are in trouble. Yet they persist in their faith. They find their comfort not in their circumstances but in the communion of Saints which supports them in their community. Obedience to that community is the source of their comfort and peace. We will talk more about this reality in the next few podcasts. This photo is the new building which the Protestant church in Izmir was able to buy and now uses as its meeting space. The pastor who shares with us today is part of the team that uses this new building. Today we say goodbye to our guide and friend Hazel as we board a ship that will take us to Greece after stopping at some Greek islands. Today we visit Patmos where John received and wrote out the Book of Revelation.
10/09/2026
-
00Living Guilt Free (Isaiah 50:9; Romans 8:34) (Intercession)
INTERCEDES! Jesus and the Holy Spirit are praying for us. They know we need prayer to live for them in a world that is at war with the gospel message. Your prayers connect us to people we are meeting here to bring the message of God’s love in our Lord Jesus Christ to them. We have been given many opportunities to share Jesus. This photo has three of the women we met in Izmir singing a birthday greeting to our dear friend Marylyn whose birthday was yesterday. This song was sung from the Pergamum site in Turkey. In addition to singing, I was able to share the gospel with these ladies, one of whom is not a believer. She was receptive to hearing the “shepherd’s voice.” I shared the difference between the serpent and the shepherd’s voices and then prayed over her. We will keep praying for her and the other people we are meeting here. I also invited them to spend a year with the Theta community in San Pedro where Marylyn is from. Thank you for your continued prayers for our tour. “Intercede for us Lord and lead us to more people who need to hear your message, amen.”
10/08/2026
-
00(Theta) Wait (Habakkuk 2:3 & James 5:7) (Trust)
WAIT is the word that has shaped the ministry of Fikret Bocek in Izmir. When the Lord calls us, we need to expect that learning to wait upon the Lord is at the heart of our life of obedience in Christ. Firkret started his parish ministry in Izmir 25 years ago with the support of his wife Darlene. During our visit yesterday and our meal last night, we discovered many things in common in our life of following our Lord. Waiting on our Lord is at the top of our list. Jesus calls us to wait for Him. Isaiah 64:4 says it so clearly, “the Lord loves to work for those who wait for him.” God works when we get out of the way. And when we are out of the way, we know what it means to be waiting for God to act. So trust in God while you are waiting for God to do for you what he promises.
10/07/2026
-
00(Discipleship) The God Who Repays Evil With Good (Amos 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:15) (Hope)
SEEK is our word for today. On the first Easter Sunday, the angel asked the women, “why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). All of us know how to seek the right thing in the wrong places. Yesterday morning, 8 of us on our tour witnessed an early morning airlift of hot air balloons in Cappadocia, Turkey. What were we seeking? Between 6 and 7 AM, about 50 balloons lifted off the ground and floated over 1000 people over Turkey for about 90 minutes. It was impressive but did that experience give life? No. Today we will meet Pastor Fikret Bocek in Izmir, Turkey. What are we seeking? He is a pastor who converted from Islam over 40 years ago and just last month celebrated 25 years as a pastor in Izmir. You have heard me share his testimony on our podcast and on Saturday you will hear him share his mission and vision for his ministry in Izmir. He is a man whose life is a testimony to a God who loves to work bad things for good. Yesterday morning a lot of hot air lifted us for a few hours. Today, the hot air of a Jesus follower named Fikret will lift us for eternity. Remember, our God has given you the Holy Spirit as well, so your hot air can lift someone you know into eternity as well. (THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR DAN. HE AND LOUISE ARRIVED SAFELY IN PHOENIX LATE MONDAY NIGHT. NOW HE IS SEEKING HELP FROM DOCTORS THERE TO DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM IN ISTANBUL.)
10/06/2026
-
00(Irishcast)Refuge (Ps 25v20 Jn 14v19) (Salvation)
REFUGE in caves for Christians fleeing Roman persecution is today’s theme from the “Daily Texts.” This is Cappadocia in Turkey, We were visiting these cave homes yesterday as well as their chapels. They are all cut into the rocks in this community in central Turkey. The caves gave these early believers a place of refuge when Roman armies were arresting believers here. These cave dwellings also became the site of the first monastery in this region. People who sought refuge in Christ eventually went out into the world to make the message of Jesus known to all they would meet. This is why we are saved. We are called to bring our refuge in Jesus to all we may meet. Last night, our group gathered in an underground cave that is a part of our hotel in Cappadocia. One member of our group, Tim Peterson, proclaimed the entire letter to the Philippians from memory. We could imagine ourselves as early followers of our Lord listening to Paul himself as we heard the message of his letter. Consider what it means for you to be sent into the world for Jesus’ sake that people who are lost, lonely and destitute may find their refuge in Jesus Christ.
10/05/2026
-
00Speak For The Speechless (Genesis 18:27; Matt 15:27 28) (Prayer)
Last night we enjoyed a two hour cruise on the Bosphorus, the body of water that divides Asia from Europe and also connects ships to the Black Sea from the Aegean Sea. It is a marvelous gift of God in that it brings together so much of the world in one little body of water. Members of our tour group were sitting on the upper level of the boat when they were photographed. They are from left to right, Dan, Louise, (Rowena…our tour organizer whom we met today) Nancy, Sandy, Frank, Paul, Linda, Deb, and Dianne. Thank you to all of who are speaking to God on our behalf while we are on this special tour. Dan and Louise have to return to Arizona today due to health reasons which Dan suffered from on Saturday. We are sorry to see them leave but glad they received excellent health care before departure. We are blessed to have you interceding for us for the sake of others. Thank you.
10/04/2026
-
00(Sundaycast) Exalt! (Nehemiah 9:5; 1 Cor 10:31)(Discipleship)
EXALT! The two buildings in the image are directly across from each other in Istanbul. They both reflect the importance of creating worship structures in which the glory of their god can be exalted. At one time the Hagia Sophia was the largest church in Christendom built by the Emperor Justinian. Since the fall of Constantinople it has gone through several transformations of purpose. About 6 years ago, it changed again from a museum to a mosque. The Blue Mosque, pictured on the right side, was built about 1000 years after the Hagia Sophia by the Sultan Ahmet 1. When visitors come to Istanbul these two buildings are visited most of all by tourists. Today also is the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis. As we know, he was a man who humbled himself rather that enjoy the exaltation of his family and wealth. His life is not measured by a buildings which might exalt him but rather by building up the church of Christ. We all know that we are called to be living stones in the Kingdom of God on earth. As our hymn today helps us claim, the church’s one foundation is not structures but it is Jesus our Lord living and working through you and me. We are God’s temple on earth. God’s choice of you and me exalts our Lord.
10/03/2026
-
00(Mission Cast) Out Of The Heart (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:11) (Repentance)
HEART. Jeff reflects upon how our words reveal the condition of our hearts. Words do matter. Jesus said that it is out of the heart that comes all manner of evil thoughts. We may say the right words and even behave rightly, but the heart may be far away from God. We do not love God with all our heart, soul, strength, or mind; and, we do not love our neighbor as ourselves. Fortunately, God fulfills his promise to give us a new heart through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. His atoning sacrifice has won for us the forgiveness of sins and he exchanges our sin for his righteousness. In Christ, we are made a new creation — with new hearts! Our missional goal is to live in alignment with God’s love and grace, that both our words, our thoughts, and our behavior are in harmony with one another. Blessings to Johan and Sonja as they travel with tour members to Greece and Turkey. May they all reflect the grace of love of God in Christ Jesus through their hearts for one another and the people they meet.
10/02/2026
-
00Listen (1 Samuel 3:9; Matthew 7:24) (Discipleship)
LISTEN. We are in one of the world’s most famous cities. Its location bridges two continents, Europe and Asia. It was once known as Byzantium until 330 when the city became the new capital of the Roman Empire and was renamed Constantinople. This city fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The current name Istanbul was used by the Turks for the city even before it fell in 1453. Its name reflects the word, “Islamboul,” which means “full of Islam.” In 1930, the Turkish government began to publicly ask that the name “Istanbul” be used in all maps and other means of recognition. We are here for four days. We will be listening today especially as we walk through the parts of the city that have buildings and monuments that take us back to the early years of Constantinople when it became the center of the Christian world. We know that places always change in Christianity. But what never changes is Jesus who is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). One day we will be part of a new city which God is preparing for us (Hebrews 11;10, 16). Images of that city contrasted to cities of this world is prophesied by John in Revelation many times, especially chapter 21. “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:2). That city will be full of the Lord God Almighty…”and the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (21:23).
10/01/2026
-
00(Theta) Revive (Psalm 71:20 & 2 Peter 2:9) (Trust)
REVIVE. We land in Istanbul today. It’s a city that has covered over its Christian past by covering this mosaic of Jesus with plaster. Then uncovering it. It’s in the oldest Basilica on earth. It was then called Hagia Sophia. That name has changed now since it is no longer a museum but a mosque. But whatever happens, our calling is always to look to the word of life in Jesus to remove our coverings and revive us again.