Archive for January, 2009

Christmas Message

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Recorded on December 21, 2008. In this episode Richard gives us a Christmas message. Today we live in tough economic and political times. For Mary and Joseph the times were even tougher. They were forced to return to their ancestral home town to be counted in the Roman census. Neither had much in the way of money, and when they arrived in Bethlehem they had no place to stay. An innkeeper let them sleep in a stable. On top of all this Mary was a pregnant unmarried teenager. In this extraordinarily tough situation, Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Jesus came to a world filled with anguish and tears. Through this humble beginning, Jesus brought hope to a hopeless world. God’s angel announced the birth of our Messiah not to the well-to-do, respected, rich, and important members of the judeo-roman world, but to the bottom dregs of society. The birth of Christ is what we as Christians celebrate.

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Faith Has No Limits

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Recorded on December 7, 2008. In this episode Richard talks about faith. He reminds us that sight is human, faith is spiritual. We may not be able to see God but we can know God. Richard looks at 2 Corinthians 5:7: “We live by faith, not by sight.” Sight is limited by what we can see. Faith on the other hand has no limits.

Hebrews 11 expands on this concept. We are certain of what we do not see. The word of God is used to reveal the nature of God. We accept and act through faith–not limited sight.

All of us face tough times now. As Christians, we need to persevere. Without faith we cannot move ahead. We need to live by faith. Are we being tricked by I can’t see it so I won’t believe it? Or do we let the Holy Spirit fill us with faith so we can move boldly with God’s calling. Let faith be operative in our life every day.

To hear what Richard Groh has to say about “Faith Has no Limits,” visit “From Richard’s Heart” and subscribe to this podcast.

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Bolivia Mission Update

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Recorded on December 7, 2008. Jamie and Susan Ramge share some of their experiences as missionaries in Bolivia. They work with the Quechua indians. The Ramges describe the Quechuan Christians as the most giving and generous people they’ve known. When serving the Quechua, the Ramges pack five gallon cans of gasoline on their vehicles to provide fuel for their vehicle and the portable generator used in their ministry.

Jamie emphasized the best way to help new converts is to encourage them to worship God in a way that fits their culture. The Quechua often worship God for several hours singing songs they’ve created in their own language. Jamie and Susan spend much of their time helping the Quechua leaders become more effective leaders in their community. 

The political climate in Bolivia is not entirely stable, and the Ramges have asked us to pray about that. We also have agreed to pray for Jamie and Susan as they immerse themselves in learning Quechua. Naturally we will pray for God’s providence with vehicle and technology maintenance as Jamie and Susan travel into remote areas in Bolivia.

Find out what Jamie and Susan Ramge have to say about their experience as missionaries in Bolivia by visiting the “From Richard’s Heart” podcast page.

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Surviving Our Vetting Process

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

Recorded November 23, 2008. Richard looks at Ephesians 5 beginning with verse 15. The U.S. recently finished a major election to recording this episode. Many politicians experienced a vetting process.  In other words their history, personal life, business dealings, moral conduct–every aspect of their lives were under microscopic examination.

As Christians, we too go through a vetting process. Therefore we need to be careful how we live. As Richard puts it, use your God given head. God knows all our secrets. He knows our thoughts. He remembers all of our actions. Nonchristians frequently delight in finding discrepancies in our faith. We can go through our vetting process on our own, or we can choose to use God’s wisdom.

Every day we have opportunities to serve our God. Do we make the most of every opportunity? Churches grow when their members do that. As a community of faith we need to seize the moment.

Richard reminds us the days are evil. Both in Paul’s day and in our time we face unspeakable evil. The underpinning of the American family is crumbling. TV glorifies sex, cheating, stealing and ungodly character. Being a Christian is at best very unpopular both today and in Paul’s day.

Therefore we must not be foolish. We need to understand and do the Lord’s will. Our quiet times provide God the opportunity to talk to us. As we learn to act on what Paul shows us in Ephesians 5, we come through our personal vetting process as people who are worthy of the title God’s faithful children.

You can hear what Richard has to say about Ephesians 5, and subscribe to From Richard’s Heart by visiting our podcast page.

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