Category Archives: Spiritual Development

Practical teachings from the Bible for every day living.

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How To Understand Gods Plan In The Mouth Of Mortal Man [Encore Podcast]

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 25

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How To Understand Gods Plan In The Mouth Of Mortal Man [Encore Podcast]

God has a plan for your life; that’s a Bible fact. One minister trying to add value to this thought said the following: “When speaking to young people, I always enjoy telling them, “Do you realize you were once a sperm?” That’s right. You were once a sperm, and you were one of five million sperm all together in a group. Do you remember? All of you lined up at a starting line, and at the end of a long, long tunnel, there was one egg. There was a race, and you won! Stop to think about that. The odds were five million to one, and you came through. Your victory makes an Olympic gold medal look like nothing by comparison! You came through! You’re a winner! You are here by divine appointment. You are no accident. Think about it. If your mother had had a headache that night, you wouldn’t even exist. You are a very special person!” 1 That’s a cute story injected with a considerable measure of truth. You are no accident. God has no accident’s only ‘on-purposes.’ So in today’s podcast, we are going to focus on the wonders of God’s plan and planning. Understanding God’s Plan in the Mouth of Mortal Man. All this on this week’s Light on Life.

This is an Encore Podcast of an episode we did about nine weeks [#S7-016] ago that had some technical difficulties getting out to our listeners. I apologize for that inconvenience and hope that by replaying this as an encore episode that the truth in this message, the fact the God uses man’s mouth to prophecy His plan into existence, is a meaningful blessing to your life.

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#S3-037: Yet More of How to Overcome Racism in the Church [Podcast]

[Tweet “The plan that God has for your life is a good plan. That’s the only kind He has; there are no bad plans.”]

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Why Successful People Allow God to Build Their Life Via Prayer [Podcast]

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 24

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Why Successful People Allow God to Build Their Life Via Prayer

In 1787, successful prayer helped determine the future of our country in a significant way. The Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure over the issue of whether small states should have the same representation as large states. In this hopeless situation, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin offered a suggestion. He was convinced Scripture is right when it states, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1), so he said: “Gentlemen, I have lived a long time and am convinced that God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? I move that prayer imploring the assistance of Heaven to be held every morning before we proceed to business.”

The motion carried. From then on, prayer was offered each morning. The change after prayer was introduced was so dramatic that in a short while, a compromise was reached, which is still in effect today. 1 Successfully praying for the President and our nation’s leaders have several key elements. We begin to examine these elements in today’s Light on Life podcast.

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#S3-027: How Do You Pray for A President You Don’t Agree With? [Podcast]

[Tweet “If you want to live a Holy Ghost empowered life, get used to the concept of waiting on God in prayer.”]

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What is Carnal Minded and How to Grow Out of It?

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 23

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What is Carnal Minded and How to Grow Out of It?

Some have inquired recently about what it means to have a carnal mind. As we address this vital area, the following illustration is an excellent place to start.

The story is told of Handley Page, a pioneer in aviation, who once landed in an isolated area during his travels. Unknown to him, a rat got aboard the plane there. On the next leg of the flight, Page heard the sickening sound of gnawing. Suspecting it was a rodent, his heart began to pound as he visualized the severe damage that could be done to the fragile mechanisms that controlled his plane and the difficulty of repairs because of the lack of skilled labor and materials in the area.

What could he do? He remembered hearing that a rat cannot survive at high altitudes, so he pulled back on the stick. The airplane climbed higher and higher until Page found it challenging to breathe. He listened intently and finally sighed with relief. The gnawing had stopped. When he arrived at his destination, he found the rat lying dead behind the cockpit!

Often we, God’s children, are plagued by sin that gnaws at our life simply because we are living at too low a spiritual level. To see sin defeated in our lives requires that we move up—away from the world—to a higher level where the things of this world cannot survive.1 What’s the point of this story relative to this podcast? Well, you’ve got to get rid of the rats of carnal mindedness. We have to move up into the heights of God’s thinking. What is Carnal Minded and How Do You Grow Out of It? That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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#050: More How to Cultivate God’s Presence in Your Life [Podcast]

[Tweet “If you habitually respond to situations with an ‘after the flesh’ response, then you are in a carnal minded.”]

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Super Powerful Exodus Lessons from Moses Rod

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 22

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Super Powerful Exodus Lessons from the Rod of God

There are some super powerful ‘Rod of Moses’ lessons we can learn from watching God deliver Israel in what is commonly known as the Exodus. The Lord used the staff of Moses and Aaron to bring devastating plagues, ten of them, in fact, to a nation that had used and abused His people. This is not the last time that plagues visited the planet.

Between AD 250–262, a pestilence raged all over the Roman Empire, from Egypt to the Hebrides. In some Italian cities, up to four-fifths of the population were wiped out. Men died like flies. Gibbons says that statisticians of the succeeding age estimated that one-half of the human race perished in twelve years! In the 6th century, the bubonic plague spread to Europe as part of a recurring cycle in the entire Roman world for 50 years. The Venerable Bede mentions four distinct waves between 664–683.

Another most terrible plague was the Black Death of 1347–48. It was estimated that one-fourth of Europe’s population died, about 25 million. Even as late as 1918, an influenza epidemic killed in four weeks more than twice as many as the warring armies had destroyed in four years.1

Now, some think that all destructive plagues like the ones we just listed are acts of God. But, not necessarily. There is another possibility. Where the Exodus is concerned, we know for sure that those ten plagues of Egypt were the judgment of God upon that nation. That’s a Bible fact. But, these other disasters were not the work of God, but the work of an enemy opposed to God. The devil, the thief, the murderer, the destroyer, brings destruction against man because of his hatred for him. And then, he turns around and blames God for it. These Exodus happenings though, are of a different sort. And there are some valuable lessons we can learn, and we started to look at some of those lessons in a previous podcast. We looked at the first of these ten plagues and their link to the Rod of God. We’re going to continue to look at the Lord’s movings and manifestation as we continue to look at super powerful Exodus lessons via the rod of God, via Moses Rod — all in this week’s Light on Life.

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Why Doing the Word of God Is The Ticket to Success

[Tweet “Miracles and God’s holy written Word belong together.”]

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Why Renewing the Mind is Important for Soul Development [Encore Podcast]

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 21

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Why Renewing the Mind is Important for Soul Development

An unknown writer said this of the Bible: “This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy; and, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy.

It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts, and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.1

Romans 12:2 details for us the importance of renewing the mind with God’s Word. Why renewing the mind is vital for soul development is what we’re looking at in this week’s Light on Life.

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

[Tweet “The wisdom of the world produces nothing, less than zero. It’s worse than a goose egg.”]

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Powerful Can’t Miss Lessons on the Rod of God

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 20

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Super Powerful Exodus Lessons from the Rod of God

There are some super powerful ‘Rod of God’ lessons we can learn from watching God deliver Israel in what is commonly known as the Exodus. The Lord used the staff of Moses and Aaron, an ordinary stick, to bring devastating plagues, ten of them in fact, to a nation that had used and abused His people. God can and does harness the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

The University of California at Berkley agreed to coordinate an international effort to locate extraterrestrial life. To accomplish this impossible task, Berkley asked home computer users around the world to contact them over the Internet and download a program called SETI@home. The SETI software makes a connection over the Internet to a computer in California and downloads a “work unit”—that is, a set of measurements from a particular part of the sky. The work unit is not large, but it takes the computer a while to crunch the numbers. When the work is done, the computer makes another Internet call to Berkeley, uploads its results, and downloads a new work unit. What today’s largest supercomputer could never do alone, over a million ordinary home computers can easily do.

Sometimes the best way to accomplish the impossible is to harness the help of the ordinary. That is precisely how the church works best. No one can do it alone, but if we each do what we can, the unattainable becomes attainable, and the church can be all that God intended it to be.1 Now, that’s a different kind of illustration — I don’t know about the whole extraterrestrial life piece. One minister asked the Lord about ‘is there life on other planets?’ and the Lord responded ‘Yes there is life on other planets, I am out here.’ The point of this illustration is that God can and does, at times, harness the ordinary to do the extraordinary. Powerful Can’t-Miss Lessons on the Rod of God, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Demonstrating the Glory of God

[Tweet “God got a hold of Moses’ stick. He turned into a lightning rod for the miraculous.”]

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How Do You Respond to the Savior of the World?

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 18

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How Do You Respond to the Savior of the World?

How do you respond to the Savior of the world? That’s a present-tense question. The question is not how have you responded in the past to Jesus, for example, when you first gave Him your heart. But, how are you responding to Him now? We explore this question as we look in John 12 and see how others, who were already in a relationship with Him, responded to Him. Maybe from this, we could see what our response could be. How do you respond to the Savior of the world, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life. Mary McClellan lived in Mississippi more than one-hundred years ago. In her Methodist church one morning, she heard a moving sermon on missions. When the special offering was taken, she put in a five-dollar bill—a lot of money in those days—with a note reading, “I give five dollars and myself, Mary I. McClellan.” Indeed she did! She became a wonderful Christian. Eventually, she and her minister husband went out as missionaries. They were among the pioneers for Methodism in the Orient.1

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How To Live Holy In An Unholy World

[Tweet “Jesus was continually about His Father’s business. That’s His example for us to follow.”]

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How You Can Demonstrate Powerful Faith in God

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 17

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How You Can Demonstrate Powerful Faith in God

How can a person demonstrate a strong, vibrant faith in God? Jesus displayed how in His encounters with the enemy. It’s sad, but some people think that there is no Satan. That he is just some red-suited Halloween costumed figure who only comes out in October. The Word of God teaches otherwise. Perhaps the following story will be instructive to them. Once there was a boxer who was being badly beaten. Battered and bruised, he leaned over the ropes and said to his trainer, “Throw in the towel! This guy is killing me!” The trainer said, “Oh, no, he’s not. He’s not even hitting you. He hasn’t laid a glove on you!”At that point, the boxer wiped the blood away from his eye and said, “Well, then, I wish you’d watch that referee. Somebody is sure hitting me!” 1 There is an enemy loose on planet earth who’s trying his best to lay his gloves on you. Rebuking darkness is the path to overcoming satanic hindrances and you can do it in Jesus’ Name.

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#S4-020: Humility: How to Put On God’s Glory Suit [Podcast]

[Tweet “What’s on the other side of the valley of the shadow of death? Victory in every case.”]

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Do You Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? [Encore Podcast]

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 15

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Do You Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus?

One of my favorite shows from yesteryear was Get Smart. It was a show about a goofy secret agent. One of the popular catchphrases for the show was ‘would you believe.’ Maxwell Smart would say when he got caught by the bad guys, ‘would you believe.’ Here’s some of the dialogue. “I happen to know that at this very’ moment, eight Coast Guard cutters are converging on this boat. Would you believe seven? Six? How about two cops in a rowboat?” Or, At this very minute, 25 Control agents are converging on this building. Would you believe two squad cars and a motorcycle cop? How about a vicious street cleaner and a toothless police dog? Or, I once trained a girl to swim across the English Channel five times. Would you believe four times? Would you believe three times across the Mississippi? How about twice around the bathtub? Once around the bathtub? Or, in a short while, General Crawford and a hundred of his crack paratroopers will come crashing into this landing. Would you believe J. Edgar Hoover and I0 of his G-men? How about Tarzan and a couple of apes? Bomba, the Jungle Boy? Or, at this very moment, 100 highway patrolmen with Doberman pinschers are surrounding this entire area. Would you believe four deputies and a bloodhound? How about a Boy Scout with rabies? The question arises, ‘do you believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? Do you believe it just like the Bible says it, or do you believe a watered-down ‘Maxwell Smart’ version of the events surrounding Jesus’ death?

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Three Things Jesus Did that You Can Do

[Tweet “What death did to Jesus is nothing compared to what Jesus did to death.”]

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Here’s How You Can And Should Pray About Worry [Encore Podcast]

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 14

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Why You Can and SHould Pray about Worry

The Bible instructs us to deal with worry. Why? Worry is a sin plain and simple. God is all out against His children worrying. A child does not worry all day long whether his house will be there when he gets home from school or whether his parents will have a meal for him that evening. Children do not worry about such things, because they trust their parents. In the same way, we as Christians should trust our heavenly Father to supply what is best for us.1 How do you pray about worry? That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why It’s Never Wise to Not Obey God’s Will for Your Life

[Tweet “Walking in peace is part of the finished work of Jesus known as Redemption.”]

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What’s the Benefit of the Resurrection of Lazarus

Podcast: Light on Life Season 7 Episode 13

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What's the Benefit of the Resurrection of Lazarus?

So in today’s podcast, we venture in John chapter eleven to look at the concept of bodily resurrection, precisely that of Lazarus. Resurrection means to be raised from the dead (John 5:28, 29). The word is used in different ways in the Bible. Lazarus was raised from physical death (John 11:43). This is a resurrection, but it is not part of the resurrection that occurs when we receive our new bodies when Christ returns (1 Thess. 4:13–18), on the last day (John 6:39–44) when the last trumpet is blown (1 Cor. 15:51–55). Lazarus died again.1

Even though there are differences between the two resurrections, we shouldn’t dismiss the lessons that the bodily resurrection of Lazarus yields. There are many benefits that we can glean from understanding this Jesus miracle of God. Some of those lessons are our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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

[Tweet “There are multiple moves of the Spirit of God at work in the raising of Lazarus from the dead.”]

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Who Are You According to Jesus?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Seven Episode Twelve

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Who Are You?

The INTERNET is full of surveys and questionnaires that you can take to help you understand who you are. Tony Evans chimed in on this topic with the following illustration. He said, ‘I’ve got three envelopes: a big one, a smaller one, and a smaller one yet. I’ve also got a slip of paper. The Bible says that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us. The smallest envelope has “Tony Evans” written on it. The slip of paper has “Jesus” written on it. The Bible says that when Tony Evans accepted Jesus Christ, Christ came inside of Tony Evans. Christ, the slip of paper, is inside the envelope that represents Tony Evans, but not only is Christ in Tony Evans, but Tony Evans is in Christ. The slip of paper Christ is in Tony Evans, but when Tony Evans accepted Christ, Tony Evans came inside of Christ. I put the Tony Evans envelope into the Christ envelope. Now, the Bible says that Christ is in God. So we’re going to slip the Christ envelope into the God envelope. So to now get to Tony Evans, you’ve got to go through God, and then you have to go through Christ, and after you’ve gone through God, and gotten through Christ, then you get to Tony Evans. However, when you’ve gone through God, and gotten to Christ, and think you’ve have gotten ahold of Tony Evans when you open up Tony Evans, he’s full of Jesus Christ. So I am in Christ, Christ is in me, Christ is in God, God is in Christ, so I am well covered by Jesus Christ and His heavenly Father.’ 1 Identity, knowing you are. That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

Why Doing the Word of God Is The Ticket to Success

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[Tweet “God’s name is Yahweh, not God. He is also known as El Shaddai in the Bible and by many other names.”]