Become New with John Ortberg

We're surrounded by voices telling us to maximize ourselves: our looks, productivity, wealth, health, status, experiences, and potential.
But Jesus offers a radically different path to maximum life.
In this episode, John Ortberg explores the “self-maximizer” inside us and contrasts it with John the Baptist's famous words: “He must increase; I must decrease.”
The paradox of God's kingdom is that abundant life doesn't come from making ourselves bigger. It comes as we loosen our grip on ego, reputation, and self-promotion and give ourselves to love and service.
Want to live life to the max?
Try a little less of yourself.
In this episode: life-maxing • John the Baptist • Philippians 2 • the self-maximizer • Psalm 146 • abundant life
#JohnOrtberg #SpiritualFormation #Psalm146 #AbundantLife #Jesus #ChristianFaith
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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 How to Maximize Your Life
 00:29 Welcome to the Age of Life-Maxing
 00:50 Looks, Status & Productivity Maxing
 01:08 What's Wrong With Self-Maxing?
 01:34 God Is Actually Into Abundance
 02:04 Biblical Maxers
 02:26 Absalom: The Looks-Maxer
 02:42 Five Pounds of Hair?!
 03:04 He Maxed Himself to Death
 03:26 The Wealth-Maxer & Bigger Barns
 03:47 Solomon Maxes Pleasure
 04:19 The Original God-Maxing Temptation
 04:30 The Self-Maximizer Inside You
 04:54 “My First Job Is to Realize My Potential”
 05:22 Is Commitment Keeping a Sucker's Game?
 05:48 The Self-Maximizer vs. Commitment
 06:02 What's in It for Me?
 06:25 When Self Becomes the Center
 06:53 The Ego-Driven Pastor
 07:14 The New Org Chart: Bigger Me
 07:38 There Is Another Way
 08:02 John the Baptist Starts Losing Followers
 08:24 You Need to Max!
 08:45 The Friend of the Bridegroom
 09:04 “He Must Increase, I Must Decrease”
 09:33 Jesus Minimizes Himself
 10:10 Meaning Is the New Maxing
 10:38 How to Min to Max Today
 11:05 Give, Encourage, Listen & Serve
 11:26 Less Ego, More Life
 11:54 Life to the Max
 12:03 John Forgot the Psalm 😂
 12:22 Psalm 146: God's Kind of Greatness
 12:43 Bonus Material

What does your soul actually need for self-care?
Psalm 19 gives a surprising answer: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.”
In this episode, John Ortberg explores why God's instruction isn't meant to burden us, but to help make us whole. Our souls become divided when our thoughts, desires, values, words, and actions pull in different directions. God's Word shows us what is good and helps bring our lives back into alignment.
John also shares how memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 helped him confront anger and resentment in his own life. Sometimes soul care is as simple as taking one piece of God's Word and asking Him to help us actually live it.
Go ahead and take the walk, light the candle, or get the massage. But don't miss the deeper invitation:
Let God revive your soul.
In this episode: Psalm 19 • wholeheartedness • internal integration • 1 Corinthians 13 • Dallas Willard • becoming whole
#Psalm19 #JohnOrtberg #SoulCare #SpiritualFormation #Psalms #BibleStudy #ChristianFaith
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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 What Does Your Soul Really Need?
 00:32 Self-Care Isn't Just Candles & Massages
 00:49 Psalm 19 & the Surprising Answer
 01:10 The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
 01:42 The Sun Is Not God
 02:27 Creation Is Good, But It's Not #1
 02:52 The Law Revives the Soul
 03:21 What Is the Soul?
 03:52 Seriously...the Law?
 04:12 Sweeter Than Honey, More Precious Than Gold
 04:31 Why Your Soul Needs God's Instruction
 04:56 What Does Wholeheartedness Mean?
 05:29 Internal Integration
 05:58 Becoming a Whole Person
 06:23 The Kind of Person You're Called to Be
 06:49 When Your Desires Pull in Opposite Directions
 07:20 How We Become Divided
 07:43 Can a Bad Person Be Wholehearted?
 08:08 Why a Disordered Soul Hurts
 08:32 Aristotle: The Soul in Strife
 09:00 Why Divided People Can't Be Fully Known
 09:16 “I Never Knew You”
 09:41 The Soul Needs the Good
 10:12 Choose One Thing to Practice Today
 10:42 Memorizing 1 Corinthians 13
 11:02 When John Wanted to Withdraw
 11:17 Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind
 12:01 Why God's Words Are Precious
 12:26 The Reward Is Becoming Whole
 12:50 The Real Meaning of Soul Care
 13:19 The Law of the Lord Revives the Soul

We're surrounded by surveys.
Rate your phone call.
Rate your church experience.
Rate your doctor's visit.
John even got asked to rate his experience giving a urine sample. 😂
But what about the things that actually matter?
In this reflection on Psalm 36, John Ortberg gives us two surveys worth taking every day.
Survey #1: Is there anything in me that needs correcting?
Instead of reading about “the wicked” and immediately thinking about someone else, Psalm 36 invites us to look honestly at ourselves.
What am I seeing?
How am I speaking?
Where am I shading the truth?
What good am I failing to do?
Where are my thoughts taking me?
John compares this to surfing. His instructor repeatedly tells him:
“Look at the wave.”
If you don't pay attention to the wave, you won't know where it's taking you.
Our thoughts work the same way.
Then comes:
Survey #2: How good is God?
His love reaches to the heavens.
His faithfulness reaches to the skies.
His righteousness is like the highest mountains.
His justice is like the great deep.
How high do you rate God's goodness?
The numbers don't go high enough.
And if you want one final survey, John offers a little extra credit:
“When I survey the wondrous cross...”
Look honestly at yourself.
Look carefully at God.
Then look at the cross, where the fullness of His love and goodness is on display.
In this episode:
Why we're living in “survey palooza”
What the Psalms teach us about honest self-examination
Psalm 36 and the human heart
How to recognize what needs correcting
Sins of omission
Why our words become subtly deceitful
The importance of listening
John's surfing lesson: “Look at the wave”
How to pay attention to your thoughts
Measuring the goodness of God
God's immeasurable love and faithfulness
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
Scripture:
 Psalm 36
#Psalm36 #JohnOrtberg #Psalms #SpiritualFormation #SelfExamination #Prayer #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #GodsLove #Faith

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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF
00:00 The Only Surveys You Need Today
 00:33 Welcome to Survey Palooza
 00:54 John Gets Surveyed About a Urine Test
 01:31 Are We Measuring What Really Matters?
 01:54 The Psalms: Your Soul Book
 02:24 Your Real Self Talking to the Real God
 02:53 Psalm 36 & the Human Heart
 03:26 Survey #1: What Needs Correcting?
 03:39 What Does It Mean to Fear God?
 04:27 Do You Flatter Yourself?
 04:50 What Are Your Eyes Looking At?
 05:12 Can You Detect Your Own Sin?
 05:37 Are Your Words Completely Honest?
 05:53 Sins of Omission
 06:21 Happiness, Connection & Listening
 06:43 Are You Rejecting What Is Wrong?
 07:12 John's Surfing Lesson
 07:38 Look at the Wave
 07:52 Why You Have to Watch Your Thoughts
 08:20 Survey #2: How Good Is God?
 08:49 God's Love Is Off the Charts
 09:10 God's Faithfulness, Righteousness & Justice
 09:35 The Great Lake Tahoe Debate
 10:03 God Cares for Every Living Creature
 10:27 God's River of Delights
 10:47 In Your Light We See Light
 11:07 The Two Surveys
 11:27 Extra Credit: Survey the Wondrous Cross
 11:48 Nice Work

Remember where you come from.

According to John Ortberg, remembering where you truly come from gives you two remarkable gifts: Identity and hope.

In this reflection on Psalm 139, John explores what it means to be “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

In this episode:
Psalm 139 and where we truly come from
Why remembering your origin gives you identity
What it means to be fearfully and wonderfully made
Your body as your “little kingdom”
The biblical word golem
Gollum and the Ring
“What's your ring?”
William Wordsworth and “trailing clouds of glory”
Why we lose our sense of wonder
The danger of “peaking too soon”
Jesus and the lilies of the field
Why remembering where you come from gives you hope
The more important question: Where are you headed?

Scriptures:
Psalm 139:13–16 • Genesis 2:7 • Matthew 6:28–30

#Psalm139 #JohnOrtberg #Psalms #Identity #Hope #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Purpose #FearfullyAndWonderfullyMade

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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Remember Where You Come From
00:34 Where Do I Come From?
00:57 The Birds & the Bees Mix-Up
01:17 A Deeper Question About Your Origin
01:44 Remembering Gives You Identity
02:02 John Is a Rockford Guy
02:25 Humility & Knowing Who You Are
02:49 Psalm 139: Fearfully & Wonderfully Made
03:15 Your Body Is Your Little Kingdom
03:49 Your Body Will Be Redeemed
04:15 Your Unformed Body & the Golem
04:40 The Jewish Legend of the Golem
05:03 Gollum, Sméagol & the Ring
05:30 What's Your Ring?
05:50 What Are You Tempted to Worship?
06:16 Wordsworth & Intimations of Immortality
06:30 Trailing Clouds of Glory
07:00 You Come From God
07:24 Why We Lose Our Sense of Wonder
07:46 Where You Come From Tells You Where You're Going
08:06 Don't Peak Too Soon
08:29 Gollum Peaked Too Soon
08:44 The Second Gift: Hope
09:06 Splendor in the Grass
09:15 Jesus & the Lilies of the Field
09:42 God Will Clothe You
09:53 Find Strength in What Remains
10:00 Faith That Looks Through Death
10:20 You're Headed Toward Splendor
10:30 You Can't Go Back
10:46 Where Are You Headed?

What happens when God shows you something about yourself you don't want to see?

Our instinct is often to defend.

Explain.

Distract ourselves.

Push it away.

But what if the uncomfortable truth is actually an invitation to transformation?

In this reflection on Psalm 32, John Ortberg explores the relationship between pain, honesty, forgiveness, and genuine change.

John begins personally, describing a conversation in which a longtime friend helped him recognize uncomfortable patterns of comparison, envy, and competition in himself.

Instead of defending himself, John is learning to say:
“Yep. That's me. God, I need Your help.”

Psalm 32 describes the blessed person as someone “in whose spirit is no deceit.”

Then John tells the extraordinary story of Tom Tarrants, a violent white supremacist and KKK terrorist who was imprisoned in Mississippi.

In prison, Tarrants encountered the words of Jesus:
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

His life began to change.

The man who once participated in racist terrorism eventually devoted himself to forgiveness, racial reconciliation, and serving the very people he once hated.

How far can somebody fall and still be changed by God?
Maybe much further than we imagine.

So when your conscience shows you something today, don't immediately run.

Don't defend.

Don't hide.

Ask:
God, help me see the truth about myself.

And then:
Would You change me?

In this episode:
- Psalm 32 and honest confession
- What happens when we become defensive
- Dallas Willard on pain and reality
- Why hiding the truth fragments us internally
- David, Psalm 51, and forgiveness
- The story of Tom Tarrants
- Radical transformation from hatred to reconciliation
- What it means to have “no deceit” in your spirit
- How to respond to conviction
- Why God's grace can change anyone

Scriptures:
 Psalm 32 • Psalm 51 • Psalm 1 • Matthew 16:26 • 2 Samuel 11–12

#Psalm32 #JohnOrtberg #Forgiveness #Psalms #Transformation #SpiritualFormation #Confession #ChristianFaith #Grace #BibleStudy

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
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GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 The Power God Has to Change You
 00:36 When Someone Tells You the Truth About Yourself
 01:00 Stop Defending Yourself
 01:26 What Do You Do With the Pain?
 01:49 Psalm 32 & David's Repentance
 02:20 Blessed After Going Down the Wrong Path
 02:27 Forgiven and Changed
 02:50 In Whose Spirit Is No Deceit
 03:13 Pain Is Running Into Reality
 03:34 When I Kept Silent
 04:00 Why Sin Divides Us Inside
 04:20 Confession & Forgiveness
 04:36 How Far Down Can Someone Fall?
 04:52 The Story of Tom Tarrants
 05:26 A Violent KKK Terrorist
 06:00 A Bible in a Mississippi Prison
 06:29 Jesus Changes a Life
 06:55 Enemies Praying Together
 07:14 A Fraternity That Transcends All Others
 07:37 The FBI Investigates His Conversion
 08:10 From Hatred to Reconciliation
 08:41 Forgiven People Can Help Others
 09:03 The Truth About Me
 09:21 The Lord's Unfailing Love Surrounds You
 09:43 Don't Push the Truth Away
 10:05 God, Help Me See Myself
 10:23 Can God Change a Heart of Hatred?
 10:33 Only God