Character Archives - Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Nobody likes to suffer. Nobody wants pain, turmoil, uncertainty, tragedy or sickness to take up continual residence in their lives. When a Christian suffers by facing hard things in their daily experience, it is easy to look at it as punishment. We see these harsh experiences as a signal that something is wrong and expect them to sap the joy right out of our lives. Suffering is easily seen as have little to no redeeming value. We think that it signals that God has ceased protecting us, and that means trouble. Turns out, the Bible has a lot to say about suffering, trial and punishment. It explains in great detail the role suffering plays in our lives, and the how and why of punishments that come from God.

When Christians ask about the suffering that comes to us in our lives, we often ask the simple question why. Why is this happening? Why can’t it be different? Why me? While these are important questions, they really can’t be answered until we understand the basis of suffering in our lives. This understanding is made clear when we stop looking at our own trials, difficulties and mishaps and instead look at Jesus.

Jesus suffered – and he suffered a lot. Why? He was perfect and therefore certainly didn’t need any kind of punishment! So, why suffer? On the contrary, Jesus preached the gospel – the good news – that would be for all people. With such a universally positive message, why did he have to go through the insults, the contradictions, the accusations and threats from those who opposed him? At the end of his ministry, why did he have to go through the humiliation, the false testimonies, the beatings, the whippings, and finally crucifixion?

Jesus suffered because that was part of the price that needed to be paid to bring full salvation to humanity. By willingly suffering, Jesus assured us he knows by his own experiences what the consequences of sin look like and feel like. This gives us confidence in Jesus on a very human level. He went through the kinds of things we go through and ALWAYS overcame them. If Jesus could so willingly embrace such hard suffering for the sake of God’s plan, then we are called to embrace it as well. “If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him” Romans 8:17.

We can now see that much of our Christian suffering is for the purpose of growing in Christ as we walk in his footsteps. But what about when we sin? What about God punishing us? Check out our April 25, 2022 podcast, “Am I Being Punished or Favored?” for more. God’s discipline in our lives is an integral part of our Christian growth experience. We dig into the why and how of this discipline, as well as several perspectives regarding the handling of our Christian suffering. Suffering is a privilege! Join us as we learn how to rejoice in all aspects of our discipleship.

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Most Christians are very aware of Satan’s influence in our world today. We know he is opposed to God and His will at all turns, and as the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), he will ferociously fight to keep all he has laid claim to. What we don’t often think about is how we as individual Christians fit into the intensity of Satan’s raging against God. The Scriptures tell us that his objective was and continues to be usurping for himself the authority that ultimately belongs to the Most High God. Anyone and anything that in any way shape or form stands in the way of Satan’s fight over his perceived authority is fair game for his unrighteous anger. As Christians, we love God supremely and seek to daily walk in the footsteps of our Lord Christ Jesus. This blessing means we are also Satan’s prime targets. What now?

The Apostle Peter’s illustration of Satan going about as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour in 1 Peter 5:8 is a powerful one. Peter had firsthand experience regarding the power of Satan’s attacks when he denied the Lord three times before Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus warned Peter that Satan was after him (Luke 22:31-32) and that he had prayed for him. Jesus knew Satan would exploit Peter’s moments of weakness and attempt to reframe them as a life of failure. Satan lost that battle and as a result, Peter warned us to be watchful.

Lions roar for a variety of reasons. They roar to warn their pride of danger, to scare off an intruder, another lion or a predator. A lion’s roar can be devastatingly loud, and it can invoke acute fear and panic. Satan as a roaring lion is unmistakably hunting down the followers of Jesus. His objective is to stifle the work of Christ that is being accomplished through us. He will stop at nothing to intimidate, discourage, or cause us to panic in fear. He knows that his time and his dominion are both limited. What happens when you corner a predatory animal? They attack with a destroyer’s ferocity.

Satan’s attacks on the disciples of Christ can take place in a variety of ways. His typical approach seems to be to lie in wait for the everyday trials that come to us as we strive to be like Jesus. His objective is to turn those trials into traumas and to get us to focus on things other than following Christ.

Check out our March 28, 2022 podcast, “How Is Satan Trying to Devour Me?” for more. We examine four specific ways Satan as a roaring lion seeks to get into our hearts and heads. We look at several real-life examples of what it means to stand up against the lion’s roar. The Bible tells us to wear the Armor of God, but fighting Satan requires us to be armed inwardly as well outwardly. Join us as we focus on standing our ground in the battle for our Christian lives!

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Hope is a critical part of the human experience. Without it, our lives would be overrun with despair, doubt and difficulty. It’s intertwined in every part of any experience that contains even the smallest measure of doubt. Without it, we would end up meeting the uncertainties of each day with our own internal and unanswerable uncertainties. The results would be disastrous! The fact is there are different interpretations of what this kind of optimism really is. If we place our expectations in seriously questionable ideas, circumstances or people, we will undoubtedly end up with high levels of disappointment. So, how do we keep true hope alive? For Christians, it all begins with striving to understand what biblical hope really is. Once we grasp this, we begin to see that hope in its most complete form is absolutely transformational.

First and foremost, let’s establish the difference between a true hope and a wish. When we wish for something, we have an emotional attachment to whatever that thing or circumstance is to be a reality. I can be having a bad day and wish it would end. I can be short and wish I was tall. I can apply for a job that I am underqualified for and wish I would get it. None of these wishes have a direct link to the reality of my life. Developing and banking on wishes generally brings us disappointing results.

The New Testament word for hope means “expectation.” Hope  from a biblical standpoint, then, has its basis in truth and not in any emotional desire for something to be real. Biblical hope is based on things that are outside of ourselves. It is based on principles of righteousness and godliness. And it is based on the fact that God does have a plan. Biblical hope is something to aspire to because it works. It requires effort and constancy on our part, which is a far cry from the emotionalism of a wish.

With such a stark difference between hopes and wishes, you’d think we would avoid the entire wish thing and hold onto the solid expectations that hope brings. Theoretically this is doable, but practically this is challenging. It is far too easy to dilute true biblical hope with generous portions of my own desires and perspective. It’s just too convenient to take sound scriptural principles and prophecies and customize them to fit my personal viewpoint.

Check out our March 21, 2022 podcast, “How Do We Keep Hope Alive?” for more. We lay out the awe-inspiring scriptures that reveal how God shows Himself to be the fundamental basis of all biblical hope. We look at the several steps needed to not only lock on to truth-based biblical hope, but also how to apply it along the way. Finally, we look at the hopelessness of our world and uncover how to be filled with hope in spite of the mess we are in. Join us! Genuine hope is something you don’t want to live without!

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As Christians, we all fail. We all think, say or do things that are out of harmony with God’s will and way, and this can be really frustrating. So, what can change those failures? Will focusing on having more faith make a difference? The answer to this is both yes and no. Having more faith can only make a difference if we understand what faith really is. For many, having Christian faith is professing a belief. It is looking towards Jesus and choosing to be his follower. While this is appropriate and necessary, it’s only a beginning. True faith is far deeper. When we look at both the Old and New Testaments together, we see a very different description of faith. This description shows us how we can use true and genuine faith to help take us from failure to victory.

We often classify our Christian faith into the categories of intellectual appreciation and heart reliance. Let’s be clear – faith does belong in these categories, as it is very much an internal foundation for our discipleship. We live in a time when God does not show His presence as readily as He did in biblical times. This makes it important to really know God and Jesus with our minds as we grasp what salvation and redemption are all about. Just as important, we need to feel the impact of God’s love and Jesus’ leadership in our hearts as well. For many of us, these things signal strong faith that can lead us through difficulties. However, there is much more to faith than this.

Faith’s frequently overlooked ingredient is action. The Old Testament is filled with accounts of individuals who stood head and shoulders above others when it came to faithfully following God’s will. Their examples were so inspiring that the 11th chapter of Hebrews was dedicated to citing many of their “living by faith” examples.

If you look up the word “faith” in most translations, it only appears twice in the entire Old Testament! This is in comparison to appearing 229 times in the New Testament. The Old Testament covers about 4,000 years of human history and the New Testament covers about 100 years of history. So, how do we learn faith vs. failure lessons from a period of time when faith is hardly mentioned?

It all comes down to understanding how faith was expressed in those ancient days. Check out our March 14, 2022 podcast, “Can Faith Take Me From Failure to Victory?” for more. We discover what a life of faith actually meant in Old Testament times. We examine several aspects of how Joshua, the man appointed by God to lead Israel into the land of Canaan, lived his faith. All of this gives us a broader comprehension of the value and application of life faithfully lived in a God-honoring way. Join us as we learn to see how faith can bring us to victory when we fail!

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When it comes to understanding your marriage relationship, there may not be a more revealing question to ask than, “What do I say when I talk to my spouse?” We make a life-altering decision to marry, and the passion behind it is clear and solid. We see it as a “forever” passion. Time passes and this passionate decision can become a commonplace part of life, one we don’t give much thought to. Then kind of like putting on your most comfortable pair of shoes or sitting in your favorite chair, your marriage becomes just another element of life you absentmindedly rely on to provide you comfort. As you talk to your spouse, your words perhaps subtly at first begin to reflect reaffirming your own comfort instead of being interested in their experience. So sad and too often, so true!

We communicate with our spouses through our words, actions, innuendo – and what we choose to focus on as important. These communications reveal the condition of OUR OWN HEARTS. Just by looking at these simple things, how would we say we’re doing with our spousal dialogue? Consider that somewhere around half of all marriages end in divorce and countless others are unhappy.

With all of this in mind, it is evident that strong and healthy spousal communication is the exception and not the rule.

Why is this the case? Living in the age of technology, the short (and I might add depressing) answer is this. There is too much else that we allow to demand our attention. We are so busy with working, challenges, social media, kids, friends, personal interests, politics, causes and distractions that we lose sight of our spouse. Because there is so much to see, hear and respond to we spend far less time, energy and emotional investment on the most important person in our lives. Why? Because they are an assumed part of our life that can easily be handled on autopilot. When we do finally try and communicate, it is often done to express dissatisfaction or anger. Now that is a lose-lose approach!

Check out our February 14, 2022 podcast, “What Do I Say When I Talk to My Spouse?” for more. We look at several scriptural principles and examples to give us a solid foundation from which to communicate. Two kinds of love can drive healthy relationships, so we talk about how to keep them in focus. We delve into the “why” and “how” of our conversations and where they so easily get sidetracked. We examine the most important thing that needs to be conveyed to our spouse. Here’s a hint:  It is NOT telling them how we feel or why we might be mad. THE most important thing has little to do with us at all. A happy relationship is fundamentally dependent on strong communication. Join us and gather some of the tools necessary to build that foundation!

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When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, he changed everything. All that the people of Israel had ever heard before this was related to the Jewish Law and much of that teaching had been corrupted by their religious leadership. Jesus sat on a hillside teaching his disciples, allowing anyone to listen in who had a mind to hear. For those who did, he unfolded transformational instructions to become his true disciples. The import of the simple statements he began his sermon with, now known as the Beatitudes, is eternal. Last week we began to unpack these Beatitudes and covered the first three of the seven. Here in Part II, we cover the last four. What deep lessons and instructions did Jesus use to describe his own character as a model for ours?

In Part I of our 2-part series, we labeled what being “blessed” really means. We spoke in detail about “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (humble), “Blessed are those that mourn” (those who grieve) and “Blessed are the meek” (teachable). These three characteristics lay a very solid foundation on which to build a Christian life. The next three, “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” being “merciful” and being “pure in heart” are also steppingstones to a dramatic conclusion. Understanding the progressive nature of these six beatitudes gives us a far deeper appreciation of what Jesus wants us to be.

It is important to realize that appreciating the depth of the Beatitudes unlocks an understanding of the challenges of a Christian life. Each and every experience we have – be it happy or sad, inspiring or crushing – ties into these seven characteristics. The further you go through this list of these Beatitudes, the more difficult it is to apply the character trait.

Take the sixth beatitude as an example, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Purity of heart is not something we come to Christ already possessing. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite is true. We come to Jesus because we make mistakes, we say bad things and we act out of pride or jealousy, or anger or selfishness. All of these are symptoms of an impure heart, and we are loaded down with them. We need Jesus because we need forgiveness for our sins. To develop a purer heart is to work at purging out the sinful thoughts, words and actions from our lives. Purity of heart is not a function of mere desire. It is a result of hard work, humility and discipline over a very long time.

Check out our January 24, 2022 podcast “Is God Happy With My Attitude? (Part II) for more. We establish a clear order and connection for all of the Beatitudes. We focus on the last one, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” We reveal why this particular characteristic of peacemaking is at the top of this profound list. To be a true Christian requires work. Join us and learn how these seven character traits can focus that work to best honor God!

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Arguably, the most well-known sermon in the world is the Sermon on the Mount, delivered by Jesus over 2,000 years ago on a mountainside near the Lake of Gennesaret and Capernaum. It was his longest recorded sermon, covering important topics like loving your enemies, anger and murder, adultery and divorce, how to fast and laying up treasures in heaven. His audience was his disciples plus a curious crowd, attracted by his ability to perform wondrous miracles. The sermon began with several deceptively simple “blessed” statements called the Beatitudes. These statements are actually a profound foundation for all of Jesus’ teachings. They show us not only how to frame our view of life, they also show us how we are to treat those around us with godly grace.

One of the key factors in understanding the Sermon on the Mount and its introductory Beatitudes is knowing who Jesus’ audience was. When we look at the scenario, we see Jesus sitting on a hillside surrounded by countless people who came to hear what he had to say. While it seems obvious that Jesus was talking directly to those masses, it is not the correct conclusion. The context before and after the Beatitudes were spoken clearly indicates that he was, in fact, directly addressing only his disciples.

This fact raises several relevant questions:

To answer these, we make several observations: Jesus was wise. He always knew who was listening. He knew who he was specifically addressing and why. Throughout his ministry, he frequently focused on one segment of a group while intentionally allowing others to listen in. Why? He knew the principles of godly righteousness he always taught should be heard by all, even if they would not fully understand them.

Jesus DOES want all people to recognize, love and honor God. He wisely knows the vast majority who may listen are likely mere curiosity seekers. For them to be able to simply hear, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” is a positive thing. It points to the all-important basis of personal humility as a way for God to deal with us and for us to be true disciples of Christ. While the full depth and meaning of these words escapes the casual listener, it does impact and change those who would truly follow Jesus.

Check out our January 17,2022 podcast, “Is God Happy with My Attitude?” (Part I) for more. We begin with defining the profound meaning of being “blessed” and then carefully examine each of the first three Beatitudes. We find so much more than a list of inspirational sayings. The seven teachings of Jesus are actually a lynchpin for a successful Christin life. Join us for Part I as we begin this journey into the mind and life of Jesus. This will help us to understand what our lives should look like. Part II picks up right where we left off, so don’t miss this important 2-part series.

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It is easy to live with bitterness. I am not suggesting it’s initially comfortable, but I am suggesting that being bitter towards one or many people or circumstances is considered acceptable. We know it’s acceptable because if we pay attention, we will see that the harsh and angry results of a bitter temperament are widely encouraged. Bitterness can enter at every turn and enters easily and stealthily. Once in, it quietly takes root, masked as what we might consider justifiable anger or a justifiable reaction to wrong, or simply a justifiable defense of one’s own self. Then it grows – quietly and under the surface at first so that we get comfortable with it, until one day we wake up and it rules our life.

Bitterness is more destructive than we like to think for several reasons:

If I have been terribly wronged by someone’s purposeful action and suffer lasting consequences, bitterness can be natural and understandable. Allowing my bitter feelings to be at home in my heart is easy, as they provide a way for me explain away my now stagnating life. This produces comfort. Once we get comfortable with something, we no longer question it. Without my conscious permission, my life perspective has now changed. I see the world differently. Over time, I will inevitably be presented with several opportunities along the way to ease that bitterness, but I will most likely reject them as disruptive or useless.

Being bitter often brings us to being sad, disillusioned, angry and disappointed. Each of these are challenging symptoms all on their own. Routing out any one of them can be a mammoth challenge. Even when we do manage to get one or more of these under control, we still have the root cause of bitterness alive and intact within our hearts.

In the New Testament, the Bible basically defines bitterness as poison. How much poison are we willing to live with? You can dilute poison with lots of water, but are you still willing to drink it? Are we willing to rationalize and say that our bitter feelings are not as bad as someone else’s, so we’re okay? The Bible frames being bitter as a significant target for Christians to overcome and not tolerate.

Check out our January 10, 2022 podcast, “Am I Too Bitter to Be Better?” for more. We look at several biblical examples of bitterness to see what drives them and what can derail them. What we find is both alarming and hopeful. First, we find that bitterness can upend our lives in ways that we might never have thought of. But we also find that there are many things we can do to dig down and root out our bitterness. Join us for a journey of growth and change as we seek to root out the poison of a bitter heart.

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The source of the phrase, “The devil is in the details” is a bit unsure. It is thought to be a derivation of the phrase “God is in the detail,” thought to be from an old German proverb sometime in the 1800’s. Whatever the origin, both phrases are profoundly true. As we begin a new year, we often look to get things in order, so that we can improve our quality of life. For a Christian, this is a great practice but is also one that should be approached with a measure of caution. Why? Because the devil CAN be in the details! Just because we decide we want our lives to be better does not mean we will automatically go about it in a God-honoring way! So, what do we watch out for? How can we be sure to have the details of our desires be more appropriate, have godliness written all over them and no trace of the devil?

The devil is a spiritual being not of this earth. But through several prophecies, the Bible tells us a fair amount about his heavenly position and responsibilities. These prophecies reveal he was called a “morning star.” This was a very high rank among all of God’s created beings. They also tell us how he was given a measure of oversight over the earthly creation. All of this adds up to Satan being in a natural position of powerful and influence over humanity. This became obvious when he deceived Eve in the Garden, and she followed his direction rather than God’s specific instruction.

The nature of Satan’s rebellion against God is prophetically revealed in Isaiah 14:12-14. These verses describe not only his mindset, but his objectives as he sought to be like God. When we couple the prophetic history of Satan with his blatant rebellion against God, we end up with an alarming influence over humanity that is evil. The unfortunate conclusion from all of this is that the devil is not only in the details of our lives, he is naturally in those details. This means his rebellious characteristics of arrogance, deception and subtlety have an indelible effect on the human race.

We as humans often look to make decisions to improve our lives and focus our ambition, especially at the beginning of a new year. Knowing what we know now, we need to proceed with wisdom, as we want to have God in the details of our lives and not Satan. Check out our January 03, 2022 podcast, “Is the Devil in the Details of My Life?” for more. We look at four specific aspects of Satan’s desires. We compare his desires with our typical human attempts to make our lives better. What we find is reason for caution and hope. Caution, because it is painfully easy to give in to the devil’s way of doing things by always putting ME first. Hope because these things are recognizable and changeable! God belongs in the details of our lives. Let’s make sure He is there!

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Technology brings the world to the palm of your hand. This means we are bombarded with voices. Worldly voices of opinion, anger, politics, perspective, ego, trends and personal interpretations of morality. If you have technology in your life, it is virtually impossible to completely shut these voices out. On the other hand, we have the voice of God through His Word and through His people. This voice is powerful but quiet. It is relevant but subtle; nourishing but it seems outdated. It is transformative in a very positive way, but it is also laughed at as out of touch. So, how do we identify the voices around us and then intentionally choose whose will influence us to listen?

Our morality as humans is directly related to the voices we choose to listen to. It is woefully easy to get stuck in a “voice loop” where we allow certain voices, certain perspectives, to circulate nonstop in our minds. This results in two tragic consequences:

is a cognitive mechanism that detaches our internal moral standards from our actions, allowing us to engage in unethical behavior without feeling distress. Historically, one of the most dramatic examples of this was Nazi Germany. The Nazi propaganda of that time labeled Jews, Gypsies and others as less than human. The victims were seen as rats. This voice loop became so pervasive that it led to a systematic attempt to exterminate these “vermin.” It’s called genocide and became acceptable.

What does this atrocity have to do with us? Unfortunately, more than we might be comfortable admitting. Our “voice loops” likely include a lot more dehumanizing language than we might be aware of. Now, we can say that we’d never resort to genocide, and I hope that is true. The more piercing question is, are we on the same highway as those who became so morally disengaged that they consciously and efficiently destroyed millions of lives?

Check out our December 27, 2021 podcast, “Whose Voices Are You Listening To?” for more. We look at seven mechanisms of moral disengagement, beginning with dehumanization. We apply these mechanisms to how our tech-driven world shapes us and find some disturbing trends. Next, we apply these mechanisms to several people in the Bible who had power and influence. We find striking similarities! With all of this unsettling material to pour through, we also present sound scriptural principles to help us manage these difficult challenges. If the idea of being involuntarily fed destructive voices on a regular daily basis is disturbing, then join us. We face the issues of influence with faith, courage and godly solutions!

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