Reliable Truth

When Jesus raises from the dead and ascends to the right hand of the Father, what is He doing? What is Jesus doing now? He does not sit idly in heaven. As our raised and ascended Lord, Jesus lives right now, praying and interceding for us, His people. Hebrews 7:25 tells us:  "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them."...

What is the role of understanding in our lives? I remember years ago, driving back from a vacation with our kids, who at the time were about 4 and 5 years old. They were happily watching a cartoon. We happened upon a really bad storm, like nothing I had ever run into before. I finally had to pull over to wait it out. It really shook me up. Well, I looked back at my kids, and they were totally engr...

What is the purpose of planting? Of course, the purpose of planting is to yield something more than just the seeds that one plants. The purpose of planting is to yield something of value, like forests, food, shade or beauty. Jesus tells us in John 15:8, "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." Yet, we cannot make the fruit ourselves. Only God can...

How much would it take to satisfy my heart? How much is enough? Interestingly, there are people who don't have much that want more, understandably, and then there are people that have a whole lot, and they still want more. And neither group stops to ask the question: Do I have enough?

Are you passing wisdom on to the next generation? Do you have young men in your family or life? The book of Proverbs is an extremely important book for finding practical truths and principles to help us in wise living. As we are gaining wisdom, it is a worthy endeavor to look for ways to share it with others, particularly to those younger than us. Proverbs 25:2 tells us that,  "It is the glory of...

The doctrine of election can be a matter of division among a lot of Christians. Today's Richard's guest, Dr. Mark Gignilliat, discusses some overlapping and important theological concerns that the Bible itself raises, in terms of what we are as human beings and the necessity of God's grace to enter into our lives and to raise us into new life in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians...

What is the quality of your work? Would you like to get understanding on how to live a more fruitful life? In today's message, we continue looking at the metaphor of the different types of soil that the Word of God fell on. We'll look at three things that keep us from being fruitful: worry, deceit and the desire for other things.

The most widely used metaphor in the Bible is farming. Metaphors are clearly one of the ways that God uses to teach us spiritual truth. In John 1, we learn that John the Baptist leads Andrew to Christ, and Andrew, one of the 12 disciples leads his brother Peter to Christ. And then Phillip, one of the 12 disciples leads Nathaniel to Christ - Phillip brings him to "come and see" Jesus. Tim Keller sa...

What would it mean for the world if Jesus truly did rise from the dead? And what does it mean to me personally - or does it mean anything at all to me? For many years C.S. Lewis thought the Bible and the stories of the resurrection were all a bunch of myths, kind of like Norse mythology. But I would just say that the evidence for the resurrection is quite compelling, particularly if you'll take th...

What is Lent, and why is it important? Much like Advent leading up to Christmas, Lent is a season that's really a gift for us. It is a time to become conscious and to take some time to enter into thought, prayer and repentance as we prepare for Easter Sunday. Christians have an unusual relationship with the concept of time. We live in the present here on earth, but the Bible also lets us know that...

How did God design us, and what were we made to long for? God is a relational being, and we are in His image, so we are also relational beings. Relationships are inherent to who we are as people. If we were not made relational, then there would be no such thing as loneliness. Why do people get lonely? Life is bankrupt without relationships. Former pro football player Joe Ermann says this about men...

What would say are the biggest struggles in your life? In Part 3 we discussed how to grow in wisdom as men. Now, using that wisdom, let's look at how to confront the three deadly sins - pride, greed and envy. My desire is that these messages help bring you wisdom and freedom to live as healthy men. >>Watch on YouTube

What role do our choices play in our health? In Part 1 we learned the importance of being centered on truth. Last week we discussed how to guard and look after your heart and mind - even recognizing that the heart and the mind are one. Now in Part 3 we dive into growing in wisdom as men. Proverbs 24:5 tells us that "A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power." Wise people are for...

What has more power over you - your mind or your heart? Which one rules over you? The heart can easily overcome or override what you know. The heart is the seat of the emotions and has the ability to take charge of your thinking. Last week we looked at the foundational principles to living a healthy life: - Being transparent - Dealing with the past - Dealing with the future - Emotional health We c...

What does it mean to be a healthy man? This is a complex issue. One definition of the word  healthy  is, "a state of physical, mental and emotional well-being. A healthy person functions well in their day-to-day living, as opposed to being dysfunctional. I propose to show you how the foundation of our health is actually spiritual, along with being centered on the truth. Being centered on the truth...

How do you respond when you experience hardship? How many of us face moments in our life when we don't have a plan? Serious illness, financial loss, failure... how we need to have this as our prayer from 2 Chronicles 20:12 "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You." Our guest is Jerry Leachman, sharing this message at our recent Men's Breakfast. James 5:16 tells us that  "The fervent pra...

What is the power of a humble life? Two verses sum up how God views pride and humility: Proverbs 16:5 tells us that, "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this, they will not go unpunished." James 4:6 "But He gives us more grace. That is why scripture says that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. Those are powerful words: God detests the proud . The word oppos...

How important is unity in ministry? After an interval of 14 years, Paul goes back to Jerusalem to confront 2 false brothers - false teachers. And he also went to see all of the 12 disciples, to make sure that they were unified in their mission of Christ with him. Tim Keller writes: "If the other apostles had not confirmed Paul, if they had not renounced the false teachers, it would be very hard fo...

Do you think God has things that He wants us to do - that He appoints us to do? It is an interesting thought! When Jesus appeared to Saul (Paul's previous name) on the road to Damascus, Jesus told him, "Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the...

Today's episode previously aired on this podcast with the title "Seeking the favor of men or God?" I share it again today as it is Part 2 of our study of Galatians. Isn't it interesting to think about how we let other people have such an influence on how we live our lives. I think we would all agree that the people in our lives are important to us. In fact, relationships are the substance of life....

When I first became a Christian, I didn't think much of the book of Galatians. I didn't understand what Paul was saying. But now here I am some 47 years later, I have a much better understanding of Galatians, and I love it. I deeply appreciate it. Paul wrote this letter just 17 years after Christ's death and resurrection. He emphasized the many eye witnesses that were still alive at that time and...

What is God like? What are the most significant attributes of God that you think of? Many people would respond that he is a righteous God, a holy God. He is all powerful. He is loving, he is merciful. He is a just God. But maybe his most important attribute is one that we don't think about very often. The prophet Jeremiah tells us in chapter 31, verse 34 that God is knowable . Think about that. He...

Today my guest is Dr. Michael Green, bringing us a message from Acts 18, to begin the new year with renewed hope and courage.  Lift up your eyes to see what just one man can do for the cause of Christ. Remember, one person plus God is always a majority!

Are you a part of the remnant? Jerry Leachman of  ⁠Leachman Ministries⁠  joins us with a message for men - to help us examine where we are in life. Many people are wondering in our culture today, "Am I seeing the America I have known fundamentally change before my eyes?" And maybe it’s never coming back. I’m going to talk about the remnant today, because in the Bible and all the way thro...

Today Dr. John Guest brings a message of hope in the certainty of Jesus Christ. "I wasn’t raised to go to church. I did think Christians were soft. Pastors in England would talk in a rather slow and boring tone, and it was sort of remote. I didn’t go to church, but I picked them up on the radio and when there was no such thing as television when I was a child and from time to time, you’d hear one...