In our last post, we mentioned that the work of God’s Holy Spirit is from the inside out. You are being transformed and, in the process, trusting more and more in Jesus. Trusting in Jesus is what faith is all about! 

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It is important to know God! What He expects of us as well as what we can expect from Him. If we wanted to know how to operate a piece of equipment like a car or a computer, we would look at the owner’s manual. To be successful in God’s eyes we need an owner’s manual written by our creator. God did not leave anything to chance, He provided us with the His owner’s manual the Bible. If we look at the word bible as an acronym it might say “Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth”!

When I was a young man in college, I read the Bible as part of my course work. I wasn’t a believer at the time and looked at the Bible as a piece of classic literature. My conclusion after reading the Bible for a semester was that it, the Bible, made no sense whatsoever! It was sheer foolishness!

Then some years later, after accepting Christ into my life, I started to read the Bible again. I must admit that I didn’t understand it all, but something about it compelled me, or drew me, to read and re-read the Bible. Over time I discovered timeless truths that changed my world-view and changed my life. 

Looking back, I now understand that when l was in college I was trying to comprehend the Bible with my mind or my intellect aloneand this caused me to miss the spiritual significance of the Word of God. 

Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Cor 2:13-14, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man (non-believer) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”. We need to learn how to rely on the Holy Spirit to discern the truth.

Isaiah says in chapter 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”. In a nutshell, God is saying we cannot fully understand his thoughts and ways because they are much higher than ours. After all, He is the creator of the Universe, what have you created lately?

Because God is higher than our minds can fully comprehend, He provided us His Holy Spirit to communicate without spirit everything we need for this life and living in godly ways (it says that in 2 Peter 1:3).

The Bible is not just a book written by the imaginations of men, but it is a God-inspired book, God breathed as it were. All that is in the Bible was imparted to a group of people by God and what God wanted us to know can be found in the Bible or Scriptures. 2 Tim 3:16-17 says the following, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine (truths), for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (right living), that the man/woman of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work”. So, the Bible shows us the truths of God, what is the wrong way to live

I’m saved, you’re saved, we’re all saved! Or are we? Do all roads lead to God? How does God define salvation? These and more questions are answered in this podcast.

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Receiving salvation, through Jesus Christ, is not the end of a life-changing experience, but the beginning of something miraculous in your life. A new beginning! All of your sins have been forgiven and you are clean before God. Like the lowly caterpillar you’ve been transformed into a beautiful butterfly. Now it’s time to soar!

Unless you understand and believe in the spiritual nature of your salvation you will always find yourself in religious ritual and traditions, you will dry up and then give up! Jesus died on the Cross so that you could have a Relationship with Him! A relationship implies two-way communication. 

1. You speak to Him, that’s called prayer. Don’t try to memorize a prayer and then recite it. Just talk to God as you would to a close friend. The Bible says that Jesus regards you as a friend! Why not talk to him friend-tofriend? 
2. When God speaks to you, it’s called personal revelation- He reveals Himself to you. That can happen in so many different ways. We will address some of these ways in the future. However, for now, if a thought occurs to you after prayer… a thought that you wouldn’t normally think of and it is a thought of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness or self-control- then it’s probably from the Lord.

To fully appreciate what God has done we need to look at the spiritual side of our nature. Most people tend to think of themselves as soul and body, but God created you with a spirit as well as soul and body. You are three in one spirit, soul and body just as God is three in one, the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. 

If you want to overcome the disappointments and scars of the past, the habits that have kept you in bondage, restore broken relationships and have a sense of purpose and joy in life, then you must have a “mind change”. That change begins with seeing yourself as spirit, soul and body instead of just body and soul. This is such an important change in view or paradigm it will determine your success in overcoming in this life. 

There are at least 3 important bible verses that confirm our three-part nature:

• Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul)”.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
• Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divis

Born-again Christians. What are they? Is it a denomination, a cult, a movement? Is it behavior that defines a Christian or something more? These and more questions are answered in this podcast.

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As I have said there are many throughout the world that wear the “label” Christian without really understanding what a Christian is. If asked they would say that they are Christian. 

Jesus said the following in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness or [disregarding My commands]!’

So, you see, as I pointed out in my last episode, it isn’t the fact that you belong to a church, read the Bible or wear a Cross around your neck that makes you a Christian. The real issue is, and always has been, “do you believe in the person and the teachings of Jesus Christ”. 

• On the one hand, you can believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ to mean, “I believe the teachings to be true”. The belief is an intellectual agreement. For example, I know that it is wrong to lie, but I do it anyway. 
• On the other hand, you can believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ to mean, “I trust the teachings to be true and am morally compelled to apply them to my life.” For example, I know that it is wrong to lie, and I choose to be honest. 

Do you see the difference? In the biblical sense believing in the teachings of Jesus Christ means that because I trust Jesus I am trusting in His teaching and applying that teaching to my life. When you do that you are applying faith to the truth. The evidence of your faith is that you are doing what you believe. 

We are now ready to look the central fundamental teaching of Jesus Christ, to be a true Christian you must be “Born-again” or [born from above]! 

In chapter 3 of John’s Gospel, we see an account of Jesus meeting with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a Pharisee was one who strictly observed the Law of Moses. Nicodemus had a genuine desire to understand Jesus’ teachings and he came secretly at night to meet with Him.

In verse 3 Jesus said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This means seeing the spiritual kingdom in action in the present life.

4 Nicodemus then says, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” You see Nicodemus was thinking in natural/biological terms, missing the spiritual point Jesus was making.

5 Jesus answers, “Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” To be born of water refers to natural birth, to be born of the spirit is obviously spiritual.

6 Jesus restates this idea when He says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.” 

8 Jesus then reaffirms the spiritual nature of the new birth with an

Over seven billion people on the earth and more than a third of them call themselves Christians. We have all seen people who call themselves Christians act in very un-Christian ways. What’s the deal! How can that be? This episode begins to try and answer that puzzling question. 

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Nothing on this earth can be more important than eternity. As I like to say, “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience”! It is incorrect to think that we are simply physical beings hoping to touch the eternal spiritual realm. We are in fact spiritual beings in human bodies that will one day pass away, but we will live on in the spirit.

The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary or transient, but the things which are not seen are eternal”.

Join me as we delve into the deeper things of God to help you, make your own decisions based upon God’s words, the Bible. Let’s begin by looking at what Jesus said to His followers in the Gospel of John 14:7,” I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. This is a profound truth about Christianity, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is all of these things but, for now, I would like to examine one aspect of this statement and that is, Jesus is the truth. 

We now live in an age referred to by some as the Information Age. We are overloaded with information or data through the internet, social media, TV, radio and movies– lots of data or information, but is everything we hear or read true? Because we deal with so much information, we don’t have time to analyze its truthfulness! Not all the information we get is accurate and we can’t count on the world systems of government and media to give us the truth. As a result, we may have accepted as true many ideas or opinions which are in fact not true at all! 

As a result of misinformation many people outside of Christianity have formed ideas and concepts about Christianity that are not based upon the truth. As a matter of fact, even many Christians have misconceptions about what Christianity is or what it is not. The purpose of this Podcast Show is to reveal Bible-based insights as to who Christ is, what a Christian is and the nature of Christianity. 

The most important consideration, the root if you will, of the Christian belief system is that it is all about Jesus Christ and Him alone. A Christian’s identity is not in a religion, denomination, local church, or group of people. A Christian’s identity must be in Jesus Christs, because He was the one, God in the flesh, who came to earth, died for your sins, removed the wall between you and the Father, and promised eternal life to those who would follow Him.

The second important consideration is that being a Christian means that there has been an “encounter” with Jesus and that encounter instilled a desire to “know” more about Him. 

I want to emphasize the word “know” because so many rely on an intellectual knowing with the mind alone. What is more important- is

In life there is nothing more frustrating that believing something and not knowing why! The expression “ignorance is bliss” may be true, but it can also lead to some pretty bad decisions. What if your decisions about life and eternity have been based on misinformation? This podcast attempts to separate myths and traditions from the truth about Christianity.