Verse-By-Verse Ministry With Heather Darnall
This podcast is a way for people to dive deep into the Christian Bible with me as I read scripture verse-by-verse from various books/sections and break them down for a better understanding of the context, but moreover, to have a better relationship with Jesus. Additionally, I believe this podcast is a good starting point for anyone new to the Holy Bible, but is still good for anyone who is already well-versed.
That being said, please take note that I'm not a scholar. I didn't grow up in the church, I didn't go to seminary school nor do I have any sort of qualifications that would highlight myself as some kind of guru. I'm simply a seeker for the truth of God in which is what I want to share with anyone who's heart is open to hear and receive it. But the main reason I started this podcast begins with a mini testimony: I grew up very worldly having no knowledge of Jesus, just His name and all the popular stories or miracles during His life - maybe one or two apostles names. Anyway, I felt like I didn't need God, that my life was fine without Him, I could uphold myself, that the Bible was boring and out of my league for any kind of understanding, and that church was only a place for a bunch of snobby, goodie-two-shoes people just to name a few. Oh, and that God was some self-righteous jerk.
Then one day I went to church to prove to people why people shouldn't go to church. Well, two worship songs in, the worship pastor stops, opens the Bible to read a passage to reflect on, says a few words about it and then ends with "God is not some self-righteous jerk." Needless to say, not only do I know now that God will humble the proud, but how He's also always pursuing the lost. Let's just say I finally understood He was trying to get my attention my whole life and it took Him to use that one pastor to speak to me and to get me to realize I'm a lifeless sinner needing a Savior. So from then on out I was passionate about His Word and constantly seeking new ways to understand Him. But more importantly, I'm still and will forever be striving and seeking to have a better relationship with Him.
However, as a new believer when I finally opened the Bible, I was hearing so many interpretations as far as what I was reading, I mean - it was almost too much. But God knows we need mentors; people who rightly handle the Word of truth to show us that the best way to read and/or understand the Bible is, do I see how it points to the glory and righteousness of Jesus? Do I see it highlight my spiritual depravity needing a Savior and importance of repentance? Do I understand the differences between living according to the spirit and according to the flesh? Friends, so often verses are taken out of context and rearranged for our self-will, or even thought as not applicable to us given the length of time that has passed when it was written.
So at the end of the day, when we don't seek out divine wisdom but instead rely on our human opinions and/or understanding, we're only going to feel lonely, misguided, even deceived, which are all the things Satan desires for us to be. All that to say is why I'm simply responding in obedience creating this podcast to share the Word I once dismissed and scoffed at. Thank you for your time reading this, hopefully you'll find this podcast helpful and insightful so we can comfortably and confidently make the Bible applicable in our day-to-day lives honoring Jesus every step of the way.
For God's glory!
- Heather Darnall
Verse-By-Verse Ministry With Heather Darnall
Superficial Gratitude
Wouldn't you agree that mannerisms are important? Particularly please and thank-you's, yes? Although we acknowledge they're not required, it's just that if someone goes out of the way to demonstrate them, we want, or at least hope they'd be sincere, especially if we went out of the way to do something super thoughtful. However, we can usually tell when their gratitude is superficial, which sadly and ultimately makes us feel unappreciated. And I'm just gonna take a wild guess, but I'm pretty sure no one likes to feel unappreciated since it could bring about a sense of being undervalued.
In today's message, I'm going to point out how Jesus felt the same in the Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 where He was met by 10 lepers and ultimately was left feeling unappreciated and undervalued. This story is to get us to think about our mannerisms and how we more often than not give Him our superficial thanks, especially for how thoughtful He is being that He loves us so much.
Please note that this is to the best of my current knowledge and understanding. I encourage anyone to please check and verify as the scripture encourages believers to do so. There may be times where I have overlooked and/or misunderstood information by mistake which is why verifying is important if you feel lead by the Holy Spirit to do so.