News: the man over-familiar with the Holy Spirit; is God friend or father?
- Is God my buddy and friend, or is he my Father — and does casual prayer language show disrespect?
From the news desk: a story about 'Mike Thomas, 23,' who is 'too familiar' with the Holy Spirit — 'me and the HS,' 'hanging with the ghost,' 'you are the ghostest with the mostest.' This launches the episode's biggest debate: Troy defends a buddy-friendship prayer language ('what up, dog') as personal relationship, while Mike insists God named himself Father, never buddy, and casual familiarity kicks God off his throne. The chat weighs in that it is a perception-of-God issue, and they land near: a father is a friend plus authority — father always trumps friend.
More on Holy Spirit
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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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Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
- Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
A host asks whether following Jesus should feel more comfortable as time goes on — noting the low-level tension many feel around am-I-doing-enough and the stigma that contentment equals laziness.
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Do accountability partners actually work?
- Do accountability partners actually do anything?
Mike raises his accountability-partners question: the standard dude-circle advice to get a buddy to hold you accountable for Bible reading, porn, church attendance, and drinking.
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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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