Character Archives - Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Anxiety seems to be everywhere, and everyone seems to have it! The good news is it can be a very normal and sometimes healthy part of life. The bad news is more often than not it grows into an oversized burden that can be difficult and even debilitating. When we as Christians have anxiety that needs to be managed, we know the Bible has the answers. The good news is we know we need to trust in the Lord, to pray continually and to live in faith. The challenging news is many times our anxiety is so powerful that hearing these biblical answers hurts and doesn’t help. Why? Because we have already worked at applying these things, and we’re still stuck! Our objective today is to slow the whole process down and work on suggesting ways to cope with anxiety’s overwhelming grip.

While we always encourage anyone who suffers from high levels of anxiety to seek professional help when appropriate, we also encourage focusing on what we personally can do to cope with our anxiety. Along with prayer, faith and trust, we suggest facing and challenging our anxieties with a four-step approach:

Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount highlight the anxiety-inducing dangers of earthly treasures and what to do about them. Jesus shows us how being anxious warps our perception, and he emphasizes the importance of God-centered reframing. While not necessarily a sign of weak faith, it is a challenge that requires intentional coping strategies. Psalms 88 and 139 encourage us to recognize anxiety and rely on God’s care.

Another point in Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 6 reveals how social comparisons intensify the problem. Jesus warns us of the challenge believers face to focus on spiritual priorities rather than worldly appearances. Philippians 4 promotes prayer and gratitude to combat anxiety and bring God’s peace in its place.

Ultimately, we understand this mental struggle as an adversary to a believer’s faith that requires continuous efforts to manage. Through prayer, biblical teachings, and reframing anxious thoughts, we can all work towards peace and balance as we continue to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

The post Can I Find Balance When Overwhelmed With Anxiety? (Part I) appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

Loving the people we know and appreciate can be hard work in general, never mind loving our enemies. There is so much emotion involved in loving others, and let’s face it, sometimes even those we appreciate can act in ways that cause us aggravation! When it comes to how we are to treat ALL of those around us – whether we like them or not – Jesus taught us a very high standard to live by. Luke’s account of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount clearly lays out the way we should be striving to live, especially in relation to those who stand against us. If we give it a chance, focusing on what Jesus said and working at practically, applying it to our everyday lives, can fundamentally change the way we see and treat everyone around us.

If I’m a Christian and I proclaim to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, then there is no way I can take that teaching and somehow twist it around so as not to apply to me. He said it, he did it and I need to follow. Ok, so how do I do that? What does loving my enemies even mean? Am I supposed to cozy up to them and try to be their best friend? What if they have hurt me or my family? What if they do evil things to others? Does loving them mean that I overlook these things? Does it mean that there are no consequences for the wrongs and hurt they have done?

However, that “no” comes with an important list of things that need to be understood. The fundamental truth we need to grasp is what it actually means to “love” an enemy. Jesus was not only specific in how he described what this love is, he was also specific in showing us how to live it. We have his words and his actions to examine and learn from.

By the way, Jesus didn’t just tell us to “love your enemies” as a stand-alone statement. Right after saying this, he expanded his teaching by adding several applications including, “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,” and then he added, “pray for those who mistreat you.” So, now we have a list of specific responses we are given to apply to those who stand against us. Once again, the question arises – how do we do that?

Check out our March 10, 2025 podcast, “Do I Really Have to Love My Enemies?” for more. We open up the meaning of Jesus words by clearly tracking how he himself fulfilled them in the treatment of Judas his betrayer. By detailing what Jesus did and how he did it, we open the door to understanding what loving our enemies truly means. Join us for this challenging and important discussion as we learn to apply what every Christian should know.

The post Do I Really Have to Love My Enemies? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

The biblical definition for sin is “to miss the mark.” To illustrate the point, let’s think about shooting an arrow at a target. As you aim for the bullseye, you shoot. You hit the target but missed the bullseye. Because your shot did not hit the mark, it fits the definition of sin. You can say, “But wait a minute! I hit the target,” and you did, but you were aiming for the bullseye. Seeing sin through this “all or nothing” lens can be frustrating and even scary. What does God do with all of our “just missed” sins? How about those bigger sins, where at times we may not even aim the arrow? Are we simply lost causes? Fortunately, the Bible explains all of this to us in great detail. The conclusions the Scriptures draw us to are both dramatic and inspiring!

There are actually two kinds of forgiveness that God can give us. The biggest and most comprehensive forgiveness has to do with sin’s earthly origin. We know Adam’s original sin led to all of humanity to be born with that defect. This means we are all destined for death, as that was the consequence for his disobedience. When Jesus died on the cross, he canceled out Adam’s sin by sacrificing his own perfect human life in place of Adam’s. This brings salvation from the death sentence to all of humanity either now (for Jesus’ faithful followers) or in the future (for the “everybody else”).

There can be no greater news to anyone than the opportunity to have Adam’s death sentence removed at God’s appointed time. As good as this is, we still have a problem…we still sin! We still do and say things that are just not right. That’s okay, because there is more good news: God can and will forgive those sins as well, however, here it’s a little different. Because these sins happen as a result of our own choices, we do have a responsibility to bring them before God and seek His forgiveness. Okay, that sounds easy enough. I sin, I feel bad, I ask God for his forgiveness – and then I’m good! Right? Not quite, but we’re on the right track.

Check out our February 24, 2025 podcast, “Will God Forgive Me?” for details. First, we clarify the differences between these two types of forgiveness. We then explore how forgiveness for our present-day sins works. This process really does begin with us, as we need to want God’s forgiveness. We begin with the role regret plays in the forgiveness process. What we find is that regret, while important, is only a beginning step. The next step of repentance is where being forgiven really has traction. Join us as we take what looks like a lot of confusing details and put them together into straightforward and understandable steps. To live a forgiven life is fundamental for any Christian! Doesn’t it make sense to be clear on what it means and how we can get there?

The post Will God Forgive Me? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

In the book of Proverbs, it says a friend loves at all times. So, what does that really mean? Jesus called his followers “friends.” This should give us a sense of its importance. Marriage can and should be between friends. Brotherhood in Christ should be fertile ground for forging deep and powerful friendships. It turns out, there is a lot to this friendship thing. Fortunately, we have many biblical examples of what true friendship looks like and what principles need to be present to build a friendship that will not only flourish but become a vital contributor to faithfully following Jesus. As we will see, God created the concept of friendship for our happiness, wellbeing and fulfillment!

One of the most significant friendships in all of the Bible was also the most unique as well. Abraham, known as the father of the faithful, was referred to as a “friend” of God. How could this be? How could the God who is ruler over all of the vastness of time and space be a friend to this one teeny, tiny human being who was born into the broken world that Adam’s sin unleashed? The answer not only shows God’s greatness but also exemplifies the fundamentals of friendship. It is all about mutual respect. God saw and respected Abraham’s love and loyalty to Him, and He chose to work with Abraham in the development of His eternal plan for humanity. This unique friendship had love and loyalty working both ways for the good of all.

Another not often talked about friendship in the Bible was between John the Baptist and Jesus. When John’s influence with the people was beginning to wane, he explained to some of his concerned followers that he saw himself as a bridegroom’s friend. He knew Jesus as the bridegroom was destined to receive the bride as his own. John expressed his great joy that his friend would be the one to be so honored. John was happy to decrease as Jesus would increase. Again, we have the deep loyalty of true friendship expressed in a truly powerful and proactive relationship.

Check out our February 17, 2025 podcast, “What Is True Friendship According to the Bible?” for more. We look at many of the building blocks true friendship needs to thrive. Then we address the perils of deep friendships that can destroy our lives instead of enhancing them. We also delve into the way Jesus described friendship. Interestingly, he did not address his disciples as “friends” until the end of his ministry. When he did, he lifted the meaning of friendship up to a whole new level. While we all have friends, we likely don’t have many friendships that live up to what Jesus taught. Join us as we learn how the give and take of true friendship really works so we can ultimately be better friends!

The post What Is True Friendship According to the Bible? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

What is the status of promises these days? Has the making of a promise become a simple figure of speech? When we say, “I promise,” are we really saying, “I’m going to try,” or “I really do intend to accomplish what I said I would do”? Have we lost our connection between our promises and our integrity? It seems as though the power of a promise has gone from being a guarantee of what will happen to a way of showing effort in getting things done. So, what does God see in us when we make a half-hearted promise to someone else? Does this kindle His wrath, or does it just disappoint Him? What should we know and do when it comes to making and keeping our promises?

If we want to truly understand what keeping promises is really supposed to be all about, we need look no further than to God himself. When we begin to get to know who He is by understanding the Bible, a few things become plain. First and foremost, God’s word is truth. This means that whenever He says anything regarding the future, He is stating a future fact that has simply not yet been revealed. Second, God is the very definition of integrity. All of His actions and plans fit together in a completely harmonious fashion. God’s promises will always be just, loving and merciful realities. He does not break a promise.

With such a lofty standard for promises in place, we now need to look into the role our human promises play. What may come as a surprise is that the New Testament says very little to encourage us to make promises, with two main exceptions. First, there is the godly promise of forsaking all to become a disciple of Jesus. This promise is made to God and absolutely needs to be kept. Second is the promise of marriage. This solemn promise is made during a wedding ceremony with God as a witness and also requires lifelong fidelity.

Outside of these two promises, Jesus himself had very little to say regarding promise making and promise keeping. Now the big question is why. Why aren’t we encouraged to be people whose promises are widely heralded as sound and dependable? The answer is simple. God designed Christian integrity to work in a very different way.

Check out our February 10, 2025 podcast, “Does God Punish Us When We Break a Promise?” for more. We break down the biblical approach for living a Christian life according to Scripture. We address what the consequences might look like for those Christians whose promises are questionable. Most importantly, we follow the powerful guidelines Jesus gave us regarding living a reverent and promise- keeping life. Join us as we uncover many surprising and revealing aspects of being human and making promises. There is so much to learn!

The post Does God Punish Us When We Break a Promise? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

Many know the story of Jacob wrestling with an angel. When we just drop in on the account and read what happened, there are many unanswered questions. Why would you pick a fight with an angel anyway? Why would an angel even let you fight? Couldn’t the angel have overwhelmingly defeated Jacob even before the altercation began? What could possibly be gained by such a confrontation? Once we begin to understand who Jacob was and the experiences of his life that led up to this confrontation, it all begins to fall into place. What we will find is that Jacob lived a life filled with experiences of great faith, as well as experiences of great deception and rivalry. God allowing him to wrestle with the angel gives us a clue as to how God knows us and meets us where we are.

For us, wrestling with God really doesn’t sound even remotely reasonable. However, once we understand what wrestling with God can really mean, all of that can change. Examining the life story of Jacob is a great way to make all of this clear. His wrestling with an angel is the scriptural basis for this thought. Looking at his life helps us to see our own life struggles more clearly.

He was the second born, right behind his brother Esau. You might say his wrestling experiences began even before he was born, based on a message from God to his mother, Rebekah. God essentially told her she would have twin sons, and the older would serve the younger. Back in those days, the first born received the greatest blessings and a double portion of paternal inheritance. This message from God was in direct conflict with all expectations. Later in their lives, it would cause great frustration and rivalry.

For most of his adult life, Jacob found himself in circumstances that provoked confrontation. His dysfunctional experiences regarding his brother Esau led him to leave his home for about 20 years. Interestingly, Jacob was not the one doing the provoking through all of his unrest. He was also on the receiving end as well. All of these interactions led him to eventually make his way back home, even though he had no idea if he would be welcomed back.

Check out our January 6, 2025 podcast, “What Happens When We Wrestle with God?” for details. We investigate many of the dramatics of Jacob’s life that led him to that incredible wrestling match with God’s angel. We put the profound reasons for his tenacious wrestling in line with God’s responses. The results are inspiring. Jacob wrestled because he could not go on without God’s blessing. Our lives are the same. Join us as we learn how wrestling with God in the right ways is not only a productive practice but also encouraged as well. These are lessons that can bring clarity and direction to our daily lives!

The post What Happens When We Wrestle With God? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

We have all heard the saying, “Life is what you make it!” It is usually at the approach of a new year or a birthday or some landmark life event when we turn our focus inward. We think about changes we would like to make. Normally, these changes are aimed at finding a greater measure of happiness, health or fulfillment in our daily lives. So, what should we decide needs changing? Even more importantly, how will we decide to implement those changes? On the surface this may sound easy, but for the vast majority of us, it is not. Life tends to get in the way, along with old habits and second thoughts. Then there is our old friend, our comfort zone! Why would we want to leave that, as it is so, well…comfortable? What can we learn from the Scriptures to help us actually implement God-honoring life changes?

The first big question to ask about making life changes is why. Why do I think I want to take this or that part of my life and alter it to fit some other mold or objective? What do I see as the real benefit? Answering this question honestly will give us insight as to what level of value the proposed changes truly hold for our future. Think about it. As a professed Christian, our whole lives are supposed to be about serving God, about doing His will. If the changes I seek are primarily focused on me and not Christlikeness, then what am I really pursuing?

There’s a big difference between trying to make myself look better compared to others and trying to live up to my calling in Christ. Obviously, one way brings me into the center of everyone’s thinking and perception. Do I want to be more acceptable, more respected or more admired in relation to those around me? Or do I want others to more fully notice Christ in me? While this may seem like an odd way to look at making significant life changes, it certainly is a credible approach. Even if the life changes we seek are focused on our physical wellbeing or rethinking old habits, our motivation should always gravitate toward letting Christ shine through us.

Ok, so we may need to do some rethinking when it comes to our motivation. As we work on this reexamination, we also need to consider our comfort zones of old habits. Wait a minute – does changing for the sake of Christ mean that all of my comfort zones are now obsolete? Check out our December 30, 2024 podcast, “How Will I Choose to Live the Life That is Ahead of Me?” for answers. We look at the dynamics of making life changes as well as how to leave old comfort zones and find new ones. All of this brings us to being positioned to make truly valuable God-honoring life changes. Walk this path with us; it is well worth the effort!

The post How Will I Choose to Live the Life That’s Ahead of Me? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

Life is forever busy. Whether it’s a holiday season or tax season or baseball season or following this, that and the other influencers on social media, we always have too much to do and not enough time or energy to do it. With all of this being said, how often do we stop and think about being generous? You know – just giving of our time or resources because we see a need. Built on the question of giving generously is the matter of how to go about it. How do we know what to give, how much to give and when to stop? Is generosity always appropriate? What if there is no appreciation for a gift? Is that an indication that we should focus our giving elsewhere? So many questions! It looks like the subject of freely giving needs some “generous” consideration!

Many people are moved to be generous because something touches their heart, provoking them to contribute. While this is certainly good and to be encouraged, we need to be clear that Christian generosity is even bigger. Ideally, we want our giving to be modeled after God’s own principles of generosity. There is much written in the Bible that describes the kinds of gifts God gives here and now in this age. One basic principle of how He gives is that His gifts are always given for the ultimate good of the recipients. Understanding this single point helps us to glimpse just how important our generosity can be.

Now comes the question regarding how to apply this. How do we in a practical sense, give to others in need while keeping everyone’s ultimate good in mind? A good place to start is with the simple phrase, “Don’t just give to bail someone out of a problem, give to build them up.” This kind of giving stretches us to an entirely different level of thinking and action. Instead of just giving a handout and hoping we helped, we are now engaging in the activity. While this obviously takes greater effort and a measure of spiritual wisdom, it can also yield much greater blessings for all involved.

Giving can also be done in many different ways. We can support others financially. Perhaps we can assist with ongoing physical needs be they food, shelter or physical aid. We can also contribute to others through the generous gift of our time.

Check out our November 25, 2024 podcast, “How Generous Should We Be?” for more. We base our generosity conversation on God’s own principles while looking at the practicality of those three ways to give. We share several true stories of giving in these areas. Some of these experiences ended up working out well and resulted in great blessings. Others of these experiences ended up not quite the way we had planned. That brings us to another question. If our giving in a certain way ends up not working out, what do we do then? Join us on this wonderful journey of generosity and find out!

The post How Generous Should We Be? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

By definition, being a Christian is all about following in Jesus’ footsteps. It’s all about learning how to walk the walk and talk the talk that he himself lived. Of course, this is no easy task, as we are challenged with applying the life lessons he taught us 2,000 years ago to the very different lives we live in our present digital age. As different as all of this is, some things are very much the same. Jesus’ promise to prepare a place for his true disciples in heaven is the same. His assurance that God’s spirit would guide us is the same. His alerting us to the trials that come to us because we follow him is the same. Having Christ in us producing the hope of glory is the same. So, what does it mean to have “Christ in you”? Is this an automatic thing that happens when we believe, or is it the end result of a long journey of growth?

The post What Does It Mean to Have Christ in You? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

“Tell the truth!” For many of us, we can recall that strongly stated advice as coming from our parents when we were caught doing or saying something that we shouldn’t have. The immediate dilemma was obvious. If I tell the truth, then I’m going to get in trouble. If I lie or just tell a part of the truth, I may get away with it. But what if they found out I lied? Then I might be in even more trouble! While we as adults may look back upon such dilemmas and smile, the reality is, we as Christians must always be on our guard to practice being truthful and having integrity every day and in every way. What does this mean? How are we supposed to handle the countless compromising circumstances of life where half-truths and exaggeration come into play? And what about little white lies?

The 9th Commandment tells us to not bear false witness against our neighbor. In the book of Leviticus, we are told to not slander anyone. In Proverbs, “a lying tongue” is on the list of the seven things God hates. Obviously, telling lies should not be on our “things that are okay to do” list, but is it really that easy? Are there ever circumstances were hiding the truth is acceptable or speaking a partial truth is okay? Is it ever okay to be deceptive? And what about exaggeration, is that lying?

Based on all these questions, the challenge of understanding how to apply truth telling in many situations is significant. To complicate things, we can find several instances in the Bible where God Himself advised deception or the telling of a partial truth. Now wait a minute. Why would He do that? Why would our God, who hates lying, appear to contradict that hatred by instructing His people to do these things? The key point here is that, taken out of context, God would appear to be contradicting His own character. He does NOT do that, but He DOES give us specific guidelines and examples to adhere to in very unusual situations.

Check out our September 30, 2024 podcast, “Is It Ever Okay for a Christian to Lie?” for more. We dive into the hard questions using biblical examples of God’s guidance at specific times as a backdrop. What we find is a wide variety of applications of how truth works. Make no mistake, none of these examples in Scripture glorify lies in any way. What they do is they teach us how to detect and understand the nuances of life’s challenges. With this understanding we can apply godly wisdom to help us respond with appropriateness to our experiences. While this is challenging, it is also doable. Join us as we navigate these rough waters of truth telling in a dark and evil world. This episode will make you think, as it lays out biblical principles and direction.

The post Is It Ever Okay for Christians to Lie? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.