Albert M. McCaig

Hello, and welcome as we continue our study on biblical concepts that will help us in our spiritual lives as well as our daily lives. I’m Albert McCaig, your host, and today we will be talking about transformation and the concept of how we transform our lives and our minds. Paul, writing in Romans, Chapter 12, verse 2, gave us one of the most remembered verses on this subject when he said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:2 teaches us not to let the values and pressures of the world shape who we are and who we will become. Instead, we should allow God to transform us by renewing our minds through His Word, through prayer, and by developing a growing relationship with Him. Renewing our minds sounds like something we would only use in church, but the greatest motivational speakers of our time use that or a similar theme to encourage personal growth; to have their actions reflect some purpose in life; to change our thinking. When our thinking changes, our choices and our actions begin to change with it. That is especially true in our relationship with God. The more we understand who God is and what He wants to do in our lives, the more clearly we begin to see His character. We discover that He is faithful, loving, patient, and completely trustworthy.

Hello, and welcome as we continue our study on biblical concepts that will help us in our spiritual lives as well as our daily lives. Today we will be talking about worry, anxiety, and the human tendency to simply wring our hands and be afraid of tomorrow.  I’ve entitled this podcast, WHAT, ME WORRY. That’s from the old mad magazine quote by the fictitious Alfred E. Neuman. We see that Pop music, Christian music, and just about every genre of music has multiple songs about worry. Some of it is catchy phrasing, some of it is not the message we want to give to people, but regardless of style, lyrics, or music, we seem to spend a lot of our entertainment time on worry; or better yet, not worrying. Leo Buscaglia was an American author, professor, and motivational speaker best known for writing and speaking about love, human connection, relationships, and personal growth. One of his famous quotes was this: “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow; it only saps today of its joy.

In Matthew 6:34, this is Jesus speaking. He said: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Join us and pass this podcast along to your friends and contacts.

I learned a long time ago not to apologize with your opening. However, I do have to apologize for the prior edition of Episode 051. It had serious editing errors in it. This should fix them. Enjoy!

Every day we see attacks on our faith, on our churches, and on our fellow Christians. Worldwide attacks on Christians is at an all-time high. Here in the United States, we still have most of our freedoms, but we must be vigilant. Stay involved and follow the principles of our faith.

Today we will be talking about staying strong when life is hard. I suspect you can relate to that from either things you’re currently experiences, or what has happened to you or a loved one in the past. Life can be hard and we need a strong spirit in order to survive and endure those hard times. This is the last of a five part series I’ve titled Strength from Within: Building a Strong Spirit. We’ve discussed strengthening our spirit, feeding our spirit, learning to walk in our spirit, and guarding our spirit; all of those things that will change how we handle life—that’s the importance of strengthening our spirit. As I mentioned, today we will finish this series by talking about something we all face—difficult and hard times.

Today we will be talking about guarding our spirit against weakness and undue influences. This is the fourth of a five part series I’ve titled Strength from Within: Building a Strong Spirit. We’ve looked at stirring the spirit, strengthening our spirit from the inside out, feeding our spirit, and learning to walk in the spirit.  All of this is important in strengthening our spirit within. Remember that we’re made up of body, soul, and spirit–we’re three part beings. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Today we will be talking about learning to walk in the spirit. This is the fourth of a five part series I’ve titled Strength from Within: Building a Strong Spirit. We’ve talked about being stirred by the Spirit, strengthening our spirit from the Inside out, as well as feeding our spirit. Today we’ll covering walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Walking in the Spirit is not complicated—but it is intentional. It means living with a constant awareness of God’s presence and a willingness to follow His leading. It means you pause before reacting. You listen before deciding. You obey when prompted.

Today we will be talking about feeding our spirit each and every day. This is the second of a five part series I’ve titled Strength from Within: Building a Strong Spirit. We started out with  Strengthening Your Spirit from the Inside out, something that will change how we handle life—that’s the importance of strengthening our spirit. Here,  we will talk about feeding our spirit each and every day as part of our spiritual maturing; and we feed from the inside out. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Just like your body needs food, your spirit needs truth. The problem is, many people are feeding their minds constantly—but starving their spirit.

Today we will be talking about being guided by the Holy Spirit, and how our own spirit is affected by our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We are made up of body, soul, and spirit. Therefore, we have to take care of each of those parts, the spirit being just one of them. Recognizing that we have an inner spirit, have you ever felt your spirit stirred—like something deep inside you is being awakened? That is often the work of the Holy Spirit. Being guided by the Spirit is not just about feelings. It is about choosing to believe the truth of God’s Word—even when the world around us says otherwise. Psalm 31:3 says, “For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.”

Today we will be talking about strengthening your spirit. This is the first of a five part series I’ve titled Strength from Within: Building a Strong Spirit. We’ll start out with  Strengthening Your Spirit from the Inside Out, something that will change how you handle life—that’s the importance of strengthening your spirit. The Bible teaches that we are made of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Your body faces the world. Your soul processes it. But your spirit connects you with God. As we go through these five episodes, my hope is that you will see how important it is to strengthen your inner spirit.

Today we will be talking about being a man in the biblical sense of the word. I’m really not much into what I call Hallmark Holidays, such as father’s day, mother’s day, this day and that day. I think most of them were created to sell cards, flowers, chocolate and stuff for the back yard grill. Having said that, there is certainly a place for recognizing the biblical roles of both men and women, but I emphasize the biblical roles; not the roles that our current culture has decided to demand. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day will come upon us in due time. With this podcast, I’m talking directly to men, but women need to hear it too so you know what to expect of the men in your life. So, to start out today, let’s take a quick look at 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”