The Commands of Christ Podcast

The more we look at how God’s kingdom works, the more we will see that His ways are actually opposite man’s ways! Man’s way of leadership is seeking to be served. It involves vying for position and recognition. God’s way of leadership is that we seek to serve and put others' needs above our own. As we dig into the Command of Christ to “Be a Servant”, it is key that we don’t look to ourselves to fu...

 “Do you believe that stuff?” was the question that changed the course of atheist engineer Spike Psarris’ life. It was a question asked by a Christian co-worker when he saw Spike reading a new-age book during a lunch break. This launched a series of conversations between the atheist and creationist that ultimately led Spike to acknowledge that his evolutionary beliefs couldn’t be true. Listen as S...

Have you ever wondered how to practically love your spouse? Or what you should do when they don’t seem to be meeting the needs that you have? Or where the desire and strength to honor marriage comes from in the first place? Listen as Nate and Gabe share from God’s Word about the source of honoring marriage as well as practical ways Christ can enable us to demonstrate His love to our spouse. It can...

Is the sensual music we listen to really a big deal? Does it really matter if we watch movies and read books that glorify fornication and adultery? The culture of our day does not honor marriage. So much of the entertainment that we consume gives an unbiblical view of marriage! Join Nate and Gabe as they challenge us to be purposeful in engaging in things that encourage a God’s view of marriage. I...

The root of so many marriage problems doesn’t actually stem from the couple's problems with each other! Many times it comes from a breakdown in an individual’s personal relationship with God! Are you putting the Lord first in our life? Do you have a heart that is sensitive and humble to Him? As we give Christ centrality in our lives, He will be able to express His love and kindness through us to o...

What is the purpose of marriage? Is it companionship? Pleasure? Procreation? Having a clear vision for the purpose of something is key in living in harmony with it. As we look at Scripture, we will see that the purpose of marriage is something much bigger than just two people. Marriage is meant to be a picture of Christ and the Church. But what is a picture for? A picture is something that is crea...

Have you ever forgiven someone only to wake up the next morning to feel all the old hurts and bitterness again? We can be discouraged and wonder, “did I actually forgive them?” It is important to realize that just as we need to come to the initial choice to forgive, we also must learn to walk out the “journey” of forgiveness. A key in this journey is learning that forgiveness is not an emotion; it...

It is sobering to realize that when we choose to withhold forgiveness toward an offender, we actually give ground to the enemy in our lives. Bitterness allows the enemy to have an “advantage” and to wreak havoc in other areas of our lives. Join Nate and Gabe as they exhort us to allow God to heal our pain so we can become channels of love and forgiveness to our offenders. Our natural, human respon...

When Jesus says we must forgive seventy times seven, He was referring to an infinite number! If we grit our teeth and try to forgive in our own strength, we will see how impossible this is. However as we depend on the Lord, He is able to fill us with His forgiveness. We as believers ought to seek to have the heart of our King - a heart that forgives unconditionally. Our natural, human response to...

Can you imagine the incredible burden of having a $4 billion debt? To pay such a sum back would be impossible! And beyond that, can you imagine the gratefulness that would overwhelm you if you were told the debt had been forgiven? In Scripture we read that a man was forgiven such a debt, but turned around and refused to forgive someone else a debt of a mere fraction of his own! Listen as Nate and...

One of the reasons we are warned to “beware of covetousness”, is because it starts out below the surface of our lives.  It begins many times unrecognized in our thoughts and desires and if left unchecked, suddenly we find ourselves caught in its trap. Are we setting our affection on temporal things? Are we cultivating desires for things that are outside the bounds of what God has for us? Listen as...

As believers, we need to be careful that we don’t derive our identity and value from our paycheck or our possessions - if we do, we will always be covetous for more! The substantive part of our life is not made up of the things we possess. But rather, our identity is found in the Person of Jesus Christ! The more we realize this the more we will experience life with rest and contentment. Whether it...

As you dig deeper into this command, you will discover that it is God’s love for us that causes Him to warn us of covetousness. Covetousness causes us to seek after temporal things that only bring emptiness and death. But as we embrace the boundaries that God has given to us, we find true joy and fulfillment. Whether it's advertisements coming from billboards, social media, or the inbox, there is...

A rich man was once asked, “How much money is enough?” He answered, “Just a little bit more.” This answer illustrates the ugly root of covetousness. Covetousness is wanting more than what God has allotted to me. Join Nate and Gabe as they delve into the command of Christ to Beware of Covetousness. Whether it's advertisements coming from billboards, social media, or the inbox, there is so much pres...

What does it mean to “be angry and sin not”? Is it even possible to get angry without sinning? In this episode, Dr. S.M. Davis expounds from scripture how acting out even in a little anger is never ok. The effects of anger in the home are devastating - causing breakdown in relationships and ultimately causing parents to lose their children's hearts. Join Dr. Davis and Nate as they discuss where we...

Our tendency towards offenses is to react in our flesh. It is helpful to see our offender as God’s agent for developing the character of Jesus in us. Instead of just reacting to conflict and offense from our human perspective, what if we asked God for His perspective? God is able to use even the conflict we experience among believers to form Christ in both the offended and the offender! Imagine th...

What hinders us from going to offenders? Are you harboring bitterness? Are you going to others who are not part of the problem or solution? When we are offended we need to go to the Lord first and allow Him to search our heart. As we take the situation to Him, He is then able to give us His heart and His forgiveness toward our offender.  Imagine the change we would see if we, as the Body of Christ...

How are we to “go to offenders” in the first place? So often we approach an offender with our motive being vindication - we go in anger and pride and with a desire to expose them. However it is key that we approach a straying brother with the heart God has for them. If we go with an attitude of humility, love and a desire to restore, it has the potential to open their heart in a way that it wouldn...

Going to offenders is not about condemnation; it’s about restoration. Join Nate and Gabe as they dig into the context surrounding this command. This command will open your eyes to see the heart of God to restore, not condemn, those who are lost. Imagine the change we would see if we, as the Body of Christ, had a heart for restoration toward offenders! Imagine if, instead of reacting to offenders i...

We all have “little ones” in our lives - whether they are  young children physically or those who are spiritually immature in the faith. A very practical aspect of living out this command is that we learn to take time to invest in these “little ones.” Whether you are a parent with children or someone in a discipleship setting, you will be encouraged as you listen to have God’s perspective toward t...

It is so easy to have the mentality that we need to do something impressive or become something great in order to be used by God. In this episode, Nate and Gabe explore many examples from scripture illustrating the truth that God uses the “little ones” - the ones who are weak and dependent on Him - to accomplish His purposes. Oftentimes the reason God is not able to use us is not because we are to...

We are often impatient with ones who are less mature than us. However it is so important for us to humble ourselves and accept the fact that we are “little children” who are completely dependent on our Heavenly Father. As we rest in Him and receive His gentle demeanor toward us, we will be able to communicate this same attitude of love and patience to those around us.  Seeing how much God values l...

When the disciples asked Jesus “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”, they were probably not expecting Jesus to answer the way He did! He pointed them to a little child and said that we must become as little children in order to enter the Kingdom. Join Nate and Gabe as they explore the rich insights of becoming “as little children” - ones who believe God and take Him at His word.  Seeing...

Often when we think of denying self, we think of abstaining from things that are obviously “bad.” We need to be aware that there is also a “lust of the flesh” that looks good - it is a desire to be good in our own strength and by our own efforts. We must deny this dependence on the flesh because even though it looks good, it keeps us from dependence on Christ.  Simply put, to deny self is to look...

Does our behavior define our identity or is our identity supposed to define our behavior? Often we wrestle with our identity in Christ because we still wrestle with old patterns and behaviors. It is paramount to our Christian life that we learn to bring our behavior in line with who we are in Christ. In this episode, Nate and Gabe share that this mentality is a key in learning to walk out the comm...