When it comes to love, the secular world has plenty to say. Turn on the television, radio, or explore the internet, and you’ll find advice on every type of relationship, from friendships to getting along with your parents, and of course — advice on romantic relationships. People are clamoring to figure love out…but what does the Bible say about love? 1 Corinthians 13:4–5 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is...
Nov 01, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 891
Jenna stopped in her tracks, sighing in frustration as she bent down to pick yet another rock out of her shoe. “Why on earth am I suddenly picking up rocks every time I walk the dog,” she wondered. They finished their usual route, and at home, Jenna slipped off her shoes and discovered the problem: she’d worn those old slip-ons for so long that she wore a hole right through the soles of both shoes! Philippians 4:6 reminds us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer a...
Oct 29, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 890
Truett burst through the front door with exciting news one afternoon, anxious to share his latest find. “Mom! I found a praying mantis. Can you believe it! They’re pretty rare around here.” It was certainly one of the biggest bugs they’d seen in the fields around their home. The beautiful emerald green insect crawled from hand to hand, curious about its new environment. Considered a symbol of peace, contemplation, and prayer, the word “mantis” in Greek literally means prophet or seer. The prayer...
Oct 28, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 889
Humans were built for language and communication. It's one of the bits of creative genius God used when He formed His highest creation. And apart from regular communication, whether it's the written word or verbal, we have a great gift from a loving God: prayer. And that's what we're talking about this week in a series we're calling, Prayer 101. Prayer is an intensely personal way to communicate with our Creator, the One who knows everything about us. Jeremiah 29:12 says, “Then you will call on ...
Oct 27, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 888
1 Peter 5:6–7 says, “Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time. Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.” These two short verses tell us several things: One - if we submit to God’s power by acknowledging we can’t solve our problems, He is strong enough to intervene and bring about the outcome we really want. Second, He does this in his own time, on His own timetable. Third, we are to leave our problems at His feet. There ...
Oct 26, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 887
Welcome to prayer 101, the big question for today is how do you develop a prayer life? The answer to how we develop a healthy prayer life is really not that complicated. It's all about choice. We can learn to pray first by reading scripture and taking notice of the hundreds of prayers offered by believers just like us. We can also talk with veterans of prayer in our own life, those who are older and deeper in their faith. But notice something about the prayers recorded in the Bible, they aren't ...
Oct 25, 2021•4 min•Season 1Ep. 886
Our greatest example of kindness and compassion is our Heavenly Father. God’s Word, the Bible, is filled with examples of His loving-kindness, His grace, His mercy, His faithfulness...the Lord’s love for us is infinite and eternal, and His example is what we should strive to embody as we interact and react to the people around us. Lamentations 3:22–23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulnes...
Oct 22, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 885
How many of us would feed a hungry stranger with the last crust of bread left in the house? The prophet Elijah received a prophecy that the land would suffer a years-long drought, and this message from God had come to pass. The Lord sent him to a ravine east of the Jordan River where He sent ravens with bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and Elijah could drink from a brook, but eventually, the brook ran dry because there was no rain in the land. The Lord commanded Elijah, “Go at o...
Oct 21, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 884
When God asks us to love our neighbor as ourselves, what exactly does He mean? In Luke 10 verses 25–37, Jesus shares the Parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate what it means to love our neighbors the way Jesus loves us. “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too...
Oct 20, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 883
How much can one person take, and still choose to offer kindness? In Genesis Chapter 37, verses 12–36, 17-year-old Joseph is sent by his father to visit his brothers, who were tending the family’s flock of sheep in the countryside. Rather than the friendly check-in he expected, Joseph’s brothers initially plotted to kill him out of jealousy, but instead sold him into slavery to a group of Ishmaelites heading for Egypt. Among the brothers, only Reuben wished to leave Joseph unharmed, attempting (...
Oct 19, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 882
Carissa was having one of those days. Instead of hitting the snooze button on her alarm clock, she had turned it off. Now the kids were late for school, she was late for work, and the tone for the day was one mad rush — emphasis on the mad. As the day wore on, she thought about her impatience and frustration with her children as everyone got dressed and grabbed a granola bar on the way out the door. It wasn’t their fault the family was running behind, and she regretted sending them to school wit...
Oct 18, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 881
You’ve probably heard of the Ingalls family, or even met some of the clan through the Little House on the Prairie television series, or the beloved children’s books about pioneer life in the 1860s by author Laura Ingalls Wilder. The story of the Ingalls family is inspiring, whether you watch it or read it. The fun and camaraderie shared by Charles, Caroline, Mary, Laura, and little Carrie is heartwarming, and makes many of us yearn for simpler times, before technology and the hurried expectation...
Oct 15, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 880
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three young men from Judah who found themselves in a heated situation. They were brought into the court of King Nebuchadnezzar II, and ordered to bow before the king’s golden image. The alternative was a one-way ticket to the fiery furnace. The king’s command would have been easy for these guys to follow, but their own King of Kings had already commanded them to place no other gods before Him and to stay away from the evil of graven images. They may have been...
Oct 14, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 879
Are you a person that has walked away from your faith? Maybe you believed once, very much, but it faded over time. Maybe you accepted the promises of God for a little while, but then something else caught your eye. That’s not uncommon. Starting out on fire for God and then becoming weary is something many of us have dealt with. To use a flying analogy for our talk today, sometimes your flight of faith becomes grounded. Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. The...
Oct 13, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 878
Did you know God’s Word is indestructible? Many ancient books have been lost to history. Others sit still buried under the sands of the Middle East. But after thousands of years, the Bible is more widely read than ever. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” There’s an interesting story in the Old Testament book of Jerem...
Oct 12, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 877
Have you ever had the pleasure of waking up in a cozy cabin…after you’ve let the fire go out from the night before? If you don’t get out of bed and put more wood in that furnace, the squirrels or raccoons aren’t going to do it for you! Much more serious is the tendency to get lazy about the fire inside us to share the love of Christ. After so many years of being a Christian—especially living in a free country—sharing the Gospel can be put on the backburner. Romans 12:11–12 says, “Never let the f...
Oct 11, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 876
Celebrated songwriter Fanny Crosby wrote over 9,000 hymns in her lifetime, often writing as many as 6 or 7 songs a day. Despite being blind from infancy, she also played harp, piano, guitar, and other instruments, as well as singing soprano. She wrote the lyrics to many well-known hymns and while she did compose music to accompany a few of her songs, she partnered with many talented composers to write the music that accompanied her words. She used as many as 200 pseudonyms to publish her work, w...
Oct 08, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 875
How would you feel, if you suddenly lost the gifts so many of us take for granted, such as vision, hearing, or the ability to walk? Fanny Crosby was struck blind at just 6 weeks of age, but God had a plan for her. She was raised by her mother and grandmother after her father’s death when she was about 6 months old, and although she grew up poor, she was blessed to attend an excellent school for the blind in New York state, near where the family lived. Fanny enrolled at the New York Institution f...
Oct 07, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 874
Fanny Crosby was a prolific songwriter and poet born in 1820, and she overcame challenges including blindness and poverty from an early age — but she didn’t allow her disability, or her circumstances, to hold her back. As a Christian, Fanny understood the importance of looking forward. When a preacher once remarked that it was a pity Fanny could not see because she had been given so many other gifts, she responded: “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have...
Oct 06, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 873
Francis was just 6 weeks old when she became ill in the spring of 1820. The family doctor was out of town, and a charlatan pretending to be a doctor prescribed a treatment that rendered the baby completely blind, although she recovered from the initial illness. A few months later, her father died, and her mother went to work as a maid to support the family. She was raised by her grandmother, a devoted Christian who taught her granddaughter from the Bible. At the age of 8, the little girl wrote t...
Oct 05, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 872
Who is the author of your story? Is it your parents, or maybe a grandparent or special mentor who had a hand in raising you? Maybe your best friend gets some of the credit, sharing in adventures the two of you recall with laughter every time you’re together. Or perhaps your spouse is a co-author of your personal story, as you make decisions together that honor your partnership, or help your family grow and thrive. Psalm 102:18 says, “Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a peopl...
Oct 04, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 871
One of the richest gifts God has given us is healthy relationships. A marriage in balance, friends who mutually respect each other, and most of all a strong “God connection” can be the ticket to a healthy, whole life. The full life Jesus spoke about! Hebrews 10:24–25 says, “And let us consider how to spur one another to love and to good works. Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but let us exhort one another, especially as you see the Day approachin...
Oct 01, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 870
Geraldine Mock became the first woman to fly around the world in 1964. Landing for a short stop in Saudi Arabia, she watched as a man approached her plane. When he saw her, he shouted to his friends that this was no man. They applauded! Jerrie Mock’s steadiness at the wheel, and in her encounters on the ground, were the very picture of self-control. Her journey was wildly successful. Titus 2:11–12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiet...
Sep 30, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 869
Fighting one day in the tough Iraqi city of Fallujah, a Marine sergeant decided to put himself at risk in order to get a frightened family to safety. He stepped into a courtyard and spoke quietly for a few minutes with the father. He took time to make sure the kids had water, and the toys his men gave them. Then it was back to the war. Gentleness can be misunderstood. Too often we think, for example, that a man is not masculine if he’s gentle. Not true. This Fruit of the Spirit is a real strengt...
Sep 29, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 868
Emma used her hand to brush her husband’s white hair from his forehead…Edgar was near death. Their marriage had been happy, and now she was saying goodbye. The nursing staff talked about the love between the two. Only three days after Edgar went into eternity, Emma joined him. The Bible often uses marriage as a backdrop for what God has done for us. We know that in earthly marriages, it’s important to persevere. When we think of the Fruit of the Spirit, patience is very closely linked to faithfu...
Sep 28, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 867
It has been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively practically define the nature of Christ. Even David the shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about following his loving God? “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life!” We instinctively know what goodness is. It is a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected. Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to d...
Sep 27, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 866
Giving kindness is healing for the soul. A viral video made the national news: a police officer cut the hair of a prisoner being released so he could go on a job interview. It was one of those inspiring “random acts of kindness” we love to hear about. Proverbs 31:26 says, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” The thing that made Jesus stand out to people in Israel was His incredible kindness. He stopped to heal someone physically, or offered kindness t...
Sep 24, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 865
Who likes to wait for what we need or want? Basically, nobody. Of those nine elements that make up the Fruit of the Spirit, patience may be the hardest to find. Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” And patience is learned. Which makes it one of the sweetest fruits the Spirit gives us. Waiting for a “payoff” of some kind makes the end result that much more rewarding. Life teaches us that. A childless Hannah endured mocking and ridicule, but the ...
Sep 23, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 864
In our humanness, we struggle at times to achieve peace. World War 1 ended 100 years ago, and all sides joined together as a League of Nations to make that conflict the “War to end all wars.” Then World War 2 happened. Our history is littered with noble attempts to make things right, but only God can bring peace to nations, and to individuals. He has promised both! One day, He will make everything new, forever. While we wait for that great day, He also grants us peace in our daily lives. 2 Thess...
Sep 22, 2021•2 min•Season 1Ep. 863
Of all the gifts God gives His children, joy is perhaps the one closest to heaven on earth. Who isn’t aware just how wonderful it feels to experience true joy? It is as if the Lord has freed a prisoner. When American POWs returned from captivity in Vietnam, the looks on their faces as they emerged from the planes carrying them to freedom…well, no one will ever forget that! Psalm 16:9 says, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. Scripture tells us t...
Sep 21, 2021•1 min•Season 1Ep. 862
