What’s the Connection between Evil Days and Redeeming the Time?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Fifty-One

What’s the Connection between Evil Days and Redeeming the Time?

Today, our study in Ephesians chapter five brings us to the subject of time: redeeming time. How does one redeem time? That’s what we want to study today. This story may help you along these lines. John Erskine, the well known author, professor, and lecturer, once wrote that he learned the most valuable lesson of his life when he was fourteen. His piano teacher asked him how much he practiced and how long at a stretch. The boy replied that he practiced for an hour or more at a time. “Don’t do that,” warned the teacher. “When you grow up, time won’t come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them—five or ten minutes before school, after lunch, between chores. Spread the practice throughout the day, and music will become part of your life.” Erskine stated that the observance of this advice enabled him to live a comparatively complete life as a creative writer outside his regular duties as an instructor. He wrote most of Helen of Troy, his most famous work, on streetcars while commuting between his home and the university.1 In today’s podcast, we are talking about time: What’s the Connection between Evil Days and Redeeming the Time? – Answering that question is our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why Redemption Through the Blood of Jesus Is God’s Way [Podcast]

[Tweet “It’s a sobering thing to realize that during your time apart from Jesus, you may have contributed to the darkness of this age.”]

Why Your Monumental Mission In Life Is to Expose Evil

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Fifty

Why Your Monumental Mission In Life Is to Expose Evil

Today, we are talking about the subject of exposing evil. Evil is not to be babysat. It’s not to be tolerated or gotten used to. The believer is strongly warned. He cannot live in the darkness of this world and expect the light of God to guide him throughout life. Here is the story of one man who tried. Aaron was a salesman with a strong personality and lots of charisma. Image was very important to him. He loved the applause of men and would feed his ego by seeking out popular places to make an appearance. Trying to become “one of the guys” was his excuse for compromising his values to sell more products. On Sunday mornings, he went to church. In public, he even talked like a Christian. But in reality, Aaron led a double life and did whatever he felt necessary to get ahead in business. When it came to his Christian life, Aaron “talked the talk” but didn’t “walk the walk.” It did not take long for his double standards and hypocrisy to affect the reputation of the business. Aaron’s employer soon took him aside and said, “Aaron, I really appreciate all the good things you do, like meeting your sales goals. But for your own good, I’m going to ask you to take a break from working outside the office. I want you to take a close look at your lifestyle. You are making choices that no longer affect just you alone. Until you can make some changes in your lifestyle, I’m taking you off the road.” Aaron hung his head in shame. His employer had seen past his smooth exterior into his dark inner self. The light of God’s Spirit had exposed Aaron’s, true heart.1 This man was caught in contradiction but did it have to go that far? What if someone had the guts to pull him aside and say to him, ‘Aaron, you’re missing it here.’ What if someone overcame the uncomfortableness of confrontation, to rescue a wayward believer and help him right his course? Would it not have been the right thing to do? That’s the question that we are proposing today. Why Your Monumental Mission in Life Is to Expose Evil — that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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How to Overcome Darkness by Following the Light of the World [Encore]

[Tweet “The Word says have no part of the unfruitful works of darkness. It did not say have no part of unfruitful people.”]

How to Absolutely Discern the Will of God: What the Bible Says

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Nine

How to Absolutely Discern the Will of God: What the Bible Says

In today’s podcast, we examine one of the most well-known questions that Jesus’ followers pose — how do I discern the will of God for life? We could simply ask the question what is God’s will for my life? This is an essential question that you must walk out in your everyday life. The answer to this question doesn’t come by wondering — it comes by an active, diligent, heartfelt seeking of God. One godly man from the mid-twentieth century had this to say about this area. His name was Dr. Truett. He died in July 1944. One of his most memorable statements was about the will of God. He said, “To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge; to do the will of God is the greatest achievement.” Then he added, “The will of God is not always easy, but it is always right.” One gentleman attended his funeral. He said, ‘As I viewed him in his casket, he held an open New Testament in his left hand. The index finger of his right hand pointed to Matthew 6:10: “Thy will be done.” It was the motto of his life. We should make it ours.’[Herschel H. Hobbs, My Favorite Illustrations (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1990), 124.] How to Absolutely Discern the Will of God: What the Bible Says, this is our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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The Secret to Discerning of Spirits

[Tweet “The will of God is not going to be written across the sky or be sent by text message to your cell phone.”]

Ten People Who Will Not Inherit The Kingdom Of God: What You Should Know

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Eight

Ten People Who Will Not Inherit The Kingdom Of God: What You Should Know

In this week’s episode, we are talking inheritance, that is inheriting the Kingdom of God. The Bible details for us those who will and those who won’t inherit the Kingdom. God’s Kingdom is all about righteousness. John Eckhardt wrote the following spiritual ode about God’s Kingdom written from God’s viewpoint. “My kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, and I hold the scepter of righteousness in My hand. I will lead you in the paths of righteousness. If you will trust in Me, I will bring forth your righteousness as the light. Those who wait upon Me will inherit the earth and will delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Blessed is the woman I choose and cause to approach Me. You will dwell in My courts and be satisfied with the goodness of My house. I will answer you with awesome deeds of righteousness, and I establish the mountains by My strength. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness will be quietness and assurance forever”1 From a study in Ephesians we look at the Kingdom of God from a different point of view. We look at those who definitely will not inherit the Kingdom. Ten People Who Will Not Inherit The Kingdom Of God: What You Should Know — all on this week’s Light on Life.

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The Second Coming of Jesus: What You Need to Know

[Tweet “It’s possible to change with the help of God. He will transform you, and straighten up your desires. “]

Why the Holy Spirit Connection between Morals and Thanksgiving Matters

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Seven

Why the Holy Spirit Connection between Morals and Thanksgiving Matters

This is Thanksgiving week, and it just so happens that we are coming to a verse in Ephesians chapter five that contains an admonition to thankfulness. How cool is that? Right on time — right on target. So, thankfulness is the subject today, and Mark Tidd of Webster, New York, describes an experience from his college days in line with this theme. He said, — An old man showed up at the back door of the house we were renting. Opening the door a few inches, we saw his eyes were glassy, and his furrowed face glistened with silver stubble. He clutched a wicker basket holding a few unappealing vegetables. He bid us good morning and offered his produce for sale. We were uneasy enough that we made a quick purchase to alleviate both our pity and our fear. To our chagrin, he returned the next week, introducing himself as Mr. Roth, the man who lived in the shack down the road. As our fears subsided, we got close enough to realize it wasn’t alcohol but cataracts that marbleized his eyes. On subsequent visits, he would shuffle in, wearing two mismatched right shoes, and pull out a harmonica. With glazed eyes set on a future glory, he’d puff out old gospel tunes between conversations about vegetables and religion. On one visit, he exclaimed, “The Lord is so good! I came out of my shack this morning and found a bag full of shoes and clothing on my porch.” “That’s wonderful, Mr. Roth!” we said. “We’re happy for you.” “You know what’s even more wonderful?” he asked. “Just yesterday I met some people that could really use them.1

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Who Do You Say Jesus Is to You?

[Tweet “When it comes to being compassionate, there is no better example than God the Father.”]

How to Live a Victorious Life in a Morally Bankrupt World

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Six

How to Live a Victorious Life in a Morally Bankrupt World

Morals matter. That’s the message today, and, may I say, this topic is an unpopular one in today’s climate. The New Testament is full of admonitions along the line of right living. The fact that this message lacks the pizzazz that the world desires doesn’t matter. It’s still the right message for this hour. On typical nights, television networks run show after show of police activities, social problems, sexual problems, and perversion. For example, on Christmas Eve, a married couple separates after a fight; there’s a drunk in a bar menacing people with a broken bottle; a priest is killed viciously in a church; a drunken driver is there; there’s a stripper; a Peeping Tom; six other killings; and more than a half-dozen woundings. Researchers have found that by the time an American child reaches the age of eighteen, he has spent more than 20,000 hours before the television set, much more than he does in any of the classrooms. Last season, television showed the rape of a housewife, the story of a prostitute’s life and emotions, and a homosexual couple living together—topics that were unmentionable on the air not long ago. The morning and afternoon “soap operas” of the ’70s continue to mirror a version of the “typical” American life that includes abortion, premarital sex, extramarital relationships, blackmail, murder, drugs, wiretapping, and embezzlement. Violence is so much a part of television’s simulated “real life,” that studies have shown that it may occur five to nine times in one hour in “prime-time” television, as often as thirty times an hour during Saturday morning and after-school cartoons. In studying the responses of 120 boys from the ages of five to fourteen, researchers found clear evidence that “heavy TV watchers” were no longer shocked or horrified by violence.… It will be difficult for the children who are raised in this era when they reach adult life to be decision-makers about right and wrong because they have been without guidelines. They will have no idea what moral concepts are all about.1 Now, this report is dated from 1974 — that’s 48 years ago, — five decades later! If all of this was going on then, you know it’s that much worse now. So, how do we live in a world that has gone bankrupt? ‘How to Live Victorious in a Morally Bankrupt World, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Who Do You Say Jesus Is to You?

[Tweet “When it comes to being compassionate, there is no better example than God the Father.”]

Why You Should Stand Up for Jesus Even When It’s Controversial

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Five

Why You Should Stand Up for Jesus Even When It’s Controversial

Born again children of God must stand up for Jesus. Isn’t that odd to have to say? But in this highly sensitive age, where people get offended over little or nothing, the statement needs to be made. Do we shy away from Jesus when His demands on our lives go against the current of the age? Is it no longer cool to say that sin is sin? An individual writes, “A friend sent me a cartoon showing an old man in a rocking chair. As he rocked, loud squeaks could be heard. After several futile attempts to get rid of the squeaks in the chair, the angry man got his shotgun and shot the chair into splinters. In the final frame of the cartoon, the old man is shown walking away, but the squeaks were still there. They were in his knees. Sometimes the problems that exist in our church may be found within ourselves. Before we destroy everything else, perhaps we need to decide if we are part of the problem.”1 Are we standing up for Jesus or are we the ones with the problem? That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why Doing the Word of God Is The Ticket to Success

[Tweet “Controversy is needed for change. But, where do you draw the line?”]

The Power of We in a World Of I

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Forty-Four

The Power of We in a World of I

In today’s podcast, we are going to talk about the ‘power of we.’ What do I mean by the ‘power of we?’ What I mean by that is the power of a group versus the power of an individual. The power of we in a world of I. Ecclesiastes says that two are better than one. Why is that? Why is the ability of a group so much more potent than the ability of a single person? The May 1987 edition of National Geographic included a feature about the arctic wolf. Author L. David Mech described how a seven-member pack had targeted several musk-oxen calves who were guarded by eleven adults. As the wolves approached their quarry, the musk-oxen bunched in an impenetrable semicircle, their deadly rear hooves facing out, and the calves remained safe during a long standoff with the enemy. But then a single ox broke rank, and the herd scattered into nervous little groups. A skirmish ensued, and the adults finally fled in panic, leaving the calves to the mercy of the predators. Not a single calf survived. Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 that wolves would come after his departure, not sparing the flock. Wolves continue to attack the church today but cannot penetrate and destroy when unity is maintained. When believers break ranks, however, they provide easy prey.1 The group’s ability, the strength found in unity, The Power of We In A World Of I — that’s our focus on this week’s Light On Life.

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Why God Believes in Church and Why You Need to Be There

[Tweet “Christianity is a group sport. God works to a greater degree through a company of individuals.”]

Why the Supreme Need Is that Jesus Followers Imitate God

Podcast: Light on Life Season 9 Episode 43

Why the Supreme Need Is that Jesus Followers Imitate God

The Spirit of God instructs Jesus followers to imitate God. That should be nothing new. We’ve heard that all our lives with movements like WWJD — what would Jesus do? They say imitation is the best form of flattery. In an earthly sense, copying has its advantages and disadvantages. President Calvin Coolidge invited some people from his hometown to dinner at the White House. Since they did not know how to behave at such an occasion, they thought the best policy would be just to do what the President did so, they imitated him. The time came to serve coffee. The President poured his coffee into a saucer. As soon as the home folk saw it, they copied him; they did the same. The next step for the President was to pour some milk and add a little sugar to the coffee in the saucer. The home folks did the same. They thought for sure that the next step would be for the President to take the saucer with the coffee and begin sipping it. But the President didn’t do so. He leaned over, placed the saucer on the floor, and called the cat.1 So, sometimes copying others does not lead you to the place you desire. Being your own person and striving to be the best version of your unique self is best. But it’s a different story when we step over into the divine realm of things. Imitating God, doing what He would do, is a commanded expectation. Why the Supreme Need Is that Jesus Followers Mimick God — that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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#S2-027: What It Means to Walk After the Spirit and Not the Flesh [Podcast]

[Tweet “When it comes to being compassionate, there is no better example than God the Father.”]

Why Hardheartedness is Not Part of the Abundant Life of Jesus

Podcast: Light on Life Season 9 Episode 42

Why Hardness of Heart Is Not Part of the Abundant Life of God

Hardheartedness is what we are focusing on in today’s episode. You know that’s not part of the Abundant Life or the High Life that Jesus references. The Abundant Life is the will of God for your life. In a classic “Peanuts” comic strip, Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for psychiatric help. He says, “What can you do when you don’t fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?” Lucy leads Charlie away from her booth and says, “Follow me. I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?” Charlie replies meekly, “No.” She continues, “As far as you know, this is the only world there is…Right?” Even more meekly, Charlie says, “Right.” Lucy pressed on, “There are no other worlds for you to live in…Right?” Charlie admits, “Right.” “You were born to live in this world…Right?” “Right,” says Charlie. Lucy then explodes, “Well, live in it then! Five cents, please.” While we may disagree with Lucy’s counseling technique, we recognize she is on to something. We need to make the most of our lives and really live.1 The point is well taken. If you choose to live the Christian life, then live the abundant life found only in Jesus. Why Hardheartedness Is Not Part of the Abundant Life of Jesus. We’re going to take a look at it on this week’s Light on Life.

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How to Develop a Highly Effective Confidence in God

[Tweet “Per Paul, we must not keep living our past life, the life we used to live when we were estranged from God.”]

Why Bitterness Is Not Better in the Realm of the Emotions

Podcast: Light on Life Season 9 Episode 41

Why Bitter Is Not Better in the Realm of the Emotions

In today’s podcast, we are finishing Ephesians chapter four, and with that comes a special admonition from the Apostle Paul via the Spirit of God – ‘Let all bitterness be put away from you.’ Regarding bitterness, author and church minister Ed Rowell writes the following. “When I was young, a neighboring family came down with a devastating illness. Several of the children died, and the rest suffered permanent brain damage. What investigators discovered was that the father had found a truckload of discarded seed corn and fed it to the family hogs. The corn (not intended for animal feed) had been treated with something so bugs wouldn’t eat it before it germinated. The hogs ate it, with no ill effects. But when the family hogs became the family breakfast, the family was poisoned. It seems that many substances—pesticides and heavy metals like lead and mercury—do not pass through the digestive system, but remain in the body, always. In tiny doses, the effects are minimal. But over time, the effects are horrible. That is what happens to many of us…. Every day we ingest minute amounts of conflict and disrespect. No big deal, we think. Just blow it off. But we don’t. Instead, it gets buried in our liver, and 20 years later, we go ballistic over some kid skateboarding in the parking lot and wonder, “Where did that come from?”1 We are talking about bitterness today, why it’s bad and what to do about it. Why Bitter Is Not Better in the Realm of Emotions, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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When Is It Right to Fight?

[Tweet “God has access to your spirit. He doesn’t need disasters to get His kid’s attention. That’s the devil’s work.”]

Why You Can Learn from Rabbis about Being a Doer of the Word

Encore Podcast: Light on Life Season 9 Episode 40

Why You Can Learn from Rabbis about Being a Doer of the Word

It is one thing to memorize certain verses in the Bible. It is another to be a doer of the Word you’ve remembered. There is a story of a missionary in Korea who had a visit from a native convert who lived a hundred miles away and who walked four days to reach the mission station. The pilgrim recited proudly, without a single mistake, the whole of the Sermon on the Mount. The missionary was delighted, but he felt that he ought to warn the man that memorizing was not enough—that it was necessary to practice the words and memorize them.

The Korean’s face lit up with happy smiles. “That is the way I learned it,” he said. “I tried to memorize it, but it wouldn’t stick. So, I hit upon this plan—I would memorize a verse, find a heathen neighbor of mine, and practice it on him. Then I found it would stick.” Scripture is the guideline for a believer’s life. Are you just reading the Bible, or are you doing it?1

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What Can A Rabbi Teach Us about Selling Out to God?

[Tweet “Who is truly pious? The person who studies the Word and who practices what he’s studied.”]