Wisdom from Above has been looking at Distinctions Worth Knowing. Today's topic is the distinction between Israel and the church. Who is Israel? What was Israel promised? Who is the church? When did the church begin? Has God rejected Israel? Has the church replaced Israel in the program of God? Are there any promises in the Scripture that indicate God has a plan for the nation of Israel in the future? What is replacement theology? Is replacement theology based upon a literal interpretation of Scripture? Join us as we dig into this timely topic. 

The Arab-Israeli conflict has raged for centuries. One of the central disputes is whether the Arabs as descendants of Abraham and Ishmael or the Jews as descendants of Abraham and Isaac have the legitimate claim to the land of Israel. In order to determine the rightful owner of the title to the Holy Land, we must look at the historical records. We will look at the historical records of the Bible and the historical records of antiquity. We will not settle for emotional claims of oppression, or preposterous claims of refugees. or unmitigated claims of the racists. We want to know what the Bible says. We want to know what history reveals. Join us as we try to untangle this dispute about the title to the land that is called Israel and as we seek to gain Wisdom from Above.  

Today's podcast is a follow up of last week's podcast on the Law of Christ. The question was raised by a listener... "What if an authority asks us to do something wrong? Is it ever ok to disobey an authority? That is a great question. To obey or not to obey, that is the question.

 Is it ever ok to disobey an authority? I believe the answer from the Bible is 'Yes!" The next question we must ask is "How can we know when it is ok to disobey our human authority?" 

 In this episode we will discover how to know when it is right to disobey a human authority. Today's podcast will look at three examples from the New Testament and at least six examples from the Old Testament where individuals willfully chose to disobey a governmental authority and God blessed them for their choice. 

The last episode of Wisdom from Above distinguished between the two extremes fo licentiousness and legalism. We discovered that we want to find a balance of grace and truth. We want to avoid the extremes of licentiousness and legalism. We want to experience a liberty that is expressed in love for God and others. But the questions still remains, "How can I know what I am supposed to do? How can I, as a Christian determine God's will?" The answer is found in the law of Christ. But that brings up a new question:  "What is the Law of Christ?" And once we discover the answer to that, we still need to know how we can find the power to live as we ought to live.  If you want to glorify God with your life, if you want to experience life as God intended it to be experienced, if you want to enjoy intimacy with the Almighty... join us in this podcast as we examine the Law of Christ and as we seek to understand how to live out the Christian life. 

In our quest to discover Wisdom From Above, we have been looking at Distinctions Worth Knowing. There are many distinctions worth knowing, and one of them is the distinction between license, liberty, and legalism. Far too many have succumbed to the peril of the pendulum and swung to one of two extremes in their approach to the Christian Life. Some have swung all the way over to license. They are being told that they are no longer under law, so they are free to ignore the law and any other rules or regulations that might cramp their style. They believe they are free to do whatever they want to do as long as it seems to be a loving thing to do. Some have swung all the way over to legalism. They are being told that in order to get saved or in order to stay saved they must deny themselves, take up their cross, submit to the Lordship of Christ, and persevere in doing good works. They are bound up by all kinds of rules and regulations declared by men and they believe they must do them in order to maintain a relationship with God. What does the Bible say? Are these two approaches to the Christian life distortions of the truth? What is true liberty in Christ? What does it mean to be free? 

Wisdom form Above is seeking to go beyond the reasoning of man to the revelation of God. In Episode 8 we discovered that Satan's method is deceit and his target is the mind. In todays's episode we are exploring the four major lies Satan is using to deceive our world. Join us as we look at pantheism, reincarnationism, relativism, and esotericism. 

Season three deals with Distinctions Worth knowing! We need to know the distinction between good and evil, between right and wrong, between light and darkness. We need to know that our real battle is not a battle with flesh and blood. We battle with principalities and powers of darkness! Satan has an evil strategy for our defeat. We need to know his method. We need to know his target. Join us as were investigate Satan's strategy for our defeat. 

Season three of Wisdom from Above is highlighting Distinctions Worth knowing. To judge or not to judge... that is the question. We have all know that jokes said, "Judge not that you be not judged." And yet we also know the Bible says "He that is spiritual judges all things." And many also know that the Apostle Paul tells us to "Test all things" and Jesus tells us to "judge with righteous judgment."  How do we resolve this seeming conflict? Are we not to judge or are we to judge. Join us for this episode of Wisdom from Above to go beyond the reasoning of man to the revelation of God... and learn with us who we are to judge, how are to judge, and why we are to judge.  

Welcome to Wisdom from Above. Season 1 was focused on what's so special about the Bible. Season 2 was focused on crucial questions people ask. Season 3 is focused on distinctions worth knowing.

 Episodes 4, 5, and 6 of season 3 make up a mini-series on discipleship. We have learned the meaning of a true disciple. We have discussed the three major hindrances to discipleship. In this episode we are going to dig a little deeper. Listen to this podcast as we move beyond the reasoning of man to the revelation of God and discover the seven marks of a disciple. 

The Great Commission is to make disciples. Jesus wanted people to become truly devoted disciples. But many people hesitate to become fully-devoted disciples of Jesus. What are the main hindrances to discipleship? The answer is spelled out in some critical interactions Jesus had with three would-be disciples in Luke chapter 9. Turn there with me and let's discover what God has revealed about true discipleship in this next episode of Wisdom from Above!