John 15 can sound terrifying: branches that don’t bear fruit are taken away, wither, and are eventually burned.

But what if Jesus is not saying, “One mistake and you’re gone”?

What if the Vine and branches picture that Jesus paints is actually an invitation to grace, friendship, and the opportunity to bear fruit that comes from Him?

Topics:

• One mistake and you’re gone?
• Jesus is the true vine. Who are the branches?
• What kind of fruit?
• Bearing fruit, not producing it
• Abide does not mean “stay attached”
• If you abide, you will bear much fruit
• Abiding in His love
• The Greek does not say “cut”
• You are becoming more like Jesus
• If you’re in doubt, love

This episode is part of the “Scary Verses or Grace?” discussion of passages that sound scary at first, but surprisingly lead us toward grace as we grapple with them and seek the heart of Christ.

Is the narrow way supposed to scare us?

In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus says the gate is narrow, the road hard, and only a few find it.

For a lot of us, that sounds like a spiritual tightrope - one wrong step and we’re doomed to fail. In this episode, I explore why The Way seems scary, but is actually full of grace.

Topics:

• When Jesus keeps raising the bar
• Jesus as the gate and The Way
• “Pick Me!”
• Ask, seek, and knock
• My yoke is easy
• Why the path is not a tightrope
• The hard part: “few find it”
• Jesus promises that those who seek God find Him
• Hunger and thirst for righteousness - you will be filled

This episode is part of the “Scary Verses or Grace?” discussion of passages that sound scary at first, but surprisingly lead us toward grace as we grapple with them and seek the heart of Christ.

What does it mean to be called a friend of God?

The night before Jesus died, He called His followers friends. But what does it mean to really “be” His friend? Jesus dove into that too. It’s probably not what you think.

Topics:

• Using Dezsma to set the stage
• When friends stand in the way
• Kat’s choice and the freedom to rebel
• Arkuuda calls Kat her friend
• Jesus says, “I Call You... Friend”
• The upper room and the command to love
• “You are My friends if...”
• Is friendship with God two-way?

Lessons I’m still learning from my Father.

My dad once told me, “If you’re going to shovel the walk, shovel the walk.” I don’t think he was trying to give me a spiritual lesson, but that simple thought has really stuck with me.

In this episode, I want to explain why that phrase means so much to me, and how it led me to think about “edge-to-edge” living as abundant life in ordinary service, the kind that can show up in actions as simple as shoveling a driveway, sweeping a church basement, or doing a load of laundry.

Topics:

• Asteroids, chores, and making money
• Dishes, smudges, and my dad’s wisdom
• My first paid sidewalk job
• If you’re going to shovel the walk, shovel the walk
• Edge-to-edge living as a Christian
• Why “getting hit by a bus” theology missed grace
• When service to others becomes service to God
• Ordinary acts of love
• Abundant life in ordinary service

Icy answers to prayer can be full of love and surprise.

In this episode, I trace how a few strange ice formations in my fire pit became part of the covers for Bolmek, Verdekt, and the podcast, and how those images changed the way I think about answers to prayer.

Topics:

• The Dezsma cover and Vince’s fire
• Why the book covers became black and white
• Hidden codes and OCLC
• Ice sculptures in my fire pit
• How the ice became Verdekt
• How the ice became Bolmek
• The podcast cover and one more person
• Seeking icy answers we almost miss

Have you ever had a dream that felt like it might be more than just a dream?

After I quit my job, I was stuck. I wanted to write a novel, but was struggling to get started.

Then a dream gave me a small glimpse of a character who would become the heroine of Dezsma. And whoosh! I was off. I believe that was a gentle nudge from God.

Topics:

• Dreams, visions, and messages from God
• I quit my job
• Praying for help, then a dream
• Don’t be afraid to dream a little
• What dream or vision have you had?

Have you ever felt like God told you to do something, like, right now?

In this episode, I talk about one of those moments in my own life, when leaving something I loved made room for something I never saw coming.

Topics:

• A different kind of quitting
• Thirty years at one church
• Leave "right now”
• What leaving “right now” made room for
• Quitting is not always giving up

I’ve often wondered what I’d be willing to do to help “one more” person come to Christ. That question comes out of 1 Corinthians 9, where Paul says he became “all things to all people,” hoping by all means to “save some.”

And honestly, that challenges me more than I’d like to admit. I tried to grapple with this issue in The Onu Adventures novels through Croga, a honey badger who keeps trying to reach “one more.”

For those familiar with the second book, Bolmek, you may have noticed that the cover art for this episode places Croga in TheDraw, where he demonstrated that he meant what he said, even when it cost him dearly.

I wish I could say I was that committed.

Topics:

• “By all means save one”
• Building common ground and friendships
• Free to do anything, choosing to serve
• Croga and “one more”
• Are we serious about one more?
• Croga in TheDraw
• “Put me back”
• I want to be more like Croga