Megan Rawlings

In this episode is where we set the table for what’s to come.Here’s the promise: we’re not skimming the surface of Scripture like it’s a fortune cookie. We’re diving deep: rich theology, honest questions, and the kind of bold encouragement that will make you laugh, squirm, and worship, sometimes all in the same breath.Think of it as Spurgeon’s depth with Lewis’s imagination, delivered by your big sister who refuses to let you settle for shallow faith. So grab your Bible and maybe a strong cup of coffee, this is where it all begins.

In this episode, Megan and Emily discuss 1 John 3:19-4:6. They emphasize the importance of testing the spirits and discerning between truth and deception. They also discuss the role of the heart in our emotions (which might now be what you think) and decision-making. The main takeaway is to trust in God's love and forgiveness and to be obedient to His commands.

In this episode, Megan and Emily discuss 1 John 3:7-18. They highlight the importance of practicing righteousness and not making a practice of sinning. They emphasize the need to love one another. They also discuss the importance of genuine love and sacrificial actions. The episode ends with practical applications, such as loving others unconditionally and being obedient to God's commands.Key Takeaways:Practicing righteousness and avoiding sin are important aspects of the Christian life.Loving one another and not harboring hatred or jealousy is crucial.Genuine love involves sacrificial actions and not just empty words.Being obedient to God's commands and loving others unconditionally are practical applications of this passage.00:00 | Introduction and Theme Song07:11 | Reading and Praying09:20 | Practicing Righteousness and Avoiding Sin13:33 | The Importance of Love and Not Being Like Cain16:02 | Genuine Love and Sacrificial Actions23:27 | Application: Loving Others and Being Obedient26:15 | Conclusion and Next Episode Preview

SummaryAfter a year-long hiatus, Emily and Megan return to the Better Than Ever podcast. They discuss their absence and Megan's transition to full-time ministry. They then dive into a study of 1 John 2:28-3:6, exploring the themes of being children of God, the importance of obedience, and the assurance of Christ's return. They emphasize the need for believers to live in accordance with God's will, to love one another, and to test the spirits. The episode concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to apply the teachings of scripture in their daily lives and to step up in their faith.TakeawaysBelievers are called to live as children of God and to behave accordingly.Obedience to God's commands brings confidence and assurance in His presence.Loving one another and testing the spirits are essential aspects of the Christian life.Believers should actively apply the teachings of scripture and step up in their faith.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 2:15-27. In this episode, Megan mentions a book and professor but could not remember his name. The book is The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament and the author is Edmund Clowny. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. For a FREE copy of the "How to Study the Bible" guide, visit: https://theboldmovement.com/freebies.  This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc. Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 2:7-14. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. The youtube channel for The Bold Movement, which is mentioned a few times is https://www.youtube.com/@tbm_ministry. For a FREE copy of the "How to Study the Bible" guide, visit: https://theboldmovement.com/freebies. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc. Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 1:8-2:6. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. The blog Megan mentions near the beginning of the episode about annotating Scripture can be found here: https://theboldmovement.com/blog/how-to-annotate-scripture. For a FREE copy of the "How to Study the Bible" guide, visit: https://theboldmovement.com/freebies. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc. Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they work verse by verse through 1 John 1:1-7. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc. Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan and Emily as they introduce 1 John to you. For more information, visit www.theboldmovement.com. This podcast is a production of 1801 Media, Inc.  Please check out our ministry partners, G.O. Ministries, at www.gomin.org.

Join Megan as she walks you through what 2022 looked like and what 2023 has in store.

Join Emily and Megan as they study the last chapter of Hosea.

Join Megan and Emily as they study Hosea 13.

Join Emily and Megan as they finish 11 and 12.

Join Megan and Emily as they study Hosea 11.

Have you ever been in a season when everything seems to be going wrong? During that time, it’s usually pretty natural to call out to God regularly. When I went through postpartum depression after having both of my kids, I felt like I was constantly praying, whether I was asking for God’s help or thanking him for getting me through. But when life settled down and depression didn’t consume my days, suddenly, life was good! All my needs were met! However, because of this, I slowly quit talking to God and acted like I no longer needed him. I knew I did, of course, but when there were no immediate trials, I had nothing to remind me of my need for a Savior. In fact, in times where things are going right, I will often attribute the success to myself or my circumstances! I say all of this because I have a feeling you’ve been there too. Chapter 10 of Hosea begins with showing how the Israelites’ prosperity had caused them to forget God. They didn’t see their need for him because they wanted for nothing. They even went so far as to build altars and pillars to false gods to give them the credit! As their wealth increased, their spiritual health decreased.  As a result, God would take away their kings to show them that they had no one worthy to rule them since they had deviated so far from God’s standards. So often, when we’re going through trials, our first question is to ask God why he’s letting it happen to us. And that’s valid; sometimes what we’re going through is truly awful and we just want answers. When God doesn’t give us those answers, it can feel like he’s turned his back on us. But James 1:2-3 says, “Count it all joy, brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” The definition for steadfastness is “the quality of being resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.” So our answer to the trials we’re going through is that God can use it to make us more firm and unwavering in our faith. Romans 5:3-5 shows us that steadfastness, or endurance, creates hope! And 2 Peter 1:3-9 points out that when we have this quality, it keeps us from falling into sin. Pretty incredible how that works, huh? And this is exactly what the Israelites were lacking. They didn’t possess steadfastness. They were lazy and entitled. So when things were good, their relationship with the Lord didn’t endure and they fell into sin. Then when God began to bring judgment on them, they were completely ignorant to their sin and wandered even further from him. God doesn’t just want your attention when you feel like you need something. He wants all of you, even when your life is going well—maybe especially when your life is going well! Just like any parent-child relationship, if a child only goes to mom or dad when they want something, it feels a lot less like love and a lot more like they just want you to be their benefactor. But when your kids come and snuggle up with you and tell you how much they love you in the middle of a day for no reason at all, well, there’s just nothing better. The best way to keep God at the center, even when your life is great, is to stay in the Word. Scripture reminds us that we need a Savior even on our best day, and it also helps us hear from the Holy Spirit so that we walk through our day doing what he wants instead of what we want. Now go out and be bold in what he has called you to do today, even if it’s simply sitting in his presence and thanking him for his love for you!

Up to this point, we’ve got a pretty clear picture of the cycles of Israel’s sin. We’ve seen how often they chose other gods before the one true God. But something about chapter nine really gets at the depth of the corruption they had fallen into. As you listen to this week’s podcast, you’ll hear the story about the darkness of the men of Gibeah referenced in verse 9 and how Israel had become bad enough to be compared to them. All of this really sets the stage to show why God was no longer satisfied with any of their sacrifices, so much so that part of the purpose of their exile and captivity was to take away their ability to follow any of the Law when it came to sacrifices and worship. All of it brings me to think about Jesus’ words in Luke 6:46-49, where he asks the question, “why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and no two what I tell you?” (V. 46, English Standard Version) and then goes on to talk about obedience: those that obey are like a man who builds his house on a solid foundation, and those that don’t obey are like a man who builds his house with no foundation at all. Just one storm reveals the durability of the house and the wisdom (or lack thereof) of the man. The Israelites had no foundation; they relied on false gods for their provision and fulfillment, so when God’s judgment came, they had nothing to stand on. Their lack of wisdom was revealed, and all that was left was their guilt. It can be so easy for us to read the Old Testament and wonder why God made so many rules! We can be tempted to scoff at the idea that anyone was ever expected to live up to the incredibly high standards, but my friends, it’s not really about the laws at all. The Law was meant to help us see how desperately we need God. And while, yes, we need to follow God’s commands to us, if our hearts aren’t in it, then following his commands is meaningless. We see another example of this in Revelation 2. The church in Ephesus had many wonderful works to boast of; they were even accurately identifying and calling out false teachers. But God tells them he has one thing against them—“that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4, ESV). They had all these wonderful works, but without a love for the Lord, those works were pretty much worthless. It doesn’t matter how “good” we try to be if we aren’t willing to change our hearts. Obedience means nothing without love. But in the same way, love means nothing without obedience, and this is what the Lord desires of us. This is why the first commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37). Because everything else should filter through our love for him. If we love him, we will obey him (John 14:15). This was the biggest piece that the Israelites were missing. The Lord was not first in their life. Sure, he was part of their life; they were still giving half-hearted sacrifices to attempt to honor him. But they had other gods before him. They had other priorities. So God took away their sacrifices and fake worship because he is not satisfied with halfhearted allegiance. He wants every bit of his people’s hearts. What areas in your life might you be putting before God? Work? Kids? Maybe even church volunteer time? Let Hosea 9 be a heart check for you. Maybe you aren’t as corrupt as the Israelites had become (i really hope not!), but could it be possible that you have forgotten your first love? As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to turn back to him. Recalibrate your life to put him first today. Because one day, it will be too late, and all the things you put before God will disappear. Be bold, my friend. Get rid of any sin that hinders you, and follow Jesus with your whole heart because it’s your heart that he wants.

We’ve officially made it over halfway through the book of Hosea! This is the part where readers usually feel a bit worn out with the amount of repetition…and I get it. It’s a lot. If you’re exhausted reading through how many times these things must be said, then you’re on track to understanding the extent to which the Israelites were betraying God. Over and over and over again, they were worshipping idols and pursuing the things of this world, and over and over again, God was merciful to give them warning after warning. It’s repetitive because their sin was repetitive. It had become habitual to the point of exhaustion. Verse 12 gives us a glimpse into God’s heart: “Were I to write for [Ephraim] my laws by the by the ten thousand, they would be regarded as a strange thing.” (Hosea 8:12, ESV). Basically, it didn’t matter how many different ways God tried to tell them how to follow him; they simply refused to do it. They had become so familiar with their idolatry that God’s will was strange and foreign to them. They were stuck in the cycle of sin, and something needed to happen in order to break that cycle. Unlike the Israelites, you have been given the way out of destruction. The Israelites had been warned and would have to pay the price by going back into slavery. But Jesus paid the price for your sin and brought you out of slavery. This is why it’s so important to look at Scripture through the lens of Jesus. Everything points back to him. Everything points back to the cross. The Old Testament is one giant foreshadowing of the coming Savior; it helps us understand the enormity of sin and the depths to which Jesus went for us to pull us out of that sin. Jump back to verse three for just a moment. “Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him” (Hosea 8:3, ESV). When I first read this verse, I immediately thought of Romans 8:28: “God works all things together for the good of those who love him.” What is the good? The good is to become more like Christ. Israel had been given the Law to become more like Christ, but they rejected it. The result was that the enemy had an open door to overtake them. We have the same opportunity to become more like Jesus. Don’t miss it. Don’t get stuck in cycles of sin, but get in the Word and be obedient to it. When you do, the enemy doesn’t have a foothold any longer, and the cycles and repetition of sin are broken. It changes the way we read Hosea now, doesn’t it? Every time you start to feel tired of reading the warnings and accusations, let it be a reminder to you of God’s grace when his people turn from him time and time again. Let it frustrate you that the Israelites could be so thoughtless and evil. Let the exhaustion of sin exasperate your mind so that you might see more clearly how patient our God is with his children. Then let it be a reminder that you are also one of these people. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (emphasis mine). If you’re a believer, then you’ve heard the Gospel. You know God’s standards, and you know that you fall short. You know that you turn from him daily, even if you have heard his laws ten thousand times. Yet because of his grace, you don’t have to be caught in that cycle of sin. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Now with this, go out, and be bold in that freedom!

Join Emily and Megan as they discuss Hosea chapter 7.

Is there someone you’ve been following on Instagram for so long you feel like you know them personally? You could name all of their kids; you know what their house looks like, what happened to them last summer, and what their vacation plans are. It sounds weird to know all of these things about a person and not know them in real life, but such is the nature of social media. But I think, in a sense, we do the same thing with God. We read about him, we talk to our friends about him, maybe even go to church and learn about him, but do we really know him? In chapter six of Hosea, God is fleshing out his frustrations with the Israelites, and one of his biggest arguments against them is that none of them really knows him. He tells them their “love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away (Hosea 6:4, ESV). In essence, they act like they love him, but when really tested in the heat of the moment, that love disappears. It’s conditional. If they truly knew God, however, that love would last. Just a few verses later, God tells him what he wants from them: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (6:6). This might have come as a bit of a shock to those Old Testament Israelites. I mean, just read a few pages in the Old Testament and it looks like everything is about sacrifice and the Law. But God is telling them it’s not actually about their works. He wants their hearts. He wants a relationship with them. He wants to be known by them! The word knowledge here is the same word used for the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Creation story in Genesis. When Eve took the bite of the fruit, she gained a total understanding of the things she had been innocent of before. She understood fully how far she could go not only in goodness but in evil. Shame was introduced into Adam and Eve’s world when they had a full understanding of both good and evil. In other words, the knowledge being spoken of here and in Hosea is a TRUE understanding, not just a reference point. So why does God want his people to know him with this deep level of understanding? Because he knows that when we truly know who he is, we cannot help but love him, and that love forms the foundation for true faith and obedience, which leads us to righteous living and true love in action. And then it becomes a cycle. When we live righteously and love the way God intended, it spurs us to love him even more, to want to know him more, which leads to deeper faith and obedience. See how that works? True love seeks to know and understand the source of Love. It’s not works that give us knowledge of God, but love. God didn’t want a “morning cloud” kind of love from his people. He wanted them to reflect the love he had for them, steadfast and lasting. And he wants the same for you, my friend! He wants you to experience that love and to come to a full knowledge of who he is, so that you cannot help but want to stay in a faithful relationship with him. Why? Because he loves you so much!! So go out, and be bold in that love today!

How timely that on this week’s podcast we’re talking about sin and the slow movement of the boundary lines between right and wrong. We are seeing this now more than ever with the overturn of Roe V. Wade in our country last Friday. Americans, even some Christians, are outraged over the decision, going far as to tell other believers not to celebrate because of the emotional harm it may do to unbelieving pro-choicers. And while I’m not going to get into those details—that’s for a whole other article—I do think there is so much to learn in this fifth chapter of Hosea. This chapter contains the warnings to the priests, people, and king of Israel. Their punishments are laid out, along with the reasons why they’re about to be punished. The Israelites were pretending to love the Lord, going so far as to bring him sacrifices, but God is clear with them that their hearts were far from him. In verse four, it says “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God” (Hosea 5:4, ESV). They were spending all their time in sin, not in obedience, and the consequence was that they no longer had access to their Creator. The verse that really stood out to me though, was verse 10. “The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water” (Hosea 5:10, ESV). In ancient times, boundary lines between neighbors were made by laying out stones in a line, so moving the landmark implied moving the stones—in this case likely in the secrecy of night. In essence, they were stealing land that was not theirs. But God is not talking about physical boundaries here; he’s talking about spiritual ones. His people were slowly moving the boundaries between right and wrong, between the true God and the idols they had created. In the same way moving physical boundary lines probably didn’t happen overnight, spiritual boundaries don’t change overnight either. It starts with one little push past what we know to be right and good. “It’s not a baby, it’s just a fetus.” Right? Little by little, we allow ourselves to believe things that are not only lies, but completely fly in the face of what God says is right. And just like the Israelites got themselves into deep trouble by shifting these boundaries, we will do the same if we aren’t actively searching God’s word for His truth. There are consequences for opposing God’s truth in search of our own “truth.” Our “truth” will not save us. Only God’s truth will. Take heed from the Israelites downfall. Go back to that simple verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT). Our understanding will always cause us to shift those boundaries according to what feels right in that moment. Trusting in the Lord alone will keep those boundaries straight. Trust Him, my friend! Now go out and be bold!