Tube steaks, baseball, apple, pie, and the odor of burned sulfur wafting in the air.

Yup, it's July 4th!

As we celebrate the 249th birthday of our great nation, we step back and take a wide view of this country and our involvement in the events happening around the world.

Just a few weeks ago, "bunker breaker bombs," in Operation Midnight Hammer, were dropped on nuclear energy labs in the distant country of Iran. A few short days later other events occurred as a direct or indirect result of this action. These are things we need to talk about.

Plus, as believers, we need to clarify the difference between our independence and our freedom. Through Christ, we have them but what are we supposed to do with them? Freedom is the responsibility to do what we ought, not the ability to just do what we want.

Ever play the game, "Telephone?" It's where someone whispers something to another person and then they pass it to another person and on and on until everyone has had the phrase whispered to them. Then the last person tells the group what the message was. The results can be hilarious...and more often than not, quite different from the original.

Well, unfortunately in the Church world, some of God's Word has been passed around and misquoted, some intentionally - which is a major sin - and sometimes via ignorance of the Word.

"God helps those who help themselves" is probably second only to "Money is the root of all evil" as misquoted phrases. In fact, the first one isn't even close to scripture but was in Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac!"

Some misquotes are hilarious while some are quite heartbreaking.

Most of us know how important the Bible is to our spiritual life but too many only occasionally visit it or let someone else tell them what It says.

How do we insulate ourselves from misquoting and misinterpreting the most important message of the universe? Listen and find out.

There's a whole lot more to "everything" than what we can encounter with our five senses. And more than what is just in what we call the physical world.

We know the spiritual world exists because of the evidence presented to us in the Bible. "God is spirit" says a whole lot in three little words.

Understanding the spiritual world is important for us as believers. Besides the triune God, the Bible tells us of angels and demons. Though we're just going to skim the surface of the study of the spirit world in this podcast, knowing who and what exists beyond our senses is important.

There is warfare in the heavenly realm and we are the reason. Our enemy wants to kill, steal, and destroy and our Father wants us to have abundant life.

So, let's begin delving into the truth as revealed in the Word and later we'll dig even deeper into how to live in the victory Jesus established for us.

The dullest pencil is sharper than the sharpest mind, the old saying goes.

That's why we're so glad God gave us The Word, a.k.a. the Bible. Oral traditions can morph over time. God's Word doesn't change. And that's why we have to be people who constantly immerse ourselves in the study the Logos - the written Word.

So, what is the Rhema? There are some people who disregard the Logos and are always seeking a new revelation, which they call the Rhema or revealed word. The problem occurs when they hear or seek a spoken word but it doesn't line up with the written word. Abuse of the uttered Word doesn't negate it. It just takes understanding how the Holy Spirit works when it comes to our instruction and encouragement, even our direction via the Word.

Both are vital for our lives but they go hand-in-hand and this podcast can help bring their balance in your life.

Masks are fun to wear, especially if you don't want someone to know who you are. Bandits wore them in every "Good verses Evil" movie we saw while growing up. Even some of the good guys wore masks to hide their identity when not on the job.

The problem is when people who are supposed to be transparent and vulnerable with each other resort to wearing them, and we're speaking specifically of the Church. "I'm fine," is the habitual response to "How are you?" though it may be far from the truth.

So, how do we fit together as the Body of Christ when we still feel like we can't be honest with each other? Can we really have "koinonia," TRANSPARENT ACCEPTANCE? Can we operate in God's love that says, "I know who and what you are...and I love you anyway?"

Today we look at how to "Love not only in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18. Maskless and loved. What a concept!