Category Archives: Commentary

The Bridge Commentary is a running verse by verse breakdown of the Books of the New Testament including word definitions, significant historical background and comments.

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What Tools Do You Need to Pray for Others?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Seven

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What Tools Do You Need to Pray for Others

Today, we are going to examine some tools that are declared for us in the Word to God to help us with our prayer lives. The Lord did not just leave us on our own in these matters. The Word of God contains distinct prayer principles that we should become acquainted with. You know your enemy has some tools as well. Tools that will hinder your prayer endeavors. One gentleman said that he read once that the Devil was having a yard sale, and all of his tools were marked with different prices. They were a fiendish lot. There was hatred, jealously, deceit, lying, pride—all at expensive prices. But over to the side of the yard on display was a tool more obviously worn than any of the other tools. It was also the most costly. The tool was labeled, DISCOURAGEMENT. When questioned, the Devil said, “It’s more useful to me than any other tool. When I can’t bring down my victims with any of the rest of these tools, I use discouragement, because so few people realize that it belongs to me.”1 The enemy uses discouragement as a tool especially when answers to prayer are not manifesting as fast as we think they should. Of course, it’s easy for us to have opinions on such matters. This is where the Word of God helps us. And that’s why we are focusing today on “What Tools Do You Need to Pray for Others” all on this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “Praying for the rulers and leaders of your nation is both right and pleasing in the sight of God.“]

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Why Faith and Prayers Are Vital in God’s Great Plan

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Six

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Why Faith and Prayers Are Vital in God’s Great Plan

You know faith and prayer are two marvelous twins in God’s economy. Last week, I thought we were finished with our series on the Holy Spirit. But yet, there is one more area the Lord wants us to look at together and that’s the Holy Spirit’s involvement with us in prayer. Jesus mentioned a phrase that we want to examine today and that’s ’the House of Prayer.’ There are some organizations that have taken these and actually put together prayer teams that bear the name House of Prayer. Here is the testimony of one such group. “God is currently doing wonderful things through small clusters of Christians who are interceding for their neighbors in Houses of Prayer. A House of Prayer is two or more believers who gather to release God’s power upon their neighbors through prayer and to convey His blessing through deeds of love and kindness. A House of Prayer may be a nuclear family praying in its home. It may be Christian neighbors who don’t actually meet together but network their prayer efforts. Or it may be neighborhood believers who meet regularly for prayer. The House of Prayer strategy comes out of Paul’s charge in 1 Timothy 2:1–4: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.” Everyone includes neighbors, especially nonChristians, because “God our Savior wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Houses of Prayer are attractive today because the method is so simple. If you have neighbors, if you detest Satan’s influence, and if you can devote 15 minutes or more a week to intercession, you are a House of Prayer candidate. Houses of Prayer can be started anywhere.1 This effort is rather structured. Today, I’m going to home in on something not quite as structured but powerfully effective. Why Faith and Prayers Are Vital in God’s Great Plan, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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#S4-049: What the Bible Says about the End of the World [Podcast]

[Tweet “You can’t ask God for more faith because faith doesn’t come by praying for it. Faith comes via God’s Word. It comes by hearing the Word.“]

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Why God’s Greatest Glory Manifests In His Temple

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Five

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Why God’s Greatest Glory Manifests In His Temple

The Temple of God is our focus as we continue our series on the Holy Spirit in John fourteen through sixteen. We’ve covered the Holy Spirit in us as Jesus followers. Shared about the actions of the Holy Spirit out in the world. Then looked at the Holy Spirit coming on us — not in us but on us. And today, we are concluding with the Holy Spirit among us. In us, on us, and among us. We’re going to see that the Temple of God is the focal point for the manifestation of the Glory of God. I’m talking God’s glory Himself — I’m not referencing the statement ‘let’s do something for the glory of God.’ You know, ‘we built this church for the Glory of God.’ ‘We are living our lives for the glory of God.’ There’s wrong with that. The Word of God tells us that whatever we do in word or deed, we should do to the Glory of God. What we will focus on is the Holy Spirit Himself moving in our midst. Manifesting God’s Glory — God’s very Presence sometimes to a remarkable and unforgettable degree. There’s some powerful life changing truths here. If you are a person who struggles with self-esteem, than this podcast is for you. Once you understand the truth about ‘God’s Temple’ and ‘what it really is,’ self-esteem issues will melt like a snowball in a hot August sun. Why God’s Greatest Glory Manifests In His Temple, that’s our point of focus on this week’s Light On Life.

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#S4-049: What the Bible Says about the End of the World [Podcast]

[Tweet “God considers the Temple — the local church — the group of believers coming together in Jesus Name as holy, sacred, separate.“]

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Why The Spirit Upon You Is An Incredible Life Changer

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Four

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How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World

Today, we will be examining a unique aspect of God’s work through the Holy Spirit. Specifically, we will be exploring the concept of the Holy Spirit coming ‘upon’ or ‘on’ individuals, as opposed to residing within them. It is important to note that every person who has been born again has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. However, it is equally important to understand the significance of having the Holy Spirit ‘on you’. Does this experience extend to every follower of Jesus, or is it limited to a select few? Let me address this question right away – the Holy Spirit coming upon a believer is not exclusive to a chosen few, but rather it is available to every child of God who has been born again. Unfortunately, many individuals have yet to fully embrace this possibility presented in the Bible. If God has made this experience accessible to all, it must indicate a remarkable dynamic that we are missing out on if we fail to reach out in faith and receive what God has promised. Therefore, in today’s podcast, we will focus on understanding the profound impact of having the Spirit upon you, as it has the power to bring about incredible transformation in your life. Join us this week on Light On Life as we delve into this topic.

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Why Turning from Idols Is A Super Exceptional Move of God

[Tweet “There is another dimension of the Spirit’s work and that work is empowerment.“]

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How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Three

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How The Holy Spirit Deals With A Lost World

John 16 unveils for us a work of the Spirit of God in connection with the lost that is not often accounted for in our thinking as Jesus followers. Yet, Jesus laid it for us in plain language what the Holy Spirit of God would do when he came from heaven to earth. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. Many years ago there was a pastor of a church in Alabama, he was preaching a revival in the church. On Sunday night the service had been on radio. This pastor had preached a simple sermon on the plan of salvation. On Monday afternoon he was calling on some of the families on the other side of the city. Suddenly the thought crossed his mind, “Go to the church.” He was to meet the guest singer there at four o’clock, so brushing it aside he continued his planned visitation. But the thought continued. “Go to the church.” Finally the thought became so persistent, with seemingly no purpose in doing so, that he returned to the church building. The church secretary had the afternoon off so he was there alone. In a few moments he heard someone at the office door. Turning, he saw a young woman. She asked if he was the pastor. When he told her that he was, she asked, “Will you tell me how to be saved?” This pastor and this young woman sat on the front pew of the auditorium as she unfolded her story. She lived in a boarding house with her husband. For some time she had been having an adulterous affair with her husband’s best friend. After dinner on the previous evening, all the boarders were visiting in the large living room. The radio was on. Hearing a few words of this pastor’s sermon, she sat down before the radio on a small stool, turned the volume down low, and listened to the service. At the close of the sermon, she was under conviction by the Holy Spirit. She decided to seek this pastor out to find out how to be saved. In simple language he told her how to receive Christ as her Savior. That night in the revival service she made a public profession of her faith in Christ, and later was baptized. She became a faithful Christian and an active church member. Just suppose she had not been listening to the radio. Just suppose that this pastor’s sermon had not been on the plan of salvation. Or suppose that she had brushed it off. Suppose that he had not gone to the church like he was prompted to go. Like, what if he over rode that nudge he had. Or that she had come and found no one there. But, none of these ‘what if’s’ took place. The Holy Spirit guided the events and led this young woman to Jesus for her salvation and God’s glory!1 Isn’t that a great story! The Holy Spirit convicted, this woman convincing her of her need of Jesus. This specific work of the Spirit is what we’re going to be looking at in today’s podcast. That’s why we entitled this ‘How the Holy Spirit Deals with a Lost World.’ All on this week’s Light on Life.

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#010: Questions to Ask Jesus about Lost People [Podcast]

[Tweet “Convicting the world of sin is one way the Holy Spirit operates with those who are of the world.“]

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Why God’s Spirit Will Teach and Transform Your Life

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-Two

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Why God’s Spirit Will Teach and Transform Your Life

Today, we dive into the subject of the teaching work of the Holy Spirit in a Jesus-followers life. God communicates with His kids. He leads and guides them into all truth and reality. But, how does He do that? One writer offered these thoughts along this line. He said, “The Spirit-to-spirit conversation that characterizes hearing from God are described in many ways. Listen to how the Bible describes God speaking.
To Samson: “The Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan” (Judges 13:25). To David: “He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple” (1 Chronicles 28:12). To Simeon: “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts” (Luke 2:27). To Jesus: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted” (Matthew 4:1). To the apostles: “The Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:12). To Paul: “Compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem” (Acts 20:22). To us: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16). We often use similar language as the Bible: “The Spirit led me to…” At other times, we may describe God’s inner messages as a nudge an inner voice, a prompting, an impression, a check in my spirit, a deep knowing, a weight. Perhaps you’ve heard someone say, ‘I was suddenly prodded to notice or I was reminded of or I sensed.’ Maybe it was, ‘This thought popped into my head or this verse came to mind or I’ve had this nagging, persisting thought, or I couldn’t shake the impression that.’ The point is, God does speak to us personally, specifically, today. We may have many ways of expressing that—some of them shaped by our spiritual pilgrimage, church environment, and so on—but the wondrous truth is the same: We have heard from God!1 The Holy Spirit of God will communicate and teach you. That’s our focus today: Why God’s Spirit Will Teach and Transform Your Life. All on this week’s Light On Life.

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The Real Scoop on Teaching Angels and Heavenly Host University

[Tweet “Receive the Holy Spirit as your teacher. Look to Him as your guide into all truth.“]

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Why You Need To Know What Jesus Said about The Holy Spirit Within

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty-One

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Why You Need To Know What Jesus Said about The Holy Spirit Within

We’re continuing this week on how the Holy Spirit works in us and why we need to be in the know concerning that. You know the more we know, the better we are able to cooperate with God in His great plan. One such area where the Holy Spirit works in us is to show us how and what we should pray for as we ought. You know there is a great gospel song that says, “No one ever cared for me like Jesus.” But in Romans 8:26, Scripture says, “No one ever prayed for me like the Holy Spirit.” How many times have you cried out to God but were at a loss for words? God plainly says there is hope even in those times: the Holy Spirit not only knows what needs to be said, He says it for you [He intercedes for you]. As the following story shows, calling on the right person is the key to solving your problems. One day Sue’s television quit working properly. She called the repair shop to report the problem, but got frustrated trying to explain what was happening. All she knew was that her television wasn’t working right and needed to be fixed. When the repairman arrived, he took off the back of the television and examined it for a few minutes. Then he said, “Ma’am, what you’ve got here is … blah, blah, blah,” and rattled off a string of strange terms. “I’m going to call the store to see if we have these parts in stock.” After the repairman talked with the parts manager, Sue overheard him say, “Great! I’ll pick up the parts and fix the television this afternoon.” Later that day, Sue’s television was as good as new, even though she had no idea what the repairman had done. She knew enough, however, to ask for help. The repairman and the parts manager understood the problem and Sue’s need was taken care of because these two men knew the problem and what it would take to fix it. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit does for believers. Sometimes, all we can do is call for help. We don’t even know what to ask for. When we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit not only understands our problems, but He also carries our problems to the Heavenly Father, speaking in a language that only they understand. The next time words fail you in prayer, remember that the Holy Spirit is right there with you—interceding in prayer for you.1 Prayer is just one of the areas where the Holy Spirit works huge in our lives. You know, there are other areas and that’s why our focus today is Why You Need To Know What Jesus Said about The Holy Spirit Within, all on this week’s Light on Life.

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#S4-017: Why You Need to See the World As God Sees It [Podcast]

[Tweet “God never wants a repeat of what happened in the Garden. He wants to retire the Angel with the flaming sword who drove man out of the Garden to protect the Tree of Life.“]

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How The Holy Spirit Works In Your Life

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Forty

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How The Holy Spirit Works In Your Life

How the Holy Spirit Works in the life of a believer is our focus this today as we continue to look at John fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen. You understand that from John thirteen onward, that is the last nine chapters up through chapter twenty-one center on the last two weeks of Jesus life. When you understand that Jesus handpicked and groomed these disciples to take His place because He was going back to the Father, you will realize that the information He shares becomes extra vital in nature. Jesus talked a great deal about the Holy Spirit to these men. Just as they had worked with Jesus in ministry so now they were going to work with the Holy Spirit in a similar way. One of the things that Jesus wanted His disciples to know is that the same Holy Spirit that came upon Him in Matthew 3:16 and was responsible for the miracles in Jesus ministry would now come to settle down in the disciples. The indwelling Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit within a believer is the topic today. One writer said the following concerning Him, the Holy Spirit. “Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit we are helpless to fulfill the holiness expected of us because of our relationship to a holy God. Norman Harrison describes the results of this process: This indwelling Spirit, who is one with our spirit, is more than a presence with us. He is a moulding, transforming power. To the end of Jesus’ ministry, His followers, even His remained unstable, cowardly and undependable. When, however, the Spirit was come, these same men became at once the embodiment of fidelity, courage and conviction. True, Jesus had left them, but His Spirit within made them as new men. So does He desire to work in every believer. Amen to these words — Emphasis on the word ‘IN.’ This is well said today. We need to recognize how He moves in us and so that’s why we’re talking “How The Holy Spirit Works In Your Life,” all on this week’s Light On Life.

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Prepared Places: Lessons from the Life of a Baptist

[Tweet “Hearing the Lord may be a challenge, but don’t quit, hold back, or run away.“]

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The Link Between Love, Joy, And Abiding In Jesus

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Thirty-Eight

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The Link Between Love, Joy, And Abiding In Jesus

This week, we delve further into the depths of the Word as we explore the profound love of God and the overwhelming joy of the Lord. In a world filled with conflict, both on a global scale such as wars, and on a more intimate level like internal political turmoil, the message of love and joy is incredibly relevant and crucial. We have previously discussed the concept of Vine life and the importance of abiding in Jesus, focusing on the initial seven verses of John fifteen. Now, our discussion expands to encompass verse eight and delves into the aspects of love and joy that are integral to abiding in Him. The celebrated American poet James Weldon Johnson began his work “The Creation” with a striking scene: And God stepped out on space,and He looked around and said: “I’m lonely—I’ll make me a world.” These lines are lovely if seen simply as poetry. Yet they reflect a fundamental theological error. [Here’s at least one point we need to make. Don’t just swallow everything because it sounds nice. Stay with the Word.] God has never been lonely. Quite the contrary. From before all eternity, God has enjoyed the mysterious communion we know as the blessed Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these three divine Persons within the Godhead loves and delights in the other two in perfect, unbroken fellowship. So God has never needed anyone else; the Father, Son, and Spirit have never been alone. Why, then, did they create a world? [Well, God is love First John 4:8 tells us that and so all His actions are clothed in love because that’s who He essentially is.] [Now,] we may never know all the reasons, [God created Planet Earth] but [since He is love, love is one and] at least one [other] is clear. [This writer says] For the pure joy of it.1 Love and joy, what a combo and what a marvelous connection to Jesus. The Link Between Love, Joy, And Abiding In Jesus, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “God is four things according to the Bible. God is light. God is fire, God is spirit, and God is love.”]

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How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Thirty-Seven

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How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent

We are to that point in John’s gospel where Jesus makes what is to us one of the most outstanding of Bible promises: a vehicle by which prayer is answered one-hundred-percent of the time. If you haven’t experienced answers to prayer on this level, then this podcast is for you. Andrew Murray, the famous Scottish born, South African preacher, a prolific author of 240 books wrote the following on the subject of answered prayer. He said: A beautiful little book, Expectation Corners, tells us of a King who prepared a city for some of his poor subjects. Not far from them were large storehouses, where everything they could need was supplied if they but sent in their requests. But on one condition—they should be on the outlook for the answer, so that when the kings’ messengers came with the answers to their petitions, they should always be found waiting and ready to receive them. The sad story is told of one despondent, one who never expected to get what he asked, because he was too unworthy. One day he was taken to the king’s storehouses, and there, to his amazement, he saw, with his address on them, all the packages that had been made up for him and sent. There was the garment of praise, and the oil of joy, and the eye-salve, and so much more; they had been to his door, but found it closed; he was not on the outlook. From that time on he learned the lesson Micah would teach us: “I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Mic. 7:7).1 Our God will hear us, that’s a Bible fact and the reality that He will answer is also a Bible fact that Jesus referenced in John fifteen. And, that’s the reason we are focusing today on the subject ‘How Your Prayers Can Be Answered One Hundred Percent’ all on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why Creation Waiting Is A Good God Thing

[Tweet “Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, are put in the church by God to equip the saints”]

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Eight Ways to Fulfill God’s Purpose for Your Life

Encore Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Thirty-Six

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Eight Ways to Fulfill God's Purpose for Your Life

Purpose, God’s purpose, that is, is what we want to take a look at this week. On the heels of this idea on purpose comes the following illustration. The guest was a body builder a while back on “The Merv Griffin Show,” the guest was a bodybuilder. During the interview, Merv asked, “Why do you develop those particular muscles?” The bodybuilder stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from chest to calf. The audience applauded. “What do you use all those muscles for?” Merv asked. Again, the muscular specimen flexed, and biceps and triceps sprouted to impressive proportions. “But what do you USE those muscles for?” Merv persisted. The body builder was bewildered. He didn’t have an answer other than to display his well-developed frame. I was reminded that our spiritual exercises—Bible study, prayer, reading Christian books, listening to Christian radio and tapes—are also for a purpose. They’re meant to strengthen our ability to build God’s kingdom, not simply improve our pose before an admiring audience.1 I like this story; it shows that we need to be intentional about our life and our purpose in God. Eight Ways to Fulfill God’s Purpose for Your Life that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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25 Wisdom Ways to Embrace As a Jesus Believer

[Tweet “Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, are put in the church by God to equip the saints”]

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Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Thirty-Five

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Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great

The fact that we need Jesus goes without saying. We need Him for salvation, that’s the gospel but the need doesn’t stop with salvation. If after coming to Jesus, we aspire to build the Kingdom, if our heart yearns to do anything great for God, we still need Jesus. He boldly declared in John’s gospel that apart from Jesus, disconnected from the vine, we can do nothing. We have been looking at ‘vine life’ the past couple of podcasts and this week is no different. In studying further along this line, I ran into this tremendously insightful testimony. This gentleman declared that two years ago, worn out by three years of spiritual battle, I found myself asking the question: “Jesus, if Your Spirit abides in me in the person of the Holy Spirit, who is my comforter, why do I so often feel alone and You seem so far away?” What came to me in response were Jesus’ words in Jn. 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus was saying, “Living spiritually requires something more than just not sinning or doing good works. In order to live in the kingdom of heaven, you must abide in Me. Your identity is in Me.” If I’m not abiding in Jesus, then where is it that I abide? I asked myself.

I began to notice that when I was tired or anxious, there were certain sentences I would say in my head that led me to a very familiar place. The journey to this place would often start with me walking around disturbed, feeling as if there was something deep inside that I needed to put into words but couldn’t quite capture. I felt the “something” as an anxiety, a loneliness, and a need for connection with someone. If no connection came, I would start to say things like “Life really stinks. Why is it always so hard? It’s never going to change.” If no one noticed that I was struggling and asked me what was wrong, I found my sentences shifting to a more cynical level: “Who cares? Life is really a joke.”

Surprisingly, I noticed by the time I was saying those last sentences, I was feeling better. The anxiety was greatly diminished. My “comforter,” my abiding place, was cynicism and rebellion.

From this abiding place, I would feel free to use some soul cocaine—a violent video with maybe a little sexual titillation thrown in, perhaps having a little more alcohol with a meal than I might normally drink—things that would allow me to feel better for just a little while. I had always thought of these things as just bad habits. I began to see that they were much more; they were spiritual abiding places that were my comforters and friends in a very spiritual way; literally, other lovers.

The final light went on one evening when I read Jn. 15:7 in The Message. Peterson translates Jesus’ words on abiding this way: “If you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.” Jesus was saying in answer to my question, “I have made My home in you, Brent. But you still have other comforters you go to. You must learn to make your home in Me.” I realized that my identity had something to do with simply “staying at home.1 Can you say wow! to this insightful story? We’ll talk a little bit about this and with it dive into the idea of Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great. That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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#S3-017: Why Is the Name of Jesus So Powerful? [Podcast]

[Tweet “You need Jesus to accomplish anything great. Great means significant, or impactful. Great means the Kingdom was better off with your contribution.“]