This is a conversation about godly parenting in a culture that never stops adding to the calendar. Greg and Kristi Rains offer honest christian parenting advice for the family that is doing everything right and still feels like something is missing. Drawing from biblical parenting principles in the book of James, they talk about the slow drift that happens when busyness quietly crowds out the most important things — and what it actually looks like to build a christian family around what lasts. If raising godly children matters to you, this conversation will give you something real to take home.

Part of the God Made Podcast — parenting tips and faith conversations that help you move from Sunday into everyday life.

The problem is not always a lack of information. Sometimes being smart simply makes us better at justifying what our hearts already want.

In this solo episode of the God Made Podcast, Greg unpacks James 3:13–18 and the difference between intelligence and biblical wisdom. James warns us that not everything that sounds reasonable is actually wise. Some decisions may look logical on the surface while being driven by jealousy, selfish ambition, pride, or fear.

So how can you tell whether a decision is truly wise?

The answer is not found only in the argument you can make. It is found in the fruit your decision produces.

In this episode:

Why intelligence and wisdom are not the same thing
How we rationalize choices we already want to make
The warning signs that your heart may be misleading you
The difference between earthly wisdom and wisdom from above
Why defensiveness may reveal more than you realize
Three questions to ask before making an important decision
How to seek biblical wisdom in everyday life

Before you make your next major decision, ask yourself:

What do I want badly enough that I may be rationalizing it?
What kind of fruit is this decision already producing?
Am I genuinely willing to yield if God shows me that I am wrong?

A bad decision does not become wise just because you can explain it well.

Do not judge wisdom by the explanation. Judge it by the harvest.

📖 Scripture: James 3:13–18
🎙️ The God Made Podcast helps Christians move faith from Sunday into everyday life.

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Greg and Kristi sit down for a raw, honest conversation about what it actually looks like to live with the weight of your words — inside a marriage, a family, and a real life. They talk about sarcasm that became a weapon, promises made and broken, and why no amount of trying harder ever touches the root of this problem.

This isn't a sermon recap. It's the conversation that happens after the sermon — when you go home and have to actually live it.
Based on James 3:1–12.

Where the sermon meets the struggle.

In this episode, we explore the sobering reality that someone can follow Jesus closely and still miss Him. Using the example of Judas and the teaching from James 2, we unpack the difference between dead faith, demonic faith, and dynamic faith.

We discuss:

•  What “dead faith” really means 
•  The difference between knowing truth and submitting to it 
•  How cultural Christianity can drift into spiritual complacency 
•  The tension between belief and obedience 
•  Practical ways surrender shows up in everyday life 

This episode is an invitation to honest self-examination — not condemnation.

Faith isn’t just agreement.

It’s allegiance.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your faith is active, real, and surrendered — this conversation is for you.

In this episode, we discuss what it looks like to live out the principles of James 2 in everyday church life — especially when it comes to who we welcome, who we overlook, and who makes us uncomfortable.

It’s easy to say “everyone belongs.” But do we actually move toward the people Jesus moved toward?

We talk honestly about:

Subtle favoritism in church culture
Why we’re drawn to influence and “shine”
The connection between mercy received and mercy extended
What it means that mercy triumphs over judgment

Whether you’ve been in church your whole life or you’re still figuring out where you fit, this episode is an invitation to examine our hearts and reflect the mercy we’ve been shown.

He made room for you. Make room for them.

In Episode 3 of The God Made Podcast, Greg and Kristi Rains 
have an honest conversation about the gap between what we 
believe and how we actually live — and why the book of James 
calls that gap exactly what it is: self-deception.

This isn't a lecture. It's a real conversation between two 
people who are still figuring this out too. Whether you've 
been in church your whole life or you're just asking honest 
questions, this one's for you.

Because Sunday doesn't fix everything.

——

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

→ The uncomfortable question James opens with — and why 
  most of us already know the answer
→ Why showing up isn't the same as showing out
→ Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger — what that 
  actually looks like when life is hard
→ The two dogs story — and which one you've been feeding
→ What God actually thinks when He thinks about you
→ What genuine, transformed faith looks like on a 
  Monday morning in real life

——

SCRIPTURE REFERENCED:
James 1:19–27 (NLT)

No scripts. No polish. Just two people telling the truth.

Because Sunday doesn't fix everything.

This week's sermon was about choosing joy in the middle of trials from James 1:1-8. This episode takes that one step further — what does that actually look like when Monday hits? Not a re-preach. Just an honest conversation about the difference between joy and happiness, what we actually do instead of choosing joy, and the two things that work in a hard season that nobody wants to do.

Because Sunday doesn't fix everything.

📍 Northview Church — Kodak, Tennessee New episodes every week.