Bible in Life

Dallas willard is famous for saying “grace is opposed to earning; it’s not opposed to effort.” This is important because living for Jesus isn’t gonna happen on accident. It takes effort. Grace will empower the effort, but it will still take wise intentional effort on our part.  The apostle Paul puts it this way: 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the pri...

How can a bike wheel help us understand living a more Jesus centered life?  If living a Jesus centered life means "to live is Christ," then think about your real, actual, everyday life. To live Jesus centered, doesn't only refer to your religious activities. It mostly refers to the stuff you do everyday. So what are the tasks, responsibilities, and roles that make up the days of your life?  What w...

What's the essence of a Jesus centered life? Paul makes a well-known statement in his letter to the Philippians that really gets at the heart of it. He says “to live is Christ and to die is gain" - Philippians 1:21.  Jesus = life! So much so, that even death is gain.  In Philippians 1, Paul is filling the church in Philippi in on his situation and circumstances and in doing so, he’s providing a co...

We all have things that drive what we do in life.  -we want people to like us -we want to appear competent -we want to get ahead in life -we want to be the best at -we just want to be happy -we want to have the freedom to travel  -We want _____ Fill in the blank for yourself. If we're going to live a Jesus centered life, what ought to drive us? In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Paul gives us a powerful ex...

We all have life pursuits of some sort… college, career, sports, hobbies, family.  We might even have dreams, things that if everything worked out, this is what we’d really want from life.  In a jesus centered life, all these aims and pursuits and goals are united together in one central pursuit, by one overarching goal … one pursuit that actually shapes and governs and influences every other purs...

Think of all the different messages you hear everyday ... -so many different news outlets  -articles coming through your social media channels -quotes, ideas, and memes -friends sharing their ideas and opinions  In fact, in 2020 on average, people spent 2.5 hrs per day on social media.  Think of your inbox ... in 2021 there were 320 billion emails sent worldwide everyday! 2021 estimates put the nu...

In this episode we reflect on another importance component of living a Jesus centered life. It has to do with where you live or dwell or abide.   It's found in John 15:1-5: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean becaus...

Think about your life …  -what makes up your life? -who are you?  -what matters in life? -where do you get your guidance and instruction for life? -how do you evaluate the value and success of your life? We typically think we have the right to determine the answers to these kinds of questions. It's our life, after all.  But as a disciple of Jesus, all of that changes. Our life is not our own. In f...

"How can my son keep his life centered on Jesus?" That was what the text said.  Why would she want her son's life to be centered on Jesus? Because she believed his life would be better if it was. As Andy Stanley has said, "Jesus makes your life better and makes you better at life."  So … What does it mean to live life centered on Jesus? And how can we do it?    Want to get more out of your Bible r...

How do you know what God is like?  Do we just guess?  Hope we get it right?  Give up concluding we could never know? In this episode, I offer another Christmas reflection by looking at John 1:14: "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth." Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Way...

The "Christmas story" of Jesus' birth reminds us that God isn't an ivory tower God. He isn't one who keeps away from the peasants up in His luxurious castle. He's a God of the ordinary in the midst of the ordinary.  This episode reflects on Hebrews 2:14-17 which tells us that Jesus' becoming 100% human was absolutely necessary to God's plan of rescue and renewal.  Want to get more out of your Bibl...

What is the key to a life of peace and joy?  In this episode I offer a simple reflection on how I would answer that question.    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.o...

The story of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16 is one of the more well-known stories in Acts. The whole story is powerful but there's a little detail that we often overlook. Paul could've avoided going to jail if he simply announced that he was a Roman citizen ... but he said nothing.  At least at first.  Then the next day, after he was beaten with rods, he announces it. Why this delay? And what do...

Your life is uniquely prepared by God for his honor. This is abundantly clear in the case of Saul (aka the apostle Paul). He was born a Jew in a major Greek city with Roman citizenship. Mix all that together and Saul was the perfect person to be the apostle to the Gentiles. If only he'd surrender it all to Jesus!  And he did.  And you? Your background and experiences can be used by God is unique w...

Saul's (the apostle Paul) conversion is one of the most dramatic stories in the book of Acts and certainly one of the most important conversions in all of Christian history.  But beyond being an amazing story, it has an important lesson for us. In fact, later in his life, Paul invites us to learn from his conversion and imitate the impact it had on his life (see Philippians 3:12-17).  Tune in to h...

Acts 5:1-11 contains one of the most shocking stories in the New Testament. It's the story of Ananias and Sapphira and it's a story we need to listen to. Luke has included this story to teach us a powerful lesson about the greatest threat to the effectiveness and progress of the church.    Check out the Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bibl...

When we encounter opposition to our faith in Jesus, often our knee-jerk prayer is for God to deal with those opposing us. Or for God to protect us.  Neither of those is necessarily wrong. We see examples of both kinds of prayer in the Bible.  But in Acts 4:23-31, the apostles pray in such a way that offers a real challenge to us. Their prayer is not for God to remove the opposition or to provide p...

Acts 2 describes what happens when God first pours out his Spirit and begins the age of the Messiah. It's like the birthday of the church if you will, and it shows us what kind of community the Holy Spirit creates.  It poses a real challenge to the church today ... and forces us to ask, what are we trying to create? What do we pour our time into? What metrics do we use to measure a "great church"?...

When we're mocked, insulted, attacked, or mistreated, how do followers of Jesus respond?  Someone ridicules you or attacks you on social media. A family member is rude and unkind. A coworker or neighbor mistreats you.  This is the stuff of everyday life, and the way of Jesus is incredibly unique in how we disciples respond to this stuff.  The entire New Testament is clear that we don't respond in...

In John 8:31-32, Jesus tells us the key to living free in Him. He says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  What does it mean to "continue" in His word? And how can we do that?  Check out this episode as we explore the how to live free in Christ by engaging deeply in his word. Support this ministry: Set up...

What's the Measure of Spiritual Maturity? Is it how involved you are at church? Is it how much you volunteer and serve? Is it bible knowledge? Prayer?  What is the goal we should be aiming for in our own spiritual growth and when helping others grow too? 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-w...

In Psalm 43:4, God is described as our "exceeding joy." The Holy Spirit grow joy in us (Galatians 5:22). Jesus wants us to have overflowing joy, and told us the secret to it (John 15:11).  So it's not surprising that the apostles assume that we go through life with incredibly great joy (1 Peter 1:6-9) and called us to live lives of joy (James 1:2 and Philippians 4:4).  When we know Jesus, we have...

Habakkuk 2:4 is a key verse for walking with God, and it's quoted several times in the New Testament in this regard.  Habakkuk may be my favorite Old Testament prophet. If I'm honest, the prophets can be hard to understand at times, but I get Habakkuk. And I love the message of trust in God, even when He doesn't make sense. In this way, Habakkuk shows us what God wants most from us: loyal, trustin...

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it. - Romans 8:24-25 Hope is a one of the major engines that drives our life as followers of Jesus. So in the final episode in this series, I want to look our perspective and our approach to life as we live dur...

One of the ways the already and not yet shapes our life is that we are citizens of heaven living in the present evil age. This means we are to live out the life of heaven in the cities and countries where we live ... to be a colony of heaven on earth.  The apostle Paul calls us to this when he says, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Chr...