Bible in Life

God is the absolute boss, but what kind of boss is he?  It is pretty common today to be suspicious of and to distrust authority. There's been so many bad authority figures and so much misuse of authority, that it's easy to react negatively to authority in general.  From politics to teachers to bosses and sadly even to parents, there have been plenty of self-serving, power hungry, and mean-spirited...

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body. We don’t actually own ourselves, our life, or even our body. This is true for all humans; it’s doubly true for us as followers of Jesus because we have been bought by...

Matthew 16:24-27 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? 27 For t...

What makes the Bible authoritative?  The Bible is so old and out of date….why would anyone listen to it?! Why should it have any authority in our lives?   Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible:  https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s...

The fear of God ... we don't talk about it much any more, and yet according to the Bible it's one of the best things for us. It's the source of wisdom and leads us into life! It's good for us. So in this episode we explore what it means to fear the Lord, how it provides wisdom, and sets us free from being self-willed.  Key Texts: Titus 1:7 Proverbs 9:10 2 Corinthians 5:10-11   Free 30 Page eBook t...

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the authority of God, the fear of God, and the rise of the autonomous self. I'm concerned that all too often, people who say they are followers of Jesus still live as if they have autonomy and authority over their own life ... not God. Even though they say Jesus is Lord, when push comes to shove, they are the ultimate authority in their life. And that's not g...

The Holy Spirit is central to our Christian life. His presence with us is one of the new things of age of Messiah. He is now God with us, knitting us together into one people of God (1 Cor 12:13) and transforming us.  Galatians 5:14-17 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care th...

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The Holy Spirit is God with us now, and walking by the Spirit is the solution to the dominance of the flesh. What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? Walking by the Spirit means going about life with the Spirit as your walking partner. You have the opportunity to have God be your closest companion in life! Romans 8:5-14 goes on to instruct us that walking by the Spirit involves our mind, specifica...

The Christian life is life in the Spirit. He empowers us to live the way God has called and created us to live. One of the key ways that's expressed in the New Testament is "walking by the Spirit."  What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?  How do we do that?  In this episode, we look at Romans 8:1-4 and reflect on what it means to walk by the Spirit.  Book: Walking in the Spirit, by Ken Berding....

Since he’s the Spirit of God, that means the Holy Spirit has been around all throughout the biblical story. He was clearly active and involved in God’s work of redemption in the OT: You see him right at the beginning hovering over the waters of creation  He empowers the craftsmen who build the tabernacle He anoints kings and prophets (David prays in ps. 51 for God not to take his Spirit from him) ...

The Holy Spirit, pt. 1. We are familiar with God the Father. And with Jesus. But the Holy Spirit? Not so much. As one author said, a lot of us feel like He's a the grey blur in our minds eye. In fact, Gordon Fee once said that a lot of Christians, while trinitarian by creed, are "binitarians" in practice. That is, we really only know two members of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is often unknown.  W...

My daughter - she's in her early 20's and has two kids - has been reading through the New Testament this year and then discussing what she's reading with me. I recorded our last conversation so I could share it here on the Bible in Life. We discuss questions out of Hebrews 3-6 ... questions like: -What's the rest mentioned in Hebrews 4? -Who is Melchizedek and what's the order of Melchizedek? -Wha...

Do we have the right books in the Bible ... especially in the New Testament?  What about the so-called "missing gospels"?  How did these books get chosen and other books get left out?  Who decided which books were in and which books were out? All of these questions concern the canon of the New Testament. And there's a lot of misinformation out there about this subject.  Support this ministry: Set...

Why did God give Israel the food laws?  No bacon. No ham. No shrimp.  What's the point?  And what does it have to do with being holy?  And how is it connect to non-Jews (gentiles) entering into the family of Jesus? Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teachin...

Jesus is famous for teaching in parables. In all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus explains that he teaches in parables so that "seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand." Which raises a serious question... Didn't Jesus want people to understand his teaching?  Why would he hide it from them and try to confuse them? Doesn't he want people to get it so that c...

What is the mission of the church?  Very often there are lots of different answers given to this question. But there shouldn't be. In fact, I am repeatedly surprised how much confusion there is about this. There should be no confusion.  Jesus made the mission of the church crystal clear.  This is not something we have to wonder about. There should be complete agreement about this. We don’t get to...

The story of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts is a shocking story. Two members of the church sell their property, bring the money to the apostles, are called out, and die! Why? Why did God kill Ananias and Sapphira?  And why did Luke include the story in the book of Acts? What lesson does the story of Ananias and Sapphira teach? Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-ti...

What does is mean to be led in triumph in Christ and be the fragrance of Christ in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16?  We like impressive people. People who look good. People who are successful. People who's lives look fun and exciting. Paul's life was none of that, and that made him unimpressive.  In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul gives us word picture for how he viewed his life and ministry and it's subversive...

The cross. Good Friday.  At the time Jesus was crucified, a cross was an object of horror and a symbol of shame. So vulgar was it, that Romans wouldn't even use the word in polite company. But now... now the the cross is a wall hanging, jewelry, and a symbol of hope. All because one particular crucifixion changed everything. More than forgiveness (as great and necessary as that is!), the cross of...

The Listener's Commentary Study Hub makes it easier for you to study the Bible and is a great way to support this ministry. Check it out at the link below:   https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   GIVE - The Listener’s Commentary and the Bible in Life are a CROWDFUNDED Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:   https://www.lis...

Have you heard the phrase “the power of prayer”? Or “prayer changes things”? We've been taught to believe God answers prayer. In fact James 5:16 is a well-known version among Christians: "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." And it's true ... Except when it isn't.  Sometimes, it seems like prayer doesn't make any difference at all. Sometimes it feels like God is hiding. Wh...

Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for you...

We've said a lot about living a Jesus centered life and how it takes deliberate intentional effort. If we're not careful, that could to a lot of striving ... a lot of trying to get it right ... to doing more and more, so we can live Jesus centered.  But that misses the importance and power of grace. Living Jesus centered happens in the circle of grace.  So in this final episode on living Jesus cen...

Jesus centered living happens on purpose. We need to arrange our life to live attached to Jesus so we can become like Jesus. This is the essence of being a disciple and this is heart of living a Jesus centered life.  So how do we arrange our life for this? What's the plan? What are the objectives?  That's what we explore in this episode of the Bible in Life.  Listener's Commentary Study Hub -  Joi...