Practical Faith

The Bible is a miraculous book: the Almighty, the Eternal God & Creator of the universe and everything that exists – He revealed Himself and His will to mankind.  He inspired specific individuals to record His revelation of Himself and His will, and those records have been preserved and passed down and translated into our own languages so that we can read and know the nature, the character, th...

The Bible is the most amazing document in the history of humanity.  No other document has been preserved and passed down so perfectly – not even close!  The Bible is the autobiography of God.  It is the record of Him, His character, His activities with and through mankind, and His plan for the complete restoration of creation.  It is the guidebook for our life and faith as believers.  As such, it...

My wife can fall asleep in seconds.  But it takes me 20-30 minutes, even when I’m exhausted!  How do you redeem that time?  What can you do with those moments - which are sometimes fearful, sometimes frustrating - that pass between turning off the light, and drifting off to sleep?

Today we tackle the big question of trust in God: How can we know God is trustworthy?  Titus 1:2 tells us that “God cannot lie”.  How can we know this is true?  When the Biblical writers used the word hope - and they did so quite a lot, 180 times throughout the Bible! - they were referring to something they were absolutely certain would happen.  There was no doubt in their minds that what they wer...

Hope in the Bible is not just wishful thinking; it is a future certainty based on the promises and character of our faithful promise-keeping God! According to 2 Corinthians 1:20-22, every single promise God has made is “Yes!” in Christ! How do we know this? How can we be sure? Because God has put His own Spirit in our hearts as a deposit to guarantee what is to come!

Biblical hope is real.  It is sure.  It is certain.  It is guaranteed.  Biblical hope is not like modern hope.  The way we talk about “hope” today is nothing like the “hope” the Biblical writers spoke of.  We use hope just to describe our wishful thinking.  We use the word “hope” when what we really mean is that we “would like” for some particular thing to happen.  We have no assurance that the th...

Our lives are completely tied to our phones and our social media accounts – so much so that, if we are not careful, they will rob us of having any alone time with God.  We have to be intentional to disconnect from the world – for just a few minutes each day – in order to reconnect with God.  Here are 5 practical ways to do that...

Focused time alone together is the essence of any quality relationship.  Now, I’m not anti-technology.  I am SO thankful for phones and the internet!  These things can be tremendous blessings, but sometimes, I have to lay aside the blessings of God in order to enjoy and commune with God Himself.  On today's episode, I will share two simple ways to disconnect from the web in order to reconnect...

What is the #1 thief of our intimacy with God today?  I would say that my relationship with God - that constant connection with Him - the intimacy I get to share with my Heavenly Father - is the most important thing in my life.  If you’re listening to this, I bet you would say it’s pretty important to you, too.  So, for me, it’s worth identifying and examining the things in my life that I allow to...

Today, I’d like to answer the question: “Is the Old Testament really relevant to my life as a follower of Jesus today?”  Our understanding of Jesus - who He was and what He was about - is directly linked to our understanding of the Old Testament!  As followers of Jesus, it is essential for us to understand that the OT and the NT are inseparable. They are one volume - one book - one story - one con...

In my late teens and early 20’s, I had quite a full, fun, and fulfilling life as a Christian.  I liked going to church, playing music for God, and praying with friends...  Then, I would read in the New Testament about the disciples’ sufferings for Christ, Stephen’s martyrdom, John the Baptist’s beheading, John’s exile...  Paul and James both write repeatedly about “sharing in Christ’s sufferings”....

Today, I want to share with you a super-practical way to read your Bible that will help multiply your understanding of God’s Word.  The Bible is made up of 66 smaller Books, and together they tell one Big Story, with one primary theme: God redeems.  But we oftentimes lose sight of the unified Story of the Bible in our varied attempts to read it...   How can we help ourselves understand the stories...

I have seen many students, peers, dear friends – even faithful Christians – who get stymied in their discipleship journey, simply because they felt they could not take the next step forward.  Today's episode will help you get beyond that stuck place...

Discipleship is progressive, not stationary.  It’s dynamic, not static.  Active, not passive.  The path of discipleship is a continuous journey of moving progressively forward – from one point on the journey onto the next – not haphazardly, but purposefully – following the leadership of Jesus’ Spirit - step, by step, by step...

Discipleship is not something we merely stumble upon, accidentally...  Or like we wake up one day to be happily surprised that we somehow – inexplicably – resemble Christ!  No, discipleship is a process that requires daily exercise.  It is a constant practice that results – over time in cooperation with the Spirit – in maturity.  In today's episode, we will look at one Biblical example of thi...

I used to feel bad that I did not have some magnificent testimony of divine rescue...  I did not come to faith in Christ in a prison cell or after decades of substance abuse...  For many Christians, there was a single moment of life-change – a specific day of clarity – where the “light switch” of believing in & following Jesus drastically changed in their lives from “off” to “on”.  For me, my...

The Great Commission of our Lord is to go and make disciples, not believers.  The most important number in the Church today – the most critical statistic – is not the number of people who attend, it’s not even the number who believe in Jesus.  The Bible tells us that even demons believe!  The most vital gauge of the health, strength, and longevity of the Church is only this: the number of disciple...

In the previous episode, I explained how I personally interpret 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”.  In this episode, we explore what would it look like to “never hang up the phone receiver on God,” but to always stay on the line, ready for communication, whether speaking or listening.  Hear are 7 strategies that I have personally used to try to pray continuously...

1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to “pray without ceasing”.  How is this possible?  Can it even be done?  YES!  The concept of “praying without ceasing” is not about logging hours on some cosmic time sheet, hoping we can eventually reach that perfect score of “24/7”.  Pray without ceasing is about a mindset – a heartset – towards continual communication with God.  This episode of Practical Faith...

In this episode of Practical Faith, I share my prayer for anyone who is seeking to grow in their followership of Jesus.  It is rooted in two Scriptures – Psalm 1:1-3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.  Listen to my prayer, and pray along with me!  Then take a moment to read and to meditate upon these two Scriptures, and think: what prayer emerges out of your heart as you meditate on those words?

You CAN follow Jesus successfully!  I used to feel constantly defeated in my walk with the Lord.  But following Jesus is not about perfection; it’s about persistence.  The phrase “practice makes perfect” is incorrect.  Really, it’s “practice makes progress”.  The successful Christian life is not about maintaining sinless perfection all the time.  It is about a faithful life direction, pointing tow...

Welcome to the first-ever episode of "Practical Faith!" With short, bite-sized episodes, Practical Faith offers practical tools, free resources, and encouragement to help listeners from all walks of life to actively follow the example, teachings, and practices of Jesus in their own everyday lives.