Listen to short, themed reflections anchored in the words of ancient prophets, the life of Jesus and the love of God. Join Dr. Nathan Stearman, as he shares a daily devotional thought from the Bible, providing hope and encouragement for each day. These brief moments are designed to lift your spirit and challenge your thinking. If your religious experience has been challenging, faltering, or even failing this program is for you.
If you’re one who has been tempted to give up on Christianity as just another structure of power, control or political advantage, you’re not alone. Nathan can identify with you. His program is designed for everyday people who are tired of religion but attracted to the beauty, wonder, and life-shaping power of a God who loves radically. This program airs every afternoon on the LifeTalk Radio network. Check the program schedule for your time zone at: lifetalk.net/program-schedule. Listen to this and other great programs on our FREE APP. Download it at: lifetalk.net/connect.
To those fed-up with religion for one reason or another Nathan says, “There are plenty of times I want to say, ‘I’m not a Christian, but I am a devoted follower of Jesus.’ Seriously. In my experience of religion, specifically Christianity, I’ve seen a lot of things that make me disgusted. Now, to be clear, I continue to be an unapologetic follower of Jesus and, while I have my critiques, I also haven’t changed my church affiliation.” He goes on to state he is, “driven by a single belief: life with Jesus is beautiful. And makes us beautiful.” His goal is for others to experience a life with God more deeply than they ever have. Nathan claims, “Following Jesus is enough.”
Nathan is focused on providing soul food. He says, “Scripture offers us something far more satisfying than we’ve probably every imagined.” He believes every human heart has a craving only the Divine can truly satisfy. He goes on the share, “Jesus communicated the profound truth that God offers to the human heart a thing as essential as our daily food. We take in this life-giving soul food through the words of Jesus. I think there’s a couple of things going on here. First, Scripture does provide intellectual insight, stuff that speak to our minds, stuff that we can process. The words of Jesus (and Scripture at large) do communicate to us, with stories and logic, the framework of sustainable living, the essential structure of life. However, this is far from the whole intent. Perhaps even more importantly, Scripture brings us into relationship with the living person of God, so that we’re not simply taking in ideas about God, but engaging in fellowship with the Divine, with God himself. That’s why this word of God is so much more than a story or collection of writings (though it is those things, too). Scripture brings us into the very life of God. Through Scripture, according to Jesus, we take in soul food at the deepest level. This is the big idea that flows through the whole narrative of Scripture. Again, it’s not just about a bunch of ideas—after all, there are plenty of religions to choose from, plenty of sages out there giving us great ideas for life, but in Scripture we find so much more. We find an encounter with the actual, (biologically sustaining) presence of God. This is real, life-sustaining stuff. The real, real, nourishing presence of the living God. Crazy? Wild? Yep! Deep, satisfying? Absolutely! All the way down.”
Nathan Stearman, D.Min., is a clinical chaplain and has pastored in Alaska, New England and the Midwest. For additional podcasts by Nathan Stearman please visit: loveshaped.life/podcast.
