Why would a loving God command the destruction of entire nations, including women and children? How do we reconcile these difficult Old Testament passages with the God of love, mercy, and grace revealed in Jesus Christ?

In this listener-inspired episode of Milk to Meat: 2nd Helping, Rob and Travis wrestle with one of Scripture's most challenging questions. Examining God's judgment of the Canaanites and Amalekites, they explore His holiness, patience, justice, and mercy within the larger story of redemption.

Does understanding why God judged these nations explain why innocent children suffered? How should we approach passages that challenge our understanding of God's character?

Join us as we examine these difficult Scriptures without minimizing their seriousness, recognizing that the same God who judges sin is the God who gave His Son to redeem sinners.

What does obedience actually have to do with loving God? Is obedience a way of earning God's love—or is it the evidence of a love and trust that already exist?

In this episode of Milk to Meat, we explore why Scripture consistently connects love for God with obedience. Love is an inward reality, but obedience gives that love an outward expression. As 1 John 5:3 tells us, love for God leads us to keep His commands. The direction matters: love produces obedience; obedience does not earn love.

We trace that truth through the larger story of redemption, beginning in the Garden, where humanity's disobedience reveals a failure to trust God's wisdom and goodness. Then we turn to Jesus—the obedient Son who reverses Adam's rebellion. Where humanity chooses its own will, Jesus declares, “Not my will, but yours be done.” His obedience carries Him all the way to the cross and through death into resurrection.

Finally, we examine why obedience isn't opposed to grace but is actually the fruit of grace. God loves, gives, rescues, and reconciles us. We receive, trust, obey, and are transformed. We don't obey so that God will love us. We obey because we have been loved.

Why is trusting God so difficult—especially when what we see doesn't seem to match what we believe about Him?

In this episode of Milk to Meat, we take the conversation about obedience one step deeper. Obedience isn't merely evidence that we love God; it's also evidence that we believe God loves us.

When God tells us to forgive, we have to trust that His way is better than revenge. When He calls us to generosity, we have to trust that our security isn't ultimately found in what we possess. When He tells us to love our enemies, pursue holiness, or surrender control, we're being asked to trust that God's ways are better than our own.

That's why obedience is ultimately an act of faith:

I obey because I trust God.

I trust God because I know His character.

I know His character because He has revealed His love.

But what happens when trusting God becomes difficult?

We go back to the garden and discover that the struggle began with the Fall. The serpent didn't simply convince humanity to break a command—he convinced humanity to question God's goodness.

“Did God really say...?”

The lie was ultimately this: God can't be trusted. God is holding something good back from you.

And we still wrestle with that lie today.

We want to understand God's plan. We want to know the outcome. We want God to explain Himself before we obey. And when suffering comes, unanswered prayers remain unanswered, relationships fall apart, or life takes a direction we never expected, the question becomes much harder:

“If God is good, why is this happening?”

So what do we do when what we see doesn't seem to match what we believe about God?

We explore how faith learns to trust God's character even when we don't understand His circumstances, why our limited perspective can make God's goodness difficult to see, and why the cross gives us the ultimate reason to believe that God is good—even when the story doesn't make sense yet.

Because ultimately, faith isn't trusting God because we understand everything He's doing.

Faith is trusting God because we know who He is.

And sometimes the deepest obedience is simply saying:

“I don't understand, but I know who I'm trusting.”

What does the Bible actually mean when it commands, “You shall not murder”? Does the Sixth Commandment prohibit every taking of human life—or does Scripture distinguish murder from self-defense, military service, law enforcement, capital punishment, and other circumstances?

In this 2nd Helping episode of Milk to Meat, we begin with the Hebrew behind Exodus 20:13 and examine how Scripture itself distinguishes intentional murder from other forms of killing. From Cain and Abel and the cities of refuge to government authority, soldiers, police officers, defending your family, and the use of force, we follow the biblical text to understand the value of human life and the moral responsibility involved when a life is taken.

Then we turn to Jesus' words in Matthew 5, where He takes the commandment even deeper—moving beyond the final act of murder to the anger, resentment, and hatred from which violence can grow.

The question isn't simply, “Did someone die?” Scripture also forces us to ask about intent, circumstances, culpability, necessity, and the value of every person made in the image of God.

What does love look like when you can't see it?

Love is an inward reality, but it always produces an outward expression. We may not be able to see love itself, but we can see what love produces—faithfulness, sacrifice, patience, forgiveness, service, and obedience.

In this episode of Milk to Meat, we continue exploring why obedience is evidence of our love for God. John tells us plainly, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.” But that doesn't mean we obey God in order to earn His love. The direction matters:

Love → obedience.

Not:

Obedience → earning love.

We go back to the garden and discover that humanity's first disobedience wasn't simply about breaking a rule. At its deepest level, it was a failure to trust God's goodness and a decision to believe that we knew better than God.

Then Jesus enters the story.

Where Adam chose his own will, Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Where Adam's disobedience brought death, Christ's obedience led Him to the cross—and through death into resurrection.

The cross is therefore not only the ultimate demonstration of God's love for us; it is also the ultimate picture of love expressed through obedience.

We also explore why obedience is not opposed to grace. The gospel doesn't say, “Obey God so God will love you.” It says, “God has loved you, pursued you, redeemed you, and reconciled you in Christ—now live as someone who has been loved.”

That changes everything.

Christian obedience isn't about earning the Father's approval. It's about responding to the Father we already know has loved us. It's the difference between legalism and discipleship, between trying to become accepted and learning to live from the acceptance we've received in Christ.

God loves → God gives → God rescues → we receive → we trust → we obey → we are transformed.

Obedience isn't the price of admission.

It's the evidence that the gospel has taken root.

What does obedience have to do with love?

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” But is obedience simply about following rules—or is something much deeper happening?

In this episode of Milk to Meat, we take a step backward before moving forward. We go all the way back to the story of redemption that begins in Genesis: humanity runs from God, but God comes looking for humanity. From the fall, through Abraham and Israel, through the prophets, and ultimately to Jesus and the cross, Scripture tells the story of a God who relentlessly pursues, redeems, reconciles, and restores.

Along the way, we define biblical love as the self-giving commitment to seek the true good of another, rooted in faithfulness to God and expressed through action—even when that love is costly.

Once we understand love this way, Jesus' words take on a whole new meaning. Obedience isn't about earning God's love or proving ourselves worthy. Obedience is the response of someone who trusts God's character, believes His ways are good, and wants what He wants.

We explore why obedience is evidence of love, how the Fall distorted our ability to trust God, and why following God's commands is ultimately part of His work of restoring us into the people He created us to be.

This is more than a conversation about obedience. It's a conversation about love, trust, grace, redemption, and what it means to become mature disciples of Jesus.

How do baptism and Communion strengthen our faith? Why did Jesus give His followers physical practices to remind them of spiritual realities?

In this episode of Milk to Meat, we explore how baptism and Communion make the invisible promises of the Gospel tangible and real. They take truths that can sometimes feel abstract and put them right in front of us—through water, bread, and the cup.

These aren't empty religious rituals. They are physical signs that point us back to the finished work of Jesus Christ and help believers remember who they are, what Christ has done, and what He has promised to do.

How Baptism Strengthens Faith

Baptism gives us a vivid picture of death, burial, and resurrection. Going under the water and coming back up illustrates the believer's union with Christ—dying to an old life and rising to walk in new life.

But baptism also gives believers something they can look back on.

When doubt, temptation, failure, or difficult seasons come, remembering our baptism can remind us of a definitive moment when we publicly identified ourselves with Jesus Christ. Baptism becomes a tangible marker of our commitment to follow Christ and our identity within His people.

We also discuss how baptism strengthens the whole church, not just the individual being baptized. Every time someone is baptized, the congregation is reminded of the Gospel they share—their common identity, their new life in Christ, and the grace that brought them together.

How Communion Strengthens Faith

Communion takes the Gospel and puts it in our hands.

When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we remember the body of Jesus given for us and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. But what does it really mean when Jesus tells us, “Do this in remembrance of Me”?

We explore what it means to actively participate in remembering Jesus—not merely recalling information about Him, but bringing His sacrifice, His grace, and His finished work before our minds and hearts again.

We also look at Communion as a recurring fellowship with Christ. Just as physical food nourishes the body, the Lord's Supper continually draws our attention back to the One who gives us spiritual life. It becomes a repeated reminder that our faith is not simply something we believed once—it is a relationship with Christ that we continue to live out.

And Communion doesn't only point backward.

It points forward.

Jesus said in Matthew 26:29:

“I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.”

We revisit the fourth cup of Passover and the significance of Jesus stopping before drinking that final cup. The story of redemption is not finished. The cross has happened. The resurrection has happened. Redemption has been accomplished—but we are still waiting for the day when Christ will return and the kingdom will be fully revealed.

Baptism looks back at the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus while declaring our new identity in Him.

Communion looks back at the cross while reminding us that Jesus is coming again.

Together, they continually strengthen our faith by reminding us of the Gospel, grounding us in our identity in Christ, connecting us to His church, and lifting our eyes toward the hope of His return.

In This Episode:

How do baptism and Communion strengthen faith?

Why did God give us physical signs of spiritual realities?

How does baptism remind us of our new life in Christ?

Can remembering our baptism strengthen us during seasons of doubt?

How does baptism strengthen the entire church?

What does Jesus mean by “Do this in remembrance of Me”?

What does it mean to remember Jesus through Communion?

How does Communion deepen our fellowship with Christ?

Why is Communion more than simply remembering an event?

How does Communion point us toward the future?

What is the significance of the fourth cup of Passover?

Why did Jesus say He would not drink the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom?

How do baptism and Communion help us live out the Gospel?

Baptism reminds us who we are. Communion reminds us what Christ has done. Both point us toward what is still to come.

Milk to Meat is a discipleship podcast designed to help believers move beyond simply knowing what the Bible says to understanding it, living it, and growing toward spiritual maturity.

What does Communion actually mean? What are we proclaiming when we take the bread and the cup?

In this episode of Milk to Meat, we take a deep dive into the Lord’s Supper and explore one of the most powerful statements Paul makes about Communion: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Communion is more than a religious tradition or something Christians do because it is part of a church service. Communion is a physical sermon, a living testimony, and a proclamation of the Gospel. Every time we take the bread and the cup, we are declaring what Jesus has done, what we believe, and what we are still waiting for.

We explore what Communion proclaims about Jesus’ sacrifice, our need for grace, the forgiveness of sins, the new covenant, and the hope that Jesus Christ will return.

But we also ask an important question: What does Paul mean when he warns believers not to take Communion in an unworthy or unadvised manner? We discuss why the Lord’s Supper should never be treated casually and why believers should approach Communion with sobriety, reverence, self-examination, gratitude, and faith.

Then we go back to the beginning.

To truly understand Communion, we need to understand Passover.

In Luke 22, Jesus gathers with His disciples to celebrate the Passover meal. In the middle of that meal, Jesus takes the bread and the cup and gives them a new covenant meaning: His body given for us and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

The Passover story is ultimately a story of God’s salvation and redemption. God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, and the blood of the Passover lamb marked the homes of His people so that judgment would pass over them.

But the Passover was pointing toward something greater.

Jesus is revealed as the true and perfect Passover Lamb, whose sacrifice accomplishes what the Exodus could only foreshadow. The blood that once marked doorposts becomes a picture of the greater redemption accomplished through Christ.

We explore the powerful connection between the Passover meal, the cup of redemption, the bread, the Last Supper, the cross, and the New Covenant.

And ultimately, Communion points both backward and forward.

We look back and remember that redemption had a cost—it cost Jesus everything.

But we also look forward with hope. Paul says we proclaim the Lord’s death “until He comes.” Communion reminds us that the story isn't over. The King who gave His life is coming again.

In This Episode:

What does Communion proclaim?

What does 1 Corinthians 11:26 mean?

Why is Communion a physical sermon of the Gospel?

What do the bread and cup represent?

Why should Communion be taken seriously?

What does it mean to take Communion "in an unworthy manner"?

Why is Communion connected to Passover?

What happened during the Passover meal Jesus shared with His disciples?

How does the Passover lamb point to Jesus?

What is the significance of the cup of redemption?

How does the Last Supper reveal the New Covenant?

Why does Jesus say, "Do this in remembrance of Me"?

What does Communion say about the cost of redemption?

Why does Communion point us toward the return of Jesus?

Communion is not merely something we do. It is something we proclaim.

We proclaim that Jesus died.

We proclaim that His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins.

We proclaim that redemption has been accomplished.

And we proclaim that Jesus is coming again.

Milk to Meat is a discipleship podcast designed to help believers move beyond simply knowing what the Bible says to understanding it, living it, and growing toward spiritual maturity.