The Living Waters Podcast

In today's episode, the guys discuss how to leave a legacy by learning to lovingly lead. When leadership is not exerted in the right way or with the right heart, major tragedies can ensue. Today, the church is in big trouble as we live in this “celebrity Christian pastor” era. Being a pastor, however, means to be a shepherd of a local flock. Preaching to your people alone should be the highest priority. When we act as leaders ourselves or gravitate towards other leaders, we should be looking for Christ-like leadership. The overall disposition of Jesus as a leader was that of a servant.  A largely deceptive element is not realizing the impact of our leadership we have as friends, acquaintances, and parents. There are definitive things parents often do when raising their children which may create the kind of atmosphere in which bitterness and brokenness grow, and vice versa. Leaving a legacy for your family begins with recognizing the legacy of sin in yourself. Genesis alludes to the idea of generational sin. You do not need to be a perfect parent, but you do need to be a parent who is willing to put sanctification on display for your wife and children. When thinking about leadership and legacy, the most important question we should ask ourselves is where our hearts are. When love is not infused in leadership, authoritarianism results. The love we should have for our spouse will be limited by our understanding of God loving the church as sinful people.  Finally, hear about the marks which would leave a legacy of love. These include lifting others up, putting your own needs behind the needs of others and abandoning self-defense mode. We should always strive to leave a legacy that will magnify the Lord over ourselves. Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys discuss the importance of time. To begin, listeners are reminded that time is the most precious resource of all, and wasting time has ramifications. This is why waking up early and being intentional with your time is very important. The New Testament speaks volumes to this idea. The early church has been accused of spending too much time together, as they would gather in the morning and stay together all night long. This is a prime example of not being bound by time. Although punctuality is part of being courtesy, it doesn’t hurt to remove some of the parameters surrounding time in an organized way.  We all have a problem with how we organize our time. For example, where young people spend more time sleeping in, older people tend to waste time on media cycles or sitting around the house after retirement. We are only redeeming our time when our minds and hearts are focused on the glory of God. This could be done in the process of education, in fellowship or through restfulness. God gave us restfulness as a gift and something intrinsic in what it means to be human. Where we put our attention is ultimately how we redeem our time and what we become in the long run. As Christians, we should integrate the Lord in every area of our lives. Jesus did meet every need. He left one town to preach to another, left people in line waiting to be healed, hid away to pray and got tired. He spent 30 years in training and just 3 years in ministry. He did not try to do it all and yet he did everything God asked Him to do. Grind culture is not meeting the glory of God as God wants us to also be creatures of rest and thoughtfulness. The way we should redeem our time is not by being as efficient as possible, but by glorifying God. Listeners are reminded that everything we do in this life that is not chasing the Lord is transient. We should also walk in wisdom towards non-believers and share the gospel to reach the lost. Discipleship requires a great deal of time and investment. Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode the guys discuss anxiety, an unfortunate mark of our modern lives. Everything about the modern age is intended to make us feel most comfortable, yet this is clearly not working. This is because we are not meant to be the center of our own universes. For example, God created us to till the ground and have a relationship with the food we eat and the environment around us. As humans, we were intended to spend uninterrupted time in Creation.The guys define anxiety as a feeling of worrying or unease, typically about some outcome. By looking for distractions from our anxiety, we are actually diving deeper into our anxiousness in the long run. It is rest that our body needs to defeat anxiety, not busyness. When Peter saw a resurrected Jesus with his own eyes, his anxiety disappeared. To overcome anxiety, we should orient our lives in such a way that points us to Christ through prayer and meditation and take extended time to disconnect from music and technology to truly converse with God and spend time in His creation. When we are disconnected from the earth, we are missing out on God and His gift to us.We so easily forget that we are promised an eternity with the Lord. God gives us sacred moments to remember this truth, but we must make our eyes available to notice them. The more we really see these instances, the more anxiety dissipates. Then, they make the distinction between genuine concern and anxious worrying. Issues are not issues at all, but rather the steppingstones to get us to where we are meant to be. The great antidote to anxiety is to speak with God. When we go before God in prayer, we go before our father who knows and loves us unconditionally for who we are and has a plan for our lives. Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys discuss how to find freedom from fear. First, the guys describe fear as a crippling emotion that destroys one’s ability to function effectively. It’s like a wild dog that you must keep on a short leash so you can control it. We fear physical things (spiders, snakes, heights) and intangible things (failure, what people think, etc.), and these fears can hold us back. However, not all fear is a terrible thing, and our own limitations give power to the work of God. Next, the guys discuss how the fear of man is a snare. This kind of fear is usually brought on by three different causes: the desire for power, praise, and reputation. First, we are afraid that other people will have power over us. We also fear feeling inadequate by not receiving praise from other people. For reputation, we fear what other people will say or think about us. We can idolize acceptance by others because we wish to be part of a group and belong. We fear being “an outsider.” It is a constant snare to need approval from someone else because their standards and expectations are always changing. Even if we do get others’ approval, it still won't be satisfying because true approval can only be found in Christ. When we look vertically to Christ instead of horizontally to other people, it frees us from those exhaustive ways of living.  Lastly, the guys talk about how we have been designed in our very DNA to fear, and specifically to have a healthy fear of God. When we don't look to God as the One whom we fear, we will fear other things. Fear can be healthy, like when the fear of dying motivates us to put on a seatbelt. When we develop and keep a healthy fear of God and spend time with the Lord, then this will shift our fear from that of things back to its rightful place: God. In Psalm 3, David is shifting his view—he started off talking to his Creator about the problems with his enemies and how they have power over him. Then, he focuses on his Creator and how only He has power over him. When we focus on the Lord and the bigger picture, it will change everything. Being fearful is also a spiritual battle because Satan is the father of lies. 2 Timothy 1:7 states, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” The Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us the freedom to live out our faith boldly. Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys discuss patience. There are three areas in our lives in which we can lack patience: in God’s sovereignty, in God’s creation, and in His handiwork. The epitome of arrogance is being impatient with others who are being sanctified, forgetting how long it took for us to be sanctified ourselves. In Corinthians 13, the first description of love is that it is patient. Patience doesn’t mean we sit around with our hands folded. Rather, it evokes constant trials and endurance. One of the very best ways to exercise patience is through demonstrating composure.  The cure for impatience with the fulfillment of God’s timetable is to believe His promises, obey His will and leave the results to Him. It is easy for us to become discouraged when God’s plan is taking longer than we expected. Listeners are encouraged to trust the process which God has set in place for each of us and not wish that things were happening on your terms instead of His. We should never forget that God is at work and there is ultimately no waiting room in His plan. Wants and desires in life are always transferring from one thing to the next. If wanting for a future spouse becomes a future savior, you will never truly be satisfied when you do achieve the thing you thought you wanted most in life. However, if you shift that mindset to finding your true joy and satisfaction in Christ alone, then you may pursue a spouse joyfully as an additional gift given to you by God. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the sovereignty of God and His promise to bring all things to completion.  One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is applying their understanding of God’s sovereignty to only the big milestones in life, when it applies to every aspect of life. Sovereignty is defined as God’s divine right to do as He pleases. Impatience, we are reminded, is a pathway to destruction, especially in the lives of those we love most. To get to the bottom of our impatience, we must challenge the false idols of our hearts which can be anything, even good things, that we prioritize over God. Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys discuss meekness, which is defined as “mild of temper, soft, gentle, not easily provoked or irritated.” Meekness is often mistaken as weakness, but it is not the same thing. Meekness is strength under control, or power channeled for the benefit of other people. An example of worldly meekness is Oscar’s friend who is a successful pro fighter. He plays basketball with friends, but when it gets a little rough he tells others to take it down a notch. He has confidence in his own personal power and strength, but he displays self-control for the sake of other people. We need to have the same spiritual meekness with others by recognizing that the strength that we have comes from the power of the Holy Spirit and it’s not ours to boast over, but God’s to put on display. Jesus was the epitome of meekness. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane about to be crucified, Jesus said to Peter, “Do you not know that my Father can send 12 legions of angels?” He had power under control, but it was connected to love.  Next, the guys discuss how wisdom and truth go hand-in-hand with meekness. Truth without wisdom and meekness is like ingredients that haven’t been baked—it can’t be enjoyed. James 3:13 states, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.” Wisdom has an attribute of meekness in it and wisdom is the true application of knowledge. Meekness is not thinking lowly of yourself, but not thinking of yourself. Selfishness is a huge root cause of sin. Even through storms, we can embrace what God is doing in our life even if it is difficult. We can embrace the trial because we know He will be with us in the midst of it.  Lastly, the guys talk about how there is a huge misunderstanding between what the world and Christians define as meekness. Meekness is yielding your will to God’s will and dying to your desires. In order to grow in meekness, we must die to ourselves and have the right view of God. To have the right view of God, we need to discipline ourselves in willingness to sit quietly in the presence of the Lord. This will allow the conviction of the Spirit to bring things to light in our hearts and minds. Colossians 3:12 states, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Every day, we need to choose to put on the word of God and have discipline to do what the Lord wants in our lives. Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

This discussion delves into the pervasive nature of gossip within Christian communities, highlighting its potential to harm reputations and fracture friendships. Participants emphasize the illusion of harmless gossip, noting that anyone who gossips about others will likely gossip about you. They explore the need for integrity, accountability, and the importance of building a culture of kindness. With a dash of humor, the conversation also reflects on personal quirks while reinforcing the serious moral implications of slander and the call for grace in our judgments.

In today's episode, the guys discuss Samson, who was a famous warrior and judge in the Bible. He was known for his strength which came from his uncut hair. There are so many “heroes” shown in the Bible, but they all have faults, sin, and issues. These people in the Bible demonstrate to us the Lord’s patience and how genuine the scriptures are. There are a couple ways to look at the story of Samson. The first is through the view of morality, or what you should or should not do according to Samson’s example. We also need to realize that Samson’s story also points us to the gospel through the parallels in his story to Jesus. First, Samson is considered a judge of Israel, but he points us to the great judge, Jesus. Samson’s mother was barren for a period of time and Jesus was born to a virgin mother. An angel announces both Samson’s and Jesus’ birth, but the angel told Samson’s parents that he would begin to save the Israelites, while the angel told Jesus’ parents that He will save the Israelites. Samson filled the world with dead bodies, but Jesus filled the world with His body. Jesus did not come to defeat His enemies, but to save us all. Samson points the way to Christ.  Judges 13:5 states, “You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.” Samson had the purpose of being set apart for God, but that’s not what happened in his life. Samson was repetitive in that he was used by the Lord but continued to go back to sin again and again despite the fact that he knew better. It is easy to sin, but hard to live for righteousness. We have never been tempted to be righteous when things don’t go our way—we are always tempted by sin because we live in a fallen world. We need to ask God to use us for His will and His purposes instead of our own. We don’t see the bigger picture, so we need to trust that God will answer our prayers with what we need. Any trials we have in our lives are just stepping points to get us to where we need to be.  Next, the guys talk about the theme of sight in Samson’s story. Judges 17:6 states, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Everyone used their sight to determine what was right or wrong. Judges 14:1-3 states, “Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, ‘I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.’ But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among the daughters Send us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys discuss the most recognized Bible verse in the world: John 3:16. This verse states, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This verse can be quoted by non-believers and can be seen everywhere you look, but it is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. When we know Bible verses, we can either become so intimately familiar with it or know it so well that we gloss over its significance, and don’t grasp what it really means. In order to understand this verse, we have to look at the context. In the verses prior to John 3:16, Jesus is having a conversation with Nicodemus, telling him that unless one is born again they cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was a Jew, leader, and teacher of the law, and heard this truth for the first time.Next, the guys talk about how we misunderstand this verse in the way we approach it. In our hyper-individualistic culture, we read that God loved the world so much that He had to give His only Son to save us, but that is not the way it's meant to be read. This word “so” can actually be translated as “in this way.” Instead, God loved the world in this way that He sent His only son. This is saying God’s love is actionable and here is how He loved the world. This change of looking at the verse shifts it from a man-centered or a man-focused view, to instead look at what God did. It made no sense for God to save man because we all sin. God so loved the world not because He needed us, but because we needed and still need Him. People all over the world hear that they need to be saved, but never hear why they need to be saved. As Christians, we need to tell others why we need God and how He has changed our lives.Lastly, the guys discuss how in Numbers 21:8, God’s people escaped Egypt, but they were tired, grumbling, complaining, so God showed His wrath by sending a curse through poisonous snakes. Then the people repent, and God instructed Moses to construct a bronze serpent and instruct the people to look at it. In order that the Israelites may be saved, God makes them look at the very thing that was cursing them. This shows a distinct parallel to Jesus in that He who knew no sin became sin to save us. We must look at Jesus to be saved and just like the serpent was on a pole, Jesus was sacrificed on a cross. Christians also want to detach from the wrath of God because we want to view God as oozing with love, but that doesn’t rightly paint God as the judge of the universe. We all deserve to go to hell because of our fallen nature, but God already paid the fine for us and reconciled the woSend us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

In today's episode, the guys discuss Legion, or the “disgusting demoniac.” In our world and culture today, there is no limit to wickedness. They discuss the story in the New Testament with the demon-possessed man where Jesus cast the demons into pigs. In the Bible, Mark 5:1-5 states, “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.” This man had an unclean spirit known as “Legion,” and when Jesus cast out the many demons from the man’s body, the demons begged to go into the pigs nearby. Those pigs then ran and hurled themselves off the cliff.  This story is a very strange one, but has a deeper meaning for Christians and for those who are not believers. It happens in a gentile land and shows that God can do whatever He wants with His creation. The Kingdom of God and kingdom of man don't play well, but in this story, Jesus is reconciling and bringing it back to how it should be. These 200 pigs that were killed were not just pigs, but symbolized how our comfort and wealth can be disrupted by the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God will always disrupt our plans and our own personal glories. When God comes, all that stuff gets turned upside down.  Next, the guys discuss how Jesus sometimes says things which are difficult to hear. We have a modern-man image of Jesus, but what He says clashes with how we view Him. This shows that we need to bow our perspectives to what God says about Jesus, not our own views. We also will do the same thing with Scriptures. We believe the Scriptures that we want to follow, and then we label other verses as misunderstood because we don’t like what they say. Thomas Jefferson actually cut up the Bible to say only what he wanted it to say! As believers, we need to recognize when we’re wrong and our need to repent. God is not created in our own image, but the other way around. If we never allow God to be God, then we never come to a place of repentance.  Lastly, the guys discuss how the evil one has come to kill, steal, and destroy. In this story of Jesus casting out the demon, death is part of it. The enemy wants to do the opposite of Jesus, and sometimes he disguises his plans as something God would do, like reciting Scripture but using it for evil. Self-harm isSend us a textThanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro