Category Archives: Spiritual Development

Practical teachings from the Bible for every day living.

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What Does It Mean to Be Born Again from God?

Podcast: Light on Life Season 6 Episode 13

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What Does It Mean to Be Born Again from God?

Jesus told Nicodemus that unless he is born again, he would not be able to see God’s Kingdom. A particular group of six-year-olds had a different view of these matters. A Sunday school teacher wanted to explain to the six-year-olds in his class what someone had to do to go to heaven. To find out what kids believed about the subject, he asked a few questions. “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would that get me to heaven?” he asked. “No!” the children answered. The teacher was encouraged. “If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me to heaven?” Again the answer was, “No!” “If I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?” Again they all shouted, “No!” “Well then, how can I get to heaven?” A boy in the back row stood up and shouted, “You gotta be dead!”

1 Well, yes and no. The key is to be born again before ‘you gotta be dead,’ that’s the ticket to heaven. The focus of today’s Light on Life is Jesus statement you must be born again.

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Conscience and the Inward Witness: A Look at the Spirit Led Life

[Tweet “Children of God, children of wrath, two different families, that’s what the Bible teaches.”]

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How to Live Right in a Wrong World

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How to Live Right in a Wrong World

Here are some questions that will help believers in Jesus live right in a wrong world. The source of these questions is Kent Hughes’ Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. He asks these five groups of questions.

Group one: are we being desensitized by the present evil world? Do things that once shocked us now pass us by with little notice? Have our sexual ethics slackened? Group two: Where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform? Group three: what are we reading? Are there books or magazines or files in our libraries that we want no one else to see? Group four: what are we renting at the local video stores? How many hours do we spend watching TV? What about adulteries? How many of those did we watch last week? What about murders? How many did we watch with our children? The last group: How many chapters of the Bible did we read last week?1

These are some good ‘living right’ questions to answer. The writer of Proverbs also weighs in on the subject. What does a wise man say about living right? Let’s take a look.

The Fifth Commandment: Parents Exclusive Right to Respect

[Tweet “A friend who tries to pull you from the things of the Lord is no friend at all.”]

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Nicodemus: Is His Life a Positive Example to Follow?

Podcast: Light on Life Season 6 Episode 12

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Nicodemus: Is His Life a Positive Example to Follow?

Is Nicodemus someone you should pattern your life after as an example of a firm believer in Jesus? Is His life a worthy example for you to emulate? Nicodemus has a warm place in many a believers heart because of his association with the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16. But do those warm feelings translate to a picture of a powerful man of God?

D.L. Moody wrote the following. “You know I have an idea that the Bible is like an album. I go into a man’s house, and while waiting for him, I take up an album and open it. I look at a picture. “Why, that looks like a man I know.” I turn over and look at another. “Well, I know that man.” By and by I come upon another. “Why, that man looks like my brother.” I am getting pretty near home. I keep turning over the leaves. “Well, I declare, there is a man who lives in the street I do—why, he is my next-door neighbor.” And then I come upon another, and I see myself. My friends, if you read your Bibles, you will find your pictures there. It will just describe you.”1 Righteous examples are available for us to follow in the Bible. They are like the album that Moody describes. The focus of this week’s Light on Life is the album of Nicodemus’s life as the Word of God declares it. We are answering the question, is he a positive example to follow?

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Just Who Is Jesus to You?

[Tweet “Men who successfully navigate their generation are living letters for you to read.”]

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Why You Should Engage in United Prayer

Podcast: Light on Life Season 6 Episode 11

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Why You Should Engage in United Prayer

The Book of Acts has much to say about the subject of prayer. If you examine the individual accounts where prayer went up to the Lord and you will find a rich storehouse of information. There are instances where a corporate group of believers is seen praying. The early church spent much time together fellowshipping and praying. Let’s take a look at some of these cases and look at some of the common denominators involved in yet another kind of prayer. United Prayer is our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why You Don’t Have to Be Sick in Light of the Bible

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

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How You Can Grasp The Fear of the Lord in Proverbs [Encore Post]

The Fear of the Lord

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Walking in the Fear of the Lord

The Bible has much to say about adequately reverencing the Lord. The term used in the scriptures is ‘the fear of the Lord. Richard Stockton, (October 1, 1730–February 28, 1781), a signer of the Declaration of Independence mentioned the fear of the Lord in his last will and testament. ‘As my children will have frequent occasion of perusing this instrument, and may probably be peculiarly impressed with the last words of their father, I think proper here, not only to subscribe to the entire belief of the great leading doctrine of the Christian religion … but also in the heart of a father’s affection, to charge and exhort them to remember “that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”1. Let’s take a look at some things we can do to walk in the fear of the Lord.

One Necessary Component You Need for Spiritual Growth in God

[Tweet “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil, pride, and arrogance per the book of Proverbs.”]

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Why Learning from a Foolish Man Leads to Growth

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Why Learning from a Foolish Man Leads to Growth

The Word of God says that you can know a foolish man by his words. Once, a man said, “If I had some extra money, I’d give it to God, but I have just enough to support myself and my family.” And the same man said, “If I had some extra time, I’d give it to God, but every minute is taken up with my job, my family, my clubs, and what have you—every single minute.” And the same man said, “If I had a talent I’d give it to God, but I have no lovely voice; I have no special skill; I’ve never been able to lead a group; I can’t think cleverly or quickly, the way I would like to.” And God was touched, and although it was unlike him, God gave that man money, time, and a glorious talent. And then He waited, and waited, and waited, And then after a while, He shrugged His shoulders, and He took all those things right back from the man, the money, the time and the glorious talent. After a while, the man sighed and said, “If I only had some of that money back, I’d give it to God. If I only had some of that time, I’d give it to God. If I could only rediscover that glorious talent, I’d give it to God.” And God said, “Oh, shut up.” And the man told some of his friends, “You know, I’m not so sure that I believe in God anymore.”1 There are lessons to learn all around us ripe for the picking. In this weeks blog, we are going to take a look at some instruction that we can gain from looking at the ways of fools.

Becoming The Good Man God Wants You To Be

[Tweet “One outstanding trait of a foolish man is that he always has his mouth in motion.”]

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Why You Need to Tell God You Will Do Anything He Asks

Podcast: Light on Life Season 6 Episode 9

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Consecration: Why You Need to Tell God You Will Do Anything He Asks

“Will you please tell me in a word,” said a Christian woman to a minister, “what your idea of praying the prayer of consecration?” Holding out a blank sheet of paper the pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet and to let God fill it in as He will.”1 This is an excellent illustration of what consecration is. Today’s Light on Life focus is this area of consecrating yourself to the will of God and a type of prayer that you can pray in this area.

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Why It’s Important to Spend Time Talking to God

[Tweet “Following God’s plan for your life should be what you are all about.”]

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25 Wisdom Ways to Embrace As a Jesus Believer

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25 Wisdom Ways to Embrace As a Jesus Believer

Wisdom is the main thing according to God’s Word. But many confuse wisdom with knowledge. One seminary student writes the following. “When I was a seminary student I recall hearing of a man with a Ph.D. who ran an elevator in a downtown Louisville, Kentucky, office building. Just before my oral examination for the same degree the faculty examining committee failed to pass a philosophy student. I was concerned, thinking the faculty committee was getting tougher. I asked one of the professors why they failed to pass the man. He said the student was able to answer all the questions about the philosophy of others, but he had no philosophy of his own. Both the elevator operator and the student had knowledge; neither had wisdom.” Dr. George Cross, a former president of the University of Oklahoma, said, “The reason universities are called storehouses of knowledge is that the freshman bring so much of it to the campus and the seniors take so little of it away.” Knowledge is a mental accumulation of facts. Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge properly in the ordering of one’s life.1

Just Who Is Jesus to You?

[Tweet “The Bible lays out for us in detail what are the characteristics of those who are wise.”]

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Prayer of Agreement: the Power of Praying with People

Podcast: Light on Life Season 6 Episode 8

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Prayer of Agreement: the Power of Praying with People

In World Vision magazine John Robb writes: Seven years ago, a giant tree stood on the banks of the Awash River, in an arid valley about two hours’ drive southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It had stood there for generations, seemingly eternal. For years, the people who lived in the surrounding district had suffered through famines. In their suffering, the people looked to the tree for help. Believing a spirit gave it divine powers, they worshipped the towering giant. Adults would kiss the great trunk when they passed by, and they spoke of the tree in hushed, reverent tones. Children said, “This tree saved us.”

In 1989, World Vision began a development project there, including an irrigation system. But even as they labored to build the system, the great tree stood like a forbidding sentinel of the old order, presiding over the community, enslaving the people through fear. For spirits need to be appeased with animal sacrifices and strict observance of taboos. When World Vision workers saw how the villagers worshipped the tree, they knew it was an idolatrous barrier to the entrance of Christ’s kingdom and transformation of the community. One morning as the staff prayed together, one of Jesus’ promises struck them: “If you have faith, you can say to this tree, ‘Be taken up and removed’ … and it will obey you.” In faith, they began to pray that God would bring down the menacing Goliath.

Soon the whole community knew the Christians were praying about the tree. Six months later, the tree began to dry up, its leafy foliage disappeared, and finally, it collapsed like a stricken giant into the river. The people of the community were astonished, proclaiming, “Your God has done this! Your God has dried up the tree!” In the days and weeks afterward, approximately 100 members of the community received Jesus Christ because they saw his power displayed in answer to the Christians’ prayers.1 Today’s podcast focuses on the power of praying with people specifically the prayer of agreement. What results are achievable praying this prayer and what are some the rules that govern it? That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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

[Tweet “If there is great faith coupled with a great anointing, the healing manifestation is quicker.”]

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Why Standing on the Word Is Good Medicine

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Why Standing on the Word Is Good Medicine

When thinking about the subject of ‘standing on the Word,’ the Leaning Tower of Pisa comes to mind. The Tower of Pisa in Italy is a freestanding bell tower located in Italy which took 344 years to build.  The tower weighs about 14,500 tons and it’s foundation is only ten feet deep. That’s a lot of weight for a building to have to support when it has been leaning since it was built. It began to lean in 1178, five years after it began construction. The lean was due to one side sinking into the soft ground. 1 My, a ten-foot-deep foundation for a Tower that weighs 14,500 tons? Something’s not right. And the same can be said for believers in Jesus who are trying to build high-quality lives on something other than God’s Word. In today’s post, we are going to look at ‘Why standing on the Word of God is Good Medicine.’

Why You Don’t Have to Be Sick in Light of the Bible

[Tweet “Standing on God’s Word will make your body well.”]

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Why A Good God Has A Good Plan For Your Life

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Why A Good God Has A Good Plan For Your Life

A British train was carrying Queen Victoria was speeding into the darkness of night. Suddenly the engineer saw a startling sight. On the tracks, he thought he saw, in his headlight, a mysterious figure in a black cloak waving his arms. The engineer grabbed for the brakes, and the train came to a screeching halt. When they got out to take a look, they could not find the man that waved his hands. What they did see to their horror was that a few yards away from where they were there was a bridge that had washed out. Had they not have stopped when they stopped they would all met their deaths. They looked for the man that they had flagged them down and could not find him. What they did see was a gigantic moth laying dead on the tracks. What the moth had done was get into the headlights of the train. It looked like a man flagging down the train. The Lord saved that train and its passengers. When you hear stories like this, how can one ever doubt that God is a good God and has a good plan for our lives?

Conscience and the Inward Witness: A Look at the Spirit Led Life

[Tweet “Your life is meant to be a blessing to others. You are the missing piece to someone’s puzzle.”]

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Are You Sure You Know What the Gospel Is?

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Are You Sure You Know What the Gospel Is?

Believers in Jesus should know what His gospel is. If you were to ask someone to define the gospel for you, they would most likely say, ‘It means good news.’ And, that’s right. But, what specific kind of good news is it?

Why You Don’t Have to Be Sick in Light of the Bible

[Tweet “What Is the Gospel? First, it is Jesus dominion over death, hell, and the grave.”]