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

277 – How do you deal with all that's going on in the world today? Do you ever feel overwhelmed with gloom and despair with all that's going on these days? Or have you ever been in a threatening situation, either because of people or circumstances? Whether it's on personal or global level, sometimes it seems like evil influences are wreaking havoc on our lives or in society. How do...

276 – Do you have trouble letting go of things to follow Christ? When Jesus asked Peter and Andrew to leave their nets to follow him, it was a pretty big deal. Fishing was their livelihood. If Jesus walked up to you and asked you to leave your job, your profession, the way you earned money for your family, would you leave it all to follow him? Peter and Andrew immediately left their nets to follow...

275 – Jesus says you are the salt of the earth. What are you doing about it? Recently, my friend Terese said: It's time to take your salt out of the salt shaker. I took that to mean: quit hiding yourself, your God-given gifts and talents, and what you have to contribute to society. Be who God made you to be and share it with the world. Being the salt of the earth can mean lots of things. In t...

274 – Putting God first in 2025 First of all, Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in 2025 and that you'll discover more of who God made you to be and live this out in your daily life. A new year is a wonderful time to think about your priorities, to let go of things and thoughts you've outgrown. It's a time to embrace more fully where God is calling you. In this first episode of...

273 – Year in Review for The Bible Speaks to You Podcast 2024 has completed it's designated rounds! I hope your year has been full of spiritual growth and progress. And I hope you'll take some time to reflect on the the things you have to be grateful for and the lessons you've learned this year. This week's episode shares some of the highlights from the podcast this past year....

272 – When was the last time you read the story of Jesus's birth? Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. How well do you know the story? When was the last time you read the whole thing? In this week's episode, I read the entire Christmas story. That's it. No commentary. No explanations. No historical context or data. Just the story, all by itself, of Jesus's...

271 – How do you celebrate the spiritual meaning of Christmas? The world tries to make us forget about the real reason we celebrate Christmas with its focus on the excess materialism of the day. To keep a spiritual approach to Christmas, the best place to start is focusing on Jesus and all he taught and did. This week I talk about ways to discover the deeper spiritual meaning of Christmas. Start w...

270 – Have you ever put yourself into the Christmas story as one of the Bible characters? If you're like me, you've probably read the Christmas story so many times, and seen so many Christmas pageants that it seems like the same story over and over, with nothing new or fresh. But what if you were one of those characters? Which one would you be? Who do you relate to most in the Christmas...

269 – If Jesus walked into your church, would you recognize him? Would he look the way we have imagined him with a beard and flowing hair? Would he be in a coat and tie or in blue jeans and a flannel shirt? I know, this is a totally hypothetical situation, but it's helpful to ask these questions once in a while. In this week's episode I talk about: The three main ways to recognize the pr...

268 – How do you express your gratitude for Jesus? There are always so many things to be grateful for during the Thanksgiving season here in the United States. But if you don't live in the US and don't have an official Day of Thanksgiving, I hope you always have some kind of gratitude practice. Gratitude is always in season. Right now, I am focusing on how grateful I am for Jesus. And I...

267 – What's the most important reason to go to church? Most people today would probably say it's to worship God. But according to Tom Wadsworth, PhD, the early Christian church did not have worship services, the way we do today. Tom says the main reason to go to church is found in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 14. It is to build each other up. Everything we do when we gather together is to edi...

266 – Have you ever wanted to be part of a group so bad you tried to fit in but you still felt left out? It happens all the time. You want to be in a group or community or a church, but to feel part of things and be accepted you have to copy the attitudes and behaviors of the members of the group. It's hard because you don't feel you can really be yourself, but being part of the group is...

265 – Are you trusting God no matter what happens with the election? Have you ever felt like your life goes from one challenge to another, or one crisis to another?  And just look at the national scene. As soon as one political battle comes to an end another one starts. And what about the election!!! How do you keep your peace in all these situations? It’s not always easy. The question is: Do you...

264 – How do you find peace in the midst of political divisiveness? Politics can be so divisive. And messy! It's so easy to get caught up in the drama, but at some point, we all need to get away from all the chaos and find a sense of peace. Some folks think they will only get some peace when their candidate(s) win. But that kind of peace is pretty fragile, when it depends on people and situat...

263 – Do you ever think of yourself as an ambassador of Christ? What does that even mean? Well, it starts with walking in the footsteps of Jesus and living the way he taught us to, loving like he did. And most of all it means letting the light of Christ in your heart shine in the world so others can see this light and be drawn to it. This week's episode is a conversation with Paul Granger, ho...

262 – What needs to be healed from your past? Have you ever felt that because of things that happened to you in the past, either mistakes you made or things other people did to you, you haven’t been able to live your life the way you wanted to or be as successful as you could be? Once in a while, it a can be a good idea to take a look at your past: mistakes you've made, things others have don...

261 – What is your motive when you pray for healing? Is there anything in your life right now that you’re praying about for healing? Maybe you’re praying for healing for someone else. It could be a health issue, a relationship problem, finding a new job, financial struggles, or maybe an emotional challenge. The Bible says that God " heals all your diseases." But have you ever not felt yo...

260 – Is it possible for you to bless people 100 years from now? Have you ever wondered what impac t your life might have on future generations? Will people remember you 100 or 200 years from now or will your life be forgotten by the world in general? You just might have more influence on the future than you can imagine. Think of folks who lived hundreds of years ago who are a blessing to you: may...

259 – What does your church need to learn from Deborah? Deborah, the Judge and Prophetess in the Old Testament, has a message for you and your church, and it's probably not what you'd expect. Most Christians don't really know much about Deborah and how she broke the female stereotypes of her day as a Judge, a Prophet, and her role in a military victory. This week's episode is a...

258 – If you had lived 2,000 years ago, would you have been a disciple of Jesus? Imagine you lived in the time of Jesus and heard him preach. You saw him heal people. Would you decide to follow him? Would you want to be one of his disciples? Would you have realized he was the Messiah? We would like to think we would, but it's hard to know for sure. Jesus made some pretty strong demands on tho...

257– How do you show someone who you really are? You've probably heard the phrase, “When someone shows you who they really are, believe them.”  I had a friend who used to say that all the time to remind herself that one person in particular she had been associated with in the past were not a good influence on her. She had been fooled by his attractive personality and the smooth words he spoke...

246 – Do you feel lonely at times--or all the time? Maybe you’ve lost someone you felt close to, or maybe there are lots of people in your life but there’s no one you can connect with, no one on the same wave length enough that you enjoy being in their presence? Maybe at work or church, everyone is satisfied with the status quo, but you have some new ideas you think would make things better. But n...

255 – Is it really possible to find true satisfaction in life? So many people today are looking for satisfaction in getting a new car or a new job, accomplishing their personal and career goals, or maybe it's getting lots of followers on social media. Or whatever! But the satisfaction that comes from these sorts of things never lasts very long. And then you always want something else. The onl...

254 – Is it really true that God already knows what you need? If that's the case, why do we need to ask God for anything? Why doesn't He just give it to us? Well, sometimes He does, but usually it's important to ask because it reminds us that God is the source of all our blessings and we are not. The question is: What do you really need? Sometimes we get what we need mixed up with w...

253 – Is it ever hard for you to surrender to God's will? How often do you pray for God to give you what you want? And how often do you pray for what God wants? You'd be surprised how many people actually tell God what they want and try to convince Him to give it to them. There's a tiny little (actually big) problem with this. Sometimes, what we think we want and pray for is the wor...