The Bible Speaks to You: Think, Pray, Love like Jesus

By James EarlyReligion & Spirituality Christianity Spirituality Religion

The Bible Speaks to You: Think, Pray, Love like Jesus episodes

October 27393 – Follow the Shepherd, Not the Sheep
393 – Do you follow the Shepherd or the sheep?
Have you ever been in a group of people, maybe even good friends, and someone comes up with a ridiculous idea of something to do that would be funny, a prank or surprise, or maybe even something illegal, but in the moment, everyone goes along with it?
It’s not usually the best idea.
Think about how this can relate to being influenced to follow someone else instead of Jesus.
If the other disciples had followed James and John’s example of wanting to be on the right and left side of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven, where would that lead them all?
You get the idea, things would get pretty messed up in no time at all.
That’s why it’s important to keep your eyes on and follow Christ, the Shepherd, instead of following his other sheep.
This week, we're talking about:
Following Christ, no matter what some of his sheep are doing
Not following other sheep
Watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing
Watch out for sheep in shepherds' clothing
The blessings that come when you follow the Shepherd
Do you follow the Shepherd? Or are you following the sheep?
Keep your eyes on the Shepherd.
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Previous episode mentioned:
Episode 267: The Real Reason to Go to Church
SHOW NOTES: For full transcript and Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/393
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
23 min
October 20392 – Simplicity in Christ: Following Jesus Is Easier Than You Think
392 – Finding the Simplicity in Christ your heart yearns for
Have you ever felt like following Jesus can get really complicated?
There are so many things to remember. So many things to say and do. Remembering to put into practice everything Jesus taught us.
Where’s the simplicity in Christ the Bible talks about?
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a more simple approach?
That’s what this week’s episode is all about.
My guest is Allen Ratta, who has distilled Jesus’s message and teachings into
A simple pathway destination
Based on the Lord’s Prayer
And the 2 Great Commandments.
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Previous episode mentioned:
Episode 389: Jesus's Spiritual To-Do List
SHOW NOTES: For a full transcript and all Bible quotes referred to, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/382
Links for Allen Ratta:
Websites:
www.spiritualsimplicity.com www.spiritualprogress.com
Books
Spiritual Simplicity: The Great Commandment, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Way Home *
The Way Home: A Daily Spiritual Simplicity Journal for Prayer and Intimacy *
the Spiritual Simplicity Small Group Leader’s Guide*
Making Spiritual Progress*
The Optimized Church*
The inspirational novel The Encouragers*
* Affiliate links
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
1 hr 2 min
October 13391 – Is Believing in Jesus Enough to Heal Political Problems?
391 – Can believing in Jesus heal politics?
Are you concerned about what’s happening in politics right now in your country?
Here in the United States, where I live, the political scene keeps getting more and more intense, especially with midterm elections coming up soon.
There are serious political troubles in many countries all over the world. The political scene can be and usually is so divisive.
People see things through their own lenses and from their own perspectives and discredit any ideas contrary their own. All political parties are guilty of this to some degree.
So what is the solution? Can believing in Jesus help bring healing to the political scene in your country and around the world?
The answer is: Yes, it certainly can if that belief in Jesus is based on Jesus himself and not someone else’s inaccurate version of Jesus.
In this week’s episode:
How can believing in and following Jesus bring healing to the political scene?
What can you and I do to help facilitate that healing process?
And what effect will believing and following Jesus have on your personal life?
Is believing in Jesus enough to heal political problems? Absolutely, if we are truly following him in our thoughts, motives, and words, our prayers and actions, but not otherwise.
How will you take your faith in Jesus into the political arena and bring healing?
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Related episodes:
240 How Would Jesus Heal Political Division?
264 – Finding Peace During Political Turmoil
SHOW NOTES: For a full transcript and all Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/391
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
24 min
October 06390 – Are You Pouring Water into a Bucket with a Hole?
390 – Is there a hole in your bucket?
Have you ever poured out time, money, and effort on a project or a relationship and nothing seems to change?
It seems like all your effort gets swallowed up with not much if anything to show for it.
Sometimes our prayers can feel like that. We pray and pray and nothing much changes. It can feel like pouring water into a bucket that never fills up because there’s a hole in the bucket.
If you don’t realize there’s a hole in your literal or metaphorical bucket, and you keep trying to fill it up with no success, it can be extremely frustrating. Once you realize there’s a hole in your bucket, the obvious thing to do is patch the hole.
With a bucket, that's relatively easy. But with your life, it’s not always easy to discover or know how to fix that hole.
In this week’s episode, we look at
Some possible holes in your spiritual bucket
Why your prayers may not bring the needed change
What you can do to mend your spiritual buckets so they can be filled
How Jesus repaired someone's "bucket" then filled it
When the hole in the bucket metaphor is no longer relevant
Sometimes you need to quit trying to solve your problem and fix the "hole in your bucket" first.
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SHOW NOTES: For a full transcript and all Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/390
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
21 min
September 29389 – Jesus's Spiritual To-Do List
389 – Do you have a spiritual to-do list?
Are you one of those people who likes to have all your activities on a to-do list?
Have you ever thought about writing out a list of spiritual activities and practices you need to do, to improve on, and to grow into?
Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what we need to do spiritually. Wouldn’t it be nice if we just had a list of things as a starting point?
Well, you don’t have to come up with that list.
Jesus has already done it for you. That’s what the Sermon on the Mount is all about. It’s actually Jesus’s gift to you, his spiritual to-do list.
In fact Jesus says that when you do everything on this list, it’s like building your house, your life, on a rock, a firm spiritual foundation that can withstand the storms of life.
In this episode:
We look at all the things Jesus says to do in the Sermon on the Mount
There's a lot there!
How you can put more and more of these ideas into practice in your own life
The strong spiritual foundation you build for your life when you do
Wherever you are in the process of obeying Jesus’s spiritual to-do list in the Sermon on the Mount, however much you’re doing or not doing, I encourage you to take a fresh look at this collection of life instructions.
Accept this spiritual to-do list as your own. And don’t be surprised when God will show up in your life as a result.
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SHOW NOTES: For a full transcript and all the Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/389

Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
29 min
September 22388 – You Are the Light of the World
388 – Yes! You are the light of the world.
One of Jesus’s most famous sayings is something he said in his Sermon on the Mount: You are the light of the world.
You’ve probably heard this hundreds of times. But this was a startling statement to his listeners.
No one had ever referred to them that way before. The so-called religious authorities of the day were pretty judgmental of people and definitely didn’t see everyone as the light of the world.
But Jesus said to everyone there, and not just some of them: You are the light of the world.
To the righteous, as well as hardened sinners, and everyone in between, Jesus declared: You are the light of the world.
In this week's episode:
These words of Jesus are still true for you and me today
Why letting your light shine is so important
How letting your light shine blesses you and others
The contrast between when Jesus says to do some things privately and some things to be seen by others
How Jesus can be the light of the world and we can all at the same time
Jesus knows you are the light. He knows what you are capable of.
He expects us to follow his example and let our light shine out into the whole world individually and collectively, to bring hope and healing.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
SHOW NOTES: For the full transcript and all Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/388
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
21 min
September 15387 – Why the Wedding at Cana in Galilee Is Relevant in Your Life Today
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Subscribe to the podcast
________________
YOU PROBABLY already know Jesus's first miracle was turning the water into wine at a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Jesus and his disciples were there along with Jesus’s mother.
When the hosts ran out of wine, Jesus had the servants fill 6 large pots with water and then turned this water into wine.
This story is often told at weddings today as a reminder to include Christ in your marriage and in your life.
But then we often forget this story, until the next wedding we go to, and don’t really think about its relevance on a day-to-day basis in our lives.
In this week’s episode, we’re going to
Take a deep dive into the wedding in Cana
Discover what the real miracle was--beyond just turning the water into wine
How this story is always relevant in our lives every single day
What it means for Christ to turn the water into wine in your daily life
How Jesus sets an example of how we are to be involved in society
Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana at Galilee is a wonderful metaphor for how daily life can be transformed when we invite, allow, and acknowledge Christ in our lives.
You don’t have to wait for a special event like a wedding to experience Christ’s presence. Every day, every moment, Christ is with you, turning the water into wine, taking the ordinary things that fill your life, and transforming them into God’s glory.
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SHOW NOTES: To read a full transcript and all the Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/387
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
19 min
September 08386 – How to Be More like Abigail in the Old Testament
386 – You’re probably familiar with the story of Abigail in the Old Testament.
When her husband refuses to be hospitable to David and the men following him, she quickly responds with kindness and generosity to provide food for David and his men.
Abigail is often held up as a model of feminine virtue for her attitude and behavior by Christians, but she actually breaks some of the unwritten rules many of these same Christians insist on for women today.
Regardless of what some Christians say about wives always obeying their husbands, Abigail completely went against her husband’s choice when she brought food to David and his supporters. She acted without her husband’s permission.
The question we’re talking about on this week’s episode is
How you and I can be more like Abigail
Why we should follow her example
The blessings that come when we do
This story of Abigail is a classic example of a woman who understood her own power and ability to act, regardless of circumstances or the man she was married to.
She didn’t lower herself to her husband’s attitudes or behavior
She maintained her own identity and agency to act freely according to her conscience
She was principled
Took initiative
Acted on her spiritual intuition that something needed to be done as quickly as possible
She owned her abilities, authority, and influence
We can all learn from her example.
What's your favorite part of Abigail's story?
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SHOW NOTES: Full transcript and Bible quotes--go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/386
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
22 min
September 01385 – Why Did Jesus Say to Love Your Enemies?
385 – Is loving your enemies still relevant?
One of the most challenging commandments Jesus has given us is to love our enemies.
This was not a request nor a mere suggestion to follow through on only if we want to. It’s not just a recommendation or advice.
It's a command directly from Jesus’s heart to yours and mine.
But what is the point of loving someone who is mean to you, has abused you, and has done everything in their power to oppose you and what you stand for?
Why on earth did Jesus want us to love our enemies?
In this week’s episode, that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about:
Why Jesus wants us to love our enemies
How to do it
The blessings that come when you do
Think what would happen in the world today if all those who claim to be Christians actually obeyed Jesus’s command to love your enemies.
The whole world would feel the difference. The change would be immediate.
Who do you need to love today?
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Previous blog post mentioned:
Thoughts on Libya and Muammar Qadaffi
SHOW NOTES: For a full transcript and all the Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/385
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
23 min
August 25384 – What Does it Actually Mean to Say Jesus Is Lord?
384 – How often do you think of and say Jesus is Lord?
One of the hallmarks of the way Christians refer to Jesus is to say Jesus is Lord.
Sometimes referring to Jesus as their Lord is an open window on the deep sincerity of their devotion to Jesus and commitment to follow him at all costs.
But all too often, there are times when some Christians refer to Jesus as Lord, almost too casually, sort of like it’s just part of his name or title, without the reverence or depth of loyalty and commitment to Jesus that word “Lord” implies.
In this week's episode:
What does it actually mean when you say Jesus is Lord?
What kind of relationship with and commitment to Christ does it imply?
What does it require of you?
And what does Christ provide you in return?
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SHOW NOTES: For a full transcript and all the Bible quotes, go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/384
Text me your questions or comments.
Support the show
If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

__________________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and podcaster. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by embracing the mindset of Christ in daily life.
Reach out today if you need a speaker or Bible workshop for your church or organization (online and in person)
Subscribe to the podcast (and get your copy of Praying with the Mindset of Jesus)
Make a donation to support the show
Schedule a free one hour coaching call to see if the Jesus Mindset Coaching program is a good fit for you
Contact James here
26 min

About The Bible Speaks to You: Think, Pray, Love like Jesus

From the publisher's feed

Have you ever poured out your heart, almost begging God to solve a problem, but it doesn’t feel like your prayer is ever answered? You wonder if there’s a better way to pray you don’t know about.…