Discern Daily Payte Johnson

Discern Daily
Ep. 37 - Keeping Christ in Mind
In order to follow Jesus' example, and live sacrificially, we must keep Christ at the forefront of our mind. If we don't keep Christ in mind, it's easy to forget about the mission and focus on selfish goals. On this episode we looked at a great, thought-provoking tweet by Dustin Benge (@DustinBenge).

[embed]https://youtu.be/xfzegZm1rZk[/embed]
Dustin Benge's Tweet

Self-promotion creates platforms.
Self-denial creates ministries.

— Dustin Benge (@DustinBenge) August 11, 2020 
View Dustin's original post on Twitter here.

Discern Daily
Ep. 36 - Revival Starts With Us
As tempting as it is to complain about how much our country needs a revival, we must ask ourselves whether or not we need revived by God. Revival starts with the Church. On this episode, we are highlighting a fantastic article by Obbie Todd, titled, "Waiting for a Revival." Let's go!

[embed]https://youtu.be/ZIbwIrl2nuQ[/embed]
Quotes From Obbie Todd
"The people of God in America continue to hope for, and pray for, a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. While the expectation for revival hasn’t changed, the way in which Americans expect God to bring revival has gradually altered through the years. For centuries, revival was something that began with the people of God, not the country itself."

"Today, however, when Christians anticipate revival, many of them seem to expect God to reform American culture before he reforms the church."

"It is simply not enough to 'pray for a revival' if we believe that somehow God should reveal to our enemies their sin before He reveals to us the gravity of our own. Indeed, the church has nothing to offer the world unless it is changed by the gospel it proclaims. Reform begins in the church, not the culture."

Read Obbie Todd's full article here.

Discern Daily
Ep. 35 - How Close Should We Be to Society?
On this episode, we are highlighting a great response from a listener named Austin. He felt led to record some thoughts of his own regarding episode #34 and sent it our way. It was too good not to share!

[embed]https://youtu.be/T7pFhiTE7nk[/embed]
Episode Highlights
Many are overwhelmed by the amount of news and information that is thrown around every day.

Jesus frequently separated himself from others to spend time alone. (Luke 5:16, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35)

Social media is designed to grab your attention and keep your attention.

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Shoutout to Austin for keeping the conversation alive by sharing some great, beneficial thoughts!

Discern Daily
Ep. 34 - Being a Christian on Social Media
On this episode, we discussed how Riley has been engaging others on his personal social media accounts. Recent events have ignited many interesting conversations online, but how should we respond to them as Christians? Join the discussion!

[embed]https://youtu.be/iu06moi9Nok[/embed]
Episode Highlights
Many are quick to label others as racists, but we should avoid slandering one another. Each of us should join together to combat racism or any sin out there. Only, we need to do so righteously without partiality.

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit" (Exodus 23:1-3).

Here is one of the main examples of Riley's posts which brought him a lot of heat for pointing out what he did (it will only show a few comments publicly, but the post itself had over 140 comments on it):

https://www.facebook.com/ravoth5/posts/10158431857059241

 

Here is an example of one of his tweets that wasn't the mainstream take:

https://twitter.com/rileyadamvoth/status/1267923778018869250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1267923778018869250%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Frileyadamvoth2Fstatus2F1267923778018869250widget%3DTweet

 

As a whole, social media is currently a hot mess. Do we back away from it and leave it alone, or do we speak up and engage more online?

The Kingdom isn't a matter of being on the Right or the Left — it's about whether or not you're spiritually dead or alive.

How exactly should we partner online as brothers in Christ in order to make a positive impact?

 

Discern Daily
Ep. 33 - The Most Underrated Way to Get More Time in the Bible
If we are going to live intentionally and obediently, we should read the Bible as much as we can. However, it's difficult when our schedules are busy. Sometimes we need to get creative. On this episode, we discuss a way to get more time in the Bible without having to change your schedule.

[embed]https://youtu.be/-iF0MiD6ZdE[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/DiscernDaily/status/1282356558052184065[/embed]

Discern Daily
Ep. 32 - Train Yourself and Those in Your Care
Are we training and preparing ourselves to engage with the world? What about those in our care? Are we helping them prepare too? On this episode, we are highlighting an article written by Jared Sparks, titled, "In Defense of Sheltering Your Kids." Join in!

[embed]https://youtu.be/DT7ffIz9Zaw[/embed]
Quotes From Jared Sparks
"I want to protect my children from the world until they are trained and ready to take the world for the Glory of Jesus! They are not yet ready to walk into a worldview that hates God (The World). I won’t pretend like they are. Neither should you. Children are not to be sent to the front lines of battle! That’s for the men! The kids are to be protected, or I guess I should say, sheltered."

Read Jared Sparks' full article here.
Episode Highlights
Not only must we prepare our children for the world, but we must prepare ourselves as well. Are we training ourselves for godliness? What comes to mind when you think about training in the Christian faith?

"Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:7-8).

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Just like physical training...

You may need a personal trainer
It takes repetition
It's not always fun