Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Theme Scripture: Joshua 24:15
Outside of some deeply philosophical debates, the idea of human beings having inherent freedom of choice seems to be a generally acceptable premise. Free will makes us special. The capacity of conscious choice establishes humankind in a unique category in relation to the rest of life on our planet. When human beings interfere with the freedom of choice of other humans, the consequences are usually dark. We end up with things like oppression, slavery and dictatorships. Does God ever interfere with our freedom of choice? Does He ever override an individual’s chosen pathway and force them onto another one? Some scriptures seem to indicate this, but is it? How do we understand the value and application of human choice in God’s ultimate plan?

Theme Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15
The Bible is a complicated book. It is a book of many books written in several languages over more than 1,500 years by the hand of about 40 individuals. It contains history and prophecy, as well as spiritual, moral and legal guidance. Its content is relayed in the form of historical records, letters, proclamations and in symbolic and metaphorical language. Some teachings are in story form, some are illustrated by example, and others are expressed by way of rigid law. The Bible contains catchy phrases, exaggeration, long genealogies and profound truth. Intertwined in all of this is the word of God and the message of His divine plan of all ages for all of humanity. So, where does one start – how does one start to find a way to understand what it is saying?

Theme Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:3-4
Near-death experiences  (NDEs) are common. They have been reported from cultures and religions worldwide for hundreds of years. In this near-death scenario, there is usually a dark tunnel with a warm and calming light at the end. Often there are deceased relatives waiting in that light to receive the person going through the  experience. Sometimes the person feels and sees themselves leave their body. At Christian Questions, we have always held that the Bible teaches that death is the absence of life. Could these NDEs be shedding a different light and proof on this subject? Are these experiences showing us a gateway to the supernatural, or could they in any way be physiological? One way or another, NDEs prove something. This question is, what?

Theme Scripture: Philippians 1:12-13
Every Christian wants to be faithful in living their life with thankfulness. One immediate question that arises is, what causes us to be thankful? What life experiences bring us to gratitude? Most of us would answer that we feel appreciativeness when things fall into place or when a hard experience yields a righteous result. These are great times to give honor to God, but what about when the opposite happens? What kind of acknowledgment do we give to God when our opportunities are cut off for no good reason? Would we be grateful if we were singled out to have our personal freedoms to spread the gospel stripped, and we were instead literally locked in our house? The Apostle Paul was. The last several years of his life were mostly spent as a prisoner of Rome. What was his secret to rejoicing?

As a Christian, we never want to be in a situation where we end up fighting against God. Yet, we may end up in this position more often than we’d expect. To fight FOR God is to stand for His principles, His Plan and His purposes as outlined in Scripture. This sounds simple, but it really isn't. We find ourselves fighting against Him when we are misinformed or misguided and we take a stand for something that is less than godly. Sometimes we mistakenly or purposefully misrepresent God’s word or focus on motivation that is less than spiritually pure. It is easy to look at our thoughts and preferences and interpret them as “God’s will” for us and then pursue them with confidence. So, how do we know if we are really on God’s side or someone else’s in these circumstances?

Theme Scripture: James 5:16
We always say that prayer changes things - and it does. Jesus was emphatic about prayer and even gave us an example of how to pray in what is known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” With prayer, as with so many parts of Christian doctrine, the core value of what the Bible teaches easily gets lost in the interpretive value of our own human perspective. Because of the imperfect human part of the equation we create many questions. What about those circumstances where someone prays for what they need, and they simply don’t get it? Is the problem that God is not listening or that He doesn’t want them to have what they need? Is the problem that this person not praying appropriately? How does prayer really work?

It seems like wisdom has become old fashioned and obsolete. When I think of wisdom, I think of a thoughtful approach that is not driven by self-interest. I think of quiet observation that seeks to understand the people, the facts and the circumstances before weighing in with answers. When I think of wisdom, I think of my Grandma Helen. She lived a hard life and yet judged no one, always found a way to help and contribute and continually guided others towards their best and most integrity-filled path. When I think of wisdom, I think of Jesus. I think of his everyday life, his teaching, his obedience to his Father and his selflessness. When I think of wisdom, I don’t ever think of our day and our tech-driven, opinion-heavy and reaction-riddled approach. What happened? Where did we go wrong?

Our shared human experience is linked by extreme grief at the loss of a loved one. COVID-19 has unexpectedly killed millions of people around the world, often with no time opportunity for meaningful closure. When a child dies, or a loved dies tragically or simply passes away from sickness or old age, we want to know, where are they? Are they hurting? Are they okay? Our emotional devastation can cause a desperate search for assurances that they are in a good place. The urge to communicate with the dead through a medium or psychic has been around since ancient days. But have the dead found a way to communicate directly with us? Could they be reaching out to us using common things like butterflies, coins or birds? How should we handle such a tempting yet comforting idea?

Life can be difficult and unpredictable. It can be full of insecurity, unexpected disappointments, and events that press and overwhelm our coping skills. All of this can bring us to places that make us want to run from our reality and instead engage in a pseudo-reality that makes us feel better - at least for the moment. Enter the pathway to potential addictive behavior. It often begins as a subtle escape, or a convenient distraction, or a thrilling experience. Destructive addictions always end in several layers of disaster. At the top of the addiction casualty list is our character, integrity, family, friends, work associates, and often our financial standing as well. What should we look for and do to avoid or remedy the destructiveness of addiction?

When Jesus was being questioned by Pilate, he told him that those who were “of the truth” would “hear his voice.” Pilate’s answer was an important question, for he asked, “what is truth?” This brief interchange brings us to similar questions. How do we know that we are people “of truth”? Do the groups we follow, be they centuries old denominations or newer Christian sects, hold to the “truth” Jesus spoke of? How much of what we are being taught is based on biblical truth versus denominational tradition, and how much is just plain opinion? And to pile on further, at the end of the day, does any of this even matter?