Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong Episode 3 – Repent Doesn’t Mean Grovel

🔍 Episode Summary

When you hear the word repent, what comes to mind? For a lot of us, it’s crying at the altar, begging God for forgiveness, and hoping this time it sticks. But that’s not what Jesus meant at all.

In this episode, James digs into the real meaning of repentance. You’ll hear the story of Grandma’s roast (and why everyone cut the ends off without knowing why), and learn why Jesus’ word metanoia wasn’t about tears or shame — it was about changing how you think. Repentance isn’t wallowing in guilt; it’s turning around, seeing differently, and walking in a new direction.

✨ What You’ll Learn

• Why the church turned repentance into guilt and groveling
• What Jesus actually meant when he said, “Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand”
• How Grandma’s roast shows us the danger of never questioning what we’ve been taught
• Why real repentance feels more like turning a car around than crying at an altar
• How to spot everyday opportunities to think differently and live freer

🧠 Key Quotes “Repentance was never about wallowing. It’s about walking.”

“When you realize you’re going the wrong way, you don’t pull over and cry about it. You just turn around.”

“Repentance isn’t about groveling. It’s about God saying, ‘There’s another way to see this — and I want you to have it.’”

📿 Spiritual Practice to Try This week, pay attention to one everyday moment where you’d normally beat yourself up — a harsh word, a negative thought, a habit you fall back into. Instead of spiraling in guilt, pause and ask: “What if I just turned around here? What if I chose to see this differently?” That’s repentance in action.

Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong Episode 2 – Born Again Doesn't Mean Start Over

🔍 Episode Summary

In this episode, James unpacks one of the most familiar — and misunderstood — phrases in Christianity: born again. For many of us, it meant endless altar calls, rededications, and the fear of hell if we didn’t get it right. But when Jesus first used the phrase, he wasn’t talking about rituals, emotions, or membership. He was pointing to something already inside us.

You’ll hear the story of Jesus’ late-night talk with Nicodemus, discover why “born of Spirit” has nothing to do with pressure or performance, and explore what it means to wake up to who you already are — whether in church, by a lake, or even playing with your golden retriever.

✨ What You’ll Learn

• Why “born again” was never about fear, formulas, or altar calls
• What Jesus actually meant when he said, “Be born of Spirit”
• Why rebirth isn’t becoming someone else — it’s uncovering what’s always been in you
• How spiritual awakening can happen anywhere, not just in church
• Why being “born again” isn’t a one-time event, but something you live again and again

🧠 Key Quotes “Being born again isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about letting out what’s always been in you.”

“When you were born the first time, you didn’t change your behavior from womb to air — you just came alive.”

“You don’t need religion to wake up — the spark of life is already in you.”

📿 Spiritual Practice to Try Ask yourself: “What would waking up look like for me right now?” Then spend one hour living as if love, not fear, is your truest self.

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Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong Episode 1 – The Kingdom Isn’t in the Sky

🔍 Episode Summary

In this first episode of Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong, James rethinks one of the biggest ideas many of us grew up with: that heaven is a city in the clouds you go to when you die. We were told to say the prayer, behave enough, and someday we’d get our mansion and walk streets of gold. But Jesus never said that. What he did say was, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”

This episode looks at how that changes everything. What if heaven isn’t about escape, but about waking up? What if the “city” and “gold” in Revelation were never meant to be real estate listings, but symbols of presence, peace, and community? And what if the Kingdom isn’t only about later — but also about now?

✨ What You’ll Learn

• Why the “heaven in the sky” version came from fear and tradition, not Jesus
• What Jesus meant when he said, “The Kingdom of God is within you”
• Why the “city with golden streets” in Revelation was symbolic, not literal
• How Paul’s words, “Eye has not seen,” point to a hope better than anything we imagine
• How to recognize heaven breaking through in forgiveness, peace, laughter, and love

🧠 Key Quotes “Heaven was never meant to be a consolation prize for what you gave up. It was about waking up to life now.”

“If this is just a feeling, that’s not that great. I gave up a lot to get my mansion next to Elvis! And see—that attitude shows how far we missed it.”

“The Kingdom isn’t a future prize. It’s a present reality. Not looking up, but waking up.”

📿 Spiritual Practice to Try Pause today and ask: “What if the Kingdom is already here?” Then notice it in something small — a laugh, a deep breath, or the peace that sneaks up on you when you stop trying so hard.

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📝 Trailer Show Notes

Title: Season 4 Trailer – Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong

Description: What if Jesus wasn’t confusing — we were just taught him wrong?

Welcome to Season 4 of Real Without Religion, a series called Jesus’ Teachings: What We Got Wrong. This season isn’t about throwing out Jesus — it’s about hearing him clearly, without the fear, shame, or religious pressure.

Each episode reclaims a familiar teaching you may have heard in church… …and reframes it through the lens of awakening, not legalism.

Because when you take the fear out, his words actually feel like freedom.

Start with Episode 1: “The Kingdom Isn’t in the Sky.”

🎙️ The Bible Within — Episode 7 The Reset Was Always Coming The Year of Jubilee – Leviticus 25

Episode Summary: You don’t have to earn your way back to peace, purpose, or joy. You were never disqualified. In this episode, James cracks open one of the most overlooked corners of the Bible—Leviticus—and finds something shocking: freedom. The Year of Jubilee wasn’t about punishment or rules. It was about release. And the message still stands.

We explore what it means to cancel the debt, return to your inheritance, and live like the Universe is already in Jubilee mode—because it is. If you’ve been standing on the edge of the party thinking you missed your shot, this is your call to dance barefoot in the field.

In this episode:

• What the Year of Jubilee actually was (and why it still matters)
• Why restoration is baked into the spiritual system
• What “debts,” “land,” and “captives” mean on a soul level
• How we disqualify ourselves from joy—and how to stop
• Why the Universe is always ready to reset what religion said was broken

Key quote:

“We’ve made religion into an awkward waiting room, when all along, Spirit was throwing a party.”

Mentioned in this episode:

• Leviticus 25 (The Year of Jubilee)
• Joel 2:25 (“I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten”)
• The metaphor of the trumpet as frequency, not warning

Your Reflection Questions:

• What part of you has felt disqualified from joy or rest?
• What debts—emotional, mental, spiritual—are you ready to release?
• If Jubilee really is available now, what are you ready to reclaim?

Affirmation:

I return to what’s mine. I release what no longer belongs. This is my Jubilee.

Closing words: Stay grounded. Stay curious. And stay real. Amenaste.

If You are Moved to Do So, Support our Work:

🎙️ The Bible Within

Episode 6: The Battle Is in the Mind

Rewriting the Giant in Your Head

Description: This one’s not about a literal giant. It’s about the story we keep telling ourselves—the one where we’re not enough.

In this episode, James walks with us through the story of David and Goliath and shows how this ancient tale is really about something modern: the internal battles we all face. The voices. The fear. The pressure to perform. The instinct to copy someone else’s armor.

But what if the key to breakthrough isn’t in being bigger or stronger… but in getting honest about what already lives inside you?

🔑 Key Themes:

• Goliath as the loud inner critic, not an external enemy
• Why we reach for other people’s armor—and why it never works
• The sling as a metaphor for alignment and natural rhythm
• The five smooth stones as spiritual tools we carry and shape over time
• How showing up as yourself rewrites the whole story

🧠 Metaphysical Insights:

• Goliath = fear-based thinking, mental intimidation
• Saul’s armor = inherited expectations, strategies that don’t fit
• Sling = your unique rhythm and alignment
• Stones = truth, trust, stillness, intention, courage
• The battlefield = your inner world, where transformation begins

🗣️ Declarations from the episode:

“This is not too big for me. It’s just loud.” “I don’t need to be more—I just need to be real.” “I don’t fight like them. I fight like me.” “I carry what I need. I’ve trained for this moment.” “The story is changing—because I showed up as me.”

💡 Reflection Questions:

• What voices have you been listening to that don’t belong to you?
• Are you still wearing someone else’s armor in an area of your life?
• What’s your version of the sling—your rhythm, your realness, your natural flow?
• What are your “stones”? What tools or truths have you practiced quietly that are ready to be used?

🔗 Want more?

• Visit realwithoutreligion.com for extra tools, affirmations, and upcoming episodes
• Subscribe and leave a review if this episode helped you shift your perspective
• Share it with someone who’s standing face to face with their own inner Goliath

📢 Final Word:

You don’t need to be louder than the voice. You just need to stop believing it. The battle is in the mind. And today, you win there.

Amenaste.

If You are Moved to Do So, Support our Work:

🎙️ The Bible Within

Episode 5: The Walls Must Fall

Breaking Through the Structures That Keep You Small

Description: You’ve crossed the wilderness. You’ve stepped into your promise. But right in front of you… is a wall.

In this episode of The Bible Within, James unpacks the metaphysical meaning behind the fall of Jericho—not as a military conquest, but as a spiritual teaching. This isn’t about whether it literally happened. It’s a story about the structures we build inside ourselves, and what it takes to release them.

We walk in silence. We trust what doesn’t make sense. And then—when it’s time—we shout.

Because some walls fall not by force… but by frequency.

🔑 Key Themes:

• The wall isn’t the enemy—it’s a mirror
• The spiritual discipline of silence and presence
• How the Jericho story maps to emotional and energetic breakthrough
• Why the “shout” is an act of release, not performance
• What it means to align instead of strive

🗣️ Declarations from this episode:

“I don’t force my way forward. I align and watch it fall.” “What fear built, faith can bring down.” “I don’t shout for attention—I shout because I’m free.” “This wall is not stronger than my intention.”

📚 Mentions & Metaphysical Insights:

• Joshua 6 – The fall of Jericho
• Walls as self-protection and control mechanisms
• Silence as sacred strategy
• Seven days = spiritual completion
• The shout as energetic release and vibrational shift

💡 Reflection Questions:

• What wall are you still walking around in your life right now?
• Is your current resistance something that once kept you safe?
• What would it look like to walk in silence, trust the rhythm, and release when it’s time?

🔗 Want more?

• Visit realwithoutreligion.com for bonus episodes, meditations, and more
• Share this episode with someone who’s standing in front of their own wall
• Leave a review if this spoke to you—we love hearing how these stories live in real life

📢 Final Word:

Don’t decorate what you’re called to destroy. Let the wall fall. And walk in. Amenaste.

If You are Moved to Do So, Support our Work:

🎙️ The Bible Within

Episode 4: Crossing Over

Claiming the Land You Thought Wasn’t Yours

Description: You’ve wandered. You’ve healed. You’ve survived. Now you’re standing at the edge of something beautiful— but you still have to step into it.

In this episode of The Bible Within, James unpacks the metaphysical meaning of crossing the Jordan River—where spiritual growth shifts from wandering to receiving. Drawing from the story of Joshua and the Ark of the Covenant, this episode dives deep into imposter syndrome, spiritual inheritance, and what it means to fully own what’s already yours.

This isn’t just about ancient history. It’s about you. Right now.

“You are not a visitor here. You are not stealing someone else’s promise. You belong in your calling.”

🔑 Key Themes:

• Why your Promised Land still requires a decision
• How the “giants in the land” represent your inner doubts
• The Jordan River as a symbol of final resistance and full embodiment
• The Ark of the Covenant as a symbol of your spiritual memory and authority
• The power of Ebenezers: stones of help and moments of remembering
• Walking into a life that’s already prepared for you

🗣️ Declarations from this episode:

“I am not a visitor here. I belong here.” “I am claiming what the Universe has already prepared for me.” “I will not shrink to make my calling more comfortable.” “I cross over in boldness, not fear.”

📚 Mentions & References:

• Joshua 3–4 (crossing the Jordan)
• The Ark of the Covenant: tablets, manna, and rod
• Ebenezer: "stone of help" as spiritual memory (1 Samuel 7:12)
• Neville Goddard: Imagination creates reality
• Florence Scovel Shinn: Your word is your wand

💡 Reflection Questions:

• What’s the “land” you’ve been standing on the edge of?
• What would it look like to stop performing and start receiving?
• Where do you need to build an Ebenezer in your life—a moment of remembering that you’ve been helped?

🔗 Want more?

• Visit realwithoutreligion.com for tools, meditations, and upcoming events
• Share this episode with someone standing at their own crossing
• Leave a review if this spoke to your spirit

📢 Final Word:

The Universe has already said yes. The doors are open. The ground is yours.

Now—go take it. Amenaste.

If You are Moved to Do So, Support our Work: