gwot.rocks - God, the World, & Other Things!

What a day! Listen to the podcast intro for the full story. I revisit our first episode from August 2019 to show how this podcast began and how God has kept me steadfast despite cultural shifts. My original assessments about major cities and their ongoing turmoil still hold true. I changed the byline from "equilibrium" to "peace" to clearly reflect the spiritual goal of equipping you to stand firm in a chaotic world. I’m also launching "Coffee Fueled Wisdom," a new channel to foster community online and through local gatherings, starting in Nashville and potentially expanding globally if God wills it.📱 Connect with Us:📱 Connect with Us:💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page 📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... " ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 ResourcesCharles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source)The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life?The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

🌄Ever stumbled on something that flips your perspective? 💡 I did, browsing archive.org, when I found a public domain audiobook of every interview Mark Twain—aka Samuel Clemens—ever gave. It hit me...where was Twain during the Civil War. I remember no mention of his participation or service. The front half of this episodes reflects on his escape out west with his brother Orion. ✨ But could he really escape 🏃‍♂️ ? Could anyone? 🤔Join me on a journey back to the 1860s...What You’ll Hear 🎧:🏜️ Twain’s escape to Virginia City and the West’s false promise of peace.⚔️ The Civil War’s limits and the West’s own dangers—Indigenous tensions, lawless towns.🌍 How even Twain’s world travels couldn’t satisfy the soul’s longing.😔 Today’s mayhem and our urge to run from it.✝️ The only true escape: heaven’s promise through Christ.✝️ Key verses:Revelation 21:4, Philippians 3:14🙏Why Listen? 💬 This episode isn’t just history—it’s personal. It’s about our ache for serenity and the hope that never fades. 🌟 Share your thoughts: have you ever wanted to escape the chaos? How do you keep your eyes on the “high calling”? Drop a comment! 📩. 🕊️ #NowhereToRun #MarkTwain #CivilWar #HopeInChrist📱 Connect with Us:💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page 📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... " ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 ResourcesCharles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source)The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life?The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

🎙️ Episode TitleThe Grace of Silence: Grace Measured in Silence🌿 Show NotesWhat do you do when heaven goes quiet? 🤫 When your prayers seem to echo back unanswered, God may be inviting you into His most intimate form of grace — silence.In this episode, we explore the mysterious pause in John 11:6 when Jesus delayed two days before visiting His dear friends in Bethany. 🕰️ What looked like inaction became the stage for resurrection power — the raising of Lazarus! 🌅You’ll hear how God’s stillness is not neglect but nurture — the quiet rhythm by which He measures out His favor. 💧 Silence matures faith, deepens trust, and prepares the heart for miracles that only time and surrender can unveil. 🙏💭 “If you believe in Me, even if you die, you will live.” — John 11:25-26The silence wasn’t the end; it was the setup for eternal life breaking through. 🌤️🎧 Tune in and let this reflection steady your soul. Discover how waiting in faith becomes worship — and how grace is never absent, even when all you hear is quiet. 🌾🔥#Faith #Grace #Silence #gwotrocks #Devotional #ChristianPodcast #Hope #John11 #Lazarus📱 Connect with Us: 💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page  📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... "  ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 Resources Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source) The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life? The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian StandardBible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

🔍 In This Episode:📖 The connection between Scougal’s Life of God in the Soul of Man and Charnock’s Existence and Attributes of God💔 Why even redeemed believers wrestle with a “contrarian spirit” within⚖️ How recognizing our instability humbles us — and how grace stabilizes us🔥 Paul’s Romans 7 struggle and how it mirrors our own divided hearts💫 Why awareness of our frailty becomes the soil of worship and transformation✨ Key Quote:“The stability we do have is from grace… The believer’s faithfulness is not a human achievement but a supernatural participation in the constancy of God Himself.” — Stephen Charnock❤️ Takeaway:Our divided nature does not disqualify us — it drives us closer to the One who heals division with His own steadfast love. Every moment of grace that steadies us is evidence of the living God at work within our souls. 🌸📚Key VerseRomans 7:18–25 (CSB)📱 Connect with Us:💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page 📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... " ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 ResourcesCharles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source)The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life?The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian StandardBible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

✨ In this episode, we look at the lives of four men—Chuck Swindoll Jr., Frank Schaeffer, Joshua Harris, and Bart Campolo—sons of prominent Christian leaders who each walked away from the faith of their fathers. Paired with the biblical example of Demas, their stories highlight a crucial truth: God has no grandchildren. Salvation requires personal conviction and new birth in Christ.📖 We’ll unpack key Scriptures (John 3:7, Hebrews 6:4-6, Romans 10:9-10, 2 Peter 1:10, and more) that remind us to anchor our faith not in culture, heritage, or reputation, but in Jesus Himself.🔎 What you’ll discover in this episode:🚶‍♂️ The sobering journeys of four sons who left their fathers’ faith.📜 The biblical warning in Demas’s slow drift from coworker to deserter.❤️ Why inherited faith is never enough—you must be born again.🔥 A challenge to “make your calling and election sure” today.💡 Whether you’ve grown up in the church or are wrestling with questions of your own, this episode invites you to look past fallible humans and fix your eyes on the infallible Savior.👉 Don’t wait for tomorrow. Faith is personal. Today is still called today.🎧 Tune in, reflect deeply, and take the step to confirm your faith in Jesus Christ.📱 Connect with Us: 🌐 Website: gwot.rocks home page 📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... " ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 ResourcesCharles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source)The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life?The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian StandardBible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

✨ Episode Overview: Remember when this was supposed to be a trilogy? Well… surprise! Here’s the bonus track — the addendum. 📀 Sometimes the most important things aren’t the longest, but the stickiest. In this episode, we slow down to highlight five truths that cling to your heart, not to weigh you down, but to set you free. 💡Paul shows us that the Law is powerless to save, yet it exposes something deep in us — our bent toward self-rule. But in Christ, the cycle of sin is broken, and what once fueled rebellion now becomes the doorway to true satisfaction. 🙌🪞 Five Sticky Truths We Explore:The Law as Mirror – it reveals sin but can’t wash it away.The Engine of Sin – how “don’t” seems to stir up the very thing.The Conscience Paradox – guilt alone can’t make you good.The Idol of Self-Rule – our deepest rebellion is wanting to be our own king.Christ as Satisfaction – the only One who silences the accusations and sets us free.💭 Takeaway: These truths are not about adding pressure but lifting it. My prayer is that one of them will settle into your heart in a way that brings freedom, peace, and deeper joy in Christ. 🕊️📖 Scripture Anchor: Romans 8:3–4 (CSB)📱 Connect with Us: 💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page  📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... "  ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 Resources Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source) The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life? The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian StandardBible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

🎙️✨ Episode Summary: How do you step into the messy places of the world 🌍 without losing your holiness? How do you love ❤️ without being consumed by sin? In this final part of the Idol King Trilogy, we explore what it means to walk in witnessed presence—entering brokenness with compassion, consistency, and Spirit-led boundaries.Drawing from Romans 12:21 (“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”) and Romans 13:10 (“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law”), this episode unpacks how presence, not pressure, leads to transformation.🔥 Key Themes:🙅‍♂️ Why condemnation fuels rebellion, not change🤝 How to engage without judgment while keeping healthy boundaries🙏 The role of prayer and Spirit-led patience in transformation✝️ Jesus’ example: full of truth, full of love, never compromising holiness💡 Takeaway: Laws and lectures can’t change hearts. But Spirit-led presence—rooted in love, humility, and faithfulness—plants seeds of transformation 🌱 that only God can grow over time.🙏 Closing Prayer: “Lord, help me walk in witnessed presence. Teach me patience, protect my witness, and let my actions reflect Your love. Work through me, by Your Spirit, to bring true transformation.”📱 Connect with Us:💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page 📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... " ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3) Transform This City   Transform This City Facebook  gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 ResourcesCharles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (Public Domain Source)The Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life?The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit! LIFE HELPS All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian StandardBible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

🎙️ Have you ever noticed how the moment someone says “don’t”—something in you wants to do it even more? Children feel it. Adults know it. And the Apostle Paul explains why in some of the most unsettling yet freeing words of Scripture. In this first part of the Idol King trilogy, we explore Paul’s radical insight that the law itself fuels sin—not because the law is bad, but because our hearts are bent toward self-rule.Paul shows us that beneath every sinful action lies a deeper desire: the longing to be king of our own lives. But there’s hope—what the law could never achieve, God accomplished in Christ. Jesus broke sin’s engine and offers us true satisfaction in the Spirit.📖Scripture Focus: Romans 8:3–4 (CSB)🔑Key Themes in This Episode:The paradox of the law: holy and good, yet fueling rebellion in our sinful nature.The law written on our hearts as both dignity and indictment.The idol of self-rule—the deep root of our resistance to God.A personal story of presence vs. nagging and how Spirit-filled witness can bring change.Christ’s victory: how Jesus fulfilled the law and broke sin’s destructive power.🎁Takeaway: Christ fulfills the law within us, breaks sin’s engine, and gives true satisfaction in the Spirit.👉 Don’t miss Part Two of the Idol King Podcast Trilogy, where we continue to uncover how Paul’s anthropology of sin and grace transforms our understanding of Christian freedom.📱 Connect with Us: 💻 Website: gwot.rocks home page  📺 YouTube: "Other Things with... "  ❤️ Support the mission: DONATE . For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City, a registered 501(C)(3)Transform This City  Transform This City Facebook gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org  🔗 ResourcesThe Four Spiritual Laws- how you can be born again and have eternal life?The Spirit Filled Life- how you can live each day in the power of God’d Holy Spirit!LIFE HELPS All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.