There is a common metaphor of life being like a road, and with good reason. We are in essence walking a path in life, from beginning to end. For each person, the journey is at different times joyous, grueling, and full of wonder. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” This week we’re talking about walking by faith, something us as humans find difficult to do—especially when times get tough. Yet that is exactly the moment God uses to ignite our faith, and show us things we ...
Jun 24, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1586
We often hear that it’s harder to raise kids today than ever before. That isn’t true, of course. All eras down through history have been challenging. We live in a world scarred by sin, after all, and children grow up among all sorts of temptations. That’s why the role of a parent is something to take seriously, as a sacred duty. We’ve been discussing the best practical guide for living: the Bible. Nowhere is this truer than in its practical wisdom for raising successful children. Although we all...
Jun 21, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1585
Noah was far from perfect, but he was a humble man, and protective of his family. He stands out among fathers in the Bible as a man who remained loyal to God, in spite of the wickedness of the world around him. Doesn’t that sound a lot like life today? Fathers who choose to follow a life of faith are surrounded by temptation and downright evil in this world, but God is pleased by our devotion, and He has a plan for each of us — even when circumstances are frustrating or difficult. Genesis 6:5–8 ...
Jun 20, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1584
What is your relationship with your father like? That’s kind of a personal question, right? And for some people, it may be a topic they really don’t enjoy discussing. Sometimes people who don’t have a meaningful relationship with a father or father figure, struggle to grasp just how much God, our creator and provider, loves us. It can be challenging to develop a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father, if you’ve missed out on a positive bond with your father here on earth. Psalm 90:2 say...
Jun 19, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1583
Joseph was a hardworking tradesman who God hand-picked from all the men in the world to be the earthly father of His own Son, Jesus Christ. What an honor! And in some ways, what an incredibly challenging task. Joseph wasn’t a king, a politician, or a recognized leader of any kind when he was betrothed to a young woman named Mary. A simple carpenter, he was also a man of compassion. When he learned Mary was pregnant and knew the child could not be his, he intended to divorce her quietly and send ...
Jun 18, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1582
One of the things that mark a healthy society is the consistency between generations. In other words, adults who care about the future of their children will invest the time to make sure tomorrow is bright. God the Father is the ultimate parent, and we would do well to model His love for us. Luke 18:1 says, “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” Passing the torch, or training up the next generation, involves taking the time to do it pro...
Jun 17, 2024•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1581
Are you struggling right now? Are you listening to this while gripping the steering wheel, wondering how you’re going to go on? 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ.” He has a purpose for you; He really does. God wants to use you for things no one else can do. And He wants you to do these things with a spirit of peace in...
Jun 14, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1580
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is widely looked upon as the most famous painting in the world. By some historical estimates, the Mona Lisa took as many as 16 years to finish! Capturing Mona Lisa’s famous smile on a poplar plank was no hack job; Leonardo accepted a commission for the work in the year 1503, and completed his masterpiece supposedly around the time of his death in 1519. Clearly, this level of artistic achievement takes time. When you hear the word “masterpiece,” what do you thin...
Jun 13, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1579
Do you struggle to wonder what God’s will is for your life? Many of us do. Although it isn’t a quick answer, the best way to find God’s will for your life is to read His Word. The Bible will tell you the answer to that question. Romans 8:31 tells us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Actually, finding God’s will isn’t the hardest part. Deciding to follow His will is where we get tripped up. People need the skill and the discipline of being persistent. Too often the impulse is to give up...
Jun 12, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1578
Roaming, travel, wandering…all have been part of the human psyche since the beginning. Because we all have that God-shaped hole in us, needing to be filled with Him, we search. Some find God, and some don’t. The sense of aimlessness and lack of purpose haunts some. We think of the classic novel “On the Road,” which is the story of two characters traveling the country. At first, the lure of freedom is fun to think about, but the truth is, if people don’t fill that God-shaped hole with God, despai...
Jun 11, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1577
Have you ever wondered what your place in this world is? Of course, you have. That’s the human experience. Alone with our thoughts, we wonder who we even are, and what we’re meant to do. It’s a mysterious journey, but the fog lifts and the way becomes clear when we get to know King Jesus. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” You were made for something! You were made to do things for...
Jun 10, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1576
We as people tend to be goal-oriented. Even if you think you’re not, you really are. Maybe you don’t have a burning ambition to work in finance on Wall Street, or you aren’t going to be a pro athlete any time soon. But you do want to earn a living for your family. Hey, maybe you even want to get your chores finished before your favorite show comes on TV. Sometimes, this love of goals can trip us up when it comes to eternal matters. We think we can make our own way. It’s just hardwired in us to s...
Jun 07, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1575
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...
Jun 06, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1574
Tim closed his laptop and wondered what to do next. He had a degree. Great job experience. Enthusiasm and passion for his work… But the job market was tough in his new hometown, and his savings was running out fast. “Lord,” he prayed, “please help me find a job. You know my talents, and what I need to help support my family. Please provide.” He’d been praying this same prayer daily, but no job had come along. Tim knew God’s promises were real, but the disappointment of unanswered prayer was weig...
Jun 05, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1573
Judson Van DeVenter was an art teacher and artist when he became a layman in the Episcopal-Methodist Church. He was passionate about his work, but also actively devoted to the evangelistic meetings held at his church. Seeing his abilities, Judson’s friends urged him to quit his job and become an evangelist. For five years, he wavered between the ministry and seeking recognition as an artist. He felt God’s call on his heart, but it was a difficult choice to set aside his career and artistic talen...
Jun 04, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1572
Nick Vujicic, born without arms and legs, faced obstacles few could fathom. Less than 10 people worldwide have this condition. He’s now a person of faith, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world. Oh—and he’s married with four kids. Oh—and he graduated from college with a double major. Nick, now 35, was born with a condition known as Tetra Amelia syndrome. Not surprisingly, he faced bullying as a kid, and it continued into adolescence. Then one day his mother gave him a newspaper ar...
Jun 03, 2024•4 min•Season 1Ep. 1571
The action of sharing the Good News—the Great Commission—means that we don’t just sit in our houses and shut away the world. Scripture is an action item. Isaiah 60:1 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” If the Bible is true—if God’s story intersects with our story—then a hurting world is in need of a Savior. The pain many are enduring will have no end until they meet Jesus. He is our healer and His glory fills the earth. We all have different p...
May 31, 2024•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1570
If you’ve ever wondered what the best way might be to share your faith and defend it in the modern world, it might help to look at past examples. In the Bible, the husband-and-wife team of Priscilla and Aquila shared Christ with Apollos, who would become a famous early evangelist. In colonial England, the abolitionist William Wilberforce shamed his own government into freeing slaves. Jude 1:3 says, “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But n...
May 30, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1569
Defending your faith can sometimes be a subjective thing. As examples of extremes, we’ve seen the Crusades, and at the other end of the spectrum, it’s perhaps an aggressive “pitch” to someone who isn’t a believer. The thing is, it’s great to be zealous for our faith, but let’s also be disciplined. We don’t want to alienate a person who might otherwise listen. To put it simply: an angry Christian is usually a lonely Christian. Jude 1:3 says, “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to ...
May 29, 2024•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1568
In every generation, it falls to believers to spend time in defending our worldview as Christians. And honestly, it’s not the nicest part of the gig—but it is part of the gig. Usually, it involves simply explaining what your faith is all about. Followers of other religions do the same thing, but for us, we’re sharing the person of Christ with someone who may not know Him. That makes it a big deal. Jude 1:3 says, “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we al...
May 28, 2024•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1567
Most of us feel a deep respect in our hearts for those who have sacrificed so that we can remain free. Loving those who have paid the ultimate price is just something we do as people. We pause to remember each year. Isaiah 56:5 says, “To them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.” God instituted the concept of maintaining memorials. He remembers, and so do we. Maybe you’ve ha...
May 27, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1566
Who do you put your faith in? In the 1930s, as war approached in Europe, the British loved their monarchs. The royal family has been beloved for generations, and King Edward the 8th was ready to take his place on the throne after the death of his father. The people loved the dashing young king, and he seemed to enjoy his role. And then he fell in love. Falling in love isn’t a bad thing of course, even for kings. But Edward loved an American woman who was divorced. In royal society, that just was...
May 24, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1565
If Genesis describes the beginnings of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the book of Revelation finishes the story. Revelation 19 tells us a descendent of Judah, Jacob’s son, will one day come and rule the whole world. And He will be unlike any other king in history. 1 Timothy 1:17, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.” This verse tells us that the role of the greatest of all kings belongs to Christ alone. The i...
May 23, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1564
In the Bible, we read of family records that were the original genealogy sources. People knew where they came from, knew their kin. The 12 tribes of Israel were first outlined in Genesis, and from these 12 came an entire nation. Even Jesus came from somewhere! One of the Bible’s patriarchs, Jacob, had a son named Judah. The father calls the son a lion’s cub, and blesses him. Judah is told he will have favor in his family. 1 Timothy 1:17 says, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is t...
May 22, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1563
Have you ever heard of the legendary English king, Arthur? An iconic figure in history, he led a defense of his country against Saxon invaders around 1,500 years ago. He has also been immortalized in literature. There’s only one problem: We don’t know if he actually existed. We certainly don’t know where he’s buried. And it’s a sure thing that King Arthur, if he lived, wasn’t history’s greatest ruler. 1 Timothy 1:17, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unsee...
May 21, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1562
Do you know Who Jesus is? Do you really understand His identity? We know from the Bible that He is many things: a child, a carpenter, a leader of men. We know that He is our Savior, the One who went to the cross to take on our sin. He is also our King. 1 Timothy 1:17, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.” In this letter to his young friend, Paul emphasized to Timothy that Jesus has dominion over everything and...
May 20, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1561
Today we wrap up our series on finding contentment by discussing the source of true peace and happiness. John MacArthur once wrote a book called Our Sufficiency in Christ. In it, he revealed the path to finding true peace and contentment, and he says there’s a single word that encompasses all the riches we find in Christ: Grace. What a magnificent word it is. It’s used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor, bestowed on undeserving people. It is the means by which we r...
May 17, 2024•4 min•Season 1Ep. 1560
Today’s message is really about taking the long view. The human attention span is short, like really, really short. Between the world wars, Winston Churchill warned Europe that Hitler was a threat to the continent at least, but people ignored him. And then when the Nazis turned violent, the people turned to Churchill as their prime minister. Having led the country through another costly war to preserve freedom, Churchill was defeated for reelection in the last days of World War II. It’s like the...
May 16, 2024•4 min•Season 1Ep. 1559
The big question for today is, can we find contentment in things? Have you ever listened to a very successful person complain about the fact that his wealth doesn’t make him happy? How the success of life has left him or her empty? Of course, you have. We’ve all heard stories like that, but pay attention to that—because it’s really important. Watch people roll their eyes when they hear those stories. Why do they do that? Because they’re thinking, “Yeah, just give me some of that emptiness. I’d l...
May 15, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1558
Today, our big question is, can we find contentment in relationships? How many times has this scene been repeated? A guy sees a girl he can’t live without. He thinks she will bring him happiness—and for a while, that's how it plays out. But then one day he’s melancholy just like he used to be. Or how about the woman who believes marriage will fulfill her heart’s desires, but then over time her husband isn’t so perfect? You see the common denominator in these two scenarios. Partners aren’t the is...
May 14, 2024•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1557
