GRAHAM COOKE & DIONNE VAN ZYL / RELATIONAL THEOLOGY
In this engaging conversation, Graham Cooke shares his journey from being an introvert to an ambivert, emphasizing the importance of humor and kindness in understanding God’s character. He discusses the transformative power of personal encounters with God and discusses the concept of relational theology, highlighting how these experiences shape our spiritual growth.
Graham and Dionne Van Zyl explore the significance of breakthroughs in our lives, emphasizing that a true breakthrough is about who we are becoming, rather than just the resolution of our circumstances. The guys also discuss themes of leadership and the transformative journey of faith.
The dialogue emphasizes finding peace amidst chaos, the significance of hiddenness and manifestation in one’s relationship with God, and the essence of faith in navigating disappointments. Graham talks about how asking the right questions can lead to deeper understanding and relationship with God, and how a movement is being built to equip people in their spiritual journeys.
Which leads to BRILLIANT PLUS
A movement discovering a simple relational way of being with God.
Join Brilliant with Graham Cooke and become a member of the global movement experiencing God’s love every day. With an exclusive app, gatherings, and global small groups, you’ll unlock keys to a way with God that’s simple and relational.
JOIN HERE http://brilliantmovement.com/JasonClark1187
For more on Graham Cooke & Dionne Van Zyl
Website: http://brilliantmovement.com/JasonClark1187
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOne4P6sJV9kbpjiJSElDQA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grahamcooke_official/
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WAYNE JACOBSEN / HE LOVES ME!
In this conversation, Wayne Jacobsen shares his transformative journey of understanding God’s love, the impact of his book ‘He Loves Me’, and the challenges he faced in his personal life, including health issues. He also shares a deeply personal story about trauma and breakthrough. The discussion also touches on theological shifts regarding atonement and the nature of true peace in the face of adversity.
In this conversation, the guys explore the complexities of reconciliation, trauma, and the nature of justice in relationships. They discuss the importance of navigating personal trauma, recognizing toxic relationships, and the role of good counsel in healing. The dialogue emphasizes the need for trust in God’s justice and the transformative power of living loved, ultimately leading to restorative justice that heals both victims and perpetrators.
For more on Wayne Jacobsen
Website: www.lifestream.org
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CURT THOMPSON MD / IMAGINATION TO INCARNATION
Neuroscience and human relationships in the context of the biblical narrative, living in the path of oncoming beauty, moving from imagination to incarnation, being known, a peace beyond understanding, secure attachment—being seen, soothed, safe and secure—left brain right brain imagery, and The Soul of Desire, I this conversation Curt invites us to see beauty as we create beauty, as we become beauty because we are paying attention to Father who never leaves.
QUOTES
“Beauty is always coming toward us.”
“We are co-laboring with God to help people tell their story more truly.”
“God’s primary mission has not changed…Genesis three doesn’t mean we forget about Genesis one and two… It’s still the case that we are being formed into the image of Jesus in order for us to become like Him so we can rule to create and curate beauty and goodness in the world.”
“Because I am primed to pay attention to danger, I don’t practice looking for beauty…”
“Jesus’ capacity to see beauty just around the corner… with the man with the withered hand, with the woman caught in adultery… has everything to do with the degree to which He experiences Himself as a non-anxious presence in the world because He is so deeply connected with a Father who loves Him.”
“Unless I feel the love of God in my chest, it isn’t yet fully real to me…”
“We are the embodiment spread over the world…we are the gospel…we are so loved by God that He wants us to be His representative, we are His incarnate presence…”
Jesus to us – “I am no further away from you now than before you made the mistake.”
“You will see beauty as you create beauty as you become beauty because you are paying attention to me, who is never leaving.”
“God is not so self-conscious, so anxious that He won’t share Himself with us. He’s not worried that somehow, we’re going to do something, and He’s not gonna get credit.”
For more on Curt Thompson MD
Website: www.curtthompsonmd.com
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JOE CHADBURN / PEACE IS INEVITABLE
“The greatest manifestations of justice will find their genesis in a grassroots love for all mankind. I have more hope in a trickle-up effect vs the hierarchal top-down pyramid paradigm.”
Justice, love, respect, our shared humanity, a discussion around Christian Zionism and the peace of Jerusalem, ETC, and a shift in hearts and minds around war and the inevitability of peace; in this conversation, the guys connected with Joe Chadburn around the finished work of Jesus and an inevitable peace on earth as it is in heaven.
For more on Joe Chadburn
Website: www.internationalpeacenetwork.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/joe.chadburn.5
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ALLEN ARNOLD / CHAOS CAN’T
God creates order from disorder and we have been invited to co-create with Him. In the midst of chaos, “we associate peace with answers. God associates peace with Union.” In this conversation with Allen Arnold, author of Chaos Can’t, we discuss how we create around us from what is in us; that creating with God brings order and trueness to our lives, systems, and cultures that have become untrue and disordered.
QUOTES
“We associate peace with answers. I believe God associates peace with Union.”
“First, don’t be caught off guard by chaos… in this world, we will have trouble. And second, don’t let it in.”
“Creating brings order and trueness to systems that have become untrue and disordered.”
For more on Allen Arnold
www.withallen.com
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FEAR, COVID-19 AND THE ENNEAGRAM / WITH KAREN CLARK
S.01 EPISODE 8
We had Karen Clark on and talked about how to navigate fear in the midst of Covid19. We discussed the three triads of the Enneagram and how knowing our Enneagram number can help us healthily navigate fear.
Karen shared that ultimately knowing the goodness of God is the foundation of navigating fear healthily; perfect love casts out fear.
Thomas, Jason, and Karen talk about some of the fear-mongering theologies that are running rampant online. When we understand who God is we understand that God didn’t send Covid19. God is not the instigator of death, He came to give us life and life more abundantly.
Finally, they discussed how God is a good Father who is available to us now in the midst of our fear. A Father who weeps with us while also lifting us up so we can see our circumstances the way He does and live in peace.
Quotes
“Fear should walk under the authority of love.”
“Fear is meant to be used as a road sign to let you know you need to change course. Fear is not meant to control.”
“Any end time view that ramps up fear, stop engaging in it, He’s a good Dad.”
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Heart Hungry
“Jason, how do you do that?” my friend asked.
Before I could respond, he continued. “You talk about God like He’s your best
This fella and I go back several years. We have had some incredible discussions about God’s love. He is a wild believer. He is a church leader. And he is a man of God. He wasn’t challenging me; he was exposing a great hunger in his heart, a hunger for a deeper relationship with Father God, for authentic encounters with Love.
Gently, I asked a question, “Bro, are you convinced, head to toes, that He is
“Are you convinced, head to toes, that He is absolutely, unwaveringly, always in love with you?”
Through sudden tears, he responded, “I have been taught about God’s love. I know the Scriptures, so I am sure here.” He pointed to his head. “But the way you talk about His love, I feel like I am missing something. Honestly, I’m not always sure here,” pointing to his heart.
I don’t think my friend is alone. There is an epidemic ravaging the hearts of many believers. We are head rich and heart hungry. I have met too many Christians who’ve rarely felt intimate with the Father, who
I know many who can hypothesize about Love. I know many who can debate the theology, they can tell me the Greek definitions and Hebrew pronunciations, and there is nothing wrong with that. There is
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). There’s a reason it’s in that order. We are to be heart-first lovers.
But Jesus also tells us that we can only love because He first loved us (John 4:16). So this Christian life is not first about doing, it’s about receiving.
“There is true beauty in knowing and loving God with our all of our mind, but infinitely more important is knowing and loving God with all of our heart.”
My Bible, and
It’s about love, first receiving, then becoming.
So I asked my friend a question I often ask of people who feel distant from God or just want to know His presence more.
“When is the last time you felt God’s absolute joy and laughter over your life? When was the last time you knew to your very bones that He was absolutely in love with you?”
I ask that question because it sets up a person to hear and know God. You see, God is always in the room, He will never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5).
If you want to hear and discover God presence, it will always start with becoming sure that He is love and His love is always good. A greater encounter with His presence is about becoming fluent in His language – unhindered, unrestrained love.
“When is the last time you felt God’s absolute joy and laughter over your life? When was the last time you knew to your very bones that He was absolutely in love with you?”
God is not a million miles away, He is in the room, in fact, He has never been closer. To know is to choose by faith to believe that His love is always good; that it has nothing to do with our circumstances, our behavior or our insecurity.
He will never love us more than He does right now and the key to knowing His presence starts with choosing to believe.
This is what I told my friend who wanted to know the God who is in the room.
“Decide that Gods love toward you is always good, then ask Him to reveal it. Then don’t allow teaching, circumstances, or disappointments to change your mind. It won’t be long until you begin to recognize that He is in the room.”
More Than A Master
When he came to his senses, he said,
“How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” (Luke 15:17-19)
You know, the younger son probably never truly knew how good and loving and redeeming his father was before leaving home, but he did know him as a good master.
That limited perspective was powerful enough to invite a despairing son back home after he had desperately failed.
“If our revelation of God as a good Master doesn’t mature into a revelation of God as a good Father, we may find ourselves living like a prodigal.”
My point? A good master can draw the prodigal home, but it’s the good father that empowers a son.
Jesus didn’t tell us this story so we could know the good Master; He was revealing the good Father to us. Why? Because a good Master can still be slaved for, and slavery is never our Father’s heart for us.
I think this is a big deal because most of us know God as a good Master and while that is true and brilliant, if our revelation of God as a good Master doesn’t mature into a revelation of God as a good Father, we may find ourselves living like a prodigal, enslaved either to the world or even religion. The truth that God is a good Master is a wonderful starting place but was never meant to be the final destination.
God has more names than there are ice cream flavors. He is the Creator, Shepherd, and Deliverer. He is Holy, Majestic, and Righteous. He is our Peace, Provider, Comforter, and Healer. He is Lord, King, Master, and Savior. The list goes on and on. And while Jesus certainly revealed all of these attributes, they weren’t His primary objective. He came for one reason: to reveal the Father.
“Jesus lived, breathed, laughed, talked, walked, slept… every movement, every story, and every word revealed the Father.”
Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He also said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).
Jesus lived, breathed, laughed, talked, walked, slept… every movement, every story, and every word revealed the Father. The story of the prodigal son was no different.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:21-24
The moment the younger son truly saw his father’s nature is the moment he received his inheritance. And it’s the same for us. The moment we truly see our Heavenly Father we are set free and empowered to be His sons and daughters, and that’s where our inheritance is accessed. Our Father’s perfect love nature revealed is our inheritance.
Jesus told us this story to reveal His Father—period! He told this story so that we might live beyond the title of “slave” and grow in the freedom, power, and authority of our true inheritance, as His sons and daughters.
The journey of knowing God as more than a good Master is filled with exponential life, exponential righteousness, peace, joy, trust, power, and authority. When we know the good Father, we live in the inheritance of sons and daughters, the measureless love of heaven.