Would you recognize God if you met Him? How would you know it was Him? And no, we’re not talking about things like a long white heard or brilliant light or voice like thunder. If God became a man, a normal appearing man, would you or I be able to tell that it was Him? What sort of person would He be? What qualities would you expect to find? This is the question that Jesus was asking these leaders. Here was a group of people who read the Bible… a lot, but in spite of all that reading they hadn’t ...
Feb 24, 2022•52 min•Ep. 100
Everyone is glad to have God’s help when they need it. No one minds a “helper-God” who can be called on in time of need. When people discuss whether or not God exists, they’re usually talking about a particular kind of God, rather than the possibility that there is a spiritual being somewhere. What people don’t like is a moral God, particularly one who will hold us accountable for our actions. That’s the kind of God “atheists” don’t believe in. If you ask an atheist why they don’t believe, very ...
Feb 21, 2022•48 min•Ep. 99
You and I have been invited into a relationship with the One who created heaven and earth (Ps 8), with the One who formed us in our mother’s womb and knows our thoughts before there is a word on our tongue (Ps 139), with the One who understands the deepest groanings in the human heart (Ro 8:26-27). We’ve been offered the opportunity to consult with Him before we make decisions, to heed His warnings that there is danger ahead, and to be given wisdom to solve the most difficult problem or heal the...
Feb 17, 2022•48 min•Ep. 98
Faith is a choice, not a feeling. It’s not the ability to talk myself into believing that something has already happened. It’s choosing to believe something will happen because God said it would. There are certain people with very energetic personalities for whom faith seems to come easily, but I don’t think a person needs such a personality to please God. Because faith is a choice, not a feeling. It’s a decision, not an emotion, which means it’s possible for anyone to have faith. We need only t...
Feb 14, 2022•50 min•Ep. 97
People generally come to God for one of two reasons: either their life has ended up in shambles and they’re left with no other option, or they find themselves in a situation where the presence of the Holy Spirit becomes so strong that their resistance and confusion melt away and they rush into God’s arms. In other words most people turn to God either because they’re desperate or because they’ve been awakened by the power of the Holy Spirit. What Jesus taught His disciples before the crowds of Sa...
Feb 10, 2022•49 min•Ep. 96
Jesus saw the moment: they had stepped into a “divine appointment.” The people there were ready to hear the gospel. This woman was ready, the city of Sychar was ready, but He was exhausted and in a hurry. He had only stopped to rest and get something to eat. What would He do? Would He explain the condition they were in and politely postpone, promising to come back at a more convenient time? After all He still hadn’t eaten anything, and He and His disciples had been walking for hours, possibly th...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 95
It’s so easy to stand there praying, saying all the right things, with my mind still asleep or focused on something else. I can be halfway through the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13) and suddenly realize I haven’t a clue what I just said, and am saying things with no particular awareness that God is listening to me. I’m just reciting words that I’ve memorized. They’re good words, if you actually stop to think about them, but until I wake up inside, until I become conscious of the One to whom I was sup...
Feb 03, 2022•50 min•Ep. 94
After a very dramatic confrontation with the temple leaders in Jerusalem (Jn 2:13-25) Jesus left the city and moved His ministry out to the towns and villages scattered throughout the Judean countryside. There He preached and undoubtedly healed and delivered people from spiritual oppression. His disciples also baptized the people. Judging from clues John gives us Jesus apparently remained in Judea for about eight months. But at some point, a warning arrived that the Pharisees, who already shared...
Jan 31, 2022•44 min•Ep. 93
Many of the truths Jesus taught can be found in the Old Testament. He explained and applied them brilliantly, but when He taught those truths He wasn’t revealing anything new, just showing us what Moses and the prophets really meant. But there were a few select truths which He taught that were absolutely fresh revelations. They were, in fact, truths that He brought with Him from heaven. Of course there are glimpses of these truths all through the Old Testament so that if a reader truly understoo...
Jan 27, 2022•49 min•Ep. 92
I think it’s easier to handle failure than it is to deliberately walk away from success. When we fail, we have no choice but to face reality sooner or later and admit that we’ve fallen short. But when we succeed at something we tend to grow proud, and as much as we may complain about all that such success demands of us, we cling to it desperately. It gives us meaning. It validates our existence. It becomes more than what we do; it defines who we are. So to even contemplate letting go becomes a v...
Jan 24, 2022•50 min•Ep. 91
When God sent His Son into the world it was like placing a bright lamp in a dark room. Things that had been hidden were suddenly revealed. Wherever He went His presence and His message exposed the deepest attitudes in each person’s heart. Whether or not they fully understood who Jesus was, their human spirit intuitively recognized Him and reacted immediately. Some hated Him and some loved Him. Some pulled away and some drew near. And when God who knows everything about us watched this take place...
Jan 20, 2022•47 min•Ep. 90
What if I told you that you could be guided by God just like Jesus was guided by God? What if I told you that the same power which was at work through Jesus was available to work through you today? Would you believe me? Would you want a relationship with God like that? Now, let me ask those same questions again, but this time let me ask them another way: What if Jesus told you that you could be guided by God like He was? What if He told you that the same power which was at work through Him was a...
Jan 17, 2022•45 min•Ep. 89
Most people fall into one of two categories: They’re either trying to save themselves, or they’ve realized that they can’t and that they need a Savior. People are either pursuing God’s justice or clinging to His mercy. They either expect to be rewarded or forgiven. And those two attitudes are so deeply different—they lie in such opposite directions—a person can’t pursue both at the same time. No one can try to earn God’s approval while they are receiving His mercy as a gift. It’s just not possib...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 88
While He was in Jerusalem during the Feast of the Passover and the week of Unleavened Bread which followed it, Jesus must have begun His ministry of healing the sick and delivering those oppressed by demons because John says, “many believed in His name beholding Him (because of) the signs which He was doing” (literal). And then John adds the strangest statement. He says, “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men.” Then he reinforces that statement by saying...
Jan 10, 2022•58 min•Ep. 87
Sometimes Jesus tells us things we can’t understand, at least not yet. Someday we will. Someday we will look back, and it will all fit together. But not now. Now, frankly, what He said doesn’t make any sense at all. This raises an obvious question: Why would Jesus tell us something we’re not capable of understanding? Why wouldn’t He wait until we’ve matured sufficiently? Yet we need only read through the gospels and watch for examples of Jesus telling people things that made no sense to them, to...
Jan 06, 2022•59 min•Ep. 86
What is surprising when we read this account of Jesus cleansing the temple is the lack of resistance by the merchants. For some reason, a large number of people allowed one man to walk in and totally disrupt their business activity. One would have expected a fight to break out or the temple police to intervene, but none of that happened. And though Jesus was certainly a strong young man, having worked for years as either a stonemason or a carpenter, no matter how strong or angry an individual ma...
Jan 03, 2022•50 min•Ep. 85
John recorded this event to build our faith. He wanted us to know about a miracle Jesus performed that fulfilled a particular Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. The prophets had said that when the Messiah comes, “the vats will overflow with new wine and oil” (Joel 2:24), and “the mountains will drip with sweet wine” (Am 9:13). And a miracle Jesus performed at a wedding in Cana proved He had the power to fulfill those prophecies. When John and the other five disciples who had accompanied J...
Dec 30, 2021•59 min•Ep. 84
We aren’t animals. If we were, life would be much simpler. We’d go through each day controlled by our bodily appetites and instincts until the moment arrived when we died. And because we were animals, we would have no idea that we were dying, so we wouldn’t worry about it. Our focus would be on getting enough to eat, staying safe and occasionally reproducing the species. But being human makes things far more complicated.
Dec 27, 2021•49 min•Ep. 83
After recognizing that Jesus knew things about him that only God could know, Nathanael immediately told Him that He was the promised Messiah. He said, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (v49), to which Jesus replied with a statement that must have stunned Nathanael. Basically He told him, “Because you believe in Me, someday you’ll rise from the dead and return to earth with Me to set up the kingdom of God.” By combining Jacob’s vision of a ladder lifted up to heaven (Ge ...
Dec 23, 2021•48 min•Ep. 82
It only took two days for Jesus to gather the first five, and probably six, of the twelve apostles he would send out “into all the world” a few years later (Mk 16:15). Two days! How did such a special group of people meet Jesus in such a short period of time? Why were they all gathered there in one location? The answer, or course, is that they had come to the Jordan River to be baptized. They were part of a crowd of people who were doing all they knew how to do to draw closer to God. This wasn’t...
Dec 20, 2021•52 min•Ep. 81
Each of us has two names: the name our parents gave us and the name God gives us. If our parents took the time to listen to God when they named us, those two names may be the same. In that case our given name is prophetic. It reveals something about God’s plan for us. Whether or not the name our parents gave us holds such meaning, the name God calls us always does. That’s because He knows how He designed us in our mother’s womb. David saw this truth and declared it in worship. Listen: “For You f...
Dec 16, 2021•53 min•Ep. 80
It’s easy for some people to see their need for repentance. They’ve led wild lives. They’ve done all sorts of terrible things, so when it comes time to repent, they literally have a checklist of sins they need to start working their way through. “Lord, I’m sorry for this… and for this… and for this,” etc. But there are others who have a much more difficult time seeing their need for repentance. Sure, they’ve done some minor things wrong, and maybe their attitude hasn’t always been that great, bu...
Dec 13, 2021•54 min•Ep. 79
Sometimes it seems God waits until the last possible minute to act. I’m sure that’s not true. I’m sure if I could see the situation from His perspective, I would realize He is acting at exactly the right moment, not a minute too soon, nor a minute too late. But since I can’t see things with His perfect knowledge, there are times I can feel myself growing frustrated with Him, wondering what He’s waiting for. And it’s at those moments that a real spiritual danger arises: I can become impatient wit...
Dec 09, 2021•37 min•Ep. 78
Those voices don’t go away. We don’t hear them occasionally when we start out, and then they cease as we mature. They keep nagging us every time we speak for God. They tell us we are inadequate before we speak and that we should be ashamed of something we said afterward. It’s literally part of the “cross” any believer will bear if he or she decides to step out and minister publicly for Jesus.
Dec 06, 2021•55 min•Ep. 77
How do you know who to trust? How do you know which leader to follow? How do you know who really loves you? So many people say the right things, promise us the things we want to hear and even look right. They look strong, dynamic and sincere. They speak well, and you can’t miss the impressive intellect behind their words. And who among us has not followed such a person or given our heart to such a person only to discover that he or she was not who they appeared to be?
Dec 02, 2021•50 min•Ep. 76
I don’t think anyone goes through life without experiencing events that make us ask the question, “Where was God?” We’ve all prayed prayers that seem to go unanswered. We’ve all observed suffering and evil that seem to go unopposed. But to be fair, we’d have to admit that we’ve also seen things that are beautiful and very good, and that there have been times our prayers were answered quickly and powerfully. Yet it’s the apparent failures and the darkness that seem to capture our attention. And w...
Nov 29, 2021•42 min•Ep. 75
I look forward to the day when I meet Jesus face to face. Sure, I’m curious to see what He looks like. Are the scars still there? What does His voice sound like? Does He look like the pictures the artists draw, or will I be surprised? But more than that I can hardly wait to meet Him as a person. No, I won’t be meeting a stranger. I’ll be meeting a dear friend, someone who’s been with me all my life. But still, I want to look at Him, hug Him and tell Him how grateful I am for everything He’s done...
Nov 25, 2021•46 min•Ep. 74
There are spiritual laws which God has put into place to govern spiritual matters just as surely as there are physical laws which govern the natural world. The spiritual world is not a land of make believe. It’s very real and has its own order. There are things that can be done, and things that cannot be done. Even God submits Himself to the spiritual laws He has established.
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 73
There may be no portion of the Bible which has been more furiously debated, picked apart, retranslated or explained in the most bizarre ways than this part. Apparently the truth it contains disturbs a lot of people; they feel compelled to “correct” John’s theology, which is ironic because John wrote these words to correct their theology. So instead of trying to reinterpret what John reveals about God, let’s listen to him with an open mind and let him show us things that will amaze us, that will ...
Nov 18, 2021•52 min•Ep. 72
Who is Jesus of Nazareth? People were already asking that question as they listened to Him preach and watched Him perform miracles. And then as now, many answered wrongly. They tried to fit Jesus into categories that made sense to them rather than listening carefully to what He said or recognizing the spiritual meaning behind what He did. To put an end to the confusion, the apostle John picked up his pen and wrote his own eyewitness account of Jesus' ministry. In it, he reveals the truth, the wh...
Nov 15, 2021•36 min•Ep. 71
