annie downs

There are constant thieves at your door every single day and night and they’re called unmet expectations - always ready to steal your happiness and contentment. 

All of us fill our lives with expectations, some good and some bad — what job we should get, what kind of spouse we’ll be married to, how that spouse will treat us, who our children will become. Our minds constantly fill in the blank slates of tomorrow with all sorts of expectations of what will happen to us. This is not wrong in itself — in fact, it’s necessary to an extent to even make tentative plans for our lives.

However, we need to recognize that our expectations do not map identically to God’s plan. And His plan to save us, to send his son Jesus for us, to meet us in our disappointments among other things was something no one expected. Revelation 5 helps us by putting the sacrifice of Jesus in eternal and heavenly  perspective.

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Jesus Christ did not come into the world to assist you in meeting your desires. He came into the world to change your desires so that he is the main one. So many preachers, influencers and others try to meet you "right where you are" with your desires, desires that you share with every fallen human being in the world and they'll say: “Jesus came to meet that.” Well, he didn’t. He came to change those desires profoundly. 

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

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Each of us has our own wilderness. A place where you struggle, wander, try to figure out life with no clear answers, you face issues. You could be wrestling with relationships with friends, loved ones or family. Maybe you desperately want children and it isn’t happening foryou. Maybe it's not related to the home at all; it may be connected to your employment. With others its finances; you live continually under the gun of insufficient funds. It could be an ongoing health issue. Maybe it's a problem related to academics and school issues. That's your wilderness. Where is God in the wilderness? Did He lead you there? Why don’t I hear Him? Will He save you?

This is a biblical principle and one that reverberates throughout the Bible. But it begins in today's reading from Exodus. Today’s episode is inspired by a message I listened to by John Piper.

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Yes, the Bible really says that. I was surprised, too. 

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

I learned recently that whenever the New Testament talks about leadership, it never emphasizes the authority of the leader. It emphasizes the danger of their own leadership. Interesting right? 

It was encouraging to me because I was doubting my own abilities even as a man and a leader professionally and personally. Culture is telling me to be essentially to be a leader is to serve myself by either being super assertive, authoritative, to railroad others out of the way to get what I want. 

Man, I’m so glad that God and His word and truth never changes with the culture. It has been the same yesterday, today and forever. The problem is not His Word, its US it’s our mangled misinterpretation.  It's us wanting to fit Him into our box. 

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

Have you ever found yourself intentionally not praying or reading the Bible or going to church because you feel guilty? Or you don’t want to feel convicted? 

We generally handle guilt by avoiding dealing with it. And that goes back to day one in humanity. It all began in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and we’ve been using their faulty methods in an attempt to silence guilt ever since.

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

The world you could say is marked by warfare. Conflict and fighting all around us. We feel and see the effects of it, we try to numb the effects of it while also becoming numb to its existence in the first place.

What is the root of it all? And what is the secret to a true happy life?

I recently returned from a sabbatical to rest, recover from a difficult season of my life and to renew my mind and refresh my spirit. During that time, I took a course on the book of James where we read from today. This episode is also inspired by a devotional from the late R.C. Sproul. 

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

It’s said in the Bible that David was a man after God’s own heart. Have you ever thought about what that looks like? We will certainly see one example today. David gives us the playbook on how we should respond when God says “no” to our plans.  

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Today we are sitting down with Annie F Downs as we are chatting about FUN and why it is important and her new book: "Chase The Fun." We dig into how and why it is important to make money fun too! 

Links Mentioned:

1. Annie's Book: Chase The Fun
2. Annie's Podcast: That Sounds Fun
3. Our Book: Simple Money, Rich Life
4. Annie's Book: That Sounds Fun

Find out more at: https://seedtime.com/making-money-fun-with-annie-f-downs/

If you haven’t checked out our best-selling book Simple Money, Rich Life we think you’ll love it. It was named the 2022 Book of the Year by ICFH and has over 275 5-star reviews on Amazon and is best described as “a money book for people who don’t read money books.”

You can take it for a test drive for FREE at SeedTime.com/sample where you can download chapter 1 of the audiobook, grab the 1st 2 chapters of the ebook version, and even get the 5-week book study companion guide.

Over 2000 years ago, every moment before and every second since, Jesus was  fighting back your depression, your fear, your pain, your worry. He was contending against hell…for you! I like the way Whitney Lowe from Scribble Devos puts it, "Jesus was grabbing evil by its throat, getting right up in its face and claiming YOU as His own."

Jesus chose to entire darkness so that we didn’t have to stay there. Do you believe that Jesus is that that that rages when we can’t see or feel it?

Is it possible for you to believe that the darkness in you is no match for him? Or better yet, that he’s already destroyed it?

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Everything you need is here

Included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

Are you at the end of your strength? Is your life’s tank running on empty and everything you are trying to do to fill it up doesn’t seem to be working? Are you tired of trying? Do you want to quit? Are you frustrated, angry and overwhelmed, and sad all at the same time? I am. 

As I was looking for answers from God, exasperated with the weight and effort of simply standing still, He led me to Ephesians 3:20.

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If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

It’s incredibly easy to be discontent. Especially if you’ve experienced pain in your life. And how many of us have never experienced any pain? Right. It’s not this immature groaning from adolescence. It’s deep in our souls. Understanding what true contentment is can lead to true healing. 

If you’re wondering what is on the other side of this sadness, this loneliness, this anxiety, this longing for rest, this empty feeling, and the tears that come with it all? If you’re asking ‘why don’t I feel any better?’ This episode is for you. 

If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

It’s easy to focus on the empty tomb, the angel, Jesus calming their fear. It’s the story of Jesus coming back to life! It’s easy to miss what prompted this group of women (none of the twelve disciples btw) to go to the tomb.

Their teacher had been crucified. The One they’d followed was unfastened from a shameful cross and laid in a tomb; his body, lifeless. The Advocate who had protected Mary after she had broken an expensive jar of perfume. The Son, The Messiah who birthed him and raised him. The Savior who had cast out seven demons from Mary Magdelene. The Man who’d understood them unlike anyone they’d ever known was gone.  And now, it was Sunday. 

Why did they go? 

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If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me... text VERSED to 58228or click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Check out what Lancaster Bible College | Capital – Washington, D.C. is all about!

The most natural thing in life is to have a troubled heart. It doesn’t take long to look around us and see that everyone everywhere is experiencing hurt and heartache. How do you deal with that? There are a lot of pathways that culture serves up.

Everyone’s faith journey is in a different place, it's winding and complex. But God is God and THAT path remains, even when we’ve wandered off it for a time. There are more paths than ever before in today’s world—more options for spiritual “enlightenment” or curate-your-own-beliefs faith. But no path leads to true happiness and everlasting life except the “Jesus alone” path. It may be narrower than you’d like, not as comfortable or easy, it won’t make you popular and accepted by the masses but it's more satisfying than you could ever imagine. 

In today’s verses, we are reminded of that beautiful fact.

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If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me... text VERSED to 88474 or click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Check out what Lancaster Bible College | Capital – Washington, D.C. is all about!

Hey everyone - I’m not going to waste too much time today because we don’t need much setup. (I realize that I just inferred I waste time on other podcasts...oh well.) Here's the deal.

You see how divided we are as people. You see how divided Christians are and feels like it's getting worse, doesn’t it? That’s right where the enemy wants us. Not just so we can’t accomplish things or fight more or hate each other more… it's for a much more powerful reason and we read about in Psalm 133. 

If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

This episode of the VERSED podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. Visit FaithfulCounseling.com/VERSED – to get 10% off your first month! Join the over 500,000 people taking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional.

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Are you tired today? Are you sick of trying to do so much? If I can speak openly and share some of what’s in my personal journal from a few days ago...

“I don’t feel like I have the energy to power through the things I don’t want to do. I’m overwhelmed. I’m fighting the urge to quit and do nothing. My capacity is not what it used to be. I’m sick of every day being a fight. I’m sick of all the effort it takes to just be “normal.” I’m drained.”

If you’re there too, I hope you can find encouragement like I did in today’s passage from 1 Kings 19. God found Elijah in his exhaustion, his despair, fear, and weakness and he had him do something so simple that each of us needs to be reminded to do.

If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

I’m currently experiencing a struggle with the tension of loving others while also setting boundaries for myself. I’m taking relationship boundaries now. It’s hard for me to see at times that the two are not at odds. I’m learning that. I’m learning that boundaries are not only a positive for me but sometimes the most loving thing I can do!

Boundaries, I’ve learned are really not about keeping others out as much as its about keeping myself in. 

My sense is that as Christians we have somehow adopted an idea that boundaries are inherently negative or that they are somehow sinful even. We read so many verses about love as it relates to sacrifice, being selfless, being cheerful givers but we skip over verses that teach us to practice discernment when it comes to our personal life.

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If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me... text VERSED to 88474 or click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Check out what Lancaster Bible College | Capital – Washington, D.C. is all about!

What if you never experienced shame? Shame. Maybe the word has become a little too churchy. What about feeling inadequate? Embarrassed? Feeling like you always have to prove yourself? You're never enough? This overwhelming feeling that your mistakes ARE your identity. It's just who you are now. Imagine being free from that?

Because we live in a broken world and every single one of us sin - that means every single one of us experiences shame. So what do we do with that?

We take it back to the Garden in Genesis 3. 

If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

This episode of the VERSED podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling. Visit FaithfulCounseling.com/VERSED – to get 10% off your first month! Join the over 500,000 people taking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional.

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Why do you read the Bible? Some read it for help or intellectual stimulation, to understand God, seeking answers to life’s questions or maybe to read it like a novel and discover the story about Jesus.

One thing that’s true is that we are told and encouraged to read it more. That’s incredibly intimidating and can be overwhelming in the midst of everything else we have going on. What do we do when we are overwhelmed? Nothing. 

The Bible may not answer all of our questions but it does give us direction about who God is, how to live with purpose, how to treat others, how to receive eternal life. There are incredible truths that are more than mere information, stimulating education or just a great story. 

In today’s verse from Hebrews, we explore how God’s Word can help us.

If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Subscribe to The Pour Over

There is a reason the self-help industry rakes in billions of dollars. We are actually pretty self-aware. We KNOW we are broken, we KNOW there is something missing, we KNOW we fail to measure up. There is aching of “not enough” inside of us and we want to do whatever we can to  become the “best version of ourselves.” - as fast as we can - with as minimal effort as possible. 

We are wired to desire transformation - that’s good! But we go off course in WHERE we look for help, healing, and this wholeness. We get frustrated that God isn’t working on our timetable. We get frustrated that we continue to sin and become self-centered. As long as we live on this earth, striving for what is “hoped-for” will exist.

If you find yourself in that place, today’s verses in Romans 7 will give you clarity!

If you would like to dive deeper into this, or other verses in the Bible, if you have a verse you would like to submit to have included in a future episode if have questions about the Bible that you would like answered in a bonus episode, or simply want to connect with me... text VERSED to 88474 or click here

Also included in that link is a list of resources and references I use in this podcast and can help you grow deeper in your faith as well. 

As always – ratings and reviews are massive! They really help others discover the podcast and ultimately help us improve VERSED. Thanks in advance for that 😊

Love you all – keep making hope louder!

John

FOLLOW ME ON IG! @johnlawhon

Check out what Lancaster Bible College | Capital – Washington, D.C. is all about!