2 Minute Disciple | Daily Faith Journey for Spiritual Growth

Sermon On the Mount Part 4

Article  |  April 7th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”

We all want to live these well curated lives that make people look at you and say wow, they have it all together. However, that’s not what God wants from us. God wants us to live fully for him and to worship him with our lives. What we do is for him and not for others to applaud us or stroke our ego. We get to live in partnership with God and by doing our part, we get to see God in action and he gets to enjoy us in action. Sometimes I forget that part, I don’t need the applause of people because God’s appreciation is more than enough to satisfy my soul.
A good sermon steps on your toes and makes you uncomfortable with the tension between the reality of your soul and what God wants from you. This sermon from Jesus sure delivers the punch and I hope that you are wrestling with these words of Jesus. What is the tension that you are feeling as you wrestle with Jesus’ words?

Episode 126: Sermon on the Mount Part 4

Episode  |  April 7th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  4 mins 58 secs

audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, emotional wellness, self care, spiritual journey, spirituality

We all want to live these well curated lives that make people look at you and say wow, they have it all together. However, that’s not what God wants from us. God wants us to live fully for him and to worship him with our lives. What we do is for him and not for others to applaud us or stroke our ego. We get to live in partnership with God and by doing our part, we get to see God in action and he gets to enjoy us in action. Sometimes I forget that part, I don’t need the applause of people because God’s appreciation is more than enough to satisfy my soul.
A good sermon steps on your toes and makes you uncomfortable with the tension between the reality of your soul and what God wants from you. This sermon from Jesus sure delivers the punch and I hope that you are wrestling with these words of Jesus. What is the tension that you are feeling as you wrestle with Jesus’ words?

Sermon on The Mount Part 3

Article  |  April 6th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, jesus christ, kingdom living, spiritual journey, spirituality

I had a rough day yesterday and I poured all of the anger, hurt, doubt, and junk that I have been stuffing inside, out onto my journal (no you can’t read it). It was a shake your fist at God moment for me and he prevailed. The words that spoke to me the most in this reading today are “Grow Up!” & “live like it.” Jesus’ way of living seems counter intuitive, but it really is life giving to be honest and open and to not dress yourself up in religious lace just to look the part. Living as citizen of God’s new government is not about looking the part, but it is about really living it out in the grit and grime of life. You can’t have one foot in and the other foot out, you have to be all in or all out of God’s way of life. Are you ready to grow up and be all in for God’s new government?

Episode 125: Sermon on the Mount Part 3

Episode  |  April 6th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  4 mins 38 secs

audio bible, daily bible, jesus christ, kingdom living, spiritual journey, spirituality

I had a rough day yesterday and I poured all of the anger, hurt, doubt, and junk that I have been stuffing inside, out onto my journal (no you can’t read it). It was a shake your fist at God moment for me and he prevailed. The words that spoke to me the most in this reading today are “Grow Up!” & “live like it.” Jesus’ way of living seems counter intuitive, but it really is life giving to be honest and open and to not dress yourself up in religious lace just to look the part. Living as citizen of God’s new government is not about looking the part, but it is about really living it out in the grit and grime of life. You can’t have one foot in and the other foot out, you have to be all in or all out of God’s way of life. Are you ready to grow up and be all in for God’s new government?

Sermon on the Mount Part2

Article  |  April 5th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, jesus christ, spirituality

Just getting by with doing the minimum requirements is not good enough in God’s kingdom. We tend to view righteousness from the outside, by only observing behaviors, however righteousness needs to be observed from the heart. Our behaviors spring from what is on the inside. If our hearts are pure and our motives righteous then our actions will follow. To live in God’s kingdom, your heart has to be right before him and if your heart is his, then you will live a righteous life.

Episode 124: Sermon on the Mount Part 2

Episode  |  April 5th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  5 mins 21 secs

audio bible, daily bible, jesus christ, spirituality

Just getting by with doing the minimum requirements is not good enough in God’s kingdom. We tend to view righteousness from the outside, by only observing behaviors, however righteousness needs to be observed from the heart. Our behaviors spring from what is on the inside. If our hearts are pure and our motives righteous then our actions will follow. To live in God’s kingdom, your heart has to be right before him and if your heart is his, then you will live a righteous life.
This is what Jesus is saying in this section, just checking off boxes doesn’t cut it. How is your heart before God?

Sermon on the Mount 1

Article  |  April 4th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, blessings, daily bible, high-speed, jesus christ, kingdom, sermon, upside down

Jesus introduces his sermon with a hook that really make you scratch you head. Matthew 5:3 (The Message): 3  “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” When I’m at the end of my rope, I don’t consider myself blessed, I’m wondering what has cursed me. It’s upside down from conventional wisdom, but remember that Jesus is introducing us to his new government with God in charge and things are different.
Dallas Willard illustrates this brilliantly in his book, The Divine Conspiracy: Recently a pilot was practicing high-speed maneuvers in a jet fighter. She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent—and flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she had been flying upside down. This is a parable of human existence in our times—not exactly that everyone is crashing, though there is enough of that—but most of us as individuals, and world society as a whole, live at high-speed, and often with no clue to whether we are flying upside down or right-side up. Indeed, we are haunted by a strong suspicion that there may be no difference—or at least that it is unknown or irrelevant (Willard, pg.7)
Jesus shows us how the world is supposed to look when it is right side up. These blessings give us a picture of what life should look like and what we can expect as we proclaim God’s kingdom in partnership with him. I love the two illustrations of light and salt as to what our impact on the world is when we proclaim this new government.
What comes to your mind as you read this introduction to Jesus’ sermon?

Episode 123: Sermon on the Mount 1

Episode  |  April 4th, 2022  |  Season 2  |  6 mins 3 secs

audio bible, blessings, daily bible, high-speed, jesus christ, kingdom, sermon, upside down

Jesus introduces his sermon with a hook that really make you scratch you head. Matthew 5:3 (The Message): 3  “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” When I’m at the end of my rope, I don’t consider myself blessed, I’m wondering what has cursed me. It’s upside down from conventional wisdom, but remember that Jesus is introducing us to his new government with God in charge and things are different.
Dallas Willard illustrates this brilliantly in his book, The Divine Conspiracy: Recently a pilot was practicing high-speed maneuvers in a jet fighter. She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent—and flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she had been flying upside down. This is a parable of human existence in our times—not exactly that everyone is crashing, though there is enough of that—but most of us as individuals, and world society as a whole, live at high-speed, and often with no clue to whether we are flying upside down or right-side up. Indeed, we are haunted by a strong suspicion that there may be no difference—or at least that it is unknown or irrelevant (Willard, pg.7)
Jesus shows us how the world is supposed to look when it is right side up. These blessings give us a picture of what life should look like and what we can expect as we proclaim God’s kingdom in partnership with him. I love the two illustrations of light and salt as to what our impact on the world is when we proclaim this new government.
What comes to your mind as you read this introduction to Jesus’ sermon?

Matthew Chapter 4

Article  |  April 3rd, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
fishing, following jesus, healing, jesus christ

I love Jesus’ call to follow him, it’s simple, direct and for anybody and everybody. His call is so simple because he just invites us, “come follow me...” and he promises to change our lives as we are introduced to his new government. He is ushering in an era of renewal and putting things to rights. People are being healed and transformed in to a new kind of person. All of this happens after Jesus passes his test with the devil. Jesus is now able to usher in the new kind of rule.

Episode 122: Matthew Chapter 4

Episode  |  April 3rd, 2022  |  Season 2  |  6 mins 15 secs

audio bible, daily bible, fishing, following jesus, jesus christ, spiritual journey, spirituality

I love Jesus’ call to follow him, it’s simple, direct and for anybody and everybody. His call is so simple because he just invites us, “come follow me...” and he promises to change our lives as we are introduced to his new government. He is ushering in an era of renewal and putting things to rights. People are being healed and transformed in to a new kind of person. All of this happens after Jesus passes his test with the devil. Jesus is now able to usher in the new kind of rule.
When I have read this before, my mindset is usually that Jesus did all of this stuff so that if I believe in him, I will get to go to heaven with him when I die. However, that’s not what Jesus was talking about. He is ushering in a new era and we no longer have to settle for the status quo of this sin stained life. We can now be transformed and put back together to live for God’s glory. I like the sound of that so much better, I get to be apart of this new government now and proclaim this new life now and not as some kind of fire insurance for after I die.
I’m ready to sign up now, how about you?

Matthew Chapter 3

Article  |  April 2nd, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”

The idea that everything is coming together in Jesus is a key thing that we want to pick up on and follow the thread. We also see those little details that God is interested in, Jesus being baptized and the Spirit coming down with a voice from heaven. God is bringing everything together in Jesus and he is still working in this world today. May we open our eyes to him working.

Episode 121: Matthew 3

Episode  |  April 2nd, 2022  |  Season 2  |  3 mins 58 secs

audio bible, daily bible, daily devotion., self care, spiritual health, spirituality

The idea that everything is coming together in Jesus is a key thing that we want to pick up on and follow the thread. We also see those little details that God is interested in, Jesus being baptized and the Spirit coming down with a voice from heaven. God is bringing everything together in Jesus and he is still working in this world today. May we open our eyes to him working. Let’s pray.

Matthew Chapter 2

Article  |  April 1st, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”

The thing that hit me in this chapter is that God is a master of details. He is fulfilling his promises that he made to the people in the genealogy and he is making sure that even the stars announce what he is doing. This is important because there are people who notice what goes on in the stars. God did not miss a trick in announcing the birth of Jesus, and not only that, he protected Jesus from harm and got him right where he needed to be in Nazareth. Every little detail was covered and Jesus is fulfilling God’s plan.
Today, look for God in the details of your life and you will find him fulfilling promises for you.

Episode 120: Matthew Chapter 2

Episode  |  April 1st, 2022  |  Season 2  |  5 mins 23 secs

audio bible, daily bible, daily devotion, self care, spirituality

The thing that hit me in this chapter is that God is a master of details. He is fulfilling his promises that he made to the people in the genealogy and he is making sure that even the stars announce what he is doing. This is important because there are people who notice what goes on in the stars. God did not miss a trick in announcing the birth of Jesus, and not only that, he protected Jesus from harm and got him right where he needed to be in Nazareth. Every little detail was covered and Jesus is fulfilling God’s plan.
Today, look for God in the details of your life and you will find him fulfilling promises for you.

Despair

Article  |  March 31st, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”

This is me sharing my emotion with the world. This is not the pretty, curated, on brand me that I want you all to see, but the raw emotion that I feel in my bones.
Be gentle!

Matthew Chapter 1

Article  |  March 31st, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”

Hey everybody welcome to season 2 of the 2 Minute Disciple Podcast, I’m Nick and it is amazing to be here with you today. We are going to change things up a little in this new season, instead of changing translations every week, we are going to stick with the Message for the whole season. I am also going to read the introduction to the book of Matthew from the Message before I read the first chapter of the book. I will do the same for the other books too. I am also going to be adding more bonus episodes, more guest readers and guest conversations about following Jesus. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me. We are back at Matthew chapter 1, so lets dive in… There are three things that strike me in this first chapter of Matthew, first is the fulfillment of God’s promises. This is seen through the genealogy of Jesus. God made promises to these men and women that are fulfilled in Jesus. The second thing is obedience. I mean it oozes out of the genealogy with people like Abraham, Ruth and David to name a few. Then Joseph obeys God and takes Mary to be his wife. The third is that there are five women mentioned in this genealogy. As a dad of two daughters and a girl dog, I find this inclusive nature of the Gospel fascinating, that it is for everyone, even the foreigner and the prostitute. God’s kingdom is now and it is for everybody. Let’s pray.