Soul Talks with PB

Peer pressure is part of our daily lives. We are influenced by others whether directly or indirectly. It's not always wrong. For example, positive peer pressure is actually good for us. It's called accountability. Being accountable to others for doing what is right is a sign of maturity. However, negative peer pressure is wrong. It leads us to compromise or to do something contrary to the truth. A...

Having differences in the church is inevitable. But it should not lead to hostility or division. Through godly and mature dialogue we can identify the issues and find solutions that lead to peace and unity. More importantly, we must aspire for what is glorifying to God rather than simply winning an argument. As God's people who are dearly loved in Christ, we must show sincere love toward one anoth...

Every person who has come to faith in Christ has a story to tell. There may be differences in the details, but each story is similar. It talks about the process of transformation that God initiates and works out in a person's life, not just at the beginning but as an ongoing experience. This is useful for sharing the Gospel with others. People want to know how the Gospel has transformed us. But th...

A lot of people are rejecting the Gospel today either explicitly, by openly stating their objections, or implicitly, by living a life contrary to the Gospel. The former is at least honest. They are rejecting the Gospel because they have questions and they feel that no one has yet answered them in ways that satisfy them. Hopefully, their questions will be answered soon and they will be able to come...

We live in a pluralistic world where people believe all kinds of things. To live peacefully with others, we need to practice acceptance and tolerance. But this should not mean compromise. Just because we can accept and tolerate someone who believes differently from us does not mean that all truth statements are equally true. A truth statement is simply a claim that something is true. But that does...

Regardless of who we vote for, one thing is for sure. Some of us will lose while others will win. Some candidates will be elected, while others will not. The winners will celebrate and be happy. But what about the losers? No one wants to lose. That's why losing will be a form of spiritual formation for many of us. How we respond when we lose will reveal our true hearts. --- Send in a voice message...

Obeying God is better than professing to believe in Him but not doing what He says. But sometimes this is hard, especially when there are consequences. In such situations, we are tempted to just please people or ourselves rather than God. How can we obey God when it's hard to do so? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/soultalkswithpb/message Hosted on Acast. See ac...

How would you know if a person is truly a Christian? It's not by words alone. It's not by going to church every Sunday or by attending weekly Bible studies. Those things are important. But they do not by themselves prove that one is truly a Christian. Genuine faith is seen in the way we relate with people, especially fellow Christians, regardless of their status. --- Send in a voice message: https...

There are many models of leadership in the world today. Mostly, it's about being assertive and powerful. Books on leadership talk about performance, production, and success. It does not talk about the heart. Leading from the heart and leading the hearts of others would be considered weaknesses in today's view of leadership. But this is the model that we see in Jesus and those He calls to become le...

No one is self-sufficient when it comes to ministry. We need one another. Everyone has a role to play. We need each other's prayers and support. We should affirm each other, especially those who are faithful in building the body of Christ. We should collaborate with one another rather than compete with each other. This is how we succeed in ministry. Together we can accomplish much in the kingdom o...

We cannot be effective in ministry unless we have faithful workers and leaders in the church. The work of the Gospel cannot move forward without them. This is the reason why churches need think through their people development strategy. Christians are not called to simply attend worship services or bible studies all their lives. There must be a goal. The goal is to turn them into faithful workers...

As the election draws near, emotions are running high. There are a lot of disagreements. Even Christians are drawn to this and, sadly, some reveal the worldly state of their hearts as they disagree with others in social media. Disagreements are inevitable. But how we express our disagreements is a choice. We don't have to resort to worldly tactics to promote our candidate. We are Christians and we...

Every believer in Christ must be involved in reaching out to the lost. This is not just the work of full-time servants of God like pastors, evangelists, or missionaries. Sure, they are front liners. God calls them to preach the Gospel on a full-time basis. But the rest of the church must also be involved. To do so, each one must have a Great Commission lifestyle. --- Send in a voice message: https...

We should not leave behind our Christianity in the church. Our Christian faith must also be practiced in the workplace. In fact, every arena of our lives should be under the lordship of Christ. This is especially so in the workplace because we spend most of our lives there. When we do not apply our Christian faith in the workplace, we lose our credibility. We are branded as hypocrites rather than...

Christianity must begin at home. This is the reason why the Lord wants to build Christian families. It all starts with followers of the Lord getting married and establishing a Christ-centered home. But, just like a Christian community, this does not happen automatically and it is not easy. There are many challenges, both externally as well as internally. We need to understand what makes a Christia...

It's not easy to become a true Christian community. There are many hurdles. Even if people are growing spiritually, sin still manages to create problems between people. Old habits are not easy to overcome. New habits need to be learned and practiced. Sometimes it can be very discouraging. Some people give up too soon before they can experience true Christian community. What are the resources that...

An authentic Christian community is a place of grace where everyone and anyone can know and experience God together with others. This kind of community does not happen by accident. It is pursued and practiced intentionally by those who have been saved and are being saved by the grace of God. It requires consistency. But it also requires dependence upon God through the Holy Spirit, without whom aut...

Politics can be dirty. This is why some Christians don't want to be involved in politics. They say that the church should only be concerned with evangelism or discipleship, not with politics. But others argue that we must be involved. In fact, some are too involved already to the point that they forget they are Christians. How can we be involved in politics without losing our identity as Christian...

Ongoing transformation is one of the spiritual blessings of our salvation in Christ. We can all be transformed into the image of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit and the word of God in our hearts. However, this will not happen automatically. We must pay attention to God and to ourselves. Through proper discernment, we must learn how to reject what is evil and cooperate with God in bringi...

Knowing who we are in Christ is crucial to our practice of Christianity every day. In other words, it is crucial to our spirituality. If we don't know who we are in Christ, we will easily be discouraged by our failures. Our enemy, Satan, will always tempt us to doubt God's love. He will always whisper deceiving thoughts in our ears and, if don't know how to take captive such thoughts, our hearts w...

We admire the people of Ukraine for their courage. They are fighting for their freedom. We must also do the same. But not merely for political or national freedom. We must fight for our true spiritual freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Therefore, we cannot allow anyone or anything to rob us of our freedom in Christ. We must stand our ground and fight the good fight of faith. -...

We cannot live out the Christian life in a victorious way unless we are secure in our identity in Christ. This is the reason why Satan will always attack us in this very area of our spiritual lives. He will do everything in his power to make us doubt or question who we are and whose we are. If he can succeed in this attack, he will be able to defeat us. Our spiritual lives actually depend on our s...

Information is readily available today because of technology. Ideas are passed on from one person to another or sometimes to whole groups of people without proper evaluation or discernment. When they are religious in nature, they are even more destructive. Our ideas about God affect how we relate to Him. If we have wrong ideas, it will lead us into the wrong path. What we think we know or don't kn...

Politics is a hot topic these days. Should we even talk about it in church? Some believe that politics is of the world and the church should not waste its time talking about it. Others are very zealous about politics. They are very engaged and vocal about it. We can see it all over social media. But where do we strike the balance? We believe God is present everywhere. Politics is not off-limits to...

To be a Christian is to be a follower or disciple of Christ. It's not about going through rituals or religious activities as an end in themselves. Unless our whole lives are centered in Him, we will always be tempted to meet our needs elsewhere. Those who live their lives in Christ have centered their lives in Him and they have common characteristics. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcaster...