Why What You Believe Really Matters, with Phylicia Masonheimer

Womanhood. Genealogies. The resurrection. Doubt. No topic is off-limits in this episode of Grounded with guest Phylicia Masonheimer. Phylicia explains why every woman can be a theologian and shares biblical answers to viewer questions in a lightning round of Q&A. 

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Episode Notes

• Every Woman a Theologian book by Phylicia Masonheimer 
• “How Rooting Yourself in the Word Equips You for Suffering, with Colleen Chao” video 
• The Revive Our Hearts app

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Portia Collins: Do you feel confident about what you believe? Confident enough to live it boldly? I'm Portia Collins, and this is Grounded.

Dannah Gresh: And I'm Dannah Gresh. Each week we're here to give you some hope, some perspective. And today we want to talk about the root of your beliefs. Sometimes, you see, we do unknowingly adopt beliefs from the culture. These beliefs can be about ourselves. They can be about our world; they can even be about our God. 

Portia: Yep. And when they aren't accurate, your emotions can be off base and your behaviors can be unhealthy. All right, ask me how I know. Your thoughts, like everything, is just twisted, don't even get me started. All right. But the tape, it plays in your head, and you are not saying the right things when your beliefs are not holy. All sorts of insecurity abounds. Again, ask me how I know. It impacts us in a variety of ways when you aren't sure about what you believe.

Dannah: That's the bad news. But there's also good news. And that's this: God has revealed Himself in the Scripture. When we dive into His Word, it transforms how we think that transforms how we feel, and that transforms how we act. 

So, we want to make sure you're doing that so that you can live your faith out boldly and confidently. 

Now, go ahead and ask me why. Why do we want you to do that dive into God's Word so you can live your faith out boldly? Well, the reason we want you to do that is because you are a theologian. Yep. It's that simple.

Portia: That's it. We're all theologians. And guess what? If this all sounds appealing to you, then you are in the right place. I guess today is one of those dream guests that we have been hoping to have on for a long time. And get this she says that every woman can be a theologian. Everyone, alright. Phylicia Masonheimer is here. Dannah, you're not the only one who was tongue tied today. 

Dannah: We’ve got tongue twister disorder this morning. 

Portia: Yes.Well, Phylicia is here and she's got Biblical answers to your cultural questions.

Dannah: And we mean that quite literally. I'm wondering if you have some questions about the Christian faith today. We want to let you interview our guests today. Yep. That's right. We're inviting you to throw us your toughest questions in the chat. No topic is off limits. Throw us the hardest ones you've got questions about the Holy Spirit. Got questions about salvation? Got questions about the assurance of your salvation? Womanhood? Gender? Nothing's off limits. Anything goes. 

At the end of my conversation with Phylicia, we'll have a lightning round of Q&A. I'm going to feed her your hardest questions and we'll let her answer according to God's Word.

Portia: I am nervous but also excited.

Dannah: You're nervous for her? You're nervous?

Portia: Yes. 

Dannah: I have full confidence. I've been stalking Phylicia. I think she's gonna do this just fine.

Portia: Yes, absolutely. Well guys, stay put because we've also got a big announcement. At the end of today's broadcast, it is definitely worth sticking around for. Guess what? Robyn and Ray McKelvey are also here. We have not seen them in a while, but I'm excited. They're going to share five verses to help us stay grounded rooted in God's Word. And you don't want to miss that either. 

But first, I've got the good news. 

Dannah: Bring it, girl. Bring it. 

14:32 – Good News

Portia: Yes, the good news. So, congratulations and blessings to MaeDell Taylor Hawkins, love the name. She is 98 years old and get this. She recently held her great, great, great granddaughter. Zhavia Whitaker, I hope I'm not mispronouncing your name Little Mrs. Zhania who made the trip to MaeDell’s residential home in Kentucky took this beautiful, beautiful picture. The newest addition makes 230 grandchildren for MaeDell, and this is including great; great, great; and great, great, great grandchildren. I cannot believe this: they all hope to get together to celebrate her 99th birthday this summer. Can you imagine? Like that is like some kind of family reunion. 

All right, that makes five generations worth of women all together alive at the same time. What a great blessing indeed.

Okay, we're all theologians today. Right? So, let's press this story through God's Word. Are you ready? Let's try. Psalm 127, verse 3, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” 

What an inspiring heritage we see right here in MaeDell’s life. I am so happy and blessed. She has been rewarded with such a beautiful heritage, and we think that that is some really good news. Dannah

Dannah: That is some good news. And with a name like MaeDell Taylor Hawkins, that's like a good southern name right? 

Portia: It does, I love it. 

Dannah: I knew you said, “I like that name.” We would be remiss if we didn't say we were praying for our sisters in the path of the tornado, which you're in that area Mississippi, that got hit really hard. You're doing okay. Any brief words of how you can pray?

Portia: Yeah, just pray for friends. There are a bunch of friends nearby who have lost everything. And yeah, lives. It is devastating, very devastating. So just pray for friends and family, that the Lord will be near and comfort them in the middle of this.

Dannah: So very much. My pastor preached yesterday, and the message he preached he challenged us to pray for you and for others affected by it. So, remember to pray for our sisters in Christ who were in Mississippi and the rest of the states nearby that got hit by that tornado last weekend. Thanks, Portia, for that good news. And we'll keep looking for the good news in the hard days too.

18:04 – Grounded with God's People (Phylicia Masonheimer)

Well, we're gonna get grounded with God's people now. I am really excited about our guest today. Phylicia Masonheimer was in her twenties and sitting in a cafe sipping coffee with a friend when it suddenly became critical for her to be a theologian. Good morning, Phylicia.

Phylicia Masonhemier: Hi, so nice to be here.

Dannah: We are thrilled to have you today. Tell us what happened in that cafe.

Phylicia: So years ago, in this cafe, I learned sorry about that. years ago in this cafe, I learned that theology was essential because I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who had walked away from the Christian faith. And in walking away from the Christian faith, she still had a lot of questions about what it meant to follow Jesus because like many people in our culture today, she really liked Jesus and wanted Him to still be a part of her ideology, to still be a part of her pantheon of gods honestly.

And so, in our conversation as we were talking, I was able to share with her that Jesus Himself made Himself exclusive. So, Jesus said, “I am the only way which means.” He made Himself the only option for reaching God and could not not be combined with other gods. 

And that led to such an interesting conversation as we talked about what she believed about Jesus versus what Jesus said about Himself. And no, she didn't come to Christ in that moment or any moment after that I know of, but it was an important time. It showed that if I did not know what Scripture said about Jesus, it would be so hard to have a conversation like that.

Dannah: Yeah. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father except through Me.” And that's pretty radical stuff for people who want to be like, “Yeah, I can take Jesu., He was a good guy. He was a good friend. He was a good teacher. But I'm also going to take a sprinkle of this and a dollop of that.” It doesn't work if you believe Jesus was a good person, because He wouldn't lie, right? If He was good. 

So, you say that moment made you want to be a theologian? Or made you aware that you are a theologian, what is a theologian?

Phylicia: So, when we hear the word theologian, we usually think of a biblical scholar. And that is true. The biblical scholars, people who know and have studied Greek and Hebrew, they are theologians. 

But at the same time, every Christian is a theologian, because theology is the study of the nature and heart of God. So, if you're a Christian, you're called to be a student of God's heart and God's nature, which means that you're a theologian. 

So, I like to make the distinction between the two that there are biblical scholars, and those are the people who give us these amazing commentaries who do know Hebrew and Greek who sit on translation committees, who've gone to school for a very long time, for leading us in our understanding of Scripture. But every Christian is also a theologian, because they all should be studying who God is. 

Dannah: I love that, it's beautiful. It stirs my heart. Now, you are a woman who's on a mission to call other women to be theologians. Why is that?

Phylicia: I have found that in situations like this cafe in Virginia, as I'm sitting across from my friend, that all women, specifically all Christian women, have people in their lives who need Jesus, I don't think any of us would deny that. 

But when it comes to actually explaining Scripture and who God is and why He matters so much, a lot of women really can't do it because they don't feel equipped. They don't feel like they know enough to explain the gospel or to explain why bad things happen to good people, or why there's suffering in the world, or why the Trinity matters. 

You know, these are theological questions, but these are the questions that our friends and coworkers and children are asking. 

So, we have to be able to answer them in order to be evangelists, which is why, ultimately, every woman is a theologian. The ministry I lead is an evangelism ministry, but theology is the vehicle, because we have to know what we believe in order to share Christ with other people.

Dannah: Yeah, that's right. And the Great Commission was given to each and every one of us. It's not given to men or women. It's not given to adults or children. Anyone who's a believer in Jesus, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel and disciple people to follow me.” That's what Jesus told us to do.” This is what He said, one of His last things to us. And so that means we need to muscle up our theology. 

So, tell us about our textbook, the Bible. Lots of people are discrediting, being and downplaying the authority of Scripture these days. How can we answer the question about the Bible being trustworthy? How can we know that it is?

Phylicia: So, this is one of my favorite topics, because years ago, I was really struggling through why does the Bible even have authority to tell me what to do? Because I had grown up in a Christian home, I have a religion degree. And I just wondered, Okay, I've based all of my life thus far on the Bible. But if the Bible itself is wrong, then I have no foundation here. So why can I trust it? I did a deep dive into the history of how the Bible was compiled, and how it came into the form that we have today

And through that study, I learned that the Bible is actually more trustworthy than many historical resources that we have, that we actually have more accounts of Jesus’ life than we have accounts of some of Caesars and Alexander the Great. 

So, when we're looking at the Bible, I think one of the most convincing proofs for its trustworthiness is, in fact, the way it was compiled. It didn't come as one unit to one person, kind of like the Book of Mormon is said to have done. 

It came to multiple people over 4,000 years, and the message was consistent. It was given to many witnesses over many cultures and times. And as soon as the truths are given to that community, they were deemed authoritative for their spiritual lives. 

So, an example of this is when the law was given to Israel in the Torah and the Old Testament. They immediately see it as authoritative for their life. And then they move forward in light of that. 

When we receive later on the accounts of the judges and the kings, we're seeing that the way that God is speaking to people and leading them through the prophets is seen as authoritative. And it's written down and included in the account. And everything God is saying is consistent with what He said before. 

So over all of these years, all of these people, all of these witnesses, it remains consistent in what it's saying about God and about man. And that means that it is far more trustworthy, because it didn't come to just Elijah, it didn't come to just Ezra or Moses, it builds on the testimonies of many. 

Dannah: Well, and they didn't have the internet to look up. Hey, wonder what, you know, Moses wrote down about this, they had to rely on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for what they wrote. And as the Holy Spirit inspired them, it is miraculous that what people over centuries wrote, centuries and different times and different cultures wrote had some consistency to it. All right. 

So here's the thing that I really am concerned about, I see a lot of people who study the Bible very extensively, and they have all this knowledge in their head, but they lack what I would call friendship and intimacy with Jesus. 

So, are some people just smarter and some more feeling? Or is that a legitimate red flag for me, when I don't see someone seeing, speaking with an intimacy about Jesus, when they're talking with the authority of the Scripture?

Phylicia: I think that's a very valid concern. It's something that I actually am always guarding against in my own ministry and in my discipleship of women. Because when you talk about theology, you do tend to attract a certain type of person, a person who tends to be more in their head. It's more appealing to them versus someone who's a little bit more in their heart, for lack of a better term. 

Now the thing is, that's a tendency we have to recognize in ourselves. And we have to say, “I'm willing to grow in a way that maybe isn't as comfortable for me.” So, if you're more in your head, you need to recognize that the point of Scripture is intimacy with God. 

The Westminster shorter catechism said that “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” If you cut it short at glorify God, you really have an impersonal faith. If you cut it short at enjoying God, then you don't actually have any truth as the basis for your feelings. So, you have to have both its intimacy and knowledge. And true biblical knowledge will always lead to intimacy. 

So, if somebody has a theology that has no heart, I would say that's not actually biblical at all. And if you have a feeling relationship with God, and God is kind of small, because you never check Him against His own Word, I would say that's not accurate either.

Dannah: Yeah. And the Westminster Confession said it was one chief end of man not two chief ends—you can choose to glorify Him or enjoy Him. It was one chief end. As you glorify Him, you will be enjoying Him, they happen simultaneously. 

But take us to the Word instead of a man-made document, because that is a man-made document we're referencing. Take us to the Word, invite us through Scripture to be intimate with Jesus. You just said a minute ago, that’s something you have to guard against in your own life. What's one Scripture verse that helps you guard against failing to be intimate with Jesus?

Phylicia: John 15, the entire passage.

Dannah: I love that one.

Phylicia: Because in John 15, Jesus says that we are to abide in Him. And He even says, you can't do anything productive for the kingdom or for Me if you are not abiding in Me. He goes on to say, “Abide in Me, and you will bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples,” John 15:8. 

So, if you want to be a true disciple, if you want to bear fruit, He says, “The one thing you must do is abide in Me.” Well, what does that mean? It means to live in a constant state of connection to Him. He uses the analogy of the vine and the branches, that if you cut the branches off of the vine, they can't do anything. And that's exactly what this is. We cannot operate in any kind of spiritual gifting ministry, or intimacy, if we cut ourselves off from Christ Himself. 

So, staying connected to Him through prayer, through the Word, through godly community is all essential to that holy-formed Christian life.

Dannah: I love that. John 15 is one of my favorite passages to remind me to and as a type A girl, when it says, “Abide in Me as I abide in you for apart from Me, you can do nothing.” I'm like, “Well, I don’t want to get nothing done today. So I better slow down and foster my friendship with Jesus.” Good reminder. 

Okay, Phylicia on your social media Instagram, Facebook, you have these “ask me anything” days, and I love them. They're phenomenal. So we're going to duplicate that here on Grounded. Are you ready for some lightning rod Q and A’s? I want to throw some of ours. Right now our listeners are typing us questions, and I'm gonna throw them at you. You just give me a short, concise answer where they can go on the Word. Ready? Okay. Are you nervous?

Phylicia: A little bit. I don't know what's coming.

Dannah: Well, Portia is nervous for you, so you don't have to be. Okay. Here we go. Um, wow, these are really good. These are really hard. “They're not playing with these questions,” writes Portia Collins. Here we go. I'm gonna start at the top. “Are there books of the Bible that I can focus on to better understand how to be a woman of God?” This is from Kimberly,

Phylicia: How to be a woman of God? So, my perspective is this. If you learn how to be a good follower of God, a good disciple of Christ, you'll learn how to be a good woman of God. Because the basics of what it means to be a disciple apply equally to men and to women. 

So, I would say Galatians 5 and 6 where it talks about the Fruit of the Spirit, and I believe it's Ephesians 5 and 6 where it talks about relationships in the body. And it talks about putting on the armor of God, those passages, as well as John 15, because that's where our fruit begins. Those passages teach us reliance on Christ and the power of the Spirit to bear the fruit in us. And that, in turn, will make you a strong woman of God.

Dannah: That's good stuff. All right. This one's from Roxanne Carlson, she says, “How did people think the resurrection would happen before Jesus said He was the resurrection and the life?”

Phylicia: How did people think the resurrection would happen? So the physical resurrection of . . .

Dannah: I think what she's asking is, what did people think there was going to be, a resurrection? Is that what they thought was going to happen before Jesus said it? And before it happened, what were their expectations? And how did they know it?

Phylicia: For Jesus, you're saying not for the whole of people after death?

Dannah: For Jesus.

Phylicia: Right? Well, based on the reaction of the disciples, it seems they actually didn't really expect a resurrection. You know, if you look at them, we see them behaving as if Jesus has gone forever. They are very upset. Even the women who come to the tomb are shocked when He did resurrect. 

So, from my understanding of Scripture, most of them actually didn't believe or understand what Jesus was referring to when He said, “Tear down this temple, I'll build it again in three days,” and then He resurrected from the dead. They didn't actually have a framework for that. And then through His resurrection, He proved that He had power over death, and then promised that we one day would be resurrected with Him.

Dannah: Yeah, I'm thinking of the verse that says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” That's what God says. And we were the believers. The Jewish people were reading the Old Testament prophecies and thinking of them through their own human lens, and they just didn't really understand what was coming. They thought Jesus was gonna come fix this kingdom of the world. And He's like, I've got bigger things in mind. 

Alright, here's a good one. This is from NutriCoach. “How can we glean biblical insights from the list of genealogies specifically in the Old Testament; I just want to skip them.”

Phylicia: This is hilarious because I just answered a question on my Instagram this morning about this exact issue. So, here's the thing to know about the genealogies. First of all, when we're reading the Bible, especially the Old Testament, we shouldn't be coming to it trying to get a quick lesson or application or takeaway. That's not the goal of Bible study. 

The goal of Bible study is again, intimacy with God, and exposure to the Word which the Holy Spirit will bring to mind in the ways He desires to in the way He needs to over the course of your life. So, you're basically storing up this truth that the Spirit will use in your life. 

And that means if you're only looking to the Bible for a quick lesson or application or takeaway, then yes, things like the genealogies, books like Leviticus and Numbers will be disappointing, and yet they're very essential to the story of the gospel. So, we have to pay attention to them.

But practically speaking, the genealogies actually were used to show the inheritance that a specific individual or tribe would receive, and we can actually use those to confirm Jesus’ right to the throne of David. We can also look at them to see how certain women were honored to be a part of the Messianic lines such as Rahab and Tamar and Ruth, women who normally one would say don't deserve to be in the line of the Messiah because of how they lived or where they were from. They got to be a part of that story. 

And so, the genealogies, those are just two examples. The genealogies actually tell a really rich story, if we take the time to research them a little bit.

Dannah: I've been geeking out on the genealogies in the Old Testament lately, and God has been flooding my heart with so much new stuff. 

So, pause, slow down, ask God Spirit, teach me what you want me to learn through this stuff that you ordered to be written down. It's gonna be good. I know, it's just a little hard. When you do, He's gonna blow your mind just a little. 

Alright, here's a really good one to end on. This is from Margaret, “What is the best short answer to give to someone who was raised in a church and now is doubting the existence of God? The reason I say short answer, because at this point, this individual is not willing to dialogue.”

Phylicia: Well, I would say first, to be very prayerful about the answer, because I think this really is more of something that the Holy Spirit has to lead with your relationship with this person, and there are a lot of different angles you could take. So, He would be able to guide you into the exact answer that is for that person and the right opportunity. 

That said, I usually look to creation because it's observable. And when I look at creation, so the design of the human eye, the fact that if it didn't function exactly the way it functions, you couldn't see. The design of the human reproductive system, that a woman can't give birth to a baby unless X, Y, and Z all goes in exact order. And how would they even be able to reproduce at all if that system wasn't designed to function that way from the beginning?

Or looking at how trees function, just the fact that the observable science of how a tree gives us oxygen, you know, it's just things like that, that are observable in nature and point to a God who didn't have to create a beautiful world either, and yet chose to do so. And so those are the kinds of things I tend to focus on with somebody who is doubting His existence.

Dannah: One of the things I always look to is my peacock, because it is a mathematical improbability . . . You know, they lose their feathers every year, in about three day’s time. They look like naked turkeys. And they grow those feathers so that those eye feathers fan out just so, it's a complete mathematical improbability that each feather would grow. So that created an eye and that each feather would grow so that it was layered upon one another and created that. Mathematicians are astounded by it. 

But more than that, Charles Darwin said that the survival of the fittest meant that anything that slowed an animal down made them vulnerable would mean that they wouldn't evolve. Well, say goodbye to the peacocks, then, because that tail slows them down. They're very vulnerable. 

I look at that peacock and right now, I'm thinking about it, because it's the time when he's looking for a girl. But there isn't one on the Gresh farm, unfortunately. And so yeah, that tail opens all the time. And I'm just like, “Wow, Lord Jesus, You are amazing. You made that just to show off and for our enjoyment and pleasure, and it's beautiful. 

And sometimes you're talking to someone who doubts, just pointing them to things that will break through the doubt, that will create doubt about their doubt, is the way to go. Not a four-point sermon. 

Boy, I can sit with you all day and throw questions at you and our friends have so many questions for you. So, tell us about your book so that we might get a copy and be our own theologian?

Phylicia: Sure. So as I said, my ministry is Every Woman a Theologian, and I have a book by the same name. And basically, what this book is, is a basic walkthrough of Christian doctrine for women. 

Now, obviously, women can read books written to men too, but this ministers to women, so that's why it's written specifically to them.

But it breaks down everything from the theology of the Bible and why we can trust it, and where it comes from, to how salvation works, to who Jesus is, what the Trinity is and why that matters, all the way to end times theology. And then, how do we put this into practice? 

So, it's about nine chapters and walks you through that whole process, with the goal of equipping you to be able to share Christ with the people around you, and to feel more confident in your own faith closer to God and more at rest as you are walking with Him every day. So, Every Woman aTheologian is the book and also our ministry.

Dannah: I love it. Follow Phylicia on her social media, because she does have her “Ask Me Anything” days. And if we didn't get to your question today, you can throw it in there on one of those days. Thanks for being with us today. Friend, we have our eye on you. 

Phylicia: Thank you. 

Dannah: All right, let's roll. Portia Collins, I think we have something exciting coming up from our friend Colleen Chaa.

Portia: Let tell you, let me tip my head to the Lord and to Phylicia, because I saw those questions coming in. I was like, “Oh, I'm glad that's not me.” 

Dannah: She did it. She killed it.

Portia: But it was great. It was great. And shout out to you Grounded sisters for such a great active show of participation. I loved every minute. Well, our dear sister Colleen Chao fell in love with God's Word when she was just 11 years old. We've got a clip where you're gonna find out why that mattered so much. Specifically, when she heard the two words: cancer and terminal. Make sure you stick around, because after this short clip, we're gonna hear from two of my faves, Robyn and Ray McKelvy. They're going to be sharing a few verses to help us stay rooted in God's Word. 

41:42 – Video Clip (Colleen Chao)

Colleen Chao: It seems like for all of us, right, I'm sure both of you would agree. It's the years and years and weeks and days and months that lead up to different kinds of suffering, big or small, that prepare us to have joy in Jesus.

But do you see that? The longer it is telling me to root myself in the Word.

I started reading the Word, the Lord caught my heart on fire for His Word when I was 11. And honestly, there have been very few days that I've not been in the Word in one way or another. I'm 45, now, and it's just such a sweet thing. You don't have to start when you're 11. But I just see the richness and the depth and the power of the Word in my life, and not just to have head knowledge, but to meet Jesus in His Word, and to experience His presence and experience His truth. That works day in, day out. It's real, and it's powerful, and it's alive and active. So, I just see so much of that is the daily steeping in the experience of the presence of God through His Word.

43:06 – Grounded in God's Word (Ray and Robyn McKelvy)

Robyn McKelvy: Guys, I'm sorry, we're so happy to be back.

Ray McKelvy: It has been a while. You know, this focus on God's Word, it's just such a blessing for us. And just when Phylicia was on just a moment or two ago, just reminding us that we are to be grounded in God's Word. We're all theologians. 

And so, we just want to share with you five verses that impact our daily lives. And so, one of the verses that I thought of was Genesis 1:27. And Genesis 1:27 tells us this, “So God created man in His own image, and the image of God, He created him male and female, He created them.” And that impacts our daily lives because it roots me in my identity. I am God's creation. My wife is God's creation.

Robyn: And male and female, we’re different. But we represent the Lord together. And so, be confident in who you are as a female, be confident in who you are, man. 

Ray: And you know, a lot of things we wrestle with in our culture today is because we see all the division and we try to make unity out of this diversity. But the reason there's no real unity is because we forget that we have a shared identity. And so, real unity starts with a shared identity. We are God's creation; we are created in the image of God.

Robyn: We're gonna go to our second verse, which is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” 

And I want to say this, absolutely every woman, every Christian is a theologian. And if you just know one verse, and that is what your theology is based on, make it be a verse like this. This is the gospel. Share the gospel with all that you come in contact with. And the gospel will tell you, and make you want to go back to God's Word, to learn more, to eat more of it, and to regurgitate more of it. 

Ray: Wow. 

Robyn: So, share the gospel. 

Ray: So that's the gospel in a nutshell. That's a great verse. Number three, this is a good one. Jesus is responding to those around Him about what's the greatest commandment. And it's Matthew 22, verses 37 through 38. “And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, this is the great and first commandment.” 

And that's where it all starts. That's why we exist. We are here to exalt Him, to live for Him, to love Him, to honor Him, adore Him, praise Him.

Robyn: Everything Him.

Ray: Yeah, we've got everything that impacts everything we do in this life, whether we're cooking dinner, changing diapers, going to work, driving in traffic, it impacts the fact that everything I do is to honor and to love God with everything I've got.

Robyn: I think that's what we need to tell you, your theology really represents what you believe. It represents who you are. So, whatever you believe about who God is, is who you are—outside of the church, outside of your home, and even in your home. You are God's vessel for Him to use. So, learn more, get in God's Word, study it, make it a part of your life. Verse number four for us.

Ray: Okay? One of our favorites is Proverbs 3:5–6. This obviously impacts decisions that you make in life. This impacts times of worry and fear in your life. It says, “Trust in the Lord . . .” 

Robyn: “. . . with all of your heart. 

Ray: Oh, there's that with all your heart. Oh, yeah. “And do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.” 

I mean, this verse is so self-explanatory. But it starts with trusting in the Lord, not in yourself. Not trusting in the culture around you, not trusting in that voice in your head, or the enemy who is always whispering his lies. Trusting in the Lord with all your heart, and not leaning on your own understanding, but in your daily lives, acknowledging Him, and He is going to make your paths straight. 

Robyn: And then one of my favorites, which is our final verse for us that will impact us, that will impact those around us. Romans 12, verse 2, it says this, “Do not be conformed to this world.” I'm going to stop, and I'm going to have you say that with me. Again, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed . . .” And how do you transform “. . . by the renewing of your mind.” How do you renew your mind? Get in God's Word and learn truth that by renewing your mind that by testing, “you may discern what is the will of God.” I know that a different version of “what is good, what is acceptable, and what is perfect.” Amen.

Ray: I love that. I mean, as we are not conformed but transformed by His Word daily in our lives. You get to live it out. You're living out. You're testing, you're proving God's perfect will for you. 

Well, I guess what we're saying is I have way more than five verses that impact our daily lives. But we'll save those for another time. But our desire and our challenge for you is that you would walk daily in God's truth, and He will transform your heart.

Robyn: Be His theologian. Amen.

Portia: Amen, amen. I can always count on Ray and Robyn to just give me the good stuff. And Ray, I know you had probably a whole just inventory of verses that you want to share. It's kind of hard to narrow them down to five, but that was great. 

Thank you, guys. 

Ray: Absolutely. Thank you so much. Thank you. 

Portia: Well, if you're going to be a theologian, you're gonna need some tools. And you know, I got the good stuff for you. In addition to your favorite commentaries, Bible studies, and textbooks, moms on the go, women on the go, wives on the go, we like digital tools. And guess what, we have a whole kit already compiled for you. It is in the Revive Our Hearts app. If you don't have the app on your phone, I encourage you to get it. You can get it in the Apple Store or the Google Play Store. And just download it to your phone. And you will have multiple Bible teaching podcasts right at your fingertips. 

Our flagship program featuring the teaching of our very own Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and co-hosted by my sister, Danna Gresh. It shows up every weekday in that app. Also, Erin Davis who we are missing today. Love you, miss you, Erin. So, you provide seasonal scriptural teachings on The Deep Well with Erin Davis. And we also even have something for our growing girls. Dannah and Staci Rudolph bring you the True Girl podcast seasonally to help moms and grandmas have biblical conversations with their tween girls. 

This app also serves as a portal to blogs on countless topics for when you're in a reading mode. So, say you just want to go through or just like you had some of those questions today, you can go through and check out some of our blogs that may answer some of those. All you have to do is download the app, you can search our extensive database by topic. 

So, it is an excellent, excellent resource, Portia approved. I think you need to download and it is a must-have tool for every theologian. Alright, Dannah.

Dannah: I have it on my phone. I love it.

Portia: Me, too! 

Dannah: I actually do listen to it while I walk. I like to listen to Nancy's teaching while I walk, and it just kind of turns 20 minutes of walking the dog into a classroom with Jesus. It's good stuff. 

Hey, I want to do two quick things today about what we've discussed. What we're talking about really does equip you to be an evangelist and a disciple, but it does regulate who you are. 

So, if you're feeling insecure, if you're feeling emotional, if your behaviors are stuck in patterns that are unhealthy and unwell, or if your thought life just isn't what you want it to be, I promise you that a deep dive into the Scripture will be medicine for those things it may need. It may be that you need other help, maybe you need a Christian counselor, or maybe you need a friend to talk you through some things. But there is nothing that has been medicine for my emotions and my sin and my thought life like the Word of God. Dive in, dive deep. Test me in this. Give yourself seven days in the Word of God and see if it doesn't change the way you feel, think, and act. It is medicine. 

Portia promised us some big news today. Are you ready to deliver on that?

Portia: Yes, here it is. Y'all ready? Drum roll. 

Dannah: Drum roll.

Portia: Next week is Holy Week. And as we move towards celebrating Resurrection Sunday, we wanted to celebrate with you. So, we will have a Grounded episode every day next week. 

Dannah: We’re going daily. 

Portia: I can hear you guys . . . wooo! So every day next week we're gonna be here at our typical time, 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, right here on the Revive Our Hearts YouTube and Facebook channels. We got a great lineup y'all, like some of our Grounded faves are back: Carol Anne Beck, Joy McClain, Nicole Jacobsmeyer, Colleen Chao, and even Robert Wolgemuth. They're all going to be with us next week. 

Dannah: Join us.

Portia: So, you need to set yourselves a reminder, because I know we haven't done this daily thing in a while, in a long time.

Dannah: Yeah, they're shorter episodes. They're meant to be scriptural snacks for Holy Week because we want to make sure that you wake up every morning with hope together with us all next week on Grounded.

Portia: Grounded audio is powered by Skype. Grounded is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. Great, thank you.

 

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