Reliable Truth

"I sure I sure hope I'm getting into heaven. I'm working hard at it." Have you felt this way or heard others say this?I see this with men all the time. There's this hint of uncertainty. Whenever you hear someone saying, "I'm really working at it. I'm trying hard. I hope I get there."—what does it tell you about that person's perspective on salvation? To me, it indicates in his mind that something is lacking in his life, that he's somehow falling short.Do you believe that your works, or lack of good works, could possibly keep you out of heaven? Many people, even in the church, just naturally believe that good works get them into heaven.Now, I contend if you don't get this right, you can spend the rest of your life, particularly the last years of your life, terrified by what the future holds. Terrified about eternity.The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. This truth gives you assurance and not uncertainty. Today we're looking at how to understand God's grace.

The decisions and choices we make are the foundation of our life. Jordan Peterson says our choices either lead to order or they lead to chaos. They lead to excellence or they lead to mediocrity. You see, life is not made by the dreams you dream. It is made by the choices you make. Do you need wisdom for your life? Join us and listen in today!

As we enter 2019, I want to address an issue that has great influence on our individual lives, though we generally are not very aware of it. I would like to introduce it through a riddle. Can you guess the answer?

Stanford psychologist Phillip Zimbardo made this observation, “There is nothing more detrimental to a person’s life than isolation. There is no more destructive influence on physical and mental health than the isolation of you from me and us from them.” Yet, incredibly, we trivialize human existence and human relationships with the excuse of time-demands and the pressures of work. Can a person be truly happy if they struggle with loneliness? Join me to listen in on my thoughts on this.

Harvard Business Review recently reported that, “Loneliness is a growing health epidemic. We live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s."Why is human loneliness so problematic? Why does it cause such harm and dysfunction? There seems to be something in our wiring that requires us to be in relationships with others if we are to be healthy people.This issue, I believe, strikes at the heart of the existence of God, the reason we are here, and what we are designed to do. When we live as we were designed - to think, to reason, to communicate, to love and be relational - we flourish.

We are all fighting battles of some kind. The truths of the Bible serve as a powerful comfort in difficult times and teach us how to respond to adversity. What battles are you fighting?

Last year I wrote a book titled, The Power of a Humble Life. In the book I write that “Humble people are grateful people.” This is one of the main qualities that characterizes the lives of the humble. They recognize who deserves the credit for everything in their lives. True heartfelt thanksgiving is a way in which we humble ourselves. Are you cultivating a thankful heart today?

Philosopher Dallas Willard says that, “Meaning is not a luxury for us... It is a kind of spiritual oxygen that enables our souls to live.” Do you live your life with a sense of real purpose? Does your life today have a deep sense of meaning? I’m convinced it’s very difficult to live a healthy, vibrant life without the thought, without the knowledge that my life does have a sense of meaning.

Are you making a lasting difference with your life? How do you want to be remembered when your life is over?This message lays out three principles that clearly point to a life of excellence. I am convinced that if one lives in accordance with these principles, his or her life will flourish and prosper. Are you living a life of excellence?

The great philosopher Augustine once said, “Is not a happy life the thing that all desire, and is there anyone who altogether desires it not?” Do I live this life with a sense of purpose? Does my life have real meaning to it? True happiness is a byproduct of living a meaningful life, but how does one find that meaning? Listen in to find out!

If you knew that no one would ever know, what would you say that you fear? Or who? Would you get rid of those fears if you could? The fear of failure and the fear of rejection, along with other fears, can just cascade into our lives and create all kinds of problems. Then of course, we never talk about them. Because if I talked about my fears, what would you think about me?

Welcome to the first episode of Reliable Truth with Richard E Simmons III! Today Richard talks about our search to satisfy the desires of our heart. When you get or achieve the ultimate and it lets you down, it makes you wonder - if this doesn't satisfy me, what will?

What is the season of advent? The season of advent is a season of waiting on the Lord. We're waiting. We recognize not everything is right, we're waiting for it to be reordered. And we find the people of God in Isaiah chapter 40 in a season of waiting. And what is it that they're having to wait for? Well, Isaiah tells us they're waiting for mishpat, a Hebrew word that means "judgment," or "law. They're waiting for justice, and they're waiting for the fulfillment of these promises that come in Isaiah 40:28-31Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. >>Watch on YouTubeDr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew. Mark also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

In what way does God exist and is He present in the book of Esther? And what does it mean to live life faithfully when God's absence seems to be real?When Esther has finally become the queen and the crisis is now emerging in the book, her Uncle Mordecai says to her, "Who knows Esther, maybe you became Queen for such a time as this."That is a claim about God's providence, God's ordering of creaturely human affairs towards His own ultimate redemptive purposes.Dr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew. Mark also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

Why did Jesus work miracles?These miracles served to show love to hurting people, prove His divine nature, and affirm the authenticity of His teaching. The book of John tells us how Jesus replied to the Samaritan woman's question to him:"Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'” - John 4:10 >>Watch on YouTube

Who or what are you trusting in? Today Mark is discussing Isaiah 13-39."Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host.... Strengthen the weak hands...say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not!'... Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,.. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." —Taken from Isaiah 34:1-2; 35:3-5,10 >>Watch on YouTubeDr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew. Mark also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

What is it like to be the caddy for the number one pro golfer in the world? Richard's guest is pro caddy Ted Scott, sharing his story of caddying for Scottie Scheffler, his faith journey and his calling to serve others. ⁠>>Watch on YouTubeTed Scott has been the caddy for Scottie Scheffler since late 2021. Their partnership has been highly successful, resulting in 17 victories over four seasons, including two Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal. Ted's experience and support have been crucial in Scheffler's rise to the top of professional golf. Ted Scott has a notable history in caddying, previously working with other prominent golfers like Bubba Watson.Follow Ted Scott on Instagram @jtedscott and soon on his website tourcaddiecoach.com

Do our words have power?If we are honest with ourselves we would say yes. The book of Proverbs tells us: "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” - Proverbs 18:21James 3:9-10 tells us, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.Now he's talking about us. Each of our lives are known by its fruit. For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. >>Watch on YouTube

When crisis comes into your life, who do you turn to? Who do you trust?The question that God puts before His people again and again is, "Are you going to trust Me?" Where you going to put your hope and your trust when hardship comes? Psalm 4:35 says, "Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." What does this mean? It's very easy for us to talk about trust in the abstract. Trust God. Put your confidence in God. But when crisis comes, whether it's small or big, our first instinct is usually to try to fix it on our own—in other words, "What can I do to fix this on my own?"That's the crisis that emerges here in chapters 7-9 of the book of Isaiah. >>Watch on YouTubeDr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew. Mark also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

What would life be like if there is no God?​In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon writes about the meaning of life. He says a lot of the same things over and over. He also uses this phrase, "life under the sun."When Solomon says "life under the sun," he's asking you to consider—what would life be like if there is no God? Solomon says that it leads to a life that's empty and meaningless. We look for ways to divert the mind.You see this in Solomon's life in Ecclesiastes, and you see this today. The way you deal with this sense of meaninglessness, this vanity is to look for ways to divert your mind. And the way you do it, the way he did it, and the way people do it today is through pleasure and through their work.Solomon talks about all these great buildings that he's built. He talks about all the wives that he had.​Then we learn from Solomon that this is not effective. It doesn't work. These pursuits in life don't bring any type of permanence or lasting satisfaction.​And therefore he says, it's all vanity. It's all meaningless. >>Watch on YouTube