The Bible Speaks to You: Think, Pray, Love like Jesus

127 – What does the Bible have to say about spring cleaning? My wife came across this verse in Psalms and it’s what really prompted our efforts to de-clutter.  I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.  Psalms 101:2  KJV It's really what inspired us to want to do some serious spring cleaning a few weeks ago. I got to wondering if there was anything in the Bible about spring cleaning,...

126 – Nothing can ever separate you from God Have you ever heard someone say, "Sin separates us from God?" This idea goes all the way back to the story of Adam and Eve when they got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. And it shows up lots of places in the Bible. For example in Isaiah: Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.  But your    iniquities...

125 – Do our prayers to end war do any good? This past week, we’ve heard the news that Russia has invaded Ukraine. Tensions had been mounting for quite some time. But diplomatic efforts were not effective in stopping the onslaught of war. People all over the world are offering prayers to end this war. I believe these prayers will help resolve the problem. If you’re reading this (or listening to th...

124 – The Bible is full of stories explaining that God is not a respecter of persons When I was in college I had a professor who had a couple of favorites in class. I was definitely not one of them. In fact, it seemed she didn't really like me at all. I asked a friend to pray with me about the situation. My friend said I needed to start with the fact that God loved the professor just as much...

123-It's easy to say the words, but it's still true. You are loved by God. Have you ever had those times when you felt alone, unappreciated, and unloved? You’re trying to live your life to the best of your ability, but there are challenges that keep piling up. You pray. You study your Bible. Maybe you go to church.  You try to do what’s right. You try to be loving and helpful to others. ...

122 – How do you observe the Lord's Supper The night before Jesus was arrested he was the observing the Passover with his disciples. While he was still at the table he uttered some words which still guide us today in the way we honor and remember Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all relate the event in pretty much the same way. John shares a completely different incident that hap...

121 – What does it mean to pray in the name of Christ? How many times do we hear tacked onto the end of a prayer the phrase, “In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”? How many times do we say it ourselves?  If we’re not careful, it’s easy for that phrase to just roll off our prayer tongues out of habit instead of feeling the deep inspiration the words signify. There’s nothing wrong with these words and muc...

120 – This week I talk with Jason Elam about God's unfailing love for us. Jason Elam, host of The Messy Spirituality Podcast, shared some very personal stories  about his faith journey. At seven years old he made his first profession of faith in a very legalistic church As a teen, he "died" during an operation, saw a Jesus type presence, and came back to life full of an indescribabl...

119 – If Jesus asked you to earnestly pray for something, would you do it? Of course! That's what this week's episode is all about. Jesus tells his disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into the harvest field. (Matthew 9:37, 38) Why did he ask them to pray that way? Because the harvest is plentiful. This was true in Jesus's day. It's true today as we...

118 – Is it possible for someone to put a curse on you? This is a pretty heavy duty topic. I have met people who believe they have been cursed by someone. And there are people in the world who think they can put a curse on someone. Unfortunately, there are even some Christians who think they can curse their enemies, and pray that they fail at what they're doing or even die. Have you ever hear...

117 – Join us in praying with the mindset of Jesus this year The more we embrace the mindset of Jesus, the more we'll be able to live our lives with the spiritual assurance and authority he wants for us. Here are 22 facets of the mindset of Jesus that we'll pray with:   The kingdom of heaven is at hand.   Matthew 4:17   So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by...

116 – How will you make your New Year's resolutions? 2022 here. A lot of folks like to, or think they should, make New Year’s resolutions. For some people, this is a very helpful exercise to get them focused on what they need to do in the New Year to improve themselves, to make changes in their lives and behavior, and to progress as a person.  However, all too often, we tend to make resolutio...

115 – You, and everyone on this planet, are worthy of God's love. That's what Christmas is all about. God loves us so much, we are of such immense value to Him, that He sent Jesus to  show us the Way of Life. We are worthy of God's love, not because of anything we did, but simply because we are God's children made in the image and likeness of the divine. But all too often, we d...

114 – Is it possible for the angels appear to us as they did to the shepherds when Jesus was born? Yes it is! Is it possible for us to feel the same sense of wonder and awe they must have felt when the angel appeared to them and told them the long-awaited Christ was here? Yes it is! This week's episode talks about how the message of the angel who appeared to the shepherds was a complete surpr...

113 – What is your approach to giving at Christmas? Last week I got an email from one of my listeners that inspired this week’s episode. Here it is: “Dear James I listen to you every week and love all you have to say. I have been struggling with Christmas coming up and how I will afford it all. Last night I had a deep prompt to trust in all I have, that it will be enough and absolutely not to borr...

112 – Have you ever wondered how Jesus healed Jairus's daughter? He was Jesus right? But did he have a  spiritual methodology that we can practice too? This week's episode explores the story of Jairus and how his daughter was healed. But there is a lot more healing in this story than just a little girl being raised from the dead. Jesus healed a woman who had been diseased for 12 years. H...

111 – Have you ever wondered what Jesus was grateful for? There are only four times during Jesus's ministry when his gratitude was recorded in one of the Gospels. In this week's episode we talk about each one in detail to get a deeper insight into Jesus's mindset. Sometimes Jesus expresses gratitude for very specific things. Other times the Bible simply says that Jesus "gave th...

110 – Should women always be submissive to their husbands? One of the most often quoted Bible verses used by those who believe women should submit to their husbands on all matters, is from 1 Peter 3:5, 6     "For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and cal...

109 – Have you ever wondered why did Jesus need to pray? He was Jesus after all, right? Recently I came across the verse in Mark 1:35 that says Jesus got up while it was still dark and went off to pray in a quiet solitary place. I totally get that. He wanted some peace and quiet to commune with his heavenly Father. That's what prayer was all about for Jesus, communicating with God. So why did...

108 – It's not your job to separate the wheat from the tares. Sometimes my life has felt like a hopeless mixture of good and evil forces fighting each other. Have you ever felt that way? One of the parables Jesus used to describe the kingdom of heaven has helped me immensely and gives some insight on how to deal with this. The Tares and the Wheat In the parable of the tares and the wheat, Jes...

107 – What would happen if Jesus came to your church? Last week in Episode 106 , I asked my guest, Markus Watson, what Jesus would say to our churches. I'm still thinking about his response. He said, "He would say, 'I love you guys. Follow me.'" This week I expand on some of the things Jesus might say to your church or my church. Jesus’s core message never changed I think...

106 – Where does the church go from here? As our churches emerge from the pandemic, what direction will we take? What is our vision for the future? Where are our churches going? How do we find our calling? These are some of the questions my guest, Markus Watson, addresses in this week's episode. Markus is a Presbyterian minister in San Diego, CA. In our conversation he digs down into the hear...

105 – Is it possible to have unity in the body of Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many different Christian denominations? And why isn't there more unity in the body of Christ? In doing a little research for this episode, I found estimates ranging from 1,200 up to about 40,000 different Christian denominations. If we all believe in Jesus, why can't we agree on everything e...

104 – How did you pray when you were three? I was at a church related conference not too long ago and you should have heard the discussions these folks were having. They were dancing theological circles around each other.  I didn't even understand all the words they were using. It was all in a spirit of brotherly love and respect for one another. And it was really inspiring to hear their deep...

103 – Have you ever wondered why Jesus told us to be as perfect as God? What did he really mean by this? Too many people today are trying to be perfectionists in everything they do, but this isn't really what Jesus was talking about. All that human effort at being perfect is just that, human effort, human will, and human egotism. There's nothing wrong with striving for excellence, but tr...