Episodes

The thought from above for this episode is: Remember the Door. In this episode, James Bryan Smith recites a poem by Samuel M. Shoemaker titled, "So I Stand By The Door" Smith uses the poem to help explain his thought from above and how we too can, stand by the door for others. The poem is about being aware of those who have yet to enter into the Christian faith. When we stand by the door, we are not merely standing there and doing nothing. We are standing by the door to help those pass through t...

The thought from above for this episode is: Faith is acting on what you believe. James uses a story about the Prussian missionary George Mueller to help explain this week’s thought from above. George was crossing the Atlantic in August 1877 when his ship ran into thick fog. He explained to the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by the following afternoon, but the Captain said that he was slowing the ship down for safety and Müller’s appointment would have to be missed. Müller asked to use t...

In this episode James Bryan Smith sits down for a Things Above Conversation with author Jan Johnson. James and Jan have known each other for many years and both were mentored by Dallas Willard. Jan is a a writer, speaker and spiritual director who has degrees in biblical studies and Christian spirituality. She has written twenty-three books, including Enjoying the Presence of God, When the Soul Listens, and many magazine articles. She is also a teacher/spiritual director for The Apprentice Exper...

In episode 51 titled "Adversity can be a Blessing" James Bryan Smith tells the story of his friend Tim's biking accident. Tim's story of healing is an amazing one but there is even more to this story. A few months after his accident, while Tim was driving home from church, he noticed a pair of eyes looking at him from the road. Unsure of what he saw, he turned around to go and see what it was. When he arrived he found a man lying on the ground in extreme pain next to a damaged bicycle. The man's...

“When the clock of one’s own crisis strikes, the hour for believing in the benevolence of a greater mystery is near” (Adrian van Kaam) We all go through our lives and encounter times of adversity. In this Things Above episode, James Bryan Smith shares a story of a close friend who suffered a terrible injury but was able to find hope through his adversity. When the clock of crisis strikes in our lives as Adrian van Kaam said, where do we turn? James friend Tim chose to turn to the benevolence of ...

In this Things Above episode, James Bryan Smith explains the concept of a spiritual mirror. Smith learned about the phrase “spiritual mirror” from George Macdonald, a great Scottish writer and preacher in the 19th century. James quotes from Macdonalds book Creation in Christ to help explain the concept of the spiritual mirror. “When we think Christ, Christ comes; when we receive his image into our spiritual mirror, he enters with it. When our hearts turn to him, that is opening the door to him, ...

Josh Larsen sits down with James Bryan Smith for a "Things Above Conversation" about Josh's latest book "Movies are Prayers." Josh is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, author of Movies Are Prayers, and editor and film critic at Think Christian, a website exploring faith and pop culture. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally for more than two decades. In this episode, Josh and James dive deep into the impact art has on our theology. Movies do more than t...

Anger and worry are two emotions we deal with on a daily basis. We worry because we feel like it will help us to fix whatever problem we are dealing with. We use anger to make others behave as we want but in the long haul, it is destructive. In this episode, James Bryan Smith explains this glorious thought: relax, Jesus runs the universe. When we face problems, when we feel ourselves becoming angry or anxious, we do well to turn to Jesus, to invite him into our situation, to see our situation in...

In this Things Above conversation, James Bryan Smith interviews William Paul Young. Paul is best known for his book “The Shack” which has sold over a million copies. Young is a native of Alberta, Canada and now lives in Washington with his wife Kim. He is also the author of “The Crossroads” “Eve” and “Lies We Believe About God” In this episode, Paul and James discuss the struggles that came with publishing “The Shack” as well as how it became such a huge success. Paul explains that he only inten...

Discovering our identity can be a lifelong journey. We all want to know who we are. In this episode, James Bryan Smith explains how our journey towards self-discovery is found in the invitation to be with Jesus. If we are to discover who we truly are, we must do so through discovering Jesus’ call to us. Smith goes on to explain that we are God’s beloved - that is our true identity. Jesus knows each of us individually, and sets each of us on a unique mission. By responding to Jesus’ invitation, w...