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Seven Witnesses to the Mission of Jesus

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Twelve

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Seven Witnesses to Jesus Mission

Charlie Hainline is a layman at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is a man who radiates the love of Christ, and is serious about sharing his faith with others. One year, his goal was to lead 1650 people to faith in Christ (5 a day)! Once, he was out witnessing with a couple of other folks, and though he didn’t share the gospel, he sat there and smiled broadly as a teammate did. When the teammate was finished and asked if the person would like to trust Christ and receive the gift of eternal life, the person replied, “If being a Christian would make me like him (point to Charlie), I want it!” Charlie’s life wasn’t a bed of roses by any means. His daughter was kidnapped, killed, and her head was found floating in a canal. When the murderer of his daughter was caught and convicted, Charlie went to jail in order to witness to the man.1 Witnessing of Jesus, that’s what we are talking about in this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “The scripture says, ‘There was a man sent from God to be a witness. Could they say that about you?”]

#S4-033: Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain [Encore Podcast]

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Becoming The Good Man God Wants You To Be

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Becoming the Good Man God Wants You to Be

It has been said that “a child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father.” Recently a gentleman asked the preschool class in their Sunday school to draw a picture of God. The intent was to use them as an illustration for the Sunday sermon. Toward the end of class, the children were excited to show off their work. They came up with rainbows and men with big hands. Finally, the daughter of this man showed him her picture: a man with a suit and tie on. “I don’t know what God looks like,” she said, “so I just drew my daddy instead.” What an awesome responsibility. You can live and blossom into the good man God wants you to be. A man who is respected and who models God the Father. What are some of the Bible characteristics of a good man? That’s what we are going to take a look at in today’s blog.

The Zoe Life of God in the Person of Jesus

[Tweet “If you make your God important, He is likely to return the favor.”]

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The Zoe Life of God in the Person of Jesus

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Eleven

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The Life of God in the Person of Jesus

Years ago, in St. Louis, someone stole the doll representing the baby Jesus from the manger scene outside the city hall. The next morning, a newscaster announced, “Last night, someone stole the baby Jesus from the manger scene. If anybody has any information about where Jesus might be found, please contact this station immediately.” The message is clear. Many people who look at contemporary Christianity and see what we have done with the Biblical Jesus are asking the question, “Who stole Jesus? Does anyone know how we can recover and restore Him to the place where He belongs?” Often, the real compassionate Jesus has been stolen and replaced with a harsh condemning Jesus.1 In today’s podcast, we continue our series on John’s gospel as we look at the Life of God in the person of Jesus.

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[Tweet “The Father had zoe life.  He gave it to His Son, and then He gave it to you.”]

Just Who Is Jesus to You?

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Why Kindness Is a Giant Fruit of the Spirit

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Why Kindness Is a Giant Fruit of the Spirit

Imagine you’re holding a cup of coffee when someone bumps into you, causing you to spill what’s in your cup. You didn’t spill the tea. Nor did you spill grape juice or soda. You spilled coffee because coffee is what was in your cup. If you’d had tea in your cup, it would have been tea that spilled out. The point is, whatever is inside your cup is what will spill out of your cup if bumped or shaken. We are each a vessel, not unlike a cup. Looking from the outside, no one can know what we “contain.” But when events of life bump up against us or shake us up, whatever is inside will likely come spilling out.

So we must ask ourselves, “What’s in my cup?” Is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Or is it anger, bitterness, anxiety, impatience, mean-spiritedness, ill will, faithlessness, harshness, and lack of discipline? We might present to the world that we are full of one thing when really we are full of another. It’s easy to fake it when nothing is bumping into us or shaking us up. But bring on a little trial, a little temptation, irritation, conflict, inconvenience, etc., and what’s inside our heart of hearts will come spilling out. So, fill yourselves with the Fruits of the Spirit so that the kindness and light within you spill out onto others as a testimony of the transformative power of Christ in your life.1. In today’s post, we take aim at one of the fruits of the Spirit, kindness.

What Real Prayer to God Is About

[Tweet “Kindness and goodness are visible fruits of the spirit.”]

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Just Who Is Jesus to You?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Ten

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Just Who Is Jesus to You?

When we read any of the four Gospels, we have the wonderful opportunity to see Jesus live life on planet Earth. The Word encourages us to emulate Him, to copy Him, to move as He moved, and to overcome as He overcame. The first eighteen verses of John’s gospel, known as “The Prologue,” introduce us to who Jesus is. What do these verses teach us about Jesus, and how does this knowledge help us to fulfill God’s plan for our lives? That’s the focus of this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “Once you see who Jesus is, you will want to know Him on a personal level.”]

#S4-036: Want Victory Look At Jesus Shocking Geographic Throwdown [Encore Podcast]

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What Real Prayer to God Is About

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What Prayer to God Is About

What is real prayer all about? The following story illustrates what real prayer isn’t. Morris Davis was put in jail for “praying.” It all began when Davis was picked up and charged with arson. After his arrest, he was taken to a room at the police station for a lie detector test. Thinking he was alone, he prayed that old familiar prayer, “Lord, let me get away with it just this once.” But a policeman overheard his prayer and submitted it as evidence against him. The lower court ruled that this was a private conversation and therefore could not be submitted as evidence. The Canadian government, however, appealed this ruling and the Court of Appeals decided that it was admissible evidence because prayer is not a private conversation, since God is not a person.1 It’s nice to know what prayer isn’t but we also can and should know what it is.

[Tweet “The Lord is able to address each person who waits on Him at the Throne.”]

#S5-008: Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars of Your House? [Podcast]

 

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The Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Nine

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Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins

A pastor entered a tavern where a man, wishing to embarrass him, rose and suddenly called out quite loudly, “There is no God”. The pastor went to him, calmly laid his hand on his shoulder, and said, “Friend, what you have said is not at all new. The Bible said that more than 2,000 years ago.” The man replied, “I never knew that the Bible made such a statement.” The pastor informed him, “Psalm 14:1, tells us, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” But there is a great difference between that fool and you. He was quite modest and said it only in his heart; he didn’t go about yelling it out in taverns.”[Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 483.] Many are yelling ‘There is no God’ by the lives they’re living. They are unwise. The foolishare not looking to Him. They are not looking for Him. The indifferent are unaware of Him. They are like the Five Foolish Virgins in Jesus parable in Matthew twenty-five. In today’s Light on Life, we take a fresh look at the Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins, so that we could ascertain for ourselves How to Live Wise in an Unwise World.

Our previous podcast: #S5-008: Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars of Your House? [Podcast]

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[Tweet “Flowing in his God-ordained place is the wise man’s first priority.”]

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Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars of Your House?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Eight

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Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars in Your House?

Recently, I ran across this illustration that ties into what praise and worship are to our spiritual lives. In the Chilean village of Chungungo water is nearly as valuable as precious metal. The region is arid and parched, forcing the village to truck in freshwater over dirt roads from miles away. Until recently the average person could afford a mere four gallons a day (compare that to the average American who uses ninety gallons a day), and buying even that meager amount soaked up 10 percent of household incomes. In Chungungo bathing was a luxury. But then scientists experimented with an ingenious new system for obtaining water. The 330 residents of Chungungo now drink water—the freshest they have ever tasted—from high above, atop nearby El Tofo mountain.

Under the direction of Dr. Robert Schemenauer, a Canadian cloud physicist, workers hung on eucalyptus poles a “wall” of finely woven propylene nets, each the size of eight queen-size bed sheets sewn together. Seventy-five such nets sift the clouds that sweep in incessantly from the Pacific Ocean. A close look at the plastic nets reveals propylene fibers meshed in tiny triangles. Like dew collects on grass, infinitesimally small water particles from fog collect on these fibers. Ten thousand such water particles must coalesce to produce one drop of water the size of a tear. Still, each water net collects forty gallons of water a day. The seventy-five nets on El Tofo sift a total of three thousand gallons daily from the drifting clouds and fog.

Sometimes our lives feel as dry and parched as the rocky soil around Chungungo, where only shrubs and cactus grow. What we need are spiritual water nets. Few things will flood the reservoirs of your soul like giving thanks to God.1 It’s that Thanksgiving time of the year. Worship, praise and thanksgiving, that’s what we’re talking about in this week’s Light on Life.

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Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain

[Tweet “The higher you go in God, the stronger, the more stout your pillars need to be.”]

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What Ten Things Are You Thankful For?

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Here we are again, another Thanksgiving season – this is my 61st year celebrating this holiday. Every year, at this season, I like to address the topic of being thankful. No need to break the string now! The character trait of being thankful is right to have because it strikes at one of the key elements necessary for success in the human person, attitude.

[Tweet “A thankful attitude can be taught which means you can school yourself into having one.”]

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What’s So Important about the Days of Noah?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Seven

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What Do the Days of Noah Have to Do with End-Times?

Jesus said concerning His Second Coming that no man, no angel, not even Jesus Himself knows the day or the hour of His return. Only the Father God knows it. But, one thing Jesus did tell us was that His coming would be like the days of Noah. What did Jesus mean by that? What were the days of Noah like? That’s what we are going to take a look at in this weeks Light on Life.

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Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain

[Tweet “The Flood came suddenly to an unprepared people.”]

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Why Jesus is the Logos of God Unleashed

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Jesus is the Living Word or Logos of God

In Greek the word for “Word” as in John 1:1, is logos. It appears in many places, but of special interest is how Logos ties to Jesus. In John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Word is divine and the word “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). In other words, Jesus is the Word of God who represents God to us and us to God. The term is also used to describe the Scriptures (Rom. 9:6; Heb. 4:12), Christ’s teaching (Luke 5:1), and the gospel message (Acts 4:31). In today’s blog, we begin a series on the Gospel of John by first looking at the concept of Jesus as the Logos of God.

One Necessary Component You Need for Spiritual Growth in God

[Tweet “Jesus as Logos is understood as God’s ultimate communication of truth about Himself.”]

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#S5-006: What You Need to Know about Israel as the Fig Tree [Podcast]

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What You Need to Know about Israel and the Fig Tree

The disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world in Matthew twenty-four. In the last podcast, we’ve looked at the Tribulation timeline up to and including the Battle of Armageddon. Right on the tail end of these comments, Jesus instructs His disciples to look at the fig tree and to learn it’s lesson. When it puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. What did He mean by that? Should we know about the fig tree as a symbol for Israel? What is the lesson we are to learn? That’s what we are going to take a look at in this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “Like the fig tree, believers are supposed to bear fruit. It’s the expected thing.”]