Posted on

#S4-008: What Ten Things Are You Thankful For? [Podcast]

by

Be Thankful Unto the Lord

Here we are again, another Thanksgiving season. I turn sixty in a few days. Man, am I thankful unto God. I am thankful unto God for good health. At this age, my father was in the throes of battling cancer and had been so for many years. He went home at age 61.   Every year, at this season, I like to address the topic of thankfulness. No need to break the string now. The character trait of thankfulness is right to have because it strikes at one of the key elements necessary for success in the human person, attitude.

Listen to the Audio

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

[Tweet “If thankfulness is anything – its attitude.”]

Posted on

What Kind of Things Should We Be Thankful For?

by

Do You Have A Thankful Heart?

Is there any benefit to being thankful? Many only think about thankfulness around this time of the year. We are often admonished to be thankful, to count our blessings, to look back over the year and be grateful for what we have. According, to the Bible, being thankful is not a holiday. In the Old Testament, God commanded the children of Israel to keep certain feasts unto the Lord. By these feasts, they and their children were supposed to be reminded of all that the Lord did (Ex. 13:5-10). These feasts were supposed to be points where children were instructed in the things of God. Most of all, they were supposed to be occasions of rejoicing.

For more on the subject of thankfulness, please see ‘What Ten Things Are You Thankful For [Podcast]‘

[Tweet “A thankful heart is a heart which is having a party all the time. That’s God’s idea.”]

Posted on

The Word of the Lord Is Like A Fire

by

The Word of the Lord Is A Fire

How’s Your Fire?

Jeremiah said the Word of the Lord in him just lit his heart up like fire.

Jeremiah 20:9 (GW) — 9 I think to myself, “I can forget the Lord and no longer speak his name.” But ⌊his word⌋ is inside me like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I wear myself out holding it in, but I can’t do it any longer.

If you think about the Word of God long enough, if you ponder it and meditate on it like the Psalmist David did in Psalm one,

Psalm 1:1–3 (GW) — 1 Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers. 2 Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord and reflects on his teachings day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted beside streams— a tree that produces fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. He succeeds in everything he does.

You will come to a place just like Jeremiah where His Word is so strong in you that you can’t hold it in. You have to just let it go.

[Tweet “Is God’s Word like a fire shut up in your heart?”]

We met this colorful gentleman in Ocho, Jamaica while on vacation. For more of our travels check out our Instagram account.© 2017 Emery Horvath
Posted on

#S4-007: Why Divine Healing Is Better for Your Life [Podcast]

Gospel Truths on Healing

by

Divine healing is better for your life

Divine healing is better for your life, that’s not only a Bible fact, it’s an earthly fact too. A survey conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians shows that ninety-nine percent of doctors believe a relationship exists between faith and physical healing. Recently, more than one thousand health-care professionals met at Harvard Medical School to examine the connection between spirituality and healing. Doctors’ faith in faith was bolstered by a California study of the effect of prayer on recovery from heart problems. About two hundred heart patients were assigned to Christians who prayed for them, while an equal number, a control group, received no known prayers. Neither group knew about the prayers, yet those who received prayer developed half the complications that were experienced by those in the control group. A similar study by the Dartmouth Medical School examined the effect of prayer on healing when the patients prayed for themselves. The death rate six months after bypass surgery was 9 percent for the general population but 5 percent for those who prayed for their own healing. And none of the deeply religious patients died during the period of the study. 1

Listen to the Audio

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

[Tweet “Divine healing is ‘Jesus style’ healing. It’s the method that He employed in His earth walk.”]

Posted on

Why the Calling of God on Your Life Takes Time

The Epistle to the Galatians

by

God has a calling on your life.

I came across this amusing story which as a nice application in the area of our calling in God.

The commanding officer was furious when nine GIs who had been out on passes failed to show up for morning roll call. Not until 7 p.m. did the first man straggle in. “I’m sorry, sir,” the soldier explained, “but I had a date and lost track of time, and I missed the bus back. Being determined to get in on time, I hired a cab. Halfway there, the cab broke down. I went to a farmhouse and persuaded the farmer to sell me a horse. I was riding to camp when the animal fell over dead. I walked the last ten miles, and just got here.” Though skeptical, the colonel let the young man off with a reprimand. However, after him, seven other stragglers in a row came in with the same story—had a date, missed the bus, hired a cab, bought a horse, etc. By the time the ninth man reported in, the colonel had grown weary of it. “Okay,” he growled, “now what happened to you?” “Sir, I had this date and missed the bus back, so I hired a cab .” “Wait!” the colonel screeched at him. “don’t tell me the cab broke down.” “No, sir,” replied the soldier. “The cab didn’t break down. It was just that there were so many dead horses in the road, we had trouble getting through.” 1

The point is that sometimes there are obstacles that you have to traverse, bumps in the road that you have to climb on and over in order to realize your calling from God. Overcoming these bumps take time and in God, you just have to learn to respect the process.

For more on the book of Galatians see the following posts: Do You Look Like the Galatians?

Upcoming Series for the Light on Life Podcast: Gospel Truths on Healing

[Tweet “Paul was busy in ministry teaching and building the church before he got over into his calling.”]

Posted on

#S4-006: How and Why It’s Important to Honor Your Parents [Podcast]

by

Honor your parents, that's the Word of God unto us.

Philo, a first-century Jew living in Alexandria, Egypt, writes about the obligation of children in the home to honor their parents.

“Parents have not only been given the right of exercising authority over their children… for parents pay out a and invest in nurses, tutors, and teachers, in addition to the cost of their clothes, food, and care in sickness and health from their earliest years until they are full grown. Given all these considerations, children who honor their parents do nothing deserving of praise since even one of the items mentioned is in itself quite a sufficient call to show deep respect…Therefore, honor your father and mother next to God, he [Moses] says [Ex. 20:12].… For parents have little thought for their own personal interests and find their fulfillment and happiness in the high excellence of their children, and to gain this the children will be willing to listen to their instructions and to obey them in everything that is just and profitable; for the true father will give no instruction to his son that is foreign to virtue.” 1

Philo had it right. The Bible is clear, honor your parents.

Listen to the Audio

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

[Tweet “Jesus connects the word ‘honor’ with doing things financially for your father and mother.”]

Posted on

Why Your Miracle Testimony Gives Glory to God

The Epistle to the Galatians

by

Your Miracle Testimony Is Important

A rather pompous-looking deacon was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. “Why do people call me a Christian?” the man asked. After a moment’s pause, one youngster said, “Maybe it’s because they don’t know you.”1 This is not the way to live. Our miracle testimony should give glory to the God who saved us. It should be evident.

For more on the book of Galatians see the following posts:

Do You Look Like the Galatians?

Why Bumbling Believers Are Yet Part of the Family of God

Why Things Never Go Right for Some

Why You’re Bored in Church and How to Overcome It

The Truth About the Enormous Problem of Itching Ears

Beware of Abandoning Jesus and Know How to Spot the Signs

[Tweet “Comparing one person’s sins to another is futile. We were all lost in whatever way we took.”]

Posted on

#S4-005: What to Do When Your Family Thinks Your Nuts about Jesus [Podcast]

The Kingdom Series

by

Are You Nuts about Jesus?

Here you are, you’ve come to Jesus and you’re nuts about Him. In fact, you didn’t just come to Him, you gave Him your everything. But, your family thinks you’ve gone off the deep end. You’ve gone a little too far with this Jesus business. What do you do? Well, you can look at the example of Jesus. What did Jesus do when His family thought He had lost His mind over God the Father?

Listen to the Audio

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

[Tweet “The ones who are nuts, are those who don’t choose the Kingdom first lifestyle.”]

Posted on

More on Revelation and Building the Kingdom of God

The First Epistle to the Corinthians

by

You must revelation from God's Spirit to be a wise master builder.

There is nothing like nature to unfold truth about God. Nature is constantly shouting to us about the wisdom and the power of God. It gives a sense of awe and mystery to life. Even atheists cannot fully escape this. God’s revelation in nature is like an orchestra performing a concert. Some people who come to listen hear only the instruments as they express the melody and harmony of the music. But others who come are familiar with the composer and know the words that go with the music. These hear more than the music. In much the same way, only those who have a personal relationship with the Creator through Jesus Christ can really see in all of creation the fullness of what God intended to communicate through it.1 Seeing is part of knowing and knowing is part of building. Those who are God lover’s possess a deep desire to build His Kingdom. How do we do that exactly? Growing the Kingdom starts with growing you.

[Tweet “Anything built on the foundation of God has revelation from His Spirit as an essential element.”]

Posted on

#S4-004: What Commitment to Kingdom First Really Looks Like [Podcast]

The Kingdom Series

by

Kingdom First? Some Bible Examples of Commitment

In last week’s podcast, we took a look at two Bible examples which illustrated the principle of Kingdom first. One was a positive example in Asa, the other a negative one in the example of Eli. In this week’s episode we are going to look at a few more ‘commitment’ examples, both Old and New Testament people who illustrated by their choices that seeking first the Kingdom of God was the way to live. All this on this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

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

[Tweet ” The Hebrew word for ‘awesome’ means exactly that, to be inspiring awe or reverence or fear.”]

Posted on

The Fear of the Lord As a Manifestation of the Spirit

by

The Fear of God Is A Manifestation of the Spirit

As we continue to look at the Fear of the Lord, the following illustration is of note. Back in 1994, there was a very famous television evangelist who was in prison; his name is Jim Bakker. Jim Bakker had the largest Christian television network in the whole world, but he got caught up in fraud, and adultery. The government prosecuted him for the mail fraud he committed, and he was thrown into jail for five years. John Bevere visited him while in prison. This was part of the conversation they had.

After he had talked for a while, I felt like I wanted to ask him some questions. The first question I asked was, “Jim, when did you fall out of love with Jesus? When did you stop loving Jesus? Was it when you committed adultery with Jessica Hahn seven years before you got thrown into prison? Was it the fraud? When did it really happen?” Because I remember he was so on fire for God in the earlier years. He looked at me and said, “John, I didn’t.” I said, “What do you mean, you didn’t?” He said, “I didn’t fall out of love with Jesus; I loved Him all the way through it.” And then he saw total bewilderment on my face. I said, “What do you mean?!” He said, “John, I loved Jesus, but I didn’t fear God.” There are millions of Christians in America who love Jesus but don’t fear Him, and it is the fear of the Lord that perfects holiness in our life.” 1

In today’s blog, we continue to look at the Fear of the Lord in our everyday life.

[Tweet “The fear of the Lord falling upon people is one of the manifestations of the Spirit.”]

Posted on

#S4-003: Kingdom First? Some Bible How To Illustrations [Podcast]

The Kingdom of God Series

by

Putting the Kingdom of God First

Joyce Meyer had this to say about priorities and putting God and His Kingdom first.

There are so many things that clamor for our attention and devotion: our jobs, our kids, our spouses, our hobbies – the demands and distractions of life. And we have to be careful not to let them become more important or more of a priority than our relationship with God.

In this week’s podcast, we will continue to look at the danger of putting family ahead of the Kingdom.

Listen to the Audio

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

[Tweet “Life is more than anything so don’t allow money worries to come between you and God.”]