Truth Be Told

Isaiah's "Explicit" Faith

In Isaiah Chapter 20, we see the, normally, mild-mannered Isaiah being asked to behave as eccentrically as some of the other prophets. For 3 years, he walks naked and barefoot.

Why, you might ask?

That's the kicker - until the 3 years is up, no explanation is given.

Of course, God has His reasons for doing things the way He does. But the question this brought to my mind is - would I have faith like Isaiah to obey a command like this without understanding? Would you?

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion #spirituality #majorprophets #Isaiah #faithful #God #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #bible #biblical #biblestudy #theology #apologetics #oldtestament #newtestament #scripture #church #Chrisitan #Christianity #Assyria #Judea #Israel #Egypt #Cush #prophesy #prophecy #prophet #fyp #fypyoutube #Christianmedia

The Bleeding Woman and the Dying Gods

In this episode we take a look at the story of Jacob and Rachel as they flee from Laban. If we overlay the Exodus story, we can't help but notice that they share many of the same plot points:

-Jacob leaves the Promised Land to enter a foreign place

-Jacob enters into hard service to claim his bride

-Jacob is blessed by God and his household multiplies

-Jacob asks to leave and is denied

-Jacob flees and Laban pursues

However, there's one part of this story that is simply stated with very little explanation or commentary: Rachel steals Laban's household gods and refuses to return them. She tells Laban that, because she is on her period, she will not get up for him to search her possessions, all while she's sitting on the idols to hide them.

Why are we told this? Why aren't we given more information about what's going on?

While most read this story and assume that this is a moment of faithlessness from Rachel, desiring to preserve her connection to her pagan roots, overlaying the Exodus story actually sheds light on this bizarre section of Scripture and gives us clues to the fact that Rachel might actually be performing a faithful action LIKE one that God performs later on in Egypt.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion #spirituality #theology #apologetics #menstrualcycle #menstruation #periods #period #bloodflow #timeofthemonth #Rachel #Jacob #Laban #Leah #gods #God #idolatry #idols #Exodus #Genesis #bible #biblical #biblestudy #religious #Christian #Christianity #torah #pentateuch #law #Abraham #promisedland #Israel #Haran #JesusChrist #NewTestament #Jesus #Christ #OldTestament #HebrewBible #Hebrew #Greek #Catholic #Protestant #Judaism #Islam #fyp #fypyoutube #women #womenofthebible #heroicwomen #paganism #pagangods #idolatry

Performance Review

We have been called by God to do a job. 

How are we doing?

We should be excited to be working for Him - not fearful.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

You Should Read the Bible JUST LIKE You Watch Shrek

The Bible....and Shrek. Probably not 2 things you thought you'd hear compared in your lifetime but, ACTUALLY, there are a lot of similarities between the two.

When you sit down to watch Shrek, believe it or not, you have put in A LOT of preliminary groundwork in order to watch that movie with any enjoyment at all. Shrek is a story that CONTAINS other stories within it both in its thematic elements, jokes, and character choices. You, the viewer, are assumed to have a working knowledge of ALL of those things in order to dialogue with the story at the various levels it is trying to communicate on.

Can you still watch Shrek if you don't understand who Pinocchio is? Sure. Is it better if you do - absolutely.

The Bible is the same way. The authors of Scripture often had common worldviews, mythologies, cultural paradigms, and turns of phrase. They regularly draw on past stories from earlier portions of the Bible and Ancient Near Eastern literature to highlight deeper truths, evoke certain feelings, and to present deeper messages to the reader.

To have effective Bible study, it is REALLY helpful to know some of these things so that proper connotations are drawn when reading the Scriptures holistically.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion spirituality #bible #biblestudy #biblical #truth #hope #love #ANE #story #stories #patterns #literature #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #God #theology #apologetics #hermeneutics #typology #Genesis #canon #Scripture #church #Christianity #Christian #aposles #prophets #authors #judges #Israel #Judah #typological #Shrek #fyp

What Is My Spiritual Gift??

After reading 1 Corinthians 12, everyone wants to know - what's my spiritual gift? Super speed? Invisibility? LASER EYES?!

Obviously, this is a joke, but it is actually close to how many feel about spiritual gifts - like they are hyper-spiritual abilities that make us stand out from the crowd. However, while they absolutely are blessings from God, attitudes like this about spiritual gifts are SPECIFICALLY warned against by Paul because they can lead to some terrible consequences for the church and its members.

In this episode, we read this section of scripture critically with awareness of some of the dangers people fall into when considering this topic and reverse engineer it to actually give us insight into how we might actually discover what gifts God has blessed us with.

This method doesn't involve waiting for some mystical revelation or overestimating our abilities, it involves understanding the purpose for the gifts God gives us, looking out for the needs of the body, and determining where we might be uniquely suited to stand in the gap.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion #spirituality #bible #biblestudy #spiritualgifts #spiritual #religious #faithful #paul #apostlepaul #1corinthians12 #1corinthians #God #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #truth #Christian #Christianity #church #biblical #theology #apologetics #hermeneutics #scripture

Truth Be Told Meets Reacting to Truth

Watch this episode if you're interested in watching us make fun of each other for 2 hours while sprinkling in a few good thoughts about the Bible, the Church, podcasting, etc.

Ryan and Brad are two of my best friends who I've known for most of my life. Every time we interact it's enjoyable (hopefully for those around us as well). It is a privilege to have been a subject for reaction on their channel and it was awesome to talk with them for a full-length episode.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #podcast #bible #biblestudy #interview #friends #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #Christianmedia #christianpodcast #Christian #Christianity #conversation #discussion #God #church #biblestudy #reaction #fyp

God the Good Cop

Our view of God can, sometimes, be shaped by our view of authority. I hate being in trouble. Feelings of guilt and shame are always at my fingertips and it isn't uncommon for me to be debilitated by those feelings at times - unable to grow or learn from experiences, instead just beating myself up.

This has been true for a lot of my life. When I was younger, I had a few unfortunately negative experiences with police officers. I didn't do anything horrendously evil but I found myself in trouble nonetheless.

Now, even HEARING sirens has me immediately considering if I've unintentionally done something wrong. Are they out to get me? If we're not careful, we can have these same views of God as well. He's waiting for me to fail. He is disappointed in me. His rod and staff are hanging over my head to punish, not comfort or guide.

This isn't the way God is presented to us in Scripture. In this episode, we address our fear and shift our mind back to God as a loving Father who corrects our disobedience with love and patience.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion #spirituality #bible #biblestudy #Christian #Christianity #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #God #biblical #hope #truth #love #Christianmedia #guilt #shame #law #torah #gospel #gospels #fyp #fypyoutube

Galilee of the Gentiles

In Isaiah 9, we come across a really strange name for the Northern region of Israel - Galilee of the Gentiles. In modern English, it doesn't read in quite as foreboding language as it would have been in Isaiah, or even Jesus's time.

I always knew that Jesus was often discredited based on where, and with whom, He decided to associate, but I never realized that Galilee was seen as SUCH a negative place. 

Being in the North of Israel, this region was majority Gentile and the Israelites who lived there were seen as less by their compatriots by virtue of their proximity to unbelievers.

However, there's a lesson we can take from Isaiah's prophecy and Jesus's actions towards a place like Galilee that should inform how we view the world around us. This place "in darkness" should not be feared - it should have light brought to it.

We can choose to live like the rest of Israel - avoiding the dark places for fear of the light shared with us becoming dimmed. We can choose to live like Isaiah - wary, but proclaiming a coming light. Or, better yet, we can choose to live like Jesus - being an active part in bringing the light to those places.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Am I A Pharisee??

Is it possible that I am more like a Pharisee than I'd care to admit? Unfortunately.. yes.

In Mark 7, we read about something the Pharisees did that Jesus wasn't terribly happy with. While, on the surface, we might think we don't do the same thing, the heart of our actions might be similar.

Through an adopted practice known as "corban," (ceremonially dedicating material wealth and possessions to God's service), people were under the impression that they could leave other parts of God's law undone; namely, honoring your father and mother.

By compartmentalizing certain parts of the commands of God and institutionalizing good works, people felt legally justified in washing their hands of other parts they perceived to be less important. However, if they had analyzed their hearts, it would have become clear that they were out to serve themselves and avoid certain fears over losing wealth or status.

Could we be following the same spirit in compartmentalizing certain parts of the God's commands and institutionalizing OUR good works? If Jesus corrects some of this at His return, will we miss Him like the Pharisees did, trusting in our methodological obedience more than the heart of what He is looking for in His people?

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion #spirituality #faithful #religious #spiritual #theology #apologetics #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #God #pharisee #pharisees #bible #biblestudy #biblical #Mark #gospel #gospels #truth #Christian #Christianity #corban #legalism #law #torah #Jewish #Muslim #Catholic #Protestant #preach #evangelism #commission #greatcommission #Christianmedia #Christianliving

Is John Alive?!

There's a wild theory that the Apostle John is actually alive somewhere on the Earth waiting for Christ's return.

The old fashioned, skeptic in me wants to scoff at this but I actually watched a REALLY interesting video about it and found it to be more reasonable than I expected.

This theory comes from a verse found in the last chapter of the book of John and.. I THOUGHT I had the perfect explanation for it.. but could this theory hold a bit more plausibility than I originally expected?

Does it even matter?? Find out on this episode!

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

 

#faith #religion #spirituality #christian #christianity #Jesus #God #Christ #JesusChrist #apostlejohn #John #apostle #conspiracy #conspiracytheory #Christianconspiracytheory #Christianconspiracy #church #bible #biblical #biblestudy #religious #faithful #spiritual #theology #apologetics