Category Archives: Spiritual Development

Practical teachings from the Bible for every day living.

Posted on

How to Be Up in A Down World

by

The world is a negative place. Just turn on the nightly news if you doubt it. I very rarely tune into the news because of this. You can protect yourself from all the gloominess but it takes some work. If you aren’t proactive, it’s easy to be swept away in the tidal wave of negativity around you. Jack Nicholson said, “In my last year of school, I was voted Class Optimist and Class Pessimist. Looking back, I realize I was only half right 1. No matter which half are you, you can grow. You can be an up person in a down world.

Posted on

#048: What Heavenly Lessons Will Angels Teach You about God? [Podcast]

by

Angels are spectacular mysterious beings. In today’s age, there’s much conversation about them. This is nothing new. Paul speaking to the Colossian church warned them about worshiping angels (Col. 2:18). While we are not to worship angels or put them on pedestals, the Bible does speak much of them, 295 times to be exact. So, what can learn from them? What practical lessons can we learn about God from them?

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in iTunes

Posted on

How to Break Free from Addiction

by

The French philosopher Pascal said there is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside every human heart. Since nature abhors a vacuum, if we don’t fill it with God, we will fill it with something else. So many of us have filled our hearts with the junk food of the world 1. Some have gone past junk food and gone chemical to the point of addiction. Chemical cravings are as old as time. The Bible gives ample proof that excessive drinking of intoxicants was a common vice among the Hebrews, as among other ancient peoples (Noah, Gen. 9:21; Lot, Gen. 19:33, 35; Nabal, 1 Samuel 25:30; Amnon 1 Samuel 13:28; Elah, 1 Kings 16:9) 2. Despite the long history, there is hope, help, and healing for those caught in the enslavement of substance abuse.

Posted on

#047: What Happens to a Person When They Die? [Podcast]

by

Today’s post is in answer to the following question which came in. If you have a question you would like answered, please consider making contact. We would love to hear from you. Here is the question.

“Would you please answer this question for us or if you have something already written on this subject would you please send it to us. What happens when a person dies? If a Christian dies what happens after they die and when an unsaved person dies what happens? We know what the Bible says about death but some ministers teach that saved Christian’s when they die they lay in a state of unconsciousness until the rapture. While others teach that the saved Christians go immediately with the Lord and are rejoicing with Christ on the streets of gold and the unsaved are burning in hell.” – Cotia & Ford

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in iTunes

Posted on

How to Know if Your Passionate about God’s Will

by

George Muller prayed in 7.5 million dollars for his orphanage work without one single person being asked to contribute. Many asked Mr. Muller how he sought to know the will of God, in that nothing was undertaken, not even the smallest expenditure, without feeling it was certain he was in the will of God. You can find his answer here. Do you desire to be as passionate about God’s will as George Mueller was? Here are some Bible thoughts to equip you along this line.

Posted on

Even More What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up

by

In the first post of this series, “What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up”, we looked at how fatigue factored into Elijah’s desire to quit life and ministry. We looked at the importance of keeping up with your physical needs. In part two of this series, “More What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up” we looked at some other factors like comparison and focusing on facts instead of feelings. In this final post, “Even More What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up” here are some concluding points on responsibility and failure.

Posted on

#043: Why Is The Throne of God A Strategic Place? [Podcast]

by

In the book, the Art of War the following quote appears. “The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself” 1 Sun Tzu must have gotten this piece of wisdom from reading the Bible. This is exactly what took place through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In his week’s post, let’s look at the strategic nature of the the Throne of God.

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in iTunes

Posted on

More What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up

by

In the first post of this series, “What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up”, we looked at Elijah at Carmel. Elijah wanted to live life excellently and do great things for God. He had great dreams to bring Israel back to God. But things did not turn out like he thought and he was tempted to quit. We talked about how fatigue factored into this and the importance of keeping up with your physical needs. In part two of this series, let’s look at some other factors like comparison and focusing on facts instead of feelings.

Posted on

What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up

by

Author Irving Stone has spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing novelized biographies of such men as Michelangelo and Vincent van Gogh. Stone was once asked if he had found a thread that runs through the lives of all these exceptional people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life…have a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished…and they go to work. “They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified and for years they get nowhere. But every time they’re knocked down they stand up. You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they’ve accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do [ 1. Crossroads, Issue No. 7, p. 18].” It’s important to persevere, that’s a great fact. But, what do you do when you hit an impasse? What do you do when you feel like giving up?

Posted on

What Happens to a Person When They Die?

by

Today’s post is in answer to the following question which came in. If you have a question you would like answered, please consider making contact. We would love to hear from you. Here is the question.

“Would you please answer this question for us or if you have something already written on this subject would you please send it to us. What happens when a person dies? If a Christian dies what happens after they die and when an unsaved person dies what happens? We know what the Bible says about death but some ministers teach that saved Christian’s when they die they lay in a state of unconsciousness until the rapture. While others teach that the saved Christians go immediately with the Lord and are rejoicing with Christ on the streets of gold and the unsaved are burning in hell.” – Cotia & Ford
Posted on

#038: What if I Married the Wrong Person? [Podcast]

by

Sometimes alien thoughts buzz in people’s heads like bees hovering around a hive. Even people wishing to do God’s complete will get stunk with the question, “What if I married the wrong person. What should I do? How do I  correct the mistake and get back into God’s will?” Let’s look at the all the hum coming from this question in this weeks podcast.

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in iTunes

Posted on

When Is It Right to Fight?

by

It only takes two and people have been pairing up and fighting since the fall of man. It started with Adam and Eve’s children. And so, siblings fight. Nations fight. Politicians fight. Neighbors get it on. Animals fight and documentaries are made of it. On and on it goes. But is it ever right to fight? Does a Christian lose ‘cool points’ for losing his cool?