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

052 – Jesus told us to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." (Matthew 6 v. 33) But what does that really mean? And how do we do it? Fortunately, he gave us a key that unlocks the door to the kingdom of God. Jesus began his ministry proclaiming "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." He was so completely aware of the presence of the Kingdom that he could see it in a...

051 – It seems like everyone has a different concept of God It's the age old question, Who is God? or What is God? Everyone has a different answer. Some people say we can't understand God and if we say we do, then we're just fooling ourselves. I grew up in a church sort of like that. They said there were something we just couldn't understand. But the Bible says over and over th...

050 – How often do you ask God: What shall I do Lord? Have you ever been in a situation when you didn't have a clue what to do next? Sometimes it because everything happens at once and you just can't think straight. Other times a single, life-changing event turns everything upside down. It's like you're in a different universe all of a sudden. Saul going to Damascus That's...

049 – What's the most important thing to God in a leader? In the Bible, there are many times when God chose someone for a leadership position. He told the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as King of Israel. Later, God told him to anoint David as King. God chose Zacharias and Elisabeth to be the parents of John the Baptist. And of course, He chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus. How God chooses l...

048 – What is the most effective way to fast? Most people think it's to go without food for a certain period of time. But that's not necessarily what the Bible actually means when it talks about fasting. The heart and soul of fasting In this week's episode I get down to the spiritual essence of fasting: True fasting is more about what's going on in your heart.  It's refusi...

047 – What's the best way to pray about the weather and disasters? In this week's episode I look at a few of the stories in the Bible where storms, fire, and earthquakes are mentioned. There's a lot to learn from how people back then dealt with and prayed about these challenges. I talk about: Jonah and the storm he was in Jesus stilling the storm on his disciples' boat The eart...

046 – Jesus promised us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand What does that really mean? If you look around, it sure doesn't look like heaven is anywhere close. There are so many problems in the world. How could Jesus say such an outrageous thing? Jesus was looking at the world from a different perspective than we do. He looked at earth through the lens of heaven. He saw things from the pers...

045 – Have you ever realized you were taking things for granted in your life? It happened to me when we recently lost power during a storm. We didn't have electricity or internet for a week. All the things I had taken for granted, like turning on a light switch, checking my email, and using the refrigerator were not options during those seven days. I really appreciated them all over again whe...

044 – Have you ever waited, for what seemed like forever, for a solution to a problem? Remember the man at the pool of Bethesda? He had been unable to walk for 38 years. He was waiting at the water's edge for years hoping to find healing. But he was looking for something outside of himself. He was waiting for the water to be stirred by an angel. He was waiting for someone to help him get to t...

043 – Have you ever felt like you were procrastinating on something God wanted you to, but when you finally did it, it was the perfect time? Yeah! That's happened to me a lot. God has a way of working things out and timing events in our lives better than we can. God has perfect timing! In this episode, I share a major Aha! moment when I was very down on myself because, in my mind, I had faile...

042 – Have you ever thought about your immortal life as already here right now? Most people think about immortality as something that happens after they die when they get to heaven. But Jesus promised us the kingdom of heaven is at hand – right now. That means our immortality is at hand too. What if we could see things the way he did? But somehow we don't think we're able to do that. We&...

041 – How many times have you heard that Satan was originally an angel? That's what most people think, and they quote the Bible to "prove" it. The funny thing is though, they take those verses from Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:13, 14 completely out of context. These passages don't refer to Satan or an angel that fell and became Satan. They refer to the king of Babylon and the ki...

040 – When is it right to question authority? A friend of mine grew up in a church where she was never allowed to ask questions or question those in charge about teachings or practices. She was told to just accept everything she was told. This was very frustrating to say the least. Jesus consistently questioned the authority of the religious leaders of his day. It got him into trouble. But that di...

039 – God is talking. Why don't we hear? The Bible is full of people hearing the voice of God. And not just the prophets. Regular, everyday people like you and me heard God's voice. Even a pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, heard God's voice at one point. Why don't we hear God's voice? Sometimes we don't want to hear what He/She says. Sometimes we are distracted with our wor...

038 – There's a key in the Bible that explains the only way to really love yourself. It's about reflecting God's love. But it's way too easy to think of all the reasons why you have a hard time loving yourself. Here are just a few I have struggled with: People say it's selfish to love yourself You don't feel worthy because of past mistakes Thinking you have to be perf...

037 – Do you see yourself with the mindset of Adam or the mindset of Christ? The mindset you look at yourself and others with will determine what you see, how you act, and how you think about life. Did you ever see the movie, The Jungle Book? It's based on a true story of a boy who was raised by wolves in India and discovered in 1872. The boy had been taught by wolves how to live like a wolf....

036 – People are still speculating who Jesus is Even 2,000 years ago people were trying to figure out who Jesus was. He only told a few people he was the Messiah. One day, a man was talking to Jesus and burst out with the question, "Why do you keep us in such suspense? If you are the Christ, just tell us plainly." Wouldn't that have made things so much easier for everyone? Well, not...

035 – The real solution to racism is to love like Jesus did. There is no skin color in heaven. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven." (1 Corinthians 15:50) Jesus said we should love our neighbors as ourselves. When on earth are we going to learn what that means and then do it? In this episode, I talk about healing the anger and fear i...

034 – What if you could peek through a window and see what it's like in heaven? Well, this is not some far-fetched idea. Jesus gives us lots of windows to look through so  we can see what's going on in heaven. The cornerstone of his message was that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In this episode, I talk about the windows we can look through not just to see what is in heaven but to exp...

033 – This just might be a little controversial... What did Paul really mean when he wrote, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" (1 Corinthians 6:19  KJV) In this episode, I get into some nitty-gritty grammar and a tiny little detail most Bible translations miss that completely change the meaning of this favorite verse. It all has to do with what the words "you" and &qu...

032 – Faith is like baking a cake. If you only read the recipe, it doesn't do you much good. Here's a modern day parable about the importance of living our faith instead of just reading books about how to be more faithful. Imagine a mom who promises her kids she'll make a cake but spends way too much time hunting down the perfect recipe but never baking the cake. How would you feel...

031 – Has anyone ever tried to get you to do something God told you not to do? This happens way too often. It's so important to stay faithful to what God tells us to do. but sometimes it's hard. In this episode, I retell the story of the prophet from I Kings, Chapter 13, who obeyed God until he believed what another prophet said instead of talking to God about it.  And there were consequ...

030 – Isn't it time to quit defining yourself as either superior or inferior to other people? I used to have a serious inferiority complex. Funny thing though, at the same time, I also had a superiority complex. I was pretty insecure. In today's episode, I discuss a couple of experiences that taught me the importance of seeing all God's children in the light of spiritual equality. I...

029 – Can our prayers heal like Jesus did? The Bible makes that promise, but sometimes when we pray, we're not healed. Does that mean it's God's will we weren't healed?  In this week's episode I talk about this topic and explore some of the reasons our prayers for healing may not be answered the way we want. I firmly believe it is always God's will that we are healed,...

028 - What if you had a big debt due tomorrow and no money in the bank? Remember when a widow came to Elisha the prophet with this exact problem. He asked her, "What do you have in the house?" All she had was a pot of oil. It turns out, this was the solution. The widow trusted Elisha. She took action with the little she had and it was multiplied beyond her wildest imagination. You can fi...