Reliable Truth

What is prayer? And what does it mean to have a prayer life? The last time that we talked on prayer, I commented that in order to have an effective prayer life, there are certain crucial principles that are involved. Perhaps the most important is this truth of approaching God with a heart of humility. Prayer requires humility. Interestingly, your prayer life is the key that produces humility in yo...

How can you put science with faith?  In this episode, my guest is Dr. Ken Boa. He is exploring a huge topic, so get your seat belt on! ​​We are discussing science, faith and reason. The typical mindset is to ask. "How can you put science with faith?" Well, first of all, the actual origin of science occurred in a context of Christian faith. In fact, science, as we know it, only appeared ONCE in hum...

Where is your hope? Is your hope in success, your accomplishments or in a comfortable life? In scripture, Jesus constantly connects fear and anxiety in the hearts of men. No matter how good people look on the outside, they’re shakier than you think they are in the inside. That’s me and you included - we’re all looking good but most men I work with, secretly they’re just beating the door back from...

If you knew you had one day left to live, and you wanted to leave your children some kind of final instruction, what would you say to them? Twenty years ago I had my kids memorize what I thought was the most important scripture of the Old Testament. I asked them if they still remembered it and all three of them did. "Okay, let's hear it!" I requested. They all still knew it! In this verse, I Chron...

What are you thirsting for? When you desire something, there's generally something out there that will fulfill or satisfy that desire. But, one of the problems of life is when you become convinced that there's something out there in the world that you believe will satisfy your life. Then once you obtain it, you discover, "you know, this really doesn't do it. This really doesn't satisfy me." Or the...

Psalm 112 tells us about two kinds of fear. This chapter leans into both kinds, and it also tells us that these two fears cannot co-exist. They are like oil and water. Everyone is fearing something. But the question is: what are we fearing? and how is this fear shaping our lives? Psalm 112 tells us, "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments!...Light dawns in ...

How can you and I be ready for what comes after this life? Today Richard's guest is Allan Chappelle, teaching an overview of Bible prophecy. The Bible is a supernatural book, written by a source outside of our time domain. This book literally knows the end from the beginning - the whole history of the world that is in God's knowledge base. And God proves the validity of this book by telling you wh...

When facing death, where is your hope? Yes this is not the season of Easter, but the truth of the resurrection of Christ is where we find our hope in facing death and dying. Is it truly possible to “joy­fully anticipate death,” as C.S. Lewis wrote about? Can we honestly reflect and come to terms with mortality so that we can live with a joyful experience of the present and still maintain an optimi...

What is your strategy for dealing with your mortality? Years ago, a friend of mine came to me, concerned about his father, who was a very wealthy self-made man. He was concerned because his father had no spiritual life, so he talked to his dad about it and his father said, "You know, I just don’t have any need for God in my life. I don’t have any real need for Christ in my life." In other words, h...

As we lead up to Father's Day, I'd like to share a message that my good friend Jerry Leachman gave at one of our Mens Breakfasts a few years ago. One of the most important things that could happen in a man’s life is to become reconciled with his father or reconciled with his son. Forgive and be forgiven. Then cultivate that relationship, and pass on what you are learning to the next generation. In...

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...