How to Locate the Essential Will of God for Your Everyday Life

Encore Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode One

How to Locate the Essential Will of God for Your Everyday Life

Josh McDowell told this great story about finding the essential will of God for your life. An executive hirer, a “headhunter” who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, “When I get an executive that I’m trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever until he’s all relaxed. Then, when I think I’ve got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye, and say, “What’s your purpose in life?” It’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question. “Well, I was interviewing this fellow the other day, had him all disarmed, with my feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then I leaned up and said, ‘What’s your purpose in life, Bob?’ And he said, without blinking an eye, ‘To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.’ For the first time in my career, I was speechless.” What about you? Do you know what God’s will is for your life? Do you know how to find it? How to Locate the Essential Will of God for Your Everyday Life, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

[Tweet “If God promotes you from little to much, it is obvious that little was not the will of God.”]

How You Can Chart Your Course by the Vision in Your Heart

Podcast: Light on Life Season Seven Episode Fifty-Two

How You Can Chart Your Course by the Vision in Your Heart [Podcast]

You can chart your course and explode with the power of vision. Soon after the completion of Disney World, someone said, “Isn’t it too bad that Walt Disney didn’t live to see this?” Mike Vance, creative director of Disney Studios, replied, “He did see it—that’s why it’s here.” 1. Vision is vital.  January is the time of the year where people try to catch a new vision. They think about things like resolutions, goals, and direction for the upcoming year. During this time of the year, they make choices and adjustments. They are sensing that some things in their life need change – need improvement. So, they use the January 1st date as a trigger to do better than they did the previous year. Striving forward is a good thing but, while we are looking ahead, it’s also good to look up – to look to the Lord for vision and direction. Explosive vision is seeing things invisible. Do you have a new vision for this new year? In this week’s podcast, we look at ‘How You Can Chart Your Course by the Vision in Your Heart.’ All on this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

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

Is Giving Jesus Everything Worth The Risk?

[Tweet “Vision is a picture of what God wants to do if we get out of the way and let Him do it.”]

Why Celebrating Christmas Is Really About Jesus

Encore Podcast: Light on Life Season Seven Episode Fifty-One

Why Celebrating Christmas Is Really About Jesus

What’s celebrating Christmas really all about? This is a question that we must be mindful of during every holiday season. A MOTHER was having a gathering to celebrate the birth of her newborn son. She invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate his arrival. She welcomed her guests, and they all had a wonderful time celebrating, eating, and drinking. After a while, one of the ladies said, “Well, bring the baby out. Let us see it.” The mother went to get the baby from his crib—he was nowhere to be found. She started to panic and feel fearful. Suddenly, she remembered that the baby was still at her parents’ house, where she had left him that morning. She and the guests had been having so much fun they had forgotten what the party was about in the first place. During the Christmas season, many people get busy with celebrations and forget that the birth of Jesus Christ is the reason for the season.1

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

What Is the Meaning of the Star in the Christmas Story?

[Tweet “The real Saint Nick was a miracle worker, God healed people through his ministry.”]

Why the Name of Jesus and Gifts of the Spirit Is All God’s Grace

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 50

Why the Name of Jesus and Gifts of the Spirit Is All God's Grace

In today’s podcast, we take up the Name of Jesus and its connection to God’s grace and power. The medieval theologian John Duns Scotus was visiting Rome, and the Pope took him into the Vatican treasuries. Running his hands through the silver, the Pope said, “No longer does the church have to say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” The theologian replied, “That’s true, but also no longer can we say, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk.’” 1 That’s an impactful and telling story that illustrates what happens when money becomes the focus of one’s life. We must cling to the Name of Jesus and hold it in high esteem in our lives. There is nothing like the Name of Jesus for restraining anger, assuaging the swellings of pride, healing the wound of envy, restraining the course of wantonness, quenching the flame of lust, moderating the thirst of covetousness, and putting to flight all lasciviousness. For when I name Jesus, I set before myself the image of the Man, meek and lowly, kind of heart, sober, chaste, merciful, peerless in purity and holiness, and at the same time, the Almighty God, who heals by His example, and strengthens us by His help.2 Having access to Jesus’ Name and the power invested in it is our focus on today’s Light On Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

#S4-039: How to Use the Name of Jesus to Live A Miracle Life [Podcast]

[Tweet, “The Name of Jesus, can and should permeate every aspect of your spiritual life.”]

More of Why You Should Latch on to God’s Grace

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 49

More of Why You Should Latch on to God's Grace

Latching on to God’s Grace is the thought today as we continue our focus on the book of Ephesians. We began to look at the subject of grace in a previous podcast, and there is just so much that we can come to know and understand about the magnitude of God’s favor toward us. God’s grace is universal to all men. One Sunday many years ago, a particular gentleman was part of a touring party in Cairo, Egypt. We were strangers in a strange land. We were separated from the nationals by language, dress, culture, and different economic and political systems. Furthermore, we were Christians; they were Muslims. We had heard the people talk with one another all day, but not one word did we understand. That evening in a little Baptist church, we were welcomed, not as American tourists but as fellow Christians. The first song we sang was “Amazing Grace.” They sang in Arabic; we sang in English. Overriding it all was our mutual love for Christ and one another. Truly God in Christ had made of two, one new people.1 So, you see, grace connects in multiple languages. It connects but are we grasping all that grace is? So, in this podcast, we hope to add to our understanding of this vital subject: More of Why You Should Latch on to God’s Grace — that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

#045: Why is the Throne of God a Merciful Place? [Podcast]

 

Why Grace Is a Place to Which You Can Cling

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 48

Why Grace Is a Place to Which You Can Cling

We have heard about the grace of God. One of the first verses that you ever learned is ‘by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. We’ve heard of it, but do we understand it. You know, it’s not so easy to grasp. Chuck Swindoll and his wife Cynthia were on vacation at Sea World with some of their children and grandchildren. These are his words about that trip. “It is always amazing to watch those brave men and women who dive in the tank with Shamu the whale and other big creatures. I thought, “That whale is so gracious not to put them into eternity with just a nudge of her nose.” You get the feeling at times that they are fed handfuls of fish just to appease them, to keep them in an excellent mood so that when the trainers get in the tank, they’ll be able to get out of the tank a little later. And I watched as they hung on to their fins and tried to get their arms around those big bodies. The subject of grace is like that—a big subject to try and get your arms around or to get a hold on.” 1 We are talking about grace today: Why Grace Is a Place to Which You Can Cling — that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Becoming The Good Man God Wants You To Be

 

Why You Should Thank God for Delivering You from Your Ginormous Mess

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 47

Why You Should Thank God for Delivering You from Your Ginormous Mess

Every day is a new day to thank God. So, we are again approaching another Thanksgiving week and day. Don’t you love and enjoy this time of the year? We are in the book of Ephesians – in chapter two, and today we will focus and set our sights on being thankful for God’s great deliverance. Two girls one day were acting one day very badly. They were misbehaving. It was on Thanksgiving Day, and their father told them, “Girls, go to your room. You are dismissed from Thanksgiving dinner.” The girls went dejected and sad to their rooms. A few moments later, they heard their mother calling, “Girls, girls, come down to dinner, girls.” A little baffled considering what their father had said, they sheepishly walked down to the dinner table and sat down. But they noticed something. Dad was not there. So, they naturally asked, “Mother, where is Dad?” “Dad went to his room.” “But why, Mom?” “Because Dad loves you so much. He couldn’t change his standard, but he didn’t want to deny you dinner. So, Dad said he would go and pay the price so that you could come and eat the meal. So, while you enjoy the meal, remember that your dad has picked up the tab and is paying the penalty.” Brothers and sisters, when you forget to say thanks this week for everything else, don’t forget to say thanks for Jesus.1 Why You Should be Thank God for delivering you from Your Ginormous Mess — that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

How to Keep from Being Sidetracked

What It Means to Yield to the Anointing of the One True God

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 46

What It Means to Yield to the Anointing of the One True God

Have you ever noticed the words’ Holy Spirit’ and ‘power’ in the Bible? They are synonymous terms meaning when you have one; you have the other. When the Holy Spirit comes, there is power. How did Mary, the mother of Jesus, become pregnant by herself without following the ordinary course of nature? By a manifestation of the anointing. The virgin birth is a ‘power’ manifestation by the Holy Spirit. Let’s look further into this anointing and look at it at work in the life of Jesus.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

How Do You Respond to the Savior of the World?

[Tweet “The virgin birth is a manifestation of gifts of the Spirit, specifically, working of miracles and special faith.”]

Lessons From the Life of a Great Prophet: How to Overcome Loneliness

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 45

Lessons From the Life of a Great Prophet: How to Overcome Loneliness

PEOPLE have some unique ways of trying to overcome their loneliness. There was a lady whose husband died. She found herself, of course, extremely depressed. She told herself that she needed to do something to overcome her depression. She took a trip to the pet store to look for something to comfort her in her loneliness. The proprietor introduced her to a parakeet that talked. The widow thought the idea of a talking parakeet was wonderful, so she took the parakeet home. She started talking to the bird, but the parakeet wouldn’t talk back. The woman talked and talked. This went on for a week, and, naturally, she was a little confused as to what was going on. The widow made her way back to the pet store. “The parakeet is not talking. “The proprietor said, “Oh, you forgot to get the mirror. The parakeet needs to see itself in the mirror; then, it will be encouraged to talk. “So, she bought a mirror, took it back, and placed it in the cage. She made sure that the parakeet could see itself. For another week, she talked to the parakeet. The parakeet still would not talk. The lady went back, yet again, to the pet store. “That parakeet is still not talking.” “Oh,” he said, “you didn’t get the swing. The parakeets got to be on the swing and swinging and looking at themselves for it to talk. “So, she bought the swing, put the parakeet on the swing, and started talking to the parakeet. Another week went by, and she made her way back to the pet store. “This dumb parakeet is not working. It’s not doing what I hoped it would do.” Oh, I am sorry. There’s one more thing you forgot to get—the ladder. The parakeet has got to have a ladder to walk up and down on. That movement will allow it to talk.” Begrudgingly, she bought the ladder. Another week went by. That parakeet didn’t say a word. However, at the end of the week, it fell over dead. The widow was really mad now. She marched back to the store and sought out the store owner. She said, “That parakeet you sold me died. I bought the mirror, bought the swing, bought the ladder, and that bird didn’t say a mumbling word. It just fell over and died.” The store owner said, “I cannot believe that it died. Did it say anything before it died?” Yeah, while it was falling over dead, it looked up with one eye open and said, ‘Don’t they serve any food at that pet store?’” For four weeks, that bird hadn’t eaten. The woman kept buying all the wrong stuff. That’s what a lot of us look for—all the wrong stuff. The things we hope will solve our problems die on us. They don’t produce what we expect.1

I’ve heard this same illustration given by several different people — it doesn’t matter, though, because it makes a great point. If our methods are not God’s methods for dealing with the problems — if our only solutions are of the man-made variety — we will quickly fail. People have sought the answer to loneliness in an innumerable number of ways, but your best solutions are always in God. ‘Lessons from the Life of a Great Prophet: That’s Our Focus on This Week’s Light on Life.’

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

#S3-026: Why Successful People Allow the Lord to Build Their Life [Podcast]

[Tweet “Loneliness is the first problem God ever solved on planet earth. He did it in the life of Elijah. What He did for him, He will do for you.”]

What It Means to Have Your Life Filled with Jesus Christ

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 44

What It Means to Have Your Life Filled with Jesus Christ

The Word of God tells us that we can be filled with God. That’s nice, but what does that mean? Are these just nice flowery words, or can we really be filled with Him? How can a God who is so big fill a vessel that is so small? How can so much fill so little? The following illustration may shed some light. Standing on the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, you see the sun reflected from its depths. From a little boat on a mountain lake, you see the sun reflected from its shallow waters. Looking into the mountain spring not more than six inches in diameter, you see the same great sun. Look into the dewdrop of the morning, and there it is again. The sun has a way of adapting itself to its reflections. The ocean is not too large to hold it, nor the dewdrop too small. So, God can fill any man, whether his capacity is like the ocean, like the mountain lake, like the spring, or like the dewdrop. Whatever, therefore, be the capacity, there is opened the possibility of being “filled with the fullness of God.”1 What It Means to Have Your Life Filled Up with Jesus Christ, that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

The Big Scoop on Magnifying God

[Tweet “God provided something better for us under the New Covenant. He provided the Kingdom.”]

Your Inheritance in Christ: Why It’s Super Marvelous

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 43

Your Inheritance in Christ: Why It's Super Marvelous

In this week’s podcast, we are going to take a look at the subject of inheritance. Everybody likes inheritance because everybody likes to receive. A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He could receive little company and was not to be excited. While in the hospital, a rich uncle died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered how to break the news to him with the least amount of excitement. It was decided to ask the preacher if he would go and break the news quietly to the man. The preacher went, and gradually led up to the question. The preacher asked the patient what he would do if he inherited a million dollars. He said, “I think I would give half of it to the church.” The preacher dropped dead. Now, that’s a funny story that illustrates the general subject of inheritance. Specifically, today, we will talk about our inheritance in Christ, but we will talk about even more than that. Your Inheritance in Christ, Why It’s Super Marvelous — that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

What Does It Mean to Be a Joint Heir with Jesus?

[Tweet “God provided something better for us under the New Covenant. He provided the Kingdom.”]

Identifying the Powerful Hand of the Lord: What It Is and Why You Need It [Podcast]

Podcast: Light on Life Season 8 Episode 41

Identifying the Powerful Hand of the Lord: What It Is and Why You Need It

William J. Wolfe has called Abraham Lincoln “one of the greatest theologians of America.” He added that Lincoln’s theology was profound, “not in the technical meaning of producing a system of doctrine, certainly not as the defender of someone denomination, but in the sense of seeing the hand of God intimately in the affairs of nations.” 1 The hand of God is seen among the nations and appears in the well-known verse in Proverbs 21:1. In today’s Light on Life, we will look at the phrase ‘The hand of the Lord’ and how it applies to the rulers of the nations.

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Why Mixing Sacred and Unsacred Is Not a Good God Thing

[Tweet “God’s little pinky finger is enough to knock the devil completely out of commission.”]