Be strong and courageous: the Joshua 1 discussion on human agency and the Holy Spirit
- What does it mean that God commands Joshua to 'be strong and courageous'?
- Where does human responsibility end and the Holy Spirit's provision begin?
The centerpiece theological discussion, framed around Mike's morning habit of opening the Bible app instead of his phone ('Bible Lottery'), which landed him in Joshua 1 where God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous. The hosts work through the both-and of human responsibility versus Holy Spirit provision: rejecting both total self-reliance and puppet theology, they read the Joshua 1 commission aloud, cite Esther and Mordecai's 'God will deliver, but you must act' logic, Ezekiel 18's action-defined righteousness, the absurdity of the Jericho march, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) as what makes faithful walking joyful, Jesus willingly going to the cross, and the early church in Acts praying for boldness. The thesis they land on is 'humble holy confidence': walk faithfully in what God assigned, and trust God with what only he can do.
More on Discernment
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'When God is silent': what counts as hearing from the Lord?
- What does it mean to 'hear from the Lord,' and how often should we expect it?
Mike brings a question from his Bible study, whose paragraph heading was 'when God is silent': the author wrote that he experienced God's silence for a couple of weeks and freaked out, and Ben expected a relatable years-long drought story — 'Oh, two weeks.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Mike frames the question: are more people hearing from God?
- Does it seem like more and more people are hearing from God — and is that real or a lie and a huge distraction?
Ben asks Mike for a two-sentence framing; Mike says listening to the book of Job while mowing made him furious when Bildad 'received a word from the Lord,' turning a bad human argument into an unarguable divine claim.
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Does God speak more now? Indwelling Spirit versus prophets
- Does God talk to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament?
A host asks whether God talks to people as much now as in the Old and New Testaments. Ben's key distinction: the indwelling Holy Spirit means more people can have the experience…
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God