Bible in Life

In Luke 8:4-18 (the Parable of the Sower) Jesus teaches us a critical truth: hearing the word of God isn't enough; it's the way you hear that really matters.  That means that Bible study alone isn't going to lead to spiritual maturity. In fact, there are some pretty smart people who know more Bible than most people and don't even believe in God or follow Jesus.  In the parable, there are 4 kinds of soils that represent 4 kinds of hearts: a hard heart, a shallow heart, a distracted heart, and a good heart. What makes the difference between the good heart and the other three? Tune it to find out ... and then check your heart!   TEXT   4 When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. 16 “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.17 For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”   Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net/minicourse   Support this ministry: Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   Teaching through Bible books: The Listener's Commentary on the New Testament is an audio commentary on each New Testament book, explaining its meaning in its original context so you can better understand what it means. https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.  

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Jesus quotes these words when he's being tempted by devil. But the words originally appear in Deuteronomy 8:3, and they provide a real challenge to us as followers of Jesus.   Deuteronomy 8:1-5 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.   Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net/minicourse   Support this ministry: Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/ Or become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker   Teaching through Bible books: The Listener's Commentary on the New Testament is an audio commentary on each New Testament book, explaining its meaning in its original context so you can better understand what it means.  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram   ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email. 

Jesus was not afraid to use a little Bible teacher trash talk when dealing with the religious leaders of his day. He often challenged them on their knowledge of Scripture ... which is both fascinating and frightening. These were the Bible experts of the day and yet Jesus questioned their knowledge of the Bible! Since our spiritual growth is tied to our grasp of the Bible, there's an important lesson in this for us as disciples of Jesus. Do we truly know the Bible? What kind of posture do we have in relationship to the Bible? Do we stand over the text as masters of it or under the text as those who would be mastered by it?    Support this ministry: Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/ Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net/minicourse Teaching through Bible books: https://www.listenerscommentary.com Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Did you know Jesus had to learn the Bible? Have you ever thought about that?  Jesus didn't just somehow automatically know the Scriptures by heart just because he was God in the flesh. He had to study them and learn them, just like he had to learn so many other things as a human being.  And learn them he did.  Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) looking for all the time Jesus referred to or quoted the Bible. It was just a part of the fabric of his life.  As disciples of Jesus, our goal is to become like Him. That means, we imitate his pattern of life. If Jesus did something, then we aim to do it too.  This means that learning the Bible should be a central aim of our discipleship to Jesus.  In this episode, we mentioned a lot a passages of Scripture. I'll put a few of them below to make it easier to follow along if you want. Matthew 12:1-7 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” 3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”   Matthew 15:1-9;  15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8  “‘These people honor me with their lips,     but their hearts are far from me. 9  They worship me in vain;     their teachings are merely human rules.’”   Luke 2:40-52 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.   Luke 24:25-27 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.   Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net/minicourse   Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/ Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker    Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

I don't know a single person who would say they wouldn't like a blessed life. We may have different pictures of what a blessed life is, but everybody wants one.  But that also indicates the problem ... we all have different pictures of what a blessed life is. There are thousands of voices all clamoring for our attention and all promising their version of the good life. Far too often, however, God's people listen to those other voices rather than to the instruction of the Lord.  But Psalm 1 says, "Blessed is the man who ... delights in the Law of the Lord." Can Bible study really make a difference in your life? Psalm 1 thinks so. In fact, this psalm paints a compelling picture of two ways of life with two very different outcomes. Self-honesty urges us to ask, who do I listen to about how to have a blessed life? Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net/minicourse   Support this Ministry: Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   Check out the Listener's Commentary on the New Testament:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Here are some other ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Masks or no masks? Protests, riots, and racial injustice. Name calling and labels over political opinions. Needless to say, the present time is contentious ... and Christians aren't immune. In this episode, I seek to inject some biblical wisdom into the situation so that we can better live as the people of God and better glorify God at the present time.  Become a Patron and get access to discounts on courses and bonus podcasts  https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker    The Listener's Commentary https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net/minicourse Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/ I'd love to connect. Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Love is the the heart of the new culture in Jesus' family ... and not just any love either. Love that's patterned after Jesus. Love that is cross-shaped. This is capstone of re-scocializing, the goal of spiritual growth.    Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   I'd love to connect. Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram   ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Forgiveness.    We all need it, and God gladly gives it to un in Jesus. And as God's new family in Jesus, he expects us to give forgiveness to each other. This is one of the most distinctive practices of the new culture we're learning in Jesus.    This episode discusses some of the things forgiveness is not and what it essentially is.    Bible passages referenced in this episode:   Colossians 3:12-13 12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.    Matthew 18:21-35 21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.   23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”   Want to deepen you connection with God? The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   I'd love to connect. Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram   ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Even though we're part of a new kingdom as Jesus' followers, we're still part of the city in which we live. So as part of God's kingdom how are we supposed to relate to the kings and kingdoms of this world?    This is a crucial question that the apostles of Jesus regularly address. Peter offers a clear and compelling answer to this question in 1 Peter 2:11-17. He makes it clear that honoring the governing authorities and being good members of the community are key parts of learning the new way of Jesus.    1 Peter 2:11-17 11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.   13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.   The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   I'd love to connect. Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram   ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

As a follower of Jesus, how should we think about money and stuff? We tend think money is good. Often we think more of it will solve so many problems. Is that true?  Or is it bad? Should we get rid of it all and take a vow of poverty?  I think Jesus' way regarding money and stuff is much more insightful and balance than either of those two options.  Passages used in this episode: Matthew 6:19-24 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. Connect with me: The #1 key to becoming like Jesus is living our life attached to him. So I've got a gift for you on my website ... a free video series designed to teach you how to read the Bible in a way to deepens your attachment to God. Click the link below. https://www.johnwhittaker.net   Support this Ministry Thank you to all of you who make this ministry possible by your financial support! Do you want to join the team? Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   Here are some ways to connect with me: ▶️Social Media-I would love to connect with you on facebook and instagram   ▶️Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.