Episodes
Saturday Sep 15, 2018
The Trinity: Trick or Treat?
Saturday Sep 15, 2018
Saturday Sep 15, 2018
From the title of this teaching, you might suppose, “John is preaching to the choir.” But of course choir members still need reinforcement of their core beliefs, especially regarding an issue as critical as who is Jesus and what is his relationship to God. And John will take a little different tack to emphasize how this confusing, convoluted notion dilutes the quality of one’s relationship with both God and Christ.
If you were God, would you make the most important truth in Christianity non-existent in Scripture? Would you leave out all the “key” terminology on which the doctrine is built? Would you make the “cornerstone” of the Christian faith so vague that no one would purport to either understand or explain it? So if there is no such thing in the Bible, why do most Christians believe in the Trinity?
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Only You Can Prevent A Forest Fire—Or Start One
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
God chose WORDS as the means of communication between Him and us, and between us and us. Logically, mastering their use is critical—and perhaps the key to avoiding sin. There are countless verses in His Word about the power of the tongue—for either good or bad. The tongue is a lethal weapon—the easiest way to sin. At least 25 negative adjectives are used in the Word regarding the tongue, lips, speech.
Administrationally speaking, we are currently living in “Word War 5.” Adam lost “Word War 1,” using his God-given mouth to shift the blame for his sin. It is significant that some time after that God had to intervene and scatter people’s languages so they could no longer collaborate against Him, at least for a while.
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Two Roads To Glory
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
As you know, belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to everlasting life (John 14:6). But did you know that in one sense, he is a divided highway, and both roads lead to glory? Are you aware that the vast majority of Christians are being taught that most everything Jesus said is pertinent to us Christians today? Almost none of them recognize the biblical truth that God and Christ currently have two programs now showing, although the one that came on the air first is now temporarily held in abeyance until the next stage in the second program is completed.
Knowing what parts of the Bible are written TO WHOM is perhaps the most important principle there is in Scripture. We must understand which parts are TO ISRAEL—past, present, future, and what parts are TO CHRISTIANS—present and future, or the Bible will not make sense. This is one reason why Satan so vigorously attacks the Truth about the Secret of The One Body. If one misses this vital truth, many other indispensable biblical truths fall like dominoes.
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Freedom of Speech
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Today in the USA we hear plenty of rhetoric about “free speech,” which is supposed to be what sets us apart from other supposedly more repressive countries. The free expression of thought was one of the main reasons the Pilgrims left England and came here.
As soon as God made it clear that He would use WORDS as the source of communication and connection, the Devil realized that he first needed to stop people from ever hearing God’s Word. His second ploy would be to get teachers to twist it beyond recognition. Has he been successful? OMG! Of course, if truth and facts are on your side, you need not obfuscate. For us, we simply lay it out for people, and those who desire Truth will receive it.
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
How To Take Care of Yourself
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
I’m trying to pay attention to people’s first impressions on me, and mine on them (e.g., doc and nurse)! At the bottom line, it is about BEING like Jesus, and then DOING the works he did. Understanding that makes it clear that our biggest enemy is SELF. Yes, because if I am going to speak and act like Jesus, I must first THINK like he did Think about those people you meet who give off something attractive, and who, for some reason, you immediately like—and feel comfortable around. It is our doing the work between our ears that draws “good” people to us (2 Cor. 2:24-17).
Stick to the simplicity of Christ. The Devil studies you and me so as to learn how to defeat us. We are not “ignorant of his devices." He plans his specific attacks on us based upon his assessment of our strengths and weaknesses, and our circumstances.
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
What Does The Word “Church” Really Mean?
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
In today’s culture, the word “church” does not have a positive connotation for many people. Rather than it bringing to mind a vibrant group of people, unified in their beliefs and striving to be like the Lord Jesus Christ whom they love and follow, most people think of a building for public worship.
One problem is that most Christians do not distinguish between the different “churches/assemblies” set forth in Scripture. For example, Matthew 16:18 (“I will build my CHURCH”) and Revelation 1:4 (“John, to the seven CHURCHES which are in Asia”) do NOT refer to that body of believers that came into existence in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:47 = ”the Lord added to the CHURCH daily.”)
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
We Uncover So God Can Cover
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
About 2000 years ago today, a relative handful of Christ’s followers, those aware of his Resurrection, were still in ecstatic shock as they pondered this earthshaking event and what it meant to them. Let us remember that Jesus came to solve man’s two-fold problem of SIN and DEATH, and to regain the Paradise that the first Adam had squandered. The sin that dwells within me is my basic problem, and in this teaching I want to bare my soul to you regarding one element of that problem. It may be that you can in some way identify with my challenge.
Perhaps you’ve heard the admonition, “Get naked before the Lord.” Easier said than done, as Adam showed us after he had become dominated by a sinful nature and went into the clothing business. Like our sinful predecessor, my strong tendency is to shift the blame and hide my sins from people, and (unconsciously) from God, which is ridiculous. The key: how to work with the Lord to get to the ROOT of the sin and annihilate it within me.
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Faith Revisited
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Obviously the question, “Why didn’t God answer my prayer?” is one that virtually every Christian has asked at some point. We may not always be able to answer that question, but God’s Word gives us a framework for understanding certain vital truths that will help us maintain our faith/trust in Him. Perhaps the main takeaway point of this teaching is that we never abandon what we understand from the Word in the face of what we do not understand experientially.
Someone recently sent me an interview by a radio host with a very upbeat woman in her mid/late 30s who is, by all reports, dying of “incurable” colon cancer. She teaches at Duke Divinity School, and has a young son whom she can’t bear to leave. She is doing immunotherapy in order to prolong her life a little more each time. She wrote a book titled Everything Happens for a Reason, and Other Lies I’ve Loved. That’s an inviting title, and a rare one. Then she mentioned other lies people have said to her during her illness: God is writing a better story; Heaven is your true home; God needs another angel. Unfortunately, she substitutes other non-biblical ideas in their place.
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
The Fab Five Keys to Your Spiritual Growth
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
Saturday Sep 01, 2018
In One Day With The Creator, Segment 22 (Parts 1-3) is titled Spiritual Growth: The Five Basics. According to God’s Word, those five basic habits each believer should build into his life are: prayer, reading/studying the Word, fellowship with other brethren, sharing your faith, material/financial giving.
Why does God want us excelling in these things? Because together they help us KNOW HIM and His Son—and that is the bottom line of life. The more we know them, the more we love them. The more we love them, the more we selflessly serve them. The more we serve them, the more fulfilled we are.
Interestingly, one particular Greek word ties together all these essential habits. That word is prothumos, meaning “forwardness of mind, readiness of mind, willing mind, predisposition, inclination, alacrity of mind.” Achieving this type of attitude requires effort, so that, in the face of everything from a crushed button on your shirtsleeve to a horrible tragedy, your first thought is, “I can’t wait to see how God will work for me in this situation!”