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We're coining a new Christmas greeting: "Have yourself a very 'chaordic' Christmas!" Chaordic—where chaos meets order. With decades planting churches in Rome and Brussels and serving with Convoy of Hope, Terry Hoggard helps us see Christmas as the ultimate disruptive innovation—an ongoing dance between heaven and earth. Discover why crisis is often the catalyst for much-desired transformation. This isn't your typical feel-good Christmas message. It's a call to intentional disruption and wholehearted seeking. Because when you're all in, God rolls out a pathway you never imagined possible.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Support the podcast (use the Smart Edit BMAC page): buymeacoffee.com/SmartEdit👉 Enhanced show notes: JesusSmart.com/359-chaordic-christmas👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.----------EPISODE TRANSCRIPTHave Yourself a Very Chaordic Christmas: When Chaos Meets Order with Terry HoggardBrian: Hey there, friend. Merry Christmas. I'm glad you're with us. Thanks for connecting today. I'm Brian Del Turco, and you are connected with Jesus Smart, the podcast. Jesus knows how this life works best.This is such an inspiring conversation, number 211—now being recast as episode 359. Here's the title—I'm confident you have not heard a Christmas greeting like this before: "Have Yourself a Very Chaordic Christmas" with Terry Hoggard. This, my friend, is a new wrinkle on keeping Christmas well.Meet Terry HoggardTerry Hoggard is our special guest. He's a veteran missionary who has led international churches in Rome and Brussels. He's a leader of international leaders, a life coach, and he's an executive leader in Convoy of Hope, an international relief organization.Here's an idea: why not gift this episode with a friend or two, and then they can gift it to others? I think you'll see that this is a gift worth re-gifting. But you get to keep the value when you gift a podcast episode.Terry really encourages us that it is going to take a wholehearted mindset and heart set—the strength of our desire, the fortitude of our will. We have to have an all-in approach to engage this Christmas dance between heaven and earth.The True Joy of ChristmasHere's the true joy of Christmas: when we understand that heaven and earth merge in us through the indwelling Christ, all bets are off. Unlimited potential can be released. You see, it's more than remembering Jesus as a baby in a manger. Christmas is a breakthrough merging of heaven and earth, and this changes everything.The incarnation means that heaven and earth are reconnected again in a new way. A seamlessness between heaven and earth has been re-established. Think of it—it is the grounds on which we can now pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."What can this mean for you? What can it mean for me? God wants to be reconnected with us. Reconciliation is a huge meta theme in the kingdom of God—putting things back together again. And a huge part of what Jesus is after is the reunification of heaven and earth.From Barely Enough to Abundantly MoreBrian: Welcome, friend, to the podcast today. I'm really excited to bring to you Terry Hoggard. Terry, welcome to the podcast today. I appreciate you carving out some time.Terry: My joy to be with you, Brian. Thanks for the invite.Brian: Give us maybe just a sentence about a springboard theme for today's episode.Terry: A sentence of theme would be this: it's Advent, and I always have some sort of Advent Christmas theme. This year I'm thinking in this way—celebrating the Christ who changes our "barely enough" into "abundantly more."Brian: I personally need this. Tell us about your work over the years. You started out as a missionary with the Assemblies of God in Rome. Why don't you just bring us briefly up through the present?Terry: Well, you're completely correct. 1984, Ruthanne and I, my wife, we answered the call to be missionaries, specifically felt called to Rome at that time. So we planted an international church in Rome, which was for our organization the second international church to be established in Europe. I stayed there 10 years. I then went to Brussels to pastor what was the first international church established for the Assemblies of God globally.I spent 25 years living in Brussels—10 pastoring that church. Then I spent another 10 working in Sweden and Copenhagen, working with churches who wanted to reach their communities by encouraging diversity and inclusion with immigrants. After that, I stayed based in Europe for five years working with Convoy of Hope, overseeing the international program and the teams who drive the global work of Convoy of Hope.→ Read Terry's complete missionary journey and life coaching story at jesussmart.com/359-chaordic-christmasChristmas as Divine DisruptionBrian: This theme of abundance and getting past this scarcity mindset and scarcity experience that you're sensing this year in the Christmas theme—tell us about that.Terry: Yeah. I think without a lot of heavy thought, all of us have stories of moments in our lives when things were just very hard and times were tough. And very likely we know someone right now by first name who's in the same kind of state. I have family members who are literally living on "barely enough."And it's to them that I give my thoughts, knowing that Christ invaded—I like your word about interruption. He interrupted the world and all the life patterns that were normalized. People who were labeled were labeled, and people who were poor were poor, and that was just not going to change. But Christ came to turn all of that upside down.Brian: I'm really enjoying the notion of Christmas as an invasion. The King is back. What are the implications for life, for work, for ministry? Do you see Christmas as an invasion of sorts—the Christ child coming into this earth, the incarnation?Terry: My desire always is that these days—and I actually dial into the Advent as well because I want to redeem all of these days—our fervent resolve should be to make the most of every opportunity. A great Christmas is a wonderful gift to give to someone who's in a very difficult situation. But a great Christmas doesn't compare to the abundantly more that Christ could provide.If we, in the act of kindness or in wanting to make someone's Christmas better, don't forget to give highlight to the most important thing—which is Christ coming not just to your home or your heart at Christmas, but becoming a part of your everyday—that's going to change everything.Brian: I love working through the Christmas narratives in the Gospels and trying to tease out kingdom dynamics. This Advent dynamic—you know who Leonard Sweet is, right? I don't know if he invented this word, but "chaordic." It's a word that blends chaos and order. When something is chaordic, it's an opportunity wrapped in chaos. It seems like the birth of Christ was quite chaordic, doesn't it?Terry: Oh, absolutely. Everything about Him was to disrupt normal so thoroughly that people could embrace change. People don't break change, they don't go to change until they're thoroughly done with the circumstances they're in. That's the tragedy. So you need someone to disrupt that.Brian: Disruptive innovation is a business term. I'm just seeing the Christ child as sort of like the ultimate disruptive innovation.Terry: Yeah, that's so true. There's nothing about Christ in reality that cuddles the best world image that can be presented. The nativity sets—Christ is this baby wrapped in these beautiful cloths and He's surrounded by hay. The most we can give is not even a glimmer of who the Christ of Christmas really is.The Power of Crisis and NecessityBrian: So practically speaking, in terms of everyday life, what suggestions do you have about pursuing an abundant life in Christ?Terry: I'm thinking about what Philippians says to us. It's very clear that we've been promised that God will supply all of our needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. That's why I want to promote this Christ who can change "barely enough" into "abundantly more."Here's the thing. The reality of His capacity is only fully revealed to us in times of great necessity, necessity and scarcity. That's the only time we get it.Brian: Someone has said that adult learning readiness equals pain. When we feel the need, when we're tired of it, we're better positioned for transformation.Terry: And it's so true. I remember when this hit my life strong and hard. I was told I had thyroid cancer, and it had been in my neck for a long time. Up until that time, I was a pastor, raised in a Pentecostal family, believing in healing. I believed He was a healer, preached He was a healer, prayed for people to be healed. But in my life, I had never been in a spot where I needed a healer.Never in my life have I prayed this phrase: "Lord, guard over, watch over my bones, my blood, my cells." I never prayed that prayer. But every morning when I have my morning devotions, that's the phrase: "Father, thank you. Guarding over—not just about my heart, but my body, my bones, my blood, and my cells."In that moment, I felt so fragile. I felt like I had just barely enough. And yet Christ stepped in and changed that into abundantly more.→ Discover Terry's powerful story of transformation through crisis at jesussmart.com/359-chaordic-christmasYou'll Never See More Until You Seek MoreTerry: The second thing is that you'll never see more of Him until you seek more of Him. Abundantly more has already been predetermined and pre-positioned for all of us.When I was 14 or 15, life was tough for me. I couldn't find my way, didn't have an identity. I ended up in a service where a speaker said, "Here's the problem for most of you. You have just enough faith to make your mama happy and your pastor proud." I thought, "Exactly. That's exactly what I have."But his challenge was, "When Jesus died on the cross, what did He give up? 60%? 70%? No. He laid it all down. And until you lay it all down, you're never going to know Him."And then he added this: "The greatest waste of our lives—it's not the years we spend walking in darkness. It's all the years that we spend refusing to give Him everything."That was transformational for me. I made a decision. I'm done. I'm all in. That was July of 1970. I finished high school, went to Bible school. I met Ruthanne in '72. I married Ruthanne in '74. We had a baby in '75. I started full-time ministry in '76.It was that moment when I understood I'm never going to move from barely enough to abundantly more unless I really get the fact that the wholehearted seeker has to engage at its highest level. That changes everything. Until you're all in, you just have no chance of abundantly more.The Christmas Dance Between Heaven and EarthBrian: Would you say one of the things we can learn from the Christmas narratives is that there is a dance between heaven and earth? Great things happen on Father God's dance floor. Heaven moves, but we need to move.Mary receives the word. Simeon and Anna in the temple—they're people of intercession and fasting and prayer. They had a prophetic sense of what was happening. They knew the Christ child when they saw Him. Most people didn't see it or know it. What would you say about this Christmas dance between heaven and earth?Terry: I think every Christmas has to be somehow disruptive. As much as we love the traditions, as much as we like the commonality of rhythms, there's something that we ought to do intentionally to disrupt our hearts and our focus and literally say, "Jesus, the fact that You came into this world, into my life, and You're ever present in my family and in this community, I have got to awaken something in my heart."Brian: What can we do practically?Terry: I think the prize goes to the seeker. The prize goes to the one who engages this. If we're careful and if we're wise, if we redeem the time and make the most of every opportunity, I think the Holy Spirit will drop on our hearts some things we can do—some inclusive pieces that are just disruptive enough that they probably will have impact beyond our hearts into the lives of our closer circles.This is the moment to just not allow yourself to avoid or to not strategically include some kind of disruptive encounter where you just invite God to really show you what needs to awaken in your heart this season.→ Get practical steps for experiencing a chaordic Christmas at jesussmart.com/359-chaordic-christmasA Prayer for a Chaordic ChristmasTerry: I think the greatest way to say it simply—the chaordic for me means God blesses everything that you as a family enjoy. But as much as we love the tradition and the order, get ready for some spiritual chaos. Because this Christmas moment is not just ours to enjoy, it's His to orchestrate.Father, thank You so much for the wonderful way You use Your sons and daughters. For Brian and his family, for Jesus Smart, and the ministries that flow. Lord, I pray most of all that this word that You've dropped into our hearts—thinking about disruptive innovation and Your possibility, Christ, to change our "barely enough" into "abundantly more"—I pray that this Christmas would be special in ways that maybe have oft been overlooked.I pray they would experience something from You, something in their own hearts that would say this was destined by God. "This Christmas is not the same. This Christmas is different in this way." May the stories be told far and wide. May the name of Christ be all the more exalted and lifted up, in Jesus' name.Brian: Amen, Lord. We pray that there would be an anointed chaordic anointing upon us, that when we walk into settings and scenarios, people would be shaken and wakened and disrupted and aligned with Your design.I just can't take another Christmas of the same old, same old. I just want to see something disrupted dramatically. Thank you, Terry, for carving out some time today. Appreciate all that you are, all that you do.Terry: It's my honor, Brian. Have a great Christmas, but highly chaordic.Brian: I'm going for it. Love you too, Terry. Blessings to Ruthanne and your family.

What if the secret to breakthrough isn't just prayer or hard work—but a powerful combination of both with God's zeal backing your obedience? In this walk cast episode, Brian Del Turco unveils a kingdom framework: creative prayer plus strategic planning plus spirit-filled execution equals fruitfulness and fulfillment. Discover how to discern God's agenda (not just convince Him of yours), why prayer without planning is presumption, and how to tap into the zeal of the Lord that fuels ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. This three-step framework will help you align with how God designed things to work.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Support the podcast (use the Smart Edit BMAC page): buymeacoffee.com/SmartEdit👉 Enhanced show notes: JesusSmart.com/framework👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.----------EPISODE TRANSCRIPT - A Kingdom Framework - Prayer + Planning + Spirit-Fueled ExecutionHey there, friends. Welcome to Jesus Smart X, the podcast. This is Brian Del Turco. Thanks for being with us today. You make all the difference. Thank you for listening and thank you for sharing content with others if you find it valuable and think it would inspire and help someone you know.Introducing the Walk CastWe're doing something different today, calling it a "walk cast." I'm outside, as you can probably hear. You'll probably hear vehicles and people, perhaps, but this is what I'm calling a walk cast. I've been getting into walking in recent months—about the past half year, a lot. Many days I'm doing, thankfully by the grace of God, something like 10 to 12,000 steps a day.This recent wellness quest over the past half year was triggered by a bout with shingles, from which I'm still dealing with nerve pain in my lower back. But God is faithful. I hear sometimes it can last as long as a year. I hope that's not the case with me, but I have enjoyed walking, doing some resistance training, and changing my diet and losing a lot of weight. So I'm excited about that.Why Walking Enhances Creative ThinkingWalking is something that really enhances our creative thinking. Research proves this—movement, just moving your body like with walking, can really break mental patterns and open new perspectives. Did you know that Jesus did a lot of his conversation and teaching with his disciples as they walked? This was a rabbinic tradition. The rabbi would walk with his disciples, and they would converse and talk—questions and answers and illustrations—really something of a teaching method. There is something of an ancient practice called "walk and talk," part of a wisdom tradition.We've kind of missed that today. We think we have to be sitting on our derrieres in a classroom or remaining sedentary. But walking and learning has a long history, and it clears the head, engages the body, and helps to free your voice up. So yes, a walk cast. We may do this from time to time, weather permitting. We'll see how things go.A Kingdom Formula for SuccessA secret formula, a kingdom template that I think can help us in a lot of areas. Here it is, sort of like kingdom calculus or algebra. You ready for this?Prayer plus planning plus spirit-filled execution equals accomplishment and success.I heard John Eldredge say that there's a way that things work, and this applies to the kingdom as well. I recently fixed my stove, and there is a virtue in being able to not have to outsource everything but fix a stove yourself. We had buttons on a Samsung stove that were not working, and now with YouTube and ChatGPT, I found out that there was a ribbon cable in there that becomes oxidized. You can simply unplug it, use an eraser on a pencil, clean it up, plug it back in—boom, all the buttons work. But there's a way that things work.Stoves are designed to work in a certain way. They need to be maintained. There's a way to fix things. And in the kingdom, there is a way that things work. I think that this formula—prayer plus planning plus spirit-filled execution equals success—shows us that God wants to help us. We can lay this template, if you will, this pattern over most anything, I think: ventures, tough conversations we need to have with people, parenting, career dynamics, ministry initiatives.James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes down from above from the Father of Lights. There's no variation or shadow of turning with Him. He's consistent with all of His sons and daughters. Every good and perfect gift comes down from above. But it doesn't mean that we can't pray and plan and use spirit-filled execution with these good gifts.Step One: Creative PrayerLet's start with creative prayer. I use the phrase "creative prayer" intentionally. Creative prayer isn't just asking—it's partnering with the Father's creative intent. We're actually tuning into what God is already doing.Prayer is not just concocting our own list all the time and coming before God with what our ideas are, but it's also listening, picking up His heart, picking up His mind, what wants to happen from His heart. We're tuning into what God is already doing. Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has plans already designed for us. "I know the thoughts I have for you." He was speaking to the Jews who were in Babylonian exile. "But I have plans for you, to restore you, to bring you back." And it's the same with our own lives.Creative prayer is discerning His agenda, not just convincing Him of ours. Prayer is picking up His heart, what wants to happen from His mind, His heart, and not just solely sharing our own. We're receiving what's already flowing from the Father's heart, listening to His thoughts, what are His dreams, what are His designs.→ Read the full transcript with expanded insights on creative prayer at jesussmart.com/frameworkStep Two: Diligent PlanningNumber two, then move into diligent planning. See, prayer without action, prayer without planning is presumption. It's too passive. Proverbs 21:5 says that diligent plans lead to abundance. Diligent plans lead to abundance; haste leads to poverty.Just doing things haphazardly, not planning, not praying—we need to preface our action with prayer. Then we need to plan, and we need to move on those plans. Once we receive direction, we have to get very strategic intentionally. How much desire do you have for it? What's the intentional level? Map out the steps.We can have vision and then strategy, and then we have to break it down to tactical steps. What are our resources? What people need to be involved? What's the timeline? This isn't just trusting in your own planning more than God. It's not.Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house," but builders are still working under the Lord. He's the master craftsman. "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." So planning sanctified by prayer equals a high form of worship before God through our work.Step Three: Execute with the Spirit's EnergyNumber three: execute with the Spirit's energy. We have creative prayer plus moving into diligent planning plus now executing with the Spirit's energy. This is where a lot of things can stumble and stall, if I can be honest with you. We try to finish in our own strength what God prompted, what God started.Galatians 3:3 says, "Have you begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Are you beginning something in the Spirit and now trying to execute on it or finish it in your own natural flesh? The same Spirit who gave the vision wants to fuel the execution of it. So we want to stay connected. We want to pray through each phase of it, be sensitive to course corrections.Spirit-filled execution isn't anxiousness or frenetic activity. There's a grace to it. There's a rest to it. We're working hard while we're resting in God, and God is working through us by His grace. I think a lot of times we think of grace as remedial—"Oh God, give me your grace, I've blown it." It is that, but grace is also empowerment to live according to higher design. So grace is a key part of executing with the Spirit's energy.→ Discover more about spirit-filled execution and avoiding common pitfalls at jesussmart.com/frameworkThe Outcome: The Zeal of the LordWhat's the outcome? What does it equal? The zeal of the Lord comes. It equals success and fulfillment and fruitfulness. Jesus said, "It's my Father's will that you bear much fruit and so prove to be His disciples."The zeal of the Lord—in Isaiah 9:7, "The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this." It's talking about the kingdom of Jesus. "The government will rest on His shoulders, and His kingdom will never end." Zeal. What is zeal? We actually can receive the zeal of God.Did you know that God is zealous, that He carries an intense passion and energy of burning commitment, fierce determination? One of our prayers that we should really key in on is, "God, give me your zeal for this. I want to know what you're thinking, what your heart wants, what your will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And now I need your zeal for it—in me, through me, on me, around me. Give me that fire, that passion for it."As we follow this pattern, we tap into something greater than our own effort, our own natural energy. Creative prayer, strategic planning, spirit-filled execution—and woven through all of it and on all of it is the zeal of the Lord of hosts, the zeal of the Lord of the angel armies. His passion backs us up. It backs up our obedience. It backs up our faith movement. We get something of His determination for it flowing through us as we surrender to Him.This is how ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things. So let's lay this template over everything. Maybe there's a relational issue that you need to steward in a new way. Maybe there's a very challenging conversation you need to have in business or in family life. Maybe there's a kingdom initiative you're pursuing.Let's admit it—when we first get the vision for a kingdom initiative, it's very exciting, it's very fresh, but it's in the meantime, it's in the middle of it, it's in the afternoon of the project that the greatest challenge may arise. So we need to keep this template over it, I think. Become skilled in this.We want to be on a pathway where we hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master." That's our horizon.Here's a good challenge. What is one area this week that we can apply this framework to? Creative prayer plus strategic planning plus spirit-led, spirit-fueled execution equals fulfillment and fruitfulness and success. The zeal of the Lord of hosts rides on all of it. But what is just one area—small, medium, big—that we can apply this framework to?→ Get the complete show notes, prayer, and practical application steps at jesussmart.com/frameworkAppreciate you, and we will catch you in the next episode.

Spiritual attacks and temptation are inevitable—but domination isn’t. Walking in the light, staying aligned with Christ, and cleansing our hearts gives the enemy nothing to grab onto. We uncover practical steps to remove footholds of sin and operate in Christ's authority in everyday life.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Support the podcast (use the Smart Edit BMAC page): buymeacoffee.com/SmartEdit👉 Enhanced show notes: JesusSmart.com/356👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Unsubscribe anytime. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.----------EPISODE TRANSCRIPT - The Authority of Being Clean: Living Beyond the Enemy's ReachI want to start with a personal moment. There were many seasons in my life when I realized that the enemy of our soul—Satan, the devil, the adversary—had too much access into my life. He had ways and avenues to influence my thoughts, shape my emotions, and steer my decisions toward compromising choices that could have consequences.I could see patterns, subtle patterns of compromise and sin in my life, and I could feel the weight of the foothold. I could feel the weight of the ground that I had given away. I wasn't falling into egregious sins or earth-shaking major mistakes, but small stuff.And I could sense that I was being positioned for the potential of further compromise. Sin will take you farther than you want to go and faster. The Holy Spirit, prodding and bringing conviction, was a wake-up call.A Jesus Tactic for Spiritual VictoryThat's what I want to explore with you today—a real Jesus tactic for how to walk in the light and remove footholds from the enemy so that we can live and operate in the authority and success that God has given us.Spiritual attacks and temptation are inevitable. As John Eldredge says, when you're born again—even when you're born the first time—you're born into a war.And when you're born again, you're redeemed and saved, placed on a trajectory where you can become Christlike and victorious and share in the inheritance of Christ. You're still in a war, and maybe in a more heightened sense at that point.Here's the good news: when we're talking about sin and compromise and temptation, domination—you being dominated, me being dominated by that—is not inevitable. It's inevitable that we will encounter it, but I'm talking about being dominated and controlled by it.Jesus Had Nothing for the Enemy to GrabJesus knew, I think it was the evening before His crucifixion in John 14, the enemy was coming. And here's what He said: "The ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me." There is no ground in me, Jesus was saying.If we follow this Jesus tactic, we can really cut off the enemy's opportunity. Like Jesus, if we can say, "He has nothing in me." If Jesus could live with zero access for the enemy to penetrate His life and dominate and control Him, we can follow that same principle. The enemy only has as much access as we give him when we are in Christ.Walking in the LightThere's an important passage in 1 John 1:5-9. If we can get this right or start getting it right, there is so much downstream stuff we could cut off from the enemy, so much time we could save, so many benefits."God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet we're walking in the darkness, we're lying and not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."Walking in the light means that we bring hidden attitudes and compromises and sins out into the open. We confess them before the Lord primarily. There may be times where, as it says at the end of James, we confess our faults and sins to one another, and healing comes in that way. We're allowing God's light to do a reset in our inner person.It's not about perfection. When Jesus said, "You need to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," the New Testament word for perfection is complete or mature or whole. It's not a perfection complex—totally sinless. What it is, though, is about progressive alignment, moment by moment, with the Lord.Where Spiritual Warfare Really BeginsReal spiritual warfare starts on the inside. It's not outside of us. True, there are dynamics external to us which are manifestations of spiritual warfare, but it starts on the inside, in the realm of our thoughts, our emotions, and the choices that we make.Things like anger, bitterness, lust, unforgiveness—all of these things will give the enemy territory in our hearts. And our heart shapes our personal world. Proverbs tells us to pay attention to our heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life.Paul says in Ephesians 4, when talking about anger: "Be angry, but sin not. And do not let the sun go down on your anger." Come to a place of settled resolution the day of. And he says, "Do not give the devil ground."Something like anger—if sin were a river, anger is up at the headwaters of it. All kinds of things flow out of anger: unforgiveness, bitterness, even murder. We don't want to give the devil an opportunity. Don't give him ground. Cut him off.Read the full transcript with all Scripture references and deeper insights at https://jesussmart.com/356The Authority of Being CleanIn Psalm 19, David says, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever." Talk about lasting power. Being clean has lasting power, both now and forever. There's authority in being clean. This is what we're talking about today: dominion in being clean.We want to be clean because from time to time we have to move in the authority of Christ. We've got to speak to that mountain. We've got to pray over somebody that needs healed. We have to mitigate against some vile thing in prayer.We want to have the authority of the Lord, and being clean is a prerequisite to moving and living in the authority of Jesus Christ.I love this thought from Francis Frangipane in his book The Three Battlegrounds: "Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips, but it will not be consummated until the nature of Jesus is in our hearts."It's one thing to say His name, to confess Him as Savior and even Lord, but it's another thing to allow His nature through time to be progressively conformed to His image. Every thought, attitude and choice—the Holy Spirit begins to put His finger on things and ask for change and maturity. As the nature of Jesus is built into our hearts and lives, that's the consummation of victory.Operating from Spiritual AuthorityThe devil's realm is dust level. He's not in your head. He can't be in your life. He's not above you. Our authority is above him in Christ. Ephesians 2:6 says that we've been raised up with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places. So as we walk in alignment with the Lord, as we really game up our obedience and purity, we operate from a position of spiritual authority.We can pray down into earthborn situations from our authority of being seated with Christ and out of the enemy's reach. We don't want to compromise that. Our prayer life can be crimped and hindered by sin. We want to be able to pray from our true authority of being seated with Christ in heavenly places. We're living above the line.John Owen, the Puritan theologian, wrote in his famous book 'The Mortification of Sin': "Simply be killing sin or it will be killing you." There is no third option. It's very binary. Be killing sin or it will be killing you.Be encouraged with this: our obedience to Christ is where the enemy's domination ends. Our obedience to Christ is not where temptation ends. It's not even where spiritual warfare ends or spiritual attacks.But it is where the controlling domination ends, where we do not yield, where we live victoriously. The more we do this, the easier it will become. We can step into our position and watch his grip collapse.Get the complete episode breakdown and practical action steps at https://jesussmart.com/356Three Practical Steps to Remove FootholdsHow can we do this practically? Here are three takeaways:1 - Do a Personal Spiritual AuditDo daily and weekly reflection. How are you doing? Is there something that needs to be brought into the light and confessed and abandoned? It can be thought sin, attitudinal sin, motivational sin, or actual conduct. Sin is not only sins of commission; there are also sins of omission. What should we be saying that we're not saying? How should we be acting?David put it this way in Psalm 139: "Lord, search me, know me, see if there's any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." We want to be open to allowing the Holy Spirit to do audit work in our lives.Be in connection with sound core members of the body of Christ where you can develop trust and communication, fighting for each other, helping each other win. As James 5 says, "Confess your sins to one another so that you may be healed." There is power in that. There is victory.2 - Be Self-Aware and Notice FootholdsNotice footholds in your life. Is there bitterness, anger, any kind of repeated compromise? What is your speech like? What are you doing or not doing that you should be? How are you relating to people?Identify areas where the enemy is trying to get a hook into you, trying to get a door open into your life. In Genesis 4, when God confronts Cain, He says, "Sin is at the door and its desire is for you."In the Hebrew language, it's a word picture of a crazed animal that can hurt you. God said, "Its desire is for you. But you must master it."That thing is not to dominate you and me. We are to dominate it. Everything is on the line. You may have some patterns you've seen in your own life where you know this is a particular weakness or vulnerability. Notice footholds.3 - Lock the Door and Replace with ObedienceLock down those doors. Close off those openings. Actively replace them with obedience. Use the power of confessing God's Word out loud. Use the power of praying Scripture—prayer architecture. Lay it over your life and pray the inspired, authoritative words of God.And what about worship? Get your hands up in the air. Praise God. Declare His dominion. One of the ways we can trash-talk the enemy is finding the scriptural language that actually declares the dominion of Christ as King and speak that over the situation and over your life. What you're doing is reminding darkness what the future holds. We're on the winning side.Use the power of God's Word. What did Jesus do in the wilderness? He used God's Word. Every time three waves of temptation came against Him, three times He confessed Scripture from Deuteronomy and declared it out loud to the enemy.Access additional resources, prayer guides, and the full teaching at https://jesussmart.com/356Do something today. What is one little thing today? Look for one area today and then this week that you can progressively align with God and remove footholds from the enemy in your life.If this episode encouraged you or challenged you, share it with someone you think would value it. Subscribe to Jesus Smart everywhere podcasts are heard. We're seeking to uncover Kingdom dynamics that empower our walk with Christ. Let's live in victory, and I'll catch you next time.Expanded show Notes & Resources: https://jesussmart.com/356Support This Podcast: BuyMeACoffee.com/SmartEdit

What if you could see the New Testament not just as history, but as a living story that’s still unfolding? In Part 2 of this conversation, Brian Del Turco continues with Frank Viola, bestselling author of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Building on Part 1, this episode dives even deeper into the context, relationships, and divine drama behind the letters of the apostles. You’ll gain a clearer view of how the early church moved with Christ—and how your own life fits into that same advancing Kingdom narrative today.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Enhanced show notes: JesusSmart.com/355👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Unsubscribe anytime. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.----------EPISODE TRANSCRIPTHey there, my friend. Welcome to the podcast. This is Jesus Smart X. We're glad you're here. I'm Brian Del Turco. You're one of about 618 unique listeners in the last 28 days. Really glad you're tuning in.This is episode 355. In episode 353, we kicked off a dynamic conversation with Frank Viola, prolific author and Christian leader, about his book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. It’s a fresh lens on the early church—the book of Acts and the letters that followed, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and so on. If you missed part one, I recommend listening to it first, though part two flows nicely on its own.Also, in episode 350, we explored Life in the Groove: Improvising with the Holy Spirit, looking at jazz and the parallels with walking in the Spirit. Today, in part two with Frank, we go even deeper. You’ll hear insights that could reframe how you read the New Testament, giving you context, storyline, and practical understanding for kingdom living today.Before we dive in, I want to mention the Smart Edit newsletter. Go to jesussmart.com, sign up at the top of the homepage. It’s free, weekly, takes five minutes to read, and will help elevate your faith and influence your sphere.Understanding the Untold StoryWithout the story—the narrative of how it all fits together—we’re open to misapplying and misinterpreting Scripture. Specifically, the early church story is often misunderstood. We tend to read our own century into the New Testament, projecting our practices back onto the primitive church, which is a major mistake across denominations.Some things stand out when the story is put together:The Christian life was lived very differently than most Christians today practice.The way assemblies (the Greek word ecclesiae) were planted and functioned was completely different than today’s churches.The way ministers and church planters were trained in the first century was radically different.People might say they were “archaic,” but if you look at how Jesus trained the 12, there are timeless principles superior to modern ministerial training.Hands-On Leadership DevelopmentCould you give an example of that leadership development?It was hands-on. The disciples lived with Jesus for three years—they observed Him interacting with His Father, saw Him handle problems, watched Him lead. Then He gave them assignments and missions. Paul did the same with his team—training eight men (plus a ninth) in Ephesus for three years, in exactly the same hands-on way.The book doesn’t make prescriptive applications. I don’t tell readers, “Do it this way.” I simply transport you into the first-century story, written in the present tense, and let you draw your own applications.The Untold Story: Why It MattersSo the story is untold—it is what it is, right?Yes. It’s “untold” because no one has presented Acts together with the epistles as one seamless narrative, filling in historical details. My presentation combines Luke’s account with the letters of Paul, creating a complete picture.Applying the Story TodaySo it’s seminal, almost like DNA—something readers need to contextualize in their lives, praying for guidance on how to apply it, without the book being prescriptive.Exactly. It’s not a history book. People may think it is, but the goal is to unlock the New Testament letters with context, helping readers understand them in a fresh way. Most Christians miss much of the letters’ meaning because they don’t know the narrative behind them.Key TakeawaysI look forward to reading more. One major insight—what would you want me to take away?Think of the book as spiritual windshield wipers. The letters are in the book itself—you don’t need to stop and read them separately. You get the background story first, then read the letter, and it opens like a clear mountain stream.Broad ImpactEven just one believer reading it can impact their sphere of influence.Yes, pastors and groups are using it in bulk. You don’t need a particular theological stance—it transcends denominations, because the New Testament is one story, shared across all traditions.Reclaiming the Gospel of the KingdomFrom my perspective, the Holy Spirit is leading the body of Christ to reclaim the explosive gospel of the kingdom. My 2018 book, Insurgents: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, captures that. The Untold Story traces the kingdom theme from Matthew to Revelation.I recently got an email from renowned scholar Paul Barnett praising the book as “astonishing” and “deserving to be widely used,” which was an incredible honor.And for baseball fans, Aaron Judge has my book—he’ll read it next. So it’s reaching both academia and mainstream audiences.Accessibility Meets SubstanceThe New Testament as we see it now is disjointed. We often lift verses out of context, creating doctrine or practice mistakes. This book helps correct that by giving the story, context, and continuity, preventing misapplication.Fragmented thinking is an issue—we need thematic, integrated approaches. This book helps with that.Closing ThoughtsThanks, Frank, and encourage everyone to check out his resources online and in book form.Thanks for joining us for episode 355 of Jesus Smart X. I hope this part two with Frank Viola helped you see the New Testament story and your place in it with fresh clarity. Go to the enhanced show notes at jesussmart.com/355 for links to Frank’s ministry and his book.If you missed part one, that’s episode 353. And for a creative complement, check episode 354, Life in the Groove: Improvising with the Holy Spirit.Grab the Smart Edit newsletter at jesussmart.com—elevate your faith, live smart.

What if walking with God is about moving in rhythm with the Holy Spirit — like a jazz musician improvising in the moment? We explore what it means to live in a Heaven and Earth Jazz Jam session. Listening, responding, and co-creating with God. Drawing on Scripture, spiritual insight, and the creative lessons of jazz, we explore how to sharpen spiritual intuition and flow in unexpected moments in every area of life and work.----------See the full episode transcript below.👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcastIf this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Unsubscribe anytime. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.----------EPISOSDE TRANSCRIPT -- Life in the Groove — Improvising with the Holy Spirit (EP 354)In this episode of Jesus Smart X Podcast, Brian Del Turco explores the idea of moving in rhythm with the Holy Spirit — like a jazz musician improvising in the moment. Drawing on Scripture, spiritual insight, and the creative lessons of jazz, we explore how to sharpen spiritual intuition, respond in unexpected moments, and co-create with God in every area of life and work.Between Episodes: Continuing the Conversation with Frank ViolaBefore diving in, Brian mentions the ongoing two-part series with Frank Viola. Episode 353, The New Testament Like You've Never Seen It, explores reading the New Testament as a single, unfolding narrative, discovering the heartbeat of the early church, and seeing how our personal life story fits into Jesus’ larger story.Don’t forget to check out the Smart Edit newsletter at jesussmart.com.Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly, each Thursday. 5 minutes to grow. Unsubscribe anytime. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.Jazz and the Brain: A Spiritual ParallelListening to jazz activates nearly every part of the brain, enhancing focus, emotional depth, flexibility, and anticipation. Jazz requires us to listen actively, adapt to shifting harmonies, and respond creatively.This is an excellent metaphor for walking with the Holy Spirit. Our relationship with God isn’t meant to be rigid or scripted. Scripture is our key signature — steady, unchanging, and true — while the Spirit invites us to improvise within that framework.As Galatians 5:25 reminds us, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”Walking with the Spirit is not marching in lockstep; it’s keeping time in a living rhythm, a cadence flowing from the Father through the Holy Spirit.The Improvisational Life: Flowing with the SpiritJazz and the Spirit share a key principle: tension and release, anticipation, and responsiveness. Life with the Holy Spirit requires mental and spiritual flexibility — a readiness to pivot, adapt, and respond in a Christlike way.As Dallas Willard taught, true discipleship is Christ in you, living through your life circumstances. This requires alertness, creativity, and continual renewal — exactly what Romans 12:2 calls the “renewing of your mind.”Classical music offers structure, discipline, and symmetry, while jazz develops intuition, sensitivity, and improvisation. Life in the Spirit demands both: grounded truth and openness to surprise, ready to follow God’s lead in the moment.The Heaven and Earth Jazz Jam SessionA powerful image: the Heaven and Earth jazz jam session. Just as musicians listen, respond, and create together, we are invited to move in harmony with God and with a community of believers.This Micro Ecclesia — a small, tight-knit group — becomes a spiritual “studio” where prayer, worship, and collaboration sharpen our ability to listen to God and to one another. The Holy Spirit orchestrates, guiding the flow, rhythm, and improvisation of our lives.Practical Ways to Improvise Spirit-Led LifeFive practical ways to cultivate this jazz-like flow with God:Quiet Your Heart – Set aside time for stillness. Remove agendas and lists, leaving space for the Spirit to move.Flow in Prayer – Begin praying, allowing the Holy Spirit to shift your words and thoughts. Let your prayers take unexpected directions.Journal the “Royal Riffs” – Capture insights, nudges, or impressions from the Spirit. There is authority in recording what God reveals.Partner with Others – Some revelations unlock only in community. Pray, worship, and move with other Spirit-led believers.Take Spirit-Prompted Risks – Step out in faith when the Spirit calls you to speak, start, stop, or act. Trust His guidance, even in improvisation.Each step strengthens your spiritual ear, teaching you to respond to God’s cues and to participate in the divine rhythm of life.The Kingdom Symphony in ActionWalking with the Spirit is not about performance. It’s about partnership. The Holy Spirit leads, and we join in, improvising in sync with God’s rhythm. Ephesians 5:18-19 reminds us to be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Spontaneously, joyfully, and in harmony.Whether in prayer, relationships, or ministry, this improvisational flow equips us to pursue God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. By listening, trusting, and playing our part, we become part of a larger Kingdom symphony, co-creating with God in real time.Closing ThoughtsBrian encourages listeners to embrace a Heaven and Earth jazz jam session in daily life:Listen attentively.Respond creatively.Trust God’s lead.Partner with Spirit-led believers.God has written the ultimate score of redemption, and He invites us to play within it. Life with the Holy Spirit is alive, dynamic, and deeply creative. Let’s keep in step with Him, improvise faithfully, and enjoy the melody He is creating in and through us.Catch this episode and enhanced show notes at jesussmart.com, complete with a full transcript.Remember: God is calling us to partner, not perform. Listen, trust, and play your part in the Kingdom Symphony.