Jesus was here 2,000 years ago. His message was clear, as he had come to pay the price for Adam’s sin. He preached, he healed, he called some to follow him, and he gave people hope. Jesus called himself “the way, the truth and the life” and announced that the “kingdom of God was at hand.” Fast forward 2,000 years, and we have to ask, where are we? It’s plainly obvious that the world has not come around to follow Jesus. And to be blunt, it is also obvious that much of the history of Christianity does not reflect well on the principles Jesus lived by and taught. So, what conclusions should we draw from all of this? Has the gospel message failed? Has the redemption Jesus promised the world just gone by the wayside, or is the gospel message doing precisely what God had always intended it to do?

Let’s face it, God is pretty smart. When He has a plan, it is a sure thing that His plan will not only work, but it will work flawlessly, gloriously and comprehensively. After all, He IS the all-powerful and all-wise Creator of all things! With these observations in mind, let’s consider the whole idea of the gospel. The word for “gospel” in the New Testament means “a good message.” When we look at how the Bible is laid out, the New Testament begins with four books we call the Gospels. Because these books are about the life of Jesus, it is easy to conclude that his life IS the good news. His life IS the essence of the gospel.

It’s logical to focus on the life of Jesus, as his mission was the good news. Now let’s go further. When Jesus was born there was an angelic announcement to shepherds, and it was very specific. The message – the proclamation of good news – stated in Luke 2:10 (KJV) said, “…behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” So, what do we know so far? We know Jesus IS the “good news.” We also know this good news would be for ALL people. All people. Not just believers, and not just special people. The angel said “ALL,” and that angel had been sent by God to deliver that specific message.

All will receive the good news, this gospel of Jesus. But how is this possible as so many have never even heard of him? Check out our December 16, 2024 podcast, “Is the Gospel as Success or a Failure?” for more. We dig into scriptures that give clear and abundant proof of how God’s plan does in fact include every man woman and child ever born. Even more thrilling is the fact that the message of the gospel being for all is all over the Bible! Join us for this incredible journey down the road of biblical truth and hope. It really is good news!

How does someone become a follower of Christ? Does it begin by becoming curious about this Jesus person and all of the world-changing influence he has? Perhaps we are living in fear and are searching for a kind of security that is different and higher than anything else we know. Maybe we’re overwhelmed with despair in our lives, and we’re searching for powerful hope and encouragement. Or maybe we’ve been awakened to the realization that there is more to life than what this world has to offer – much more. While any and all of these things can play a role in coming to Christ, the one common factor in all cases of true discipleship is beyond us. It is God drawing us to Him through Jesus. So, how does that work? How can we identify the drawing of God and differentiate it from our own emotions?

During his ministry on earth, Jesus plainly stated that no one comes to him unless God has drawn them. The context of this statement was Jesus talking about what it takes to become a true disciple of his. He was indicating to those listening that there was more to becoming one of his followers than they may have thought. True discipleship would always begin with God’s providence in someone’s life. An individual’s decision to truly follow would be an outgrowth of that invitation.

So, what does that drawing from God actually look like? The answer to this is best understood by looking at actual biblical examples of some who were called to follow Jesus from widely diverse backgrounds. Observing someone’s actual life circumstances coupled with what we are told was their heart attitude helps us see the process of how God calls.

Cornelius loved God, even though his life was far outside of God’s favor as a Roman Gentile. In spite of that lack of favor, he remained devoted to honoring what he knew of God’s ways. When God’s timing arrived, the Apostle Peter was sent to him to witness about Jesus. Cornelius was ready, and the despair of his previous lack of favor was transformed into fulfilled contentment as a follower of Jesus. This is just one example of how God may call us.

Check out our December 9, 2024 podcast, “How Do You Know If God Is Calling You?” for more. We also dig into the lives of the Apostle Paul before his conversion, Zaccheus the tax collector, and the Apostle Peter at the time he was drawn by God to Jesus. All four examples show us differing life circumstances through which God would draw individuals to Him as they came to Jesus. The lessons here are eye-opening as we learn how varied and unique God calling people can be. Join us as we walk through the lives of these faithful disciples of Jesus and appreciate their responses to God’s drawing.

This may sound like an oversimplification, but we’re going to say it anyway: God is intentional. He always knows what He is doing and what it will eventually lead to. While this knowledge should serve as a great comfort to us, it can, because of our limited and imperfect minds, have the exact opposite effect. We may see things in the Bible that on the surface just don’t seem to click. We start wondering, why would God do it THAT way? That doesn’t make any sense! Take the two trees mentioned in the creation account. Both the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil were placed in close proximity to each other. They were both in the center of the Garden of Eden. Why two trees? Why have one for eating and the other just to avoid?

Understanding the role the Tree of Life played in the Garden of Eden is relatively simple. God’s creation of Adam and Eve was the absolute high point of His whole Planet Earth project. They were created in His image, which meant they were created to be reasoning beings who would have authority over earth. Along with these wonderful gifts also came the ability to live eternally on earth. God made this ability real by giving them the Tree of Life, which had been placed in the middle of the garden. Eating the fruit of this tree regularly would apparently keep their physical health at the perfect level God had originally given them.

Comprehending the role the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil played is a bit harder to grasp. This tree was also placed in the middle of the garden with strict instructions to NOT partake of its fruit. The uniqueness of this command made this tree stand out from the rest of the entire garden environment. Everything else in that garden, including the animals, was there as perfect contributors to a perfectly designed ecosystem. So, how then did this Tree of Knowledge fit in? It too would be part of the ecosystem, but on a very different level.

In God’s wisdom, He specifically placed this Tree of Knowledge near the Tree of Life as a teaching tool. After all, to live for eternity would require wisdom, experience and maturity, all of which needed to be learned. We all know what happened, as Adam and Eve disobeyed God. The result was they lost their right to eternal life. At face value, this Tree of Knowledge experience can easily look like a complete failure. However, the exact opposite is true. Check out our December 2, 2024 podcast, “Why the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge?” for more. We dig below the surface and discover many lessons from both these trees not only for Adam and Eve, but for us as well. There is much more to learn here than meets the eye!

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!

Doing God’s will should be a given for any and every Christian. After all, the mere fact that we are called “Christians” implies that we follow in Jesus’ footsteps and are therefore obliged to do God’s will as Jesus did God’s will. While this all sounds pretty straightforward, the big question has to do with knowing. How do we know what the will of God is? Answering this question may be harder than we would like to think. It would be easy to assume that because we love and worship God, He will in turn show us His love by giving us the good things we want. After all, that IS what it says in Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Sounds exciting and almost easy, but as you might have guessed, it’s not. So, how do we know what God wants for us?

There are many factors we need to put in order to understand God’s will for us in our daily lives. The first thing we need to grasp is more or less an introductory statement: God will NOT whisper His will to you into your ear. He will not send an e-mail or text; He will not post or message. He will not speak. Why? Wouldn’t these kinds of things make it easier to follow Him? On the contrary, these simple things would be counterproductive, as finding His will for us means we need to be looking for it.

We search in the Bible of course, after all, it is His holy word! The Bible gives us two very broad categories of what doing God’s will looks like. The first category is full of things NOT to do. One very blunt scripture plainly makes this point: 1 Thessalonians 4:3: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification – that you abstain from sexual immorality.” The point is simple. If you want to do God’s will, then you completely avoid immoral behavior. Several other scriptures give us specifics on the many kinds of thoughts and behaviors we need to avoid.

The good news is that there are many more scriptures that tell us about the second broad category of things we SHOULD do. These are things like rejoicing, praying, being thankful and doing good.

With all of this said, there is so much more! Check out our November 18, 2024 podcast, “What is God’s Will, and How Do I Make It My will? For more. We outline how Jesus daily went about doing God’s will in every area of life. We take his example and overlay it onto our lives, and we suddenly have a clear guide. No texts or posts, just God’s holy word showing us His holy will. Don’t miss this wonderful journey towards living a much fuller Christian life!

Every Christian will tell you that Jesus is the embodiment of righteousness, compassion and mercy. We all agree that his impact on the world came through his uncompromising actions of selfless love that led to sacrificing himself as a ransom for all of humanity. Couple these actions with his words of encouragement and uplift to any and all who would listen, and you have a model of how God’s love should unfold within humanity. It is with this resume in hand that we need to examine Jesus’ Parable of the Unprofitable Servant. It sounds like the exact opposite of all that Jesus stood for. In this parable, he seems to tell his followers that whatever they do in God’s service is what is expected of them and nothing more. What did Jesus mean? How does this harmonize with the rest of his teachings?

There are a few places in the Gospels we can get a glimpse of Jesus being deeply engaged with crowds of people. In Luke 15, 16 and the first part of 17, Jesus was talking to such a crowd, and it was a very mixed audience. He was addressing the “sinners” and tax collectors, those who were considered undesirables in Jewish society. He was addressing Pharisees and scribes, those who were considered the elite of their society. And right in the middle of these two polarized groups, he was addressing his own disciples.

Jesus took this opportunity and showed them all God’s grand plan of salvation and the roles they would play. How did he do this?

The Parable of the Unprofitable Servant would be the sixth and last of a series of stories that would paint a picture of each of these segments of society. For the tax collectors and sinners, his stories would be encouraging, as they would reveal how God loved them. The Pharisees and scribes found his stories offensive, as they were grossly misusing the privileges God had given them. For his disciples, his stories would be humbling, as they gave them a glimpse of the kind of responsibilities they would come to have relating to the gospel.

This Parable of the Unworthy Servant was spoken directly to Jesus’ disciples. At first reading, it seems to come across as downright discouraging. He seems to be saying, “You are servants of God, and He has given you a long list of chores to do. Just do them and don’t expect to be thanked because they are your job!” Is this the message Jesus had for his disciples as he ended this time of teaching?

Absolutely not! Check out our November 11, 2024 podcast, “Did Jesus Teach That We Are All Unprofitable Servants?” for more. We put this parable into its proper context and see how it was the outgrowth of all of Jesus’ other lessons. The lesson here was actually one of great hope and encouragement. Join us and find out what Jesus was really teaching!

The Old Testament Law given to Moses after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was filled with rituals and sacrifices. All of this was designed to teach God’s people two very basic principles. These principles are fundamental for any civilization that seeks to perpetuate itself. The first principle is to comply with righteous and just rules that transcend human desires. For Israel, this meant they could have the favor, protection and leadings of God if they remained in harmony with His commands. This required sacrifices. The second principle is to live with humble gratitude for the freedoms that righteousness and justice provide. Israel was to learn this power of thankfulness by practicing heart gratitude towards God for all of His mercies. All of this required animal sacrifices. Why?

In the Old Testament, it is hard to avoid animal sacrifices. They first appear in Genesis after Adam and Eve sinned. The Bible tells us God provided them with animal skins as clothing. This would be an obvious reference to the fact that covering humanity’s sins could only be done through a sacrifice. This one example lays out how God would illustrate the need for justice to be satisfied up until Jesus came.

When Israel was wandering in the wilderness, God instructed them to build the Tabernacle. This would be their portable place of worship. It would be the place where God’s presence could be felt, and His favor would be evident. It was within this structure that many different kinds of sacrifices took place. There were sin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings and wave offerings just to name a few. As we look at this from our 21st century perspective, we wonder why.

This is a really good question. Though detailed, the answer is even better. Let’s start with the sin offering made on the annual Day of Atonement. These were the very basis of all the rest of the sacrifices, as they were in place to satisfy justice, to cover the people’s sins. The sin offering made annually was a specific requirement to maintain God’s favor. Without them, any and all other offerings could not have been acceptable to God. Comprehending the importance of this piece helps us grasp how the other pieces fit into the puzzle.

Check out our November 04, 2024 podcast, “What’s the Difference Between Burnt Offerings and Sin Offerings?” for more. We clearly define the how and why of the sin offerings, including what they represented for Christians. We then look into how the burnt offerings are different and what they represent for us as well. Further, we examine what a peace offering is and how it’s given based on these other sacrifices. What we find is a startling explanation that unfolds how God’s plan unfolds through Jesus. The connections are amazing! Join us as we make what sound like complex ancient rituals simple and meaningful!

Demons are scary. Not only are they mysterious, but they are also powerful beyond our human capacity. In our last episode, we mentioned scriptures that assure us they are restrained in “chains of darkness.” While this condition does limit them, they can still exert great influence on our world – and on individuals as well. We know Jesus cast many demons out of many people and some of his followers were able to do the same. The big question here has to do with whether or not such power and authority is still present within Christianity. Are we supposed to be casting out demons today? If so, who is supposed to be doing this and what scriptural instruction have we been given to follow?

Looking through denominational Christian history over the last 1,900 year or so, we can observe a wide range of exorcism practices. From rituals, to prayers, to incense to relics, crosses and commands, these varied practices have widely been in use. The tragedy here is that until recently, there was not a deep understanding of mental health issues. Many of the “exorcisms” performed over the centuries ended up further harming those afflicted people instead of helping them. Looking at this in the most positive way, we see well-meaning efforts creating damage due to medical science ignorance.

This brings us to the fundamental question about what Jesus’ actual instructions were regarding casting out demons. It is important to note that when he himself cast demons out, it was basic. His command simply brought them out. Every time. Interestingly, all of the other recorded examples of demons being cast out by his followers seem to follow that same pattern of simplicity. We have no record of any rituals, lengthy prayers or ceremony.

An amazing fact is the Greek word for “exorcist” is only used once in the New Testament. It may be surprising that this word actually means “one who binds by an oath (or spell) i.e. by implication an exorcist (conjurer).” This definition of the practice of exorcisms gives us a very different perspective on casting demons out than what Jesus did and taught. The sole use of this word was to describe some Jewish individuals in the Apostle Paul’s day who were in Ephesus. These men were posing as authorities regarding the casting out of demons and had their fraudulence dramatically exposed.

Check out our October 28, 2024 podcast, “Should Christians Be Involved in Exorcisms?” for more. We examine what Jesus instructed his followers to do and thoroughly look into one of the more dramatic examples of Jesus casting out demons. Through this example, we are able to glean an understanding of the powerful principles that cast demons away from their personal manipulation of individuals. We then directly address the question of what our role is and is not regarding demon possession today. Join us for this sobering and enlightening conversation. We follow the biblical path to knowing and handling our current-day Christian responsibilities.

The world is such a confused place. For many, discussing evil spirits is fascinating, as looking into dark mysteries beyond our world can be a thrilling and adrenaline-packed ride. For Christians, such conversations are entered into with a fear and respect, as we are speaking of dark and evil things beyond our realm and understanding. It is therefore with caution that we approach this subject. The Bible clearly teaches us that demons do exist, and they are opposed to God and His righteousness. Further, we know this topic is far too easily glorified and dramatized. The specific focus of our present conversation will be to better understand how the Bible defines and separates demonic possession and influence from the serious mental health challenges that are so prevalent today.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he came across several demon-possessed individuals. In each and every case, the afflicted individual’s life was filled with pain, sadness and hopelessness. In each and every case, Jesus was able to bring relief to their traumatic circumstances by casting the offending demons out of them. Throughout the last 2,000 years of Christian history, Jesus’ followers have countlessly revisited these accounts as faith-strengthening examples of hope. The bottom line here is simple: Demons are real, but the power of God’s spirit through Jesus can always overcome them.

This is all well and good for those who are demon possessed, but what about those who have mental health challenges? In many cases, the “symptoms” of mental health issues are similar to demon possession. This can be confusing. Throughout history many mental health cases have gone undiagnosed and untreated because they were thought to be demon-possessed individuals. This at the very least is tragic. How many people, even today, end up without appropriate treatment because we incorrectly jump to a demon possession conclusion?

Fortunately, the Bible shows us that there is a difference between demon possession and mental health issues. Even better, Jesus shows us his compassion and clarity when dealing with such an issue. Many of us have never heard of this aspect of the gospel, but it is right there in black and white. It all has to do with the mental health of a young man whose father begged Jesus for help.

Check out our October 21, 2024 podcast, “Are There Different Kinds of Evil Spirits?” for more. We break down how the Scriptures differentiate between the internal challenges of mental health and the external issues of demons. We examine how Jesus went about healing this suffering person and all of the lessons he left for us to learn as a result. Mental health issues are very serious and are on the rise in our present day. They can be triggered by a wide variety of circumstances. As Christians, we need to understand what to do when confronted with them. Join us as we walk through this often mysterious and sometimes scary world. Learn with us about how to respond with appropriate Christian wisdom and compassion!

When we read the Bible, it sometimes appears to say things that just don’t make sense. Think about the scripture that plainly says God did not want the Apostle Paul to preach the gospel in Asia. Why not? Jesus told his disciples to preach the word throughout the world. Didn’t Asia count? This apparent discrepancy can stimulate all kinds of questions and even provoke doubt as to the equity of God’s character. The good news is, the answer to all of this is not only sensible, but also profound and inspiring as well. When we understand the lay of the land, the literal geography of the area and the big picture of the mission the disciples were given, a whole new conclusion emerges.

When he was converted while on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, it was made plain to him that he would bring the gospel before Gentiles and kings. Paul answered this call with a remarkable passion. He would preach. He would stand before anyone and everyone, from the lowest peasant to the highest ruler. Paul would set up churches and expand the cause of Christ. Being told to NOT preach in a specific territory was not a normal – and likely not an expected – command to have to follow.

There are several aspects to this seemingly questionable command. First, it needs to be clarified that the Asia that was “forbidden” in this command was Asia Minor, which was actually a Roman province. This was not the massive continent of Asia that we know today. It is important to realize the gospel would be extremely prominent in this area and Paul would have much to do with the churches founded there.

There’s more. Paul obeyed this command decisively and journeyed north through Asia. As he approached its northern edge, he proposed to leave that province and go into Bithynia and evangelize. He was again forbidden to go there and preach. Now wait a minute! What’s happening here? Why is Paul the evangelist seemingly being shut down from what he was called to do? Why were the core desires of his heart to spread the gospel being denied?

Check out our recent podcast, “Why Didn’t Paul Preach in Asia?” for more. We pull all of the pieces of context together and put them in order. We discover the reason for these denials was not to stifle, but to bring a magnificent increase to the work. The bottom line here is all about fulfilling the big picture of the gospel mission. It’s all about Paul being shown that his efforts would be focused and concentrated on those specific things that God wanted him to do at the specific time that God wanted them done. Join us as we take this very straightforward question and unveil a very straightforward scriptural answer!