330 – Does God ever tempt us? A lot of people are convinced God sends temptations to see if they are faithful. You’d be surprised how many Christians believe some version of this, that God tempts us or puts tempting things and thoughts in our path. But nothing could be further from the truth. God never tempts you. That's what we're talking about this week on FREEDOM FRIDAY. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Show notes: Full transcript at thebiblespeakstoyou.com/330 Text me your questions or comments. Support the...
329 – Are you grateful when things don't go the way you want them to? A lot of folks I’ve been talking to lately are facing some pretty serious challenges. And they don't really think they have anything to be grateful for. They’re worried about the rising cost of living, if they can pay their bills and put food on the table for their families. They’re worried about the rising costs of health care. Some folks have lost their jobs and haven’t been able to find work. Other people are...
328 – How do you quit being influenced by others? Have you ever worked hard to quit making the same mistakes or committing the same sins and finally got your life cleaned up and straightened out, when someone, maybe even an old friend, tries to pull you back into that old life style? You feel negatively influenced by others to do things you don’t want to do. It can be a pretty hard situation to deal with. But there are things you can do and new ways to think that will help you not to le...
327 – What are you most hungry and thirsty for? What do you want more than anything else in the world? To be successful, to have a great job and make lots of money, to have a loving family and good friends? Do you want to have a lot of power and influence? Do you want to make a difference in the world and help people who are less fortunate than you? Maybe a better question is: What does God want you to do more than anything else? You may already have an answer for that and be working in...
326 – FREEDOM FRIDAY How do you deal with judgmental people? Have you ever been talking to someone who gets very judgmental of you because of mistakes you've made in the past, things you're not still doing, attitudes and actions that you have left behind, but they want to keep you in the past? Do you know how to deal with judgmental people like this? Maybe it's not on purpose, but they make you feel guilty all over again for something that happened a long time ago. In their mind they ju...
325 – Does your life ever feel incomplete? How often do you feel like there’s something missing in your life? It could be a relationship, a better job, enough money to pay the bills, better health. It could go deeper than that. You might feel like your life is incomplete because you don’t know what your higher sense of purpose is, and if you do, you’re not sure how to fulfill it. Why is it that most of us at some time or another feel like something is missing in our lives? W...
324 - What do you do when someone won't forgive you? Have you ever apologized to someone, but they won’t forgive you? They're still feeling hurt or betrayed and they just can’t bring themselves to forgive you. It’s a pretty lousy feeling. And sometimes it seems like you can’t get on with your own life until there’s some reconciliation and you get that relationship healed. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. So what do you do when that happens? How do you pray and what do yo...
323 – You’ve probably heard of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem when the Roman army destroyed it in 70 AD. But have you ever wondered how that event is relevant to us today? What can you and I learn from the destruction of Jerusalem, now almost 2,000 years later? Well, actually there’s a lot we can learn and my guest this week, Ward Sanford, and I are going to dig into some important lessons we need to learn, individually and collectively as the church, that can make al...
322 – It's time to accept God's forgiveness Have you ever had trouble accepting God’s forgiveness for mistakes you made or sins you committed? And you still feel a burden of guilt even though you’re not making those same mistakes or committing those sins anymore? That’s what we’re talking about this week on Freedom Friday. Here are a few key points to help you in this process. Forgiveness is a gift from GodYou are worthy to accept this giftConfess your mistakes and sins to yourself and ...
321 – If Jesus came to your home town, what would he do? Have you ever wondered what would happen if Jesus came to your community? Who would he talk to? Who would he preach to? Who would he heal? Who would be receptive to his message? Who would oppose him and try to stop him or get rid of him? In this week’s episode, we dig into The way Jesus ministered to people in their communities How some people were receptive to him How others were opposedWhat’s going on in ou...
312 FF – Have you ever struggled to forgive yourself? In this week's Freedom Friday episode, we're going to tackle what is sometimes one of the hardest things to do, forgive yourself. I share my friend Jim's story where he learned to forgive his father and himself for things that happened years ago. The thing that helped him the most was an odd little exercise I had him try. It worked! And it's helped a lot of folks since then actually forgive themselves. I'd love to hear how you have b...
319 – It's time to get back to Bible basics Have you ever been in a conversation about the Bible with someone who is so caught up in some minute detail of something the Bible mentions only once, maybe twice? But the way the conversation is going, it sounds like it's the most important thing in the whole Bible? Maybe you’ve seen it happen when you’re watching a Bible-based video on social media where all the attention is focused on something very obscure or rarely mentioned in the Bible....
318 FF – Are you committing the same sin over and over? You're not alone. A lot of people struggle with this. I sure have. In this week's Freedom Friday episode, I share just a few ideas that can help you face these temptations to keep committing the same sin. Take an honest look at your self and what you think this sin is giving youRealizing whatever sin "gives" you is a counterfeitSin never really meets a needGod is the only one who can meet your needsTemptations don't come from you, but fr...
317 – What do you think of when you hear the word "evangelism"? Is it a good thing? Or does it make you cringe? All too often evangelism today has a negative connotation with some folks. The word is often associated with Christians, who may or may not be imbibing the true spirit of Christ. Others, even many within the Christian church, get evangelism and proselytizing mixed up. They don’t want to be too pushy in sharing their faith, so they don’t share it at all. They don’t ...
316– Welcome to Freedom Friday Ever wondered why you still feel guilty, even after you repented? Being free from guilt is so much more that just repenting. It's really about learning to see yourself in a whole new light, as a child of God instead of as a miserable sinner. Paul says to put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man. He doesn't say to fix up the old man, the old way of seeing yourself as a sinner. Sin does not define who you are. Only Go...
315 – Keep following Jesus Have you ever been at a point in your life when you just didn’t know what to do next? It could be a simple project you’re working on at home, at school, or at work. It could be a career choice or something with long term consequences. Or it could be a major life change on a much grander scale. If you don’t know where you’re going, what do you do next? You’ve done all you’re allowed to or know how to do, and the next step just isn’t clear or doesn’t seem possib...
314 – Welcome to Freedom Friday What does it really mean to repent? It's not just feeling sorry for something you did wrong. It goes much deeper. It's really about getting a deeper spiritual perspective on who you are, who God is, and how much He loves you. It's about looking at things from the perspective of what is already true in heaven and letting go of old habits and negative ways of thinking that lead to sin. When you see how much God loves you right now in the kingdom of heaven, ...
313 – How much do you and your church really want to grow spiritually? A lot of churches are struggling these days with dwindling membership numbers, but just getting more warm bodies in the pews on Sunday morning is not necessarily a solution or a fulfillment of your church’s mission. The real need, which is not a new idea, since Jesus talked about it 2,000 years ago, is to be hungry and thirsty for things of the Spirit. A church that is on fire with the Holy Spirit is a very attractiv...
312 Freedom Friday – Finding freedom from guilt and shame Welcome to Freedom Fridays: A new series from The Bible Speaks to You Podcast Too many people these days are walking around with a heavy burden of guilt and shame from past mistakes and how others have harmed them. If that sounds like you, this episode is for you. Show notes: thebiblespeakstoyou.com/312 ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Text me your questions or comments. Support the show If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and leave a ...
311 – Do the people you love know you love them? Have you ever felt a deep sense of love and affection for someone, but they had no clue you cared so much about them? All too often someone feels unloved, while people actually do love them, but they never tell the person or express their love in a tangible way. In this week’s episode we’re going to talk about the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself from a little different angle: How to love people so they know they are lovedHow...