Bible in Life

Jesus teaches us that a life of prayer includes praying, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." - Matt 6:13 This is important because this world is a battleground not a playground … we often forget this. According to Jesus and His apostles the reason for this is because there is an archenemy of God and His people, namely the Satan who is out to destroy God's good world and God's people. Prayer is a key part of our arsenal for navigating the threats of this world. In this episode we look at two places we have to face evil.  1. We face evil in the world around us in both forms - suffering and sin. We need protection from this.  2. We face evil within us. We need strength and transformation to be delivered from this.  Passages mentioned in this episode: Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; - Luke 22:31-32 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8 Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. - Mark 14:38 abstain from fleshly desires which wage war against the soul. - 1 Peter 2:11 ▶️WANT A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? Sign up for a free video series on how to pray through Scripture: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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. 

‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. - Matthew 6:12 We have various strategies for dealing with our failures. We rationalize. We minimize. We blame. Jesus has another way. It's a way that requires courage. It's a way that will changes your life.  Instead of using any of the strategies that are forms of hiding/avoiding our failures, Jesus invites us to confess them to our Father in heaven and ask Him to forgive them. This is so powerful for our relationship with God, with ourself, and with others.  "Forgive us our debts" is a prayer that changes your life.  Passages mentioned in this episode: Luke 18:9-14 9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Romans 5:1-2  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.  1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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. 

Give us this day our daily bread.  This request from the Lord's Prayer begins to get at the heart of living a life of prayer. In this request, we are asking for our basic needs to be taken care of by someone else. This acknowledges that we aren't ultimately in charge of life - of our security and what becomes of us in the future. We can't control our well being.  To pray "give us this day our daily bread" is to admit our weakness and need of help. It's to look to our Father in heaven for this help. We can do this in a way that really amounts to worrying in God's direction or we can do it with confidence and trust.  So, learning to pray is learning to trust.  ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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. 

If you've ever prayed the Lord's prayer, you've prayed the words "Your kingdom come." What does that mean? What do you imagine happening when you ask that?  The coming of God's kingdom is one of the major themes of the Bible. It was at the heart of Jesus' ministry. Jesus taught that He was bringing God's kingdom into the world. So in a certain sense, God's kingdom is already here. Yet He taught us to pray for it to come, which means we're still waiting for it. Some things addressed in this podcast: -What is God's kingdom?  -What assumptions about the world and history underlie praying for God's kingdom to come? -What's the global aspect of this request and the personal aspect? -How does Jesus model the impact of this prayer on our life? ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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. 

Prayer.  When Jesus teaches us to pray, He says should be our first concern should be that God's name be "hallowed." That has to do with God's name being holy. As the psalmist writes, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." - 103:1.  But if God's name already is holy, then what does it mean to pray that it would be holy? And what does that teach us about living a life of prayer? Bible passages mentioned in this episode:  -Psalm 33:21: For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name.  -Psalm 97:12: Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name. -Psalm 103:1: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. -Exodus 20:7: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. -Ezekiel 36:20-23 20 When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’ 21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight - -Ezek 36:20-23 -Psalm 99:1-3 The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake! The Lord is great in Zion, and He is exalted above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He. -Psalm 111:9: He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. -Psalm 25:11: For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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. 

Who do you pray to? Yes, I know, God ... but what’s he like? How does he want to be addressed?  And what kind of relationship should we expect? As we're developing a life of prayer, these are all very important questions because we want to be sure we're praying to the God and Father revealed to us in Jesus. Jesus teaches us to pray to "Our Father in heaven ..." What kind of father is he? What kind of relationship with Him should we expect?  Tune in to this episode to see who Jesus invites us to pray to.  ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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. 

Prayer. Prayer is one of the most beautiful and most frustrating parts of the Christian life ... at least for me. Having prayed and followed Jesus for 35 years, I still find myself with tons of questions about prayer and I find myself still asking, "Lord teach me to pray!" That's the same request the disciples had for Jesus in Luke 11:1, and it reminds us that living a life of prayer doesn't just happen on accident. We have to be intentional. We have to seek help. We have to learn to pray.  Bible Verses mentioned in this episode:  Luke 11:1 -One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”  Luke 5:16 -  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 6:12 - One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Luke 9:18 - Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them … Luke 9:28 - About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. Mark 1:35 - Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 6:46 - After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. ▶️5 PRIORITIES OF A DISCIPLE MAKING CHURCH: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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.

Do you want your life to change for the better?  Do you want more patience and less anger? Do you want to see bitterness subside? Do you want to feel spiritual alive instead of spiritually stagnant? Do you want to grow in your faith? This episode will tell you how.  ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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.  

How can God forgive your sins? When I first became a Christian, I wanted nothing more than to please God. When I felt like I was doing good at that, I was happy, at times even a little self-righteous. When I felt like I wasn't doing good at that, I was down on myself, beating myself up with guilt.  While I knew that Jesus died so my sins could be forgiven, I struggled to really grasp that truth and make it my own. After all, sin was serious - deadly serious. God had to take it seriously, didn't He? He couldn't just overlook it could He?  And since I continued to sin, He had to take my sin seriously, right? And I had to show Him how sorry I was.  So I swung between feeling good about myself and my walk with God and feeling down on myself for failing Him!  Until I understood Romans 3:21-26: 21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. ▶️FREE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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.   

The book of Ecclesiastes opens with these well known words: “Meaningless! Meaningless!”     says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless!     Everything is meaningless.” And the book continually revisits this theme... which raises a very real and pressing question: Is this Bible book saying life is meaningless?  Life can be confusing. It can be frustrating. It can be hard.  But meaningless?! So many people already feel like life is pointless. Certainly the Bible doesn't agree, does it? Actually, Ecclesiastes is making a different point altogether, a point that is incredibly profound and insightful. It's a point about the goodness of life and how we should live it as creatures of the living God. It's a message that is very appropriate as we come to the close of the year and begin, not only a new year but a new decade.  How should live in view of the fleeting, confusing, and sometimes hard nature of life? That's what Ecclesiastes is all about. ▶️FREE BIBLE READING PLAN: https://www.johnwhittaker.net ▶️MORE FREE RESOURCES: https://www.johnwhittaker.net/resources ▶️SUPPORT THIS SHOW Two ways you can support the show: Become a patron for as little as $5 per month at https://www.patreon.com/johnwhittaker Donate through World Family Mission … all gifts are tax deductible.   Other resources and 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.