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

202 – Can God still part the Red Sea today? Have you ever felt like you were trapped on the edge of the Red Sea with Pharaoh's war chariots charging toward you? And it didn't look like there was any way to escape? Imagine what it must have been like to be in that  crowd when Moses raised his staff over the water, the wind began to blow, and the waters parted before your very eyes. God st...

201 – How good are you at walking in someone else's shoes? This week I have a conversation with Neil Matthews, host of the Other People's Shoes podcast . We talked about the importance of empathy when interacting with others. Neil shared several examples in the Bible when people expressed empathy: Jesus with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well Jesus with the woman caught in adultery...

200 – What are some of your favorite Bible verses? That's what this episode is all about. To celebrate Episode 200 of The Bible Speaks to You Podcast, I asked listeners to share their favorite Bible verse and why it's important to them. The response has been tremendous. Over 70 people, from all over the world, emailed me with their favorite passages in the Bible. Listen now, to see if so...

199 – How do you pray when bad things happen? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by with a problem, or series of problems, when it seemed like evil forces are trying to tempt or harm you? As always Jesus has the answer to these kinds of situations He told his disciples, who had been out preaching and healing, that he gave them authority to overcome all the power of the enemy (Satan). Christ gives you...

178 – Did you have to memorize Bible verses when you were a kid in Sunday School? It can be a really good way to get to know the Bible. But it's not enough just to know the words. We need the spirit behind the words. Too much of what's in our hearts has been put there by the world, by people with good and bad intentions, and our own experiences. It seems like everyone and everything is t...

197 – Have you ever looked at someone through a wall of glass bricks? The image is all distorted. You can't really tell who's behind all that glass. You can see shapes and forms and some color, but that's about it. Believe it or not, that's the way some people look at God. But it's not a literal wall of glass bricks. They see God through fear, man-made doctrines, and their...

196 – How do you make room for God in your life? With all the busyness of today's world and the demands of daily life, it's sometimes hard to find the time to make space for one-on-one time with God. In this week's episode, I chat with author Tommy Thompson about how he has discovered ways to benefit from creating spaces in your life to be with God. Tommy says the best way to do thi...

195 – Have you ever thought about having a Spiritual Independence Day? July 4 is celebrated in the United Sates as Independence Day. It's the anniversary of the day, back in 1776 when a small group of men, gathered in Philadelphia, and after much discussion and debate, decided to declare independence from England. If you would like to read a copy of that document, and don’t have one, click th...

194 – Who do you identify with the most in the parable of the Good Samaritan? We usually like to think of ourselves as always being like the Good Samaritan, but sometimes we play some of the other roles. When I take an honest look at my life, there have been lots of times I have been more like the priest and the Levite. But there are several other characters in the story and this week's episo...

193 – What comes to  mind when you hear the phrase: surrender to God? Is it something you're comfortable with? Or is it a something you've tried to do but not very successfully? Or maybe it's something you don't really think about that much? This week, we're going to dive into this topic of surrendering to God What does the word surrender actually mean? What it means to su...

192 – Have you ever known someone who worried about almost everything? Or have you ever been that person, that just couldn't help worrying about stuff? This week's episode dives into Jesus's solution to overcoming being a worrywart. It's all about embracing his promise that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Here are some of the key things this week: To quit worrying is about tr...

191 – Did you know there are around 100 early Christian writings but only 27 of them are included in the New Testament? This week my guest is Shirley Paulson, founder and principal producer of Early Christian Texts, the Bible, and Beyond .  We talked about how the early Christian writings, which aren't in the Bible, can help us understand the Bible better. They  give us a bigger picture of wh...

190 – When you pray, do you start with the problem or the solution? This week we take a deep dive into how to pray more effectively. And so we're going to look at how Jesus prayed and see how we can follow his example. Jesus never started his prayers with the problem. But isn't that what we do sometimes? We try to explain to God how bad the situation is, as if He doesn't already kno...

189 – What do you do when you feel rejected? It can be a pretty lousy feeling. When you feel rejected, sometimes it's hard to know what to do. I’ve been hearing from people lately who have been rejected in one way or another.  For some it’s being rejected by a family member or someone at school, or not getting the promotion at work they had hoped for.  I have several friends who have been rej...

188 – The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea have the same source. Why are they so different? Have you ever noticed how many water metaphors there are in the Bible? One of the most important ones is not specifically mentioned. You have to know the geography of the Holy Land to understand it. The Sea of Galilee has fresh water coming into and water flows out of it. As a result, the Sea of Galilee is t...

187 – What if the book of Revelation is not a prophecy of what will happen in the future, but a guidebook of how to follow the Lamb in the midst of Babylon? This week I talk with Scot McKnight, author of Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple. Scot warns against the tendency to read the book of Revelation through speculation as to who in the world t...

186 – With all the challenges in the world and in your life, is it really possible to stay faithful? Yes, of course. Sometimes we think of our faith in a big sweeping way. But staying faithful sometimes is about tiny little baby steps of doing what's right in the moment. In this week's episode, I talk about   What it means to be and stay faithful Who we should be faithful to (it's n...

185 – What does it really mean to dwell in the house of the Lord? Usually we think it means sometime way off in the future after we die. But the Bible gives a lot of clues which point to the fact that we live in the house of the Lord right now, and always. That's what this episode is all about, living in the house of the Lord right now. Here are some of the key points: Psalm 23:6 says we dwel...

184 – Does it bother you if someone says they don't believe God is omnipotent? There's a lot of fresh discussion around this age old question, "Is God omnipotent?"  A lot of people are challenging this concept and tying to be honest with themselves about what they really believe. So that's what we're talking about today. In fact, a lot of people are deciding that they...

183 – What is the best way to minister to the people most people ignore, the "least of these," as Jesus called them? This week on the podcast, I talk with Kit Cummings about his ministry in prisons and institutions, including men on death row. My favorite Kit quote: “A selfless act of service wakes up something inside of a person that, I don’t think, can be touched any other way.” We tal...

182 – Have you ever wondered how Jesus could say “I have overcome the world,” before he was crucified? Easter is in just a few days and I’ve been thinking about something Jesus said to his disciples after the Last Supper and just before he went to the Garden of Gethsemane.  It’s his famous saying, “I have overcome the world.” I’ve been pondering what he meant. Jesus knew exactly what was coming. H...

181 – It's easy to see what your eyes see, but have you ever wondered how to see spiritually? Recently a listener asked me to comment of 1 Corinthians 2:9-14 .  She wanted to know what it means to see spiritually and how we can do that. This famous passage points out that the material senses, even the human mind and heart, cannot see or perceive the spiritual things God reveals to us. They ca...

180 – Have you ever had a "burning bush" moment and felt like you were standing on holy ground? God appears to us in so many ways and situations. Even when it seems you're wandering in the desert, hungry and thirsty, either literally or figuratively, searching for answers and solutions to problems, in need of healing and love, maybe even at the end of your rope, right there and then...

179 – Why did God rest on the original Sabbath day? Was God tired? What does it mean for God to rest?  How does this apply to you and me?  Is there something we need to know about the original Sabbath day, that helps us find a Biblical rest and what it really means to obey the Fourth Commandment? In this week's episode, I talk with Gregory Hall about what the original Sabbath is and how we ca...

178 – How do you see yourself? There's a lot of debate these days about how some people choose to self-identify when their choices don't follow society's stereotypes. Who or what is that defines us?   Can we decide who and what we are?  Are we defined  by our past, our position in life, our culture, our money and education, our emotions.  Can our mistakes define us?  Can other peopl...