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

327 – What are you most hungry and thirsty for? What do you want more than anything else in the world? To be successful, to have a great job and make lots of money, to have a loving family and good friends?  Do you want to have a lot of power and influence? Do you want to make a difference in the world and help people who are less fortunate than you? Maybe a better question is: What does God want...

326 – FREEDOM FRIDAY How do you deal with judgmental people? Have you ever been talking to someone who gets very judgmental of you because of mistakes you've made in the past, things you're not still doing, attitudes and actions that you have left behind, but they want to keep you in the past? Do you know how to deal with judgmental people like this? Maybe it's not on purpose, but t...

325 – Does your life ever feel incomplete? How often do you feel like there’s something missing in your life?  It could be a relationship, a better job, enough money to pay the bills, better health. It could go deeper than that.  You might feel like your life is incomplete because you don’t know what your higher sense of purpose is, and if you do, you’re not sure how to fulfill it.  Why is it that...

324 - What do you do when someone won't forgive you? Have you ever apologized to someone, but they won’t forgive you?  They're still feeling hurt or betrayed and they just can’t bring themselves to forgive you. It’s a pretty lousy feeling. And sometimes it seems like you can’t get on with your own life until there’s some reconciliation and you get that relationship healed. Unfortunately,...

323 – You’ve probably heard of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem when the Roman army destroyed it in 70 AD. But have you ever wondered how that event is relevant to us today?  What can you and I learn from the destruction of Jerusalem, now almost 2,000 years later? Well, actually there’s a lot we can learn and my guest this week, Ward Sanford, and I are going to dig into some impor...

322 – It's time to accept God's forgiveness Have you ever had trouble accepting God’s forgiveness for mistakes you made or sins you committed?  And you still feel a burden of guilt even though you’re not making those same mistakes or committing those sins anymore? That’s what we’re talking about this week on Freedom Friday. Here are a few key points to help you in this process. Forgivene...

321 – If Jesus came to your home town, what would he do? Have you ever wondered what would happen if Jesus came to your community?  Who would he talk to? Who would he preach to? Who would he heal?  Who would be receptive to his message?  Who would oppose him and try to stop him or get rid of him? In this week’s episode, we dig into The way Jesus ministered to people in their communities  How some...

312 FF – Have you ever struggled to forgive yourself? In this week's Freedom Friday episode, we're going to tackle what is sometimes one of the hardest things to do, forgive yourself. I share my friend Jim's story where he learned to forgive his father and himself for things that happened years ago. The thing that helped him the most was an odd little exercise I had him try.  It wor...

319 – It's time to get back to Bible basics Have you ever been in a conversation about the Bible with someone who is so caught up in some minute detail of something the Bible mentions only once, maybe twice?  But the way the conversation is going, it sounds like it's the most important thing in the whole Bible? Maybe you’ve seen it happen when you’re watching a Bible-based video on socia...

318 FF – Are you committing the same sin over and over? You're not alone. A lot of people struggle with this. I sure have. In this week's Freedom Friday episode, I share just a few ideas that can help you face these temptations to keep committing the same sin. Take an honest look at your self and what you think this sin is giving you Realizing whatever sin "gives" you is a coun...

317 – What do you think of when you hear the word "evangelism"?  Is it a good thing? Or does it make you cringe?  All too often evangelism today has a negative connotation with some folks. The word is often associated with Christians, who may or may not be imbibing the true spirit of Christ. Others, even many within the Christian church, get evangelism and proselytizing mixed up.  They d...

316– Welcome to Freedom Friday Ever wondered why you still feel guilty, even after you repented? Being free from guilt is so much more that just repenting. It's really about learning to see yourself in a whole new light, as a child of God instead of as a miserable sinner. Paul says to put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man. He doesn't say to fix...

315 – Keep following Jesus Have you ever been at a point in your life when you just didn’t know what to do next? It could be a simple project you’re working on at home, at school, or at work.  It could be a career choice or something with long term consequences. Or it could be a major life change on a much grander scale. If you don’t know where you’re going, what do you do next? You’ve done all yo...

314 – Welcome to Freedom Friday What does it really mean to repent?  It's not just feeling sorry for something you did wrong. It goes much deeper. It's really about getting a deeper spiritual perspective on who you are, who God is, and how much He loves you. It's about looking at things from the perspective of what is already true in heaven and letting go of old habits and negative...

313 – How much do you and your church really want to grow spiritually? A lot of churches are struggling these days with dwindling membership numbers, but just getting more warm bodies in the pews on Sunday morning is not necessarily a solution or a fulfillment of your church’s mission. The real need, which is not a new idea, since Jesus talked about it 2,000 years ago, is to be hungry and thirsty...

312 Freedom Friday –  Finding freedom from guilt and shame Welcome to Freedom Fridays: A new series from The Bible Speaks to You Podcast Too many people these days are walking around with a heavy burden of guilt and shame from past mistakes and how others have harmed them. If that sounds like you, this episode is for you.  Show notes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/312 ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Text me your que...

311 – Do the people you love know you love them? Have you ever felt a deep sense of love and affection for someone, but they had no clue you cared so much about them? All too often someone feels unloved, while people actually do love them, but they never tell the person or express their love in a tangible way. In this week’s episode we’re going to talk about the commandment to love your neighbor a...

310 – Do you ever look God in the face? It's probably not on the top of your to-do list. It’s probably not something you think about very often or even consider as a possibility.  In fact, you may not want to talk to God face to face, for a variety of reasons.  And what does that even mean , to look at God this way? To talk to God this way? Doesn't the Bible say you can't see God&ap...

309 – What’s your first thought when someone says, “You need to repent.”?  Does it make you uncomfortable or uneasy? Or do you agree and admit to yourself that you do need to repent?  It might depend on the context and tone of voice someone uses to say those words, but all too often it happens during a sermon that sounds like a shouting match with the preacher yelling at his audience, using fear a...

308 – Do you ever feel separated from God? Maybe because of something hurtful someone said or did to you?  Or maybe because of bad choices you made that weren’t good for you or someone else?  Or maybe it’s just because of all the problems the world is facing right now?  Where is God in all this? Sometimes God does seem far away. In this week’s episode we’re going to talk about God’s nature as omni...

307 –  How often do you think about your relationship with God?  Not very often, once in a while, maybe a lot, maybe even every day?  What kind of a relationship do you have or would like to have with God?  Maybe a more important question is: What kind of relationship would God like to have with you? God has infinite love for you and is always willing and able to support you.  In this week’s episo...

306 – What will it take for you to let God be in charge? Have you ever been so involved in getting something done, wanting everything to turn out just right that you put your whole heart into it but somehow you ended up having to push and shove to get things to come out the way you wanted them?  And even after all that effort, things don’t always work out? Maybe you’ve even prayed about it and ask...

305 – Do your prayers need to be more persistent? Have you ever been praying about something and just didn’t seem to be getting any answers? You poured your heart and soul into praying and studying the Bible, but after a while, you just couldn’t see any progress or evidence of your prayers having any effect at all. Maybe some of your friends even told you it was ridiculous to pray for whatever it...

304 – Have you ever felt like the devil was trying to control you? A preacher on social media recently warned all his listeners about how powerful the devil is and how careful you have to be not to fall into all the temptations that come to you. It seemed to me he actually was trying to scare his audience so they would listen to him and do what he said.  I agree, it's important not to give in...

303 – Who decides what it means to be a Christian? Have you ever been told by someone you’re not a Christian because you didn’t agree 100% with them on every tiny detail of theology? It’s not a great feeling. Some churches have a pretty wide and inclusive definition what it means to be a Christian, including people from many different denominations.  Some churches believe they are the only ones wi...