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

052 – Jesus told us to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." (Matthew 6 v. 33)

But what does that really mean? And how do we do it? Fortunately, he gave us a key that unlocks the door to the kingdom of God.

Jesus began his ministry proclaiming "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." He was so completely aware of the presence of the Kingdom that he could see it in a woman putting yeast in bread dough, a man planting wheat, a woman searching her house until she found her lost silver coin, and a man selling everything he had to buy an amazing pearl.

How to seek the kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is not far off in the future. It is here and now. But we can't see it with the five material senses. Jesus told us how to discover this kingdom. He even said it is within us.

So how do we go about seeking for this realm where God's harmony reigns supreme?

First, you have to admit it's there and give yourself permission to seek it. And acknowledge it can be found. But you can't go searching for it like a seven-year-old digging randomly for treasure in your back yard. You need a map.

Jesus gave us a map to the kingdom of God

Have you ever thought of the Sermon on the Mount as a map leading to the kingdom of heaven? That's where Jesus gives us point by point directions how to seek and find the kingdom within us, and in everything we do and everyone we interact with.

I encourage you to take a fresh look at the Sermon on the Mount as a treasure map. Look for the directions. Look for the clues that lead you to discover the kingdom of heaven.

How to find the kingdom of God

Seeking and finding are related. But one is the process, the other is the discovery. Jesus gives very specific instructions on how to find the kingdom of God. It's in Matthew 7, verse 21. In this week's episode I explore the simple, but profound way we can use the key Jesus gives us in this verse to unlock the door to the kingdom.

To the degree you use this key, you will see the kingdom of God all around you. Your daily activities will become metaphors and parables of what the kingdom of heaven is like.

I'd love to hear from you and how you have found evidence of the kingdom of God in your life.

Check out the show notes with all the Bible references in this episode: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/052

Blessings,
James

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
  
  

051 – It seems like everyone has a different concept of God

It's the age old question, Who is God? or What is God? Everyone has a different answer. Some people say we can't understand God and if we say we do, then we're just fooling ourselves.

I grew up in a church sort of like that. They said there were something we just couldn't understand. But the Bible says over and over that we should get understanding and that God wants us to know Him.

So many times we ask the wrong question when we want answers. Instead of asking other people what they they think God is, we should be asking God how He sees Himself?

Have you ever prayed with that question on your heart? I highly recommend it!

How does God reveal Himself in the Bible?

There are tons of stories and verses in the Bible where God reveals His nature, who and what He is, and how we are related to Him.

In this week's episode, I explore a few of these passages just to give a taste of how God sees and reveals Himself.

But to really know God, you must have a deep, spiritual desire in your heart. It is not an exercise of the human mind or the intellect. The only way to get a better understanding of who God really is comes from God revealing Himself to you.

It doesn't happen in one fell swoop, but it begins with moments of inspiration and quiet listening for God's voice. God is constantly revealing Himself to us. Are we noticing?

There are lots of Bible verses mentioned this week. For easy reference, I have put them in the show notes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/051. Check them out.

I encourage you to ask God to reveal Himself to you. It is your divine right to know your Creator.

If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you. And please share this with a friend.

Thanks for listening!

Blessings to you my friend,
James

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
  
  

050 – How often do you ask God: What shall I do Lord?

Have you ever been in a situation when you didn't have a clue what to do next?

Sometimes it because everything happens at once and you just can't think straight. Other times a single, life-changing event turns everything upside down. It's like you're in a different universe all of a sudden.

Saul going to Damascus

That's what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus in Chapter 9 of Acts.

His familiar and carefully maintained world dissolved in a blinding light from heaven. He was in completely new territory. In humility, all he could say was, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

In this weeks episode of The Bible Speaks to You Podcast, I talk about what can we learn from Saul and how he prayed about what he should do next?

Asking God for direction

Why do we usually try so hard to figure everything out for ourselves?

When we humbly ask God what He wants us to do, we will get an answer that's much better than anything we could ever come up with. But it's not enough just to ask God for direction. We have to do what we're told. Saul was told to go into Damascus and then be given more instructions. And he did the next things as well.

When you hear and obey God's voice, you're not done. That's just the beginning of hearing and following the purpose God has in store for you.

To study all the Scripture references in this week's episode, check out the show notes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/050

Have a great week. Please share this with a friend.

Blessings,
James

P.S.  To celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast, please let me know of something that was helpful from the show and how it made a difference in your life. You can reach me at [email protected] or thebiblespeakstoyou.com/contact.

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
  
  

049 – What's the most important thing to God in a leader?

In the Bible, there are many times when God chose someone for a leadership position. He told the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as King of Israel. Later, God told him to anoint David as King.

God chose Zacharias and Elisabeth to be the parents of John the Baptist. And of course, He chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus.

How God chooses leaders

In this episode I talk about the single most important thing to God when choosing someone for an important role. It didn't matter how tall or good looking they were, how much money they had or how smart they were. It was about who they were on the inside.

With elections coming up in the United States, there is a lot of discussion and disagreement as to who will make the best leaders and who will be able to solve the problems we face as a nation.

Will you listen to what people are saying, or will you listen to what God is saying? Will you follow your own preconceptions based on what your political party promotes or will you not be impressed by the outward appearance of things, and humbly follow God's direction?

After God's own heart

God chooses someone for a position who is close to Him in spirit and whose heart is in line with His heart.

Will you follow the hearts of men or the heart of God?

To see all the Bible references in this episode, check out the show notes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/049.

ANNOUNCEMENT
The one year anniversary of The Bible Speaks to You Podcast is coming up in a few weeks. To celebrate, please let me know something from the podcast that has been helpful to you and how it has made a difference in your life. Go to thebiblespeakstoyou.com/contact. I will share these in a future episode. Thanks so much!

Have a great week. 

Blessings,
James

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
  
  

048 – What is the most effective way to fast?

Most people think it's to go without food for a certain period of time. But that's not necessarily what the Bible actually means when it talks about fasting.

The heart and soul of fasting

In this week's episode I get down to the spiritual essence of fasting:

• True fasting is more about what's going on in your heart. 
• It's refusing to eat the bread of selfishness. 
• It's not drinking the wine of indifference to or unawareness of people in need of help.
• It's doing God's will instead of your own.
• It's helping those in need.

How to fast according to the Bible

Jesus rebuked his disciples when they failed to heal an epileptic boy. He told them they needed to pray and fast. He wasn't talking about going without food. He meant they needed to quit arguing about who was better and who would get to sit at the right and left of his throne.

To study all the Bible verses in this episode, check out the shownotes at: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/048.

Thanks so much for listening. Please share this with a friend.

Let me know if there's any way I can be of help to you on your spiritual journey.

Blessings,
James

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
  
  

047 – What's the best way to pray about the weather and disasters?

In this week's episode I look at a few of the stories in the Bible where storms, fire, and earthquakes are mentioned. There's a lot to learn from how people back then dealt with and prayed about these challenges. I talk about:

• Jonah and the storm he was in
• Jesus stilling the storm on his disciples' boat
• The earthquakes at Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection
• The earthquake that freed Paul and Silas from prison
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace
• How a Sunday School teacher prayed about a tornado headed directly for her house
• A lady whose house was not touched in the middle of a forest fire

And I share a few ideas about how to pray like Jesus in the midst of these kinds of situations. 

There was one specific type of prayer he used to stop the storm. We can follow his example and pray with the same authority he did, because, as Paul promises us, "We have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16

Check out the shownotes to study all the Bible references mentioned in this week's episode: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/047

Thanks so much for listening. Please share this with a friend.

And join me in praying for our world.

Blessings,
James

P.S. Please consider supporting the podcast. Below, you'll find a link or button to make a PayPal donation. Your contributions are very much appreciated. Your generosity helps cover some of the costs of producing these episodes each week. Thank you.

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
  
  

046 – Jesus promised us that the kingdom of heaven is at hand

What does that really mean? If you look around, it sure doesn't look like heaven is anywhere close. There are so many problems in the world. How could Jesus say such an outrageous thing?

Jesus was looking at the world from a different perspective than we do. He looked at earth through the lens of heaven. He saw things from the perspective

When we look at things from the perspective of the material world, we see all kinds of things that are not in heaven.

But what if we took on the mindset of Jesus and looked at things from the perspective of what is going on in heaven right now? We would see things very differently. We would see what Jesus saw and we would do more of what Jesus did.

In this week's episode, I share some examples of how Jesus brought his perspective of heaven to those he ministered to. The result was healing.

You can learn to look at the world this way too.

To see the Bible references in this episode, check out the shownotes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/046

Have a great week. Please share this and let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about this week's episode.

Blessings,
James

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
  
  

045 – Have you ever realized you were taking things for granted in your life?

It happened to me when we recently lost power during a storm. We didn't have electricity or internet for a week. All the things I had taken for granted, like turning on a light switch, checking my email, and using the refrigerator were not options during those seven days.

I really appreciated them all over again when the power came back on!

Important things in life

But there are even more important things that we take for granted sometimes, like the talents and abilities that God gives us or our friends and family.

And sometimes we even take God's love for us or our faith for granted.

In this week's episode, I talk about the importance of not taking anything for granted. But how do we do that?

The remedy is to value all that you have in life and to be grateful.

Learn to value yourself

And please, never take yourself for granted. God has given you abundant talents to do something wonderful and beautiful.

To see al the Bible references in this week's episode, check out the shownotes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/045

And here's the blog post I mentioned where I made a list of 100 things I was grateful for: Can You Find 100 Things to Be Grateful for?

Have a great week! Thanks for listening. Please share with a friend.

Blessings,
James

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
  
  

044 – Have you ever waited, for what seemed like forever, for a solution to a problem?

Remember the man at the pool of Bethesda? He had been unable to walk for 38 years. He was waiting at the water's edge for years hoping to find healing.

But he was looking for something outside of himself. He was waiting for the water to be stirred by an angel. He was waiting for someone to help him get to the water first.

When Jesus saw this man, he knew he had withing him the God-given ability to be healed and walk. And of course the man was healed.

In this week's episode, I share a poem I wrote about this man, what he might have been feeling and how he might have felt after waiting for so long without much promise of healing.

How long have you been waiting for something outside yourself to change before thinking a solution could come to your problems?

It is when we hear the Christ speaking within our hearts that solutions and healing come.

I encourage you to listen for that voice.

For the Bible references to this episode, go to the shownotes at thebiblespeakstoyou.com/044. There is also a link to the poem that originally appeared as a blog post.

Thanks so much for listening. Please share this with a friend.

Blessings,
James

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
  
  

043 – Have you ever felt like you were procrastinating on something God wanted you to, but when you finally did it, it was the perfect time?

Yeah! That's happened to me a lot. God has a way of working things out and timing events in our lives better than we can.

God has perfect timing!

In this episode, I share a major Aha! moment when I was very down on myself because, in my mind, I had failed to accomplish what I thought God wanted me to do.

I cried out to God for forgiveness and the simple eight words He spoke to me completely changed my perspective on what seemed like a bunch of starts and stops in my life.

God prepares us

God is preparing you for greater things than it may seem based on how you look at your life. If we could see ourselves from God's perspective, the view would be very different and we would see all the stray bits and pieces in perfect alignment with God's plan for us.

A simple prayer

Here's a simple prayer that was shared with me over 40 years ago: Dear God, prepare me for what You have prepare for me.

Check out the shownotes at thebiblespeakstoyou.com/043

Thanks for listening. Please share with a friend.

Blessings,
James

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