Love God. It is a simple enough commandment - easy to say, repeat and remember. But what does it really mean? Are there different ways of expressing love for God and does God look for different results depending on what age of humanity we live in? Most of all, is loving God - no matter when and where we live - enough?
The very definition of “Christian” is one who follows Christ. As Christians, we all know this and we all agree that it is of paramount importance. The big question is, what exactly does it mean to follow Christ? What is our life supposed to look like? What does God want FROM us through Christ and what does God want FOR us through Christ? Is it different for everyone? How do we know if we are on track? What role does trouble play? Do we really have to suffer for Christ?
Jesus knew when his time would be up and his sacrifice would be complete. He knew – down to the very hour – he knew. He understood the pain and suffering that awaited, and he also understood the immense difficulty and challenge that would unfold, not only for him but for his followers as well. So, knowing all of this, what did Jesus do to prepare himself to overcome? Where did he go, how did he act and what did he say? Stay with us as we observe what our Master did to prepare to finish his walk of sacrifice, so we can learn how to handle our own…
Here we are in the 21st century and Christianity has really taken on a different look than when it all began. So, what is following Jesus all about? Is it costly? Is it pleasant? Can we customize our following of Jesus to our personal preferences? How do we know if we are really following him or if we are following our own idea of what we would like Jesus to be? Stay with us as we try to get our arms around what true discipleship is and how we can be fully immersed in the footsteps of our Lord!
Christians always talk about following after Jesus, following in his footsteps. What does that mean? Are we supposed to abandon every earthly possession and every earthly ambition to follow him? After all, isn’t that what he did? Are we supposed to sacrifice all of our human will all of the time? Is the idea of Christian sacrifice a requirement for all Christians to follow through on in order to fulfill our calling? Stay with us as we look into this not too often discussed part of the Christian life to try and understand just how it is supposed to work.
Everyone has issues. Some issues are brought on by bitter experiences and just linger on and on. For many of us, our issues can be life-long experiences that reflect our personality or a character trait that we simply don’t like, but don’t seem to be able to change. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure – where issues remain, bitterness is most likely right at home with them. Can we change this? Is there a way to make bitter become sweet? Stay with us as we look into this relevant and difficult question to try and find some answers.
Millions and millions of people the world over claim to be Christians. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of varied denominations and interpretations that define what being a Christian requires – ranging in definition from God loves you, you love God, He wants you to have everything in life – just ask, to have no contact with the world and its lusts and beat yourself into submission. So, what do we do with all that? What is really required of a Christian? Stay with us as we look into the Scriptures and try to capture their meaning regarding God’s blessing, personal sacrifice and God’s will for us.
Last week we talked about God’s promise of a kingdom on earth, where all who have ever lived will have the opportunity to ultimately live in peace and harmony under the mighty rule of the Almighty God. We saw numerous scriptures that revealed this broad plan of salvation. This raised a question; if everyone will ultimately get the goodies, why bother to be a Christian now? Why put in all of the work, sacrifice and dedication when all men benefit anyway? On this program we look into what true Christianity is, what it costs and what its rewards are. Why be a Christian? Lots of reasons! Let’s look!
Will the “real” Christians please stand up? Who are they? If you were to ask Christians from five different denominations to give you a list of beliefs and character traits that make a "true" Christian, chances are you would get five different lists. What does this mean? How do we find the true qualifications? Can someone be a true Christian just by saying so? What should your life look like? What should your beliefs reflect? On this podcast we take a biblical perspective on a very difficult question: What does it take to be a REAL Christian?
