Bible in Life

For updates and info, subscribe to John's website at  johnwhittaker.net Have you ever fasted? If so, what kind of experience was it for you? Did it draw closer to God? How so? Or was it so miserable it made you wonder why anyone in their right mind would ever fast?  What does skipping a meal or two have to do with God anyhow?  In this episode looks at Jesus' critique of one mispractice of fasting...

Do you want to know Jesus? Do you want to become like Him? Prayer is vital to that. In the episode, John explores Jesus' teaching about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8, the second example Jesus gives of doing righteous deeds to be noticed by others. He ends the episode by reflecting on the essence of prayer as seen in the passage.  You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consist...

I'm sure you've been told that being generous is a good thing. But did you know it can be harmful to your spiritual health? According to Jesus, we can give in a such a way that it doesn't draw us closer to God and doesn't make us more like Jesus. We can give in such a way that it twists our soul. That's the topic in this episode of the Bible in Life.  As always, if you appreciate this teaching sha...

Looking good isn't bad. But when it comes to the following Jesus and becoming like him,"looking good" can be a significant barrier.  In this episode, John unpacks the next major section of the Sermon on the Mount (barriers to surpassing righteousness) and begins to explore the first barrier - keeping up religious appearances.  As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on facebook,...

God is love and invites us into a life of love ... a lif of love that's so rich, we are able to love anybody and everybody - including those who are against us.   This kind of love is the epitome of surpassing righteousness, so it's the culmination of Jesus' examples. In loving this way, we become like God who loves all people and does good to all people.  As always, if you appreciate this teachin...

In this special bonus episode, John explores how to become the kind of person who is actively kind to people who aren't kind to you. This follows up episode 12 which looked at the meaning of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:38-42. Jesus' teaching is so contrary to the usual human way of living and we can feel like no matter how hard we try we just can't do it.  Well that's because trying - even trying...

It doesn't take long to learn that some people aren't very nice, that some people are gonna treat us poorly. Conventional wisdom has one way to deal with it; Jesus has another.  In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus passes on to us one the most important and most distinctive traits about us who follow Him. This trait set Him and sets us a part from so much that goes on in this world. ...

Jesus envisions a world where your word is your bond ... where you don't have to promise or swear or convince people that what you say is true. A world where a handshake is all that's necesary. A world where you can trust each other and count on each other because each and every one of us has complete integrity. And that world begins right here, with me and you. Would you share this podcast with a...

Divorce hurts. It hurt people in Jesus' day. It hurts people today. It's not the way it's supposed to be. No one dreams of meeting the love of their life, getting married, and 4 years later having it all end in divorce.  In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to the betrayal that divorce is ... that it's another way of being unfaithful to your spouse.  There's great wisdom here,...

We live in a sex-driven society. Sex is used to sell everything from cars to toothpaste! Porn has taken over the internet. But misuse of sex is nothing new. And Jesus has some important wisdom concerning sexual faithfulness and purity.  In this episode of Bible in Life, John guides us through Jesus' words about adultery, lust, faithfulness and sexual purity.  If you're finding these podcasts helpf...

Just because you've never killed anyone doesn't mean your living the way God designed you to live. And murder isn't the only form of violence towards each other. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus begins to illustrate what surpassing righteousness looks like ... surpassing righteousness goes to the heart of the matter. And that means it deals with your anger, and mine.  Jesus intends...

Is the OT Law bad? Did Jesus come to nullify the Law? With all of the wrong people flocking to Jesus, does that suggest that Jesus has no standards? Just how righteous does Jesus expect you to be? In this podcast, John tackles the thesis paragraph for the Sermon on the Mount - the paragraph that sets up everythng else in the sermon. In this paragraph, Jesus answers the question, How righteous do I...

Jesus has an open door policy to His kingdom. And once He's welcomed you in - regardless of where you've come from - he bestow on you a high and holy calling ... and He intends to make you the kind of person that's fit to carry out that vocation. In this episode, John explores Jesus' words describing that vocation and how we can live that out in and through all the parts of our life.  Remember to...

Who is welcome in Jesus' kingdom? Who can experience the blessing of His kingdom? In this episode, John explores the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount, traditionally called the Beattitudes. He questions a common understanding that the beattitudes are virtues for us to pursue and offers an alternative approach.  If you find John's teaching helping spread the word by sharing on facebook, inst...

Often times, we think of our spiritual life as the religous activities of our life. So we answer the question, How's your spiritual life been lately? by referencing our devotional life - our Bible reading and prayer life. That's important for sure, but Jesus' view of the spiritual is much more all-inclusive and much more down to earth. In Jesus' view, you only have one life - and it's either spiri...

This episode looks at Paul's example of the radical reorientation of life that occured when he met Jesus - how Paul's focus, ambitions, and goal for his life changed from the day he met Jesus. Paul's example challenges us to evaluate our life: what is the #1 goal for our life? Become a patron and support the Show by going to  Patreon . 

In this episode John reflects on John 15:1-11 and the key to lasting joy. After all, who doesn't want more consistent joy in their life?! Become a patron and support the Show by going to  Patreon . 

In this very first Bible in Life podcast John introduces himself and explores the imagery of a flourishing tree in Psalm 1 as a picture of a life rooted in God's word.  Become a patron and support the Show by going to  Patreon .