The Bible Speaks to You: Think, Pray, Love like Jesus

349 – Are you praying for your government?

If you take an unbiased look at the government of countries all over the world, you’ll often find some degree of corruption. 

Sometimes it doesn’t run very deep but other times senior leaders and the heads of government themselves are the source of corruption.

This has been going on since governments began. Is there a solution? Even when politicians claim they try to get rid of all corruption...

348 – What defines your spiritual identity?

Do you ever struggle to find freedom from guilt over things that happened in the past? 

You’re trying to follow Christ and live your life in obedience to all Jesus says, but sometimes it’s hard to let go of the guilt from things you did years ago, or maybe even just yesterday.

You know that God has forgiven you, but once in a while, those past sins and mistakes weigh heavy on your heart.

Is i...

347 – What do you do when no one understands you?

Have you ever been with a group of close friends and you share some pretty deep ideas you’ve been thinking about, but then everyone looks at you like you’re crazy. 

They have no idea what you’re talking about. 

You try to explain, but they’re still clueless, their eyes glaze over, and they go back to discussing with great enthusiasm, something that seems trivial and inconsequential.

The...

346 – Freedom Friday!

Have you ever found it hard to accept God’s forgiveness? 

The mistakes you’ve made and the sins you’ve committed just seem too much for God to wink at, much less forgive?

When you carry around the guilt, along with the feeling you don’t deserve God’s love and forgiveness, it can be a terrible burden that keeps you from living the life of joy and freedom God has in store for you.

When someone gives you a gift, what...

345 – Is Christian unity possible?

Ever been disillusioned by people from different Christian denominations arguing about who is right theologically, and in the process sending everyone who disagrees with them to hell?

So many churches today think they are the only true followers of Christ and dogmatically insist you must agree with their theology to be a Christian. 

This attitude doesn’t bring fellow believers together but is incredi...

344 – Freedom Friday

What's your first thought when you hear the word, repentance? 

It doesn’t always have a positive connotation does it?

Can’t you just hear an angry preacher shouting from the pulpit that you need to repent of your sins?

Sometimes it seems like they are trying to rub your nose in all the sins you’ve committed and make you feel really bad about yourself.

But when Jesus said we need to repent, that’s not what he me...

343 – Understanding the Lord's Prayer

How often do you say the Lord’s Prayer. Now, what I really want to know is how often you pray the Lord’s Prayer. They’re not always the same thing.

Have you ever been at church and it seems like when you get to the Lord’s Prayer it’s a race to see how fast you can say it? 

Jesus didn’t want us just to repeat words. He wanted this prayer to be a guide to understanding God and our relationship ...

342 – Bad motives versus good motives

Have you ever kept making the same mistakes and committing the same sin, even though you’ve tried to stop? 

You’ve tried to do what’s right but you keep slipping back into old patterns of thinking and acting.

Sometimes, trying to change one behavior by a different behavior doesn’t really get at the root of the problem. 

We need to go a little deeper and deal with the mental and spiritual motives, w...

341 – What are your hopes for 2026? Who do you want to be?

At the beginning of a new year a lot of people set goals and make resolutions of what they want to accomplish or stop doing during the next 12 months. 

The focus is usually on achievements and results, changing behavior, establishing new habits, things like that.

Other people like to pick out a phrase or a word as a theme for the year.

But a lot of folks I know have trouble kee...

340 – Ever have trouble admitting your mistakes?

Have you ever had a hard time accepting responsibility for the mistakes you’ve made and the sins you’ve committed?

I know, it’s all too easy to blame someone else or circumstances, the way you were brought up, the way someone treated you, or whatever it may be.

But if you really want to heal the burden of guilt you’re carrying around, you’ll accept full responsibility for your mistakes ...

339 – Thank You 2025!

It's been a great year in many ways, but it had its challenges as well.

There have been ups and downs for sure, but from all the people I talk to and interact with online, I feel a gradual and growing momentum in the way people’s hearts are reaching out for things of the Spirit. 

Before we launch out into a new year, it can be really helpful to appreciate all the lessons learned in 2025 and the good received...

338 - It's Freedom Friday

How often to you compare yourself with others? How's that workin' for you?

One of the things I’ve really had to work at over the years is not to compare myself with others.

When I’ve seen someone who is more successful, is smarter, stronger, better looking than me, it’s easy to feel inferior to them. 

I've felt guilty I didn’t work as hard as they did, or maybe I tried but didn’t succeed li...

337 – Let the light of Christmas shine bright

One of the major themes at Christmas time is the light of Christ shining into a dark world. In fact the Christmas story has all kinds of light in it. 

There’s the star that appears to the Wisemen from the East. There’s the glory of God shining on the shepherds as the angels talk to them. 

And most important of all is the birth of Jesus, who came as the Light of the world.

But Jesus didn’t c...

336 – What makes you want to obey God?

People sometimes ask: "Is there a way to obey God from a place of love instead of from a sense of duty or fear of punishment?" 

And my answer is always: Absolutely, Yes! It is totally possible to obey God from a place of love instead of duty or fear. 

God doesn’t want you to obey Him because you’re afraid of Him. God wants a loving relationship with you. 

When you realize He always has y...

335 – Will you or anyone you know be alone for Christmas this year?

An estimated 14 million Americans will spend Christmas alone in 2025.  

That’s a lot of people! I don’t have numbers for other countries, but this really opened my eyes to a problem that’s a lot bigger than I realized.

There’s a wide variety of reasons why people are alone at Christmas, and a small percentage of them actually prefer to be by themselves. 

But the vast m...

334 – It's Freedom Friday

How good are you at overcoming temptation?

What do you do when you are tempted to do something you know you shouldn’t do? How do you resist the temptation? Or do you just give in to it?

A question I get a lot is: How do I resist the temptations in my life? This is something we all have to deal with. 

And at some point, as you grow spiritually, it’s not just about resisting temptation, but getting to where...

333 – God still uses ordinary people to accomplish His purpose

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and a lot of people I know are busy getting ready for this special time of year when we celebrate Christ’s coming. And I don’t just mean making all the preparations for holiday meals, gifts, and seasonal activities. 

A lot of people take very seriously getting ready spiritually to be more receptive to the spirit of Christmas, the appear...

332 – FREEDOM FRIDAY

You are made in the image and likeness of God. The Bible makes this clear in the very first chapter of Genesis.

But then the Bible tells story after story of how people have sinned and not been true to the way God created them. 

Someone asked the other day: If I’m really made in the image and likeness of God, why do I keep sinning?

That’s a pretty deep question and that's what this episode of Freedom Friday is...

331 – What gives you a sense of self-worth?

Over the years, I've met some people who are very, very wealthy. 

I've also met people who probably didn’t have $20 to their name. And lots of people in between.

Some of these very wealthy people, even though they have been incredibly successful in many areas of their life, have a very low sense of self-worth. 

And a few of the homeless people I’ve met, who don’t have enough money t...