Jesus Loves Me Podcast: March 2023
Sharon and Jana touch base about revivals, past, present, and future. They hit on some controversy and let us know what they think we can expect moving forward.
We’re Talking Revival
Can I Trust You, Lord?
Surprising Intimacy
I closed my eyes and settled into the silence. It started with a gentle kiss, a warm caress on my shoulder, then a more forceful embrace. The room in my mind was dimmed with red light symbolizing the perfect passion of Christ’s love for me (The same red light the enemy has stolen and perverted.). I thought of the Song of Songs and understood. The intimacy is remarkably blush-worthy. Jesus’ love excites His promise in me that I will be healed. This love of the Lord is difficult for me to imagine and receive. Growing up I trusted the adults in my life and intimacy was defiled. I didn’t know how much intimacy draws people together in reciprocal trust and care.
The truth is that people don’t trust God because they don’t trust people.
We’ve all trusted someone and have been let down. It’s inevitable that trust will fail on some level at some point in our relationships. We can expect to be disappointed because people are fallible. People will fall short of our expectations, especially if our expectations are too high, miscommunicated, or unreasonable. It makes sense that we’d have a hard time trusting again after we’ve been hurt. When we’ve been hurt over and over, trusting others becomes difficult. Which makes trusting God difficult too.
When we’ve trusted and been hurt, we can give people grace and forgiveness to maintain relationships. God does the same thing with us — He forgives us and gives us grace abundantly. God understands that we have a hard time trusting and He seeks our hearts anyway.
God’s compassionate agape love for us goes far beyond what we can ever imagine. God is trustworthy to say and do the very best for us. We can trust Him. God does not lie, so we can believe what He tells us in Scripture. God leads us in Proverbs 3:5–6, TPT saying, “Trust in the Lord completely and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.”
Trusting God is an important foundation of our relationship with Him. If we don’t trust God, we will not easily enter our Secret Place. We must find the ability to trust Him to begin healing and growing in our relationship with Christ. We need to trust God and be receptive to receiving all He has for us.
Not Trusting is Not an Option
Without trust in God, we stay immature, lukewarm, broken, and fractured. We miss what is happening in the Body of Christ. Holding onto a lack of trust in God builds anger and resentment. Life becomes joyless, unfruitful, and stuck in cycles of destruction. Without trusting God, we stay the same, unchanged, with broken relationships, no purpose or vision, toxic, without identity, unsafe, and estranged from supernatural connection with Him. We suffer, remain discouraged, hopeless, scared, alone, and feel abandoned.
The truth is that when we trust God, He will draw us out of all the destruction caused by our sin and rebellion. We are in sin and rebellion when we don’t trust God because we are rejecting Him and all He has for us. God wants us to be free, whole, and healthy. He wants us to see the victory we’ve been offered through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. God wants to permanently heal us, save us, and help us to know our identity in Him. With trust in God, we can find freedom in our Secret Place.
Trust Comes with Hope
God made us with a specific calling, purpose, and destiny we can only fulfill in our relationship with Him. Let’s receive more of God for our healing and to fulfill our destiny. Let’s live in our victory. Let’s bring our lack of trust and all our other cares to Him. Let’s surrender everything, even our lives to Him. It may be hard at first, and it may be a process, but we can find God our Secret Place. We can connect with Jesus deeply and enter His holy ground to receive everything He has prepared for us.
Everything we are looking for is waiting for us in our Secret Place. The desires of our hearts can be made manifest as we spend time with God. The exhilaration of freedom awaits us. Knowledge and understanding find us there. There’s more to the Secret Place than we can understand.
God Doesn’t Want a Middle Man
He Wants You
Let’s take a look at a few items related to our personal relationship with God and the covenant, and religion we now experience. In Covenant we are truly lovers and followers of Jesus Christ by the Word that is the Word of the Lord. In Religiousness we trap ourselves and we take our eyes off Jesus, like Peter walking on the water.
Consider the table below:
| In Covenant | In Religiousness |
| God talks directly to you. John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. | We give ministers authority to talk to God for us. Exodus 20:18-21 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” |
| Jesus paid the price for us. Galatians 3:13-15 Christ paid the price to free us from the curse that the laws in Moses’ Teachings bring by becoming cursed instead of us. Scripture says, “Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.” Christ paid the price so that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to all the people of the world through Jesus Christ and we would receive the promised Spirit through faith. | We pay penance by doing works for God. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. |
| We have freedom in every area of our lives. 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. | Man-made rules, laws, and behaviors are followed. Romans 7:6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. |
| Everything we are blessed with is freely given. Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. | We have to earn degrees and certificates to be successful and approved. Matthew 23;1-5 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. |
| God is always faithful to us. 1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. God’s faithfulness calls us into relationship, into a family where. We can experience love and growth together. | Man will fail us. Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. |
A Ministry I Highly Recommend
Kevin Zadai
I love to watch his YouTube videos.
Dr. Zadai tells the truth and sticks to the Word of God. He is transparent and admits when he’s wrong. He asks his followers for help and co-labors with them. He and his wife, Kathi, also minster with children which is where his heart leaps for joy. He feeds the hungry with outreach wherever he goes, helps single moms pay their bills, and so much more.
Dr. Zadai also started an online school called Warrior Notes School of Ministry. which is accredited and about three-years old with over 36,000 students already. And he has a TV channel for his partners called Warrior Notes TV. Dr. Zadai’s flies all over the country and even internationally to teach, so check out his events page too.
Many of Dr. Zadai’s videos are long because they also do worship first, so skip that if you need to and enjoy!
Jesus Loves Me Podcast: February 2023
Sharon and Jana get back on track by recording the Jesus Loves Me Podcast for February 2023. Listen as they explore what we are worshipping or beholding in our lives.
Hope Deferred
Hope Realized
There’s nothing more hopeful than knowing the true love of God. But to understand God’s love we must love others as we love ourselves, yes, ourselves. It’s not easy to love that reflection in the mirror. We remember the past or the fear of the unknown future as we gaze into our own pain-filled eyes. Our eyes may lie, so we must also know the Word of God which is Jesus.
God’s Word can and will change any attitude we may harbor. We can read the Word. We can be persistent in our search for healing and wholeness. We can believe God loves us because His Word says so, and we can have faith that He wants the best for us no matter how we suffer.
I can say without a doubt that through my suffering I’ve discovered joy, and I hang onto hope every day; every time I take medication, every time I faint in public, or fall in the kitchen and break bones. The Lord sees how we persevere and rejoice in our sufferings. And somewhere, somehow, in the middle of it all, we mature. Reality, true reality, finds our hearts and minds. We come to know we can count on God’s promises in His Word.
God, Jesus, loves us more than the drops in the ocean or sands of the sea. He forgives us as far as the East is from the West. We are God’s children, and He wants the very best for us.
Within all the lessons we learn the Lord takes us to higher and higher levels of glory. So, we can hope for a future that is good and an eternity that is better.
Jesus Is Closer Than You Know
Jesus’ death on the cross was so we can have relationship with Him. He is not unreachable or too far away. In the book of John, chapter 3 verse 16, we see the intention of His death on the cross. John 3:16 ESV – 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Next in verse 17, John 3:17 ESV – 17″ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him,” God’s will is for us to have life. Life with the Godhead, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is real and tangible. He wants us to participate in the affairs of the Kingdom of Heaven through relationship.
In the book of John, chapter 17, in the following verses we see the conversation from Jesus to his Father. It is tender-hearted and insightful to Jesus’ intention about our life with God the Father and Jesus. I am bringing this up because in the next paragraphs we will look at what man thinks is important for relationship with Jesus. Not what the God head had planned before the foundations of the world. Here are some verses out of chapter 17 from the book of John.
John 17:22-26 ESV – 22 “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
These verses are stating the very essence of the heart of God and what Jesus expressed to his Father about us. It states boldly, that he gave us his glory! The glory of God is His manifested goodness for us. He is a good God. I would recommend that you read that entire chapter. In this verse, we learn that, the word of God, (Jesus is the word) sanctifies us. The Truth (the word) are/is factual. It is the real thing. The more we read and take in His word, the more we become like Him and know and understand Him. We also become closer to Him. As we eat the word, just like food to our soul and spirit, it strengthens us and changes us into His very nature. We have a need to shed and have the old man changed. We have the ability to become like our Father.
In the following passage, the verses state how Jesus was calling out the religious men of the day, that they thought that there ways were above and beyond God’s ways. They were clearly only interested tradition of men and not a relationship with Jesus. This exchange is in the following passage in the book of Mark chapter 7 verses 1-9.
Mark 7:1-9 ESV – 1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
The Pharisees had made their own religious rules of how people should act or behave instead of relying on the power of the scripture (the word of God) to walk with Jesus. In the next verses, Jesus points out what defiles a person is what comes out of their own hearts. Jesus is all about our hearts. He is not about trying to keep ridiculous rules. Rules that are just performance based behavior. Jesus is more interested in us talking with him and knowing we want to be a part of his family. The Family of God.
I promise you all the religious traditions of the world will only frustrate you and your heart will not be at peace. Jesus is as close as inside of you when you ask him to come into your heart and life. Ask Him, He will make himself real and tangible. He created you. He knows everything about you! There is nothing too big or too small that he doesn’t care about in your life.
The Coming Freedom
Received May 10th, 2022
In the days to come, the Greater Glory will be blinding; dead men being raised from out of their graves to the restoration of all things.
In My Mighty power, I will take down My enemies, make them My footstool, raise up Heaven on earth and proclaim Victory! Victory!
Oh death where is your sting! I will make the path brighter and illuminate in the darkness.
Follow Me and come sit with Me!
Sit with ME!!
Come out of her My people! Learn My ways. Learn of ME. Know Me and know My heart.
Let Me show you the way. Let Me bring you higher. Come up higher. Come closer. Incline your ear. Do not despair in these dark times.
It will not last forever.
Wake up oh sleeper!
Arise!
Psalm 110:1, Revelation 18:4, Psalm 119:105, Isaiah 60:1, Malachi 4:2, Romans 13:11, Ephesians 5;14
Lies We Believe
Twisting the Truth
Satan is the father of lies. John 8:44, TPT reads, “You are the offspring of your father, the devil, and you serve your father very well, passionately carrying out his desires. He’s been a murderer right from the start! He never stood with the One who is the true Prince, for he’s full of nothing but lies — lying is his native tongue. He is a master of deception and the father of lies!” A lie is defined as “an intentionally false statement.” One of the most substantial deceptions the devil pulls is to use the truth to embed his lies. He buries lies inside of truths, so we miss them. Some say he uses a 90/10 tactic, where 90 percent of what is said is truth and 10 percent is a lie. Satan is far more deceitful than we can imagine.
Satan works to twist the truth about God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit in order to keep us away from salvation and intimate relationship with them. He has been doing this for generations going back to Adam and Eve. He attacks us spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. To take it a step further, he teaches us to attack ourselves. We have become proficient at various forms of self-sabotage thanks to his efforts.
Satan with our permission, consciously or unconsciously, has infiltrated a multitude of areas in our lives. We have agreed with him in twisting the truth, and we are suffering the consequences. Jesus said in John 8:32, TPT, “For if you embrace the truth, it will release more freedom into your lives.” We usually know this verse as, “The truth shall set you free” from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. This verse is huge. When we seek out the truth, the lies fall away without manifesting in our lives.
We must focus on truth. The verse above doesn’t say “embrace the lies” it says to “embrace the truth.” If we concentrate on the lies, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We are giving ourselves thoughts that are negative seeds that will grow. Scripture says we reap what we sow, so it’s important to sow positivity in the present moment. Being positive in the now moment creates a positive future. Fixate on truth. Read Scripture to understand what the truth really is and seek the freedom it promises.
Freedom is only necessary when there’s bondage in our lives through sin and death. And it’s safe to say that we all need more freedom. Why sin and death? Because sin is anything that is disobedient, malevolent, evil, unjust, unrighteous, unholy, etc. And the Bible is clear about sin leading only to death. Death is the last thing that Jesus conquered by His own death and resurrection (Romans 8:34).
There are many ways that we are enslaved emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Emotionally refers to feelings that are fleeting and not who we are, and mentally refers to our thoughts and thinking processes. Physically we are captive through illness, disease, stress, anxiety, and the like.
Spiritual bondage refers to our spirit, and its interaction with the Spirit of God, and with other spiritual beings in the spiritual realm.
Below is a tiny list of the ways we can be in bondage to sin and death in our lives. They can refer to lack in all things, not just with finances, self-image, relationships, or other areas of our lives. They can attract negativity and abuse in one or more ways. They can be inflicted upon us by the devil, ourselves, or others. They can be our personality and/or character flaws or shortcomings. Wherever they originate, they are destructive and dangerous, rather than lifegiving and wholesome. Spend some time researching these issues for a better understanding of what they mean to our salvation.
- Poverty Mentality
- Victim Mentality
- Rejection
- Abandonment
- Fear of Intimacy
- Worthiness
- Illness & Disease
- Prideful/Egotistic
- Envy/Jealousy
- Lack of Identity
- Low Self-Esteem/Image
- Vengeful
- Generational Sin/Curses
- Dishonesty
- Abuse of Any Kind
- Disobedience
- Ambivalence
- Fear of Man
A few of the greatest sin symptoms are fear, pain, shame, and guilt. It doesn’t matter whether the attack is coming from someone or something else, or it’s coming from self, these are detrimental to living life to the fullest. When we sin, and we have a conscience, we begin to feel emotional pain, shame, and guilt. We know all too well how to shame ourselves and feel guilty for what we’ve done. This causes emotional pain that can become physical pain. This is how we contribute to making ourselves sick. And it all starts with fear.
Fear is an insidious thing that the devil has taught humans to trust ever since Eve took a bite of that fruit. She was tempted by allowing herself to be convinced that she wasn’t good enough or worthy to eat fruit from that tree. She became afraid she wasn’t enough, and that God was keeping something from her. Today, many generations later, that fear is still present in us. The world reminds us of this on a daily basis.
We are affected by fear so much that we have lost our innocence and childlike ability to trust God. We entertain doubt and unbelief as a result, which runs rampant in our societies and cultures. Our movies are more violent, sex is more casual and overt, and language is more disrespectful. These forms of debauchery are only a few examples of life’s current state of debauchery. This is why it’s so much more crucial that we rise above the darkness and become childlike again. Matthew 18:3, AMP reads, “…and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self — your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
There are many areas of life that are in dire need of restoration to innocence. We as Believers have a responsibility to break through the lies and build a better world for our children.
There’s a school of thought out there called the Seven Mountains, or the Seven Mountain Mandate originally written about in Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson’s book titled, Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate, 2013. There is some controversy surrounding the topic, and I don’t want to go into why here. You can research that on your own. I only mention it to say that the seven mountains or categories of society and culture make a good list to follow for prayer, blessings, meditation, and finding our purpose.
The Seven Mountains are:
- Arts & Entertainment
- Education
- Family
- Government
- Business
- Media
- Religion
Knowing which “mountain” we are called to is important. Yours may be a bit different than what is listed here and over time it will get more specialized. The key is knowing the area of society you are called to influence. And maybe you are called to more than one area.
The bottom line is that the devil’s lies block the truth of who we are, our healing, and our ability to grow, change, and mature. Lies block our blessings, which we already have been given. Many of God’s promises in the Bible are written in a past tense form. God’s promises have already happened in Heaven; they’ve been given to us already. It’s our job to remember to receive His promises here on earth. We are to pray God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). Sometimes it can be a struggle to receive from God because we are in need of further healing.
Fighting for Freedom
We have victory with Jesus, so why do we still struggle? Upon salvation, we are born again with Christ in the middle of a raging spiritual war. We must work through battles to find our personal victory and freedom. The battlefield is in the mind. It starts with our thoughts which turn into beliefs and if we believe lies, we lose battles.
One way to win battles is to identify the problem and find solutions by asking ourselves important questions. Try this five-step process to find out how to win battles:
- Identify the problem (write as much as you need to).
- What is the lie or are the lies in this problem?
- What is the truth based on God’s Word?
- What are some solutions?
- Then get some counsel via Scripture, pastors, counselors, and/or mature friends.
Here’s how it looks in a simple grid I developed with an example:
Excerpt from Jana’s book called, “Hardwired to Trust God: And Exploring Trust in Ourselves & Others.”
Just Sharon & Jana 
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