Christian Questions Bible Podcast

As Christians, we pin all of our hopes on the belief that Jesus was crucified and died for our sins. This is the bottom line core reason for our coming to Christ for it speaks of him doing something for us out of pure love that we in no way could do for ourselves. To us the sacrifice of Jesus represents the ultimate gift. Those outside of Christianity often look at this belief with disdain and even sarcasm for to them it is foolishness and evidence of a blood thirsty god. One question that is probably not talked about much is about the breadth of Jesus’ sacrifice – who did it cover and how do we know? In the present conditions of our world, the Muslim faith is often thought about and referenced. What do Muslims think of Jesus? While they do believe in him, they don’t see him as a redeemer. Does this mean that they are not covered by his sacrifice? This is obviously a touchy subject, because like it or not, discussing Islam even in the brightest and most positive way can easily lead a variety of emotional responses from upbeat and accepting right down to angry and condemning.  So, to try and avoid the emotional rollercoaster, we laid a foundation. We said from the very beginning that: Our representations of Islam would only be done through the words of Muslims themselves or from third party reporting that we deemed objective. We would view Islam in a positive light and therefore make no room to entertain the interpretations of the minority radical and hateful sects that seem to get all of the attention. We have no plan or desire to attempt to translate the meaning of the Quran – we leave that to those who have studied it and believe in it. Our beliefs regarding Islam are straightforward. We believe that it is not an accurate representation of the God of the Universe or his plans and purposes – but – we do not discount the positive examples of moral living and principles that are shown to us by so many upstanding moral and peaceful Muslims. With the previous foundation in place, our objective was to compare how Muslims view God, Jesus and the Scriptures of the Bible with our own take on these matters as those who believe in that the Bible is the inspired word of God.  As we approached the similarities and differences, we began to be able to clearly view not only perceptions of Jesus’ role but the scripturally-explicit guidelines of his role.  One glaring reality we discussed was the absolute inability to  have both perspectives “be right.”  In the case of these two belief systems, one really does have to choose which perspective (if any) they see worthy of following. In short, we attempted to have a frank conversation about differing beliefs without going down the road of condemning or insulting.  We would encourage you to check out our January 30, 2017 podcast, “Did Jesus Die for Muslims?” and see for yourself why we gave an answer that some may consider surprising to that question.  Hopefully you will listen and tell us what you think!

Courage is perhaps the most underrated, under-appreciated and invisible virtue of our time.  We are so busy complying with the status quo, with watching our words and with following what others say and do on social media that we seem to have forgotten the simple yet powerful virtue of courage.  Courage is stepping up, stepping out and standing against the tide of darkness.  Courage is being what you know you should be when it is unpopular with others.  Courage is having the guts to listen when others only want to argue; it is reaching out to give when others are focused on taking and courage is leading by example when following in anonymity would be so much easier.  Courage, when observed, incites others to stand, it provokes others to act and it plants hope where there is none.  Yes, we need courage, but how do we find it and how do we learn to truly be courageous? Learning courage – that seems like an odd combination of thoughts. Can you go to a class at your local community college, take “Courage 101” and walk out of there all powerful and courageous? Of course not! What you CAN do is look at the lives of those who had courage – not just the courage to perform one mighty feat but those who had the courage that permeated their being – you can look at those lives and learn an incredible amount about how courage works. That’s what we did. We looked at a three-year span in the life of Elijah the prophet to see if we could figure out what made him so amazingly brave. What we found was enlightening! First of all, let’s understand that courage is almost never achieved in the absence of fear and is almost always discovered while acting in the very face of fear. This simple realization can be personally freeing as most of us do not see ourselves as courageous because we feel afraid. Once we understand that fear is part of courage then we can begin to see ourselves in a different light and perhaps allow ourselves to begin to think courageously. A really simple definition of courage we found was “walking towards something you would rather walk away from.” With all of this in mind, let’s begin to look at this prophet Elijah with an all important initial question – why did he need to have courage? In Elijah’s Israel, idol worship had completely overtaken the nation. King Ahab had married Jezebel, a heathen woman who was heartless and horrible in her treatment of others. Between the two of them they reigned over Israel with terror and tyranny. Elijah was called upon to challenge and end this era and he was called upon to do it pretty much by himself. Interestingly Elijah’s name actually means “My God is Jehovah.” So our first lesson on courage is this – courage is summoned when there is a great need. For Elijah’s Israel, their very existence as God’s people had been lost and Elijah was sent to once again stand for the God of all things. Check out our January 23, 2017 podcast, “Elijah, Part I – The Power of Courage.” There are a boatload of other practical lessons to learn on how to live your life courageously not to mention the incredible and inspiring drama of Elijah’s personal story. Don’t miss this episode!

George Orwell’s 1949 book, 1984, was about the future.  It was a scary and suggestive look at what could happen to society if we didn’t protect our freedoms from totalitarianism.  The idea that “Big Brother is watching” was a fearful one, as this fictional story gave the feeling that what we say and think are monitored and forcefully used to keep us in line.  So, here it is, 2017, and the year 1984 passed 33 years ago without Big Brother watching.  But wait a minute – the sexist and alarming thought of Big Brother watching would invade safe spaces and be recognized as a potential trigger for some.  We need to be gender and social status-free in our policing of the masses.  Instead of Big Brother watching, we should say, “Thought interpreting humans are guiding the collective.”  The point is, we have entered a time in history where the policing of thoughts and words has overtaken us in a unique and disturbing way.  What would Jesus do in this environment?  Would he stand in support of it or against it? Would Jesus be politically correct? The short answer to that last question is an emphatic NO!  Jesus never did nor ever will fit into the mold of political anything.  Besides, understanding how to define political correctness is like trying to hit a moving target.  If you look at the history of the phrase, you find that in the early to mid 20th century it was attached to Stalinism and Communism and described a position of holding to the party line regardless of its morality.  Basically, it said that to be politically correct you check your brain at the door and unequivocally comply.  Scary! Fast forward to political correctness today and the question arises, are we still being asked to check our brains at the door and just comply?  Are we being pressed to accept only those things which certain groups have proclaimed "acceptable?"  What if you are offended by specific behaviors labeled as “must accept” behaviors? Now by being offended, I don’t mean you just don’t like something.  For some reason, not liking something seems to have become a trigger for emotional breakdown. I guess I never got the memo on that, because I was taught not liking something meant that you let others have their opinions, you respectfully stand up for your beliefs and you move on.  Being offended has to do with being crossed, regarding your deeply-held firm and timeless beliefs that are way bigger than you. Jesus had a fascinating way to address all of these things.  There are many important areas of life that Jesus didn’t talk much about, such as children and marriage, but what he did say was extraordinarily powerful and relevant.  The key is putting his words in their proper context on these things and then trying to stand for what he stood for, which was spiritual correctness and not political correctness. Jesus also talked about social tolerance, and he did address politics as well.  What did he say and whose side was he on?  Take some time and listen to our January 16, 2017 podcast, “Was Jesus Politically Correct?”  It may help you gain perspective and insight into how and why Jesus stood for certain principles, and how we can do the same while living in a society that has lost its way.  

The ability to compromise is a lost art.  We have become so diverse in our thinking, so polarized in our viewpoints and so set in our conclusions as unequivocally right, that the mere idea of compromise is in some cases viewed as a repulsive evil.  Now look – there are times when compromise should be off the table.  There are times when that which is right and sound should not be approached with the idea of watering it down for the sake of making someone or some group or some sect happy.  But when? When do we stand as an immovable force and when do we bend and acquiesce to include the preferences of others?  Fortunately for us, these very issues existed in biblical times so we actually do have a pretty clear set of guidelines to follow.  Is compromise good?  Yes!  Is compromise bad? Yes!  Let’s figure this out! We often make simple assumptions about those who lived in biblical times.  For instance, when we think of New Testament Christians we think – Jesus’ influence of love and kindness was clear and they all loved, cared for and respected each other.  What a great and harmonious environment to live in!  Now, they did love each other,but what we don’t often realize is that in many cases and for many years, mutual respect was sometimes lacking - and tenuous at best - and had to be learned. It was a hard and arduous lesson to say the least!  We might wonder why that would be – after all, the Apostles were there and they would certainly be able to guide everyone to the higher ground of mutual respect in Christ, right?  Right? Yes and no.  The unconsidered factors here are culture and human weakness.  For some reason, we don’t like to think of the founders of Christianity as having to wrestle with these things as we do, but the happy truth is they did.  They wrestled hard with different cultures colliding under the grace of Christianity and had to do some pretty bold things to make it all work.  To me, as I mentioned, this is a happy truth, for their struggles have become our guidelines.  One of those bold things they struggled with was being willing to compromise.  Here again, we don’t often think of compromise as a bold move; rather, we think of it as a wimpy and spineless one.  In many circumstances, compromise is simply an exit door for the weak, but in other cases such as with the Apostles and elders in the fifteenth chapter of Acts, compromise is a bold and defining decision that can be a primary tool in building a firm and lasting legacy. What the Apostles and elders did in their meeting recorded in Acts was to absorb the tensions of two opposite sides of a major issue, listen, consider discuss and find a mutually-acceptable path to move forward.  How did they do that?  Check out our January 9, 2017 podcast, “How Much Should Christians Compromise?” and follow along with us as we lay out the steps they took, how they took them and how we can do the same thing.  Compromise, in the right place and circumstance, is a bold and powerful answer!

How is it that life seems to go by so fast?  How is it that we more often than not look back on our life - the things we did and what we became - with a measure of regret, knowing that we could have been more or contributed more?  Have you ever stopped to think of what makes life happen?  It is actually a pretty simple equation:  TIME + EXPERIENCES  = LIFE.  Now I know that is an oversimplification, but stay with me.  If we can accept that life is the combination of time and experiences, then wouldn’t solving the issue of making one’s life fuller and more meaningful be easier to understand?  Time is measurable and predictable and we all have the same amount each and every day.  Experiences, be they physical, observational or thoughts, are essentially the sum total of what we do with the time given to us each day.  So, what can we do to make our time and experiences produce a rich, fruitful and contented life?
Many of the thoughts we based this important conversation on were derived from the book, “The Power of Consistency” written by Weldon Long.  Throughout the book, Mr. Long shares pieces of his amazing personal story that chronicle his journey from being a prison inmate to being a terrific dad and an amazingly successful business entrepreneur.  As you might guess, he made this journey by applying specific principles to his life with undying consistency.
Consistency.  If you want to know what you should do differently to change your life, consistency will always show up as a primary and necessary ingredient.  This you can count on.  The opposite is also true - consistency will always be "MIA" – missing in action - when failure to change occurs. This is one of those unwritten life rules that is always true and that no one likes because it takes discipline.  Ugh!  Discipline is another one of those nasty words that upsets our comfort zone.  Face it, if we are going to talk about making our lives better then we need to accept consistency and discipline as parts of our better life vocabulary.
Okay, we want to make our lives better, so where do we start?  Simply stated, we need to start by honestly looking at where we are in our lives right now.  It’s kinda like being in one of those huge malls and trying to get our bearings.  We look at the big mall map that has the red arrow pointing to a specific spot with the message “You are here,” and we can now figure out how to get to where we what to go.  In real life, finding where we are so we know how to get to our destination is obviously a bit more challenging.  To do it we actually need to observe what we daily do and think to keep our equilibrium – to keep ourselves on what we feel is an even keel.  Once we begin to understand what makes us feel even and comfortable we can then truly begin to grasp what our individual next step might be.
What might that next step be?  Check out our January 2, 2017 podcast, “So what should I be doing differently?” and find out.  Listening just might be the beginning of something great!

Christmas has come - the hustle and the bustle, the lights, the music, the trees, the ornaments and the garland.  Christmas has come – Santa and reindeer and elves and Frosty and movies and presents and gift wrap and cards.  Christmas has come – whether you feel you can say “Merry Christmas” or just “Happy Holidays,” we are wishing well to those around us, for it is the season of good cheer and smiles.  Christmas has come – family and dinner and cakes and pies and cookies and giving and receiving and football and dressing in new clothes.  Yes, Christmas has come.  It has certainly made its indelible mark on us yet again….  You know Christ has come – the prophecies said that he would and God’s plan said it was time.  Christ has come – he was born to live so that he could die and redeem all of humanity.  Christ has come – his gift was simple, yet it was the greatest and most powerful gift that could ever, that would ever be given to this world.  Christ has come – and as a result, all of the human race has the opportunity for eternal life.  Christ has come – has he made his indelible mark on you?
Even though the Bible technically doesn’t tell us to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we enjoy doing it because of the world-changing chain of events his birth brought.  The thing that doesn’t often occur to us is the amazing impact his birth would have on those adults who were on the scene at the time of his birth.  You know – or you may not know – people like Elizabeth and Zacharias who were the parents of John the Baptist.  Remember, John would play a pivotal role in history as he introduced Jesus to the world thirty years after his birth.  We don’t often stop to consider the personal stories  of John’s parents because, well, because we just want to get to the part about there being no room in the inn, the stable, the manger, the star and the baby Jesus.
There were others who played significant roles in setting up the birth of Jesus.  Think about Joseph and Mary and the incredible faith they both would have had to have as Mary became pregnant by miraculous means – and before they were married no less.  Think about the shepherds. These guys were kinda low on the grid of society and yet they were given an angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth and what it would mean.  All of these individuals were given very special gifts as part of their personal experiences and the roles they fulfilled that surrounded Jesus’ birth.
Gifts.  It turns out the gifts these chosen people were given make for a pretty inspirational story about the birth of Jesus, and it’s a story that you probably haven’t heard before.  What makes it even better is their gifts are also available to us and we can pass them on as well.  Check out our December 26, 2016 podcast, “Are You Dreaming of the Right Christmas?” and see what these gifts are for yourself.  And by the way – Merry Christmas!

What a pain in the neck – or my back or my arm or my leg. None of us like physical pain and when we have it we usually try and do all kinds of things to get rid of it.  One really great way to do this is to go to a physical therapist and let them understand the problem and its source, evaluate and act on that understanding and then help us work through the process to regain our strength and health.  What they help us do will probably bring us more pain for a short time so that we can have less or no pain for a long time!  If you ask me, that is a winning formula!  Can the process and treatment we receive from a physical therapist translate into steps we can take to identify, treat and alleviate the pains and malfunctioning of our spiritual lives? The best way to find that answer is to ask a physical therapist, so we did!
We invited Leah, a Licensed Physical Therapist, to be on with us to talk about some details of the process a Physical Therapist typically uses.  What we found was fascinating, asthe steps she laid us for us easily translated into identifiable spiritual steps for managing our spiritual lives.  First of all we want to establish that all spiritual growth doesn’t have to come from emotional pain or injury and doesn’t always come from life’s traumas and tragedies either.  Sometimes we can just grow – and that would be ideal.  Sometimes we face imperfections or defects in our characters that need treatment, and while that does not feel like it is ideal, it is certainly fertile ground for growth.
The first physical therapy step Leah laid out is the recognition of pain, the realization that something is not right.  For our physical bodies, it is the sore knee or elbow or back; it is feeling the pain and acknowledging it hurts.  This almost sounds like a "duh!" moment, but it really isn’t.  Think about how often we ignore an ache or pain, and it festers and grows into something bigger and far more difficult to endure and inevitably far more difficult to treat.  It is the same with our spiritual lives. We often just go along and ignore our angry thoughts or our jealous reactions or our egotistical positioning.  We ignore these things again and again, and they fester and then slowly and sometimes imperceptibly, we become more unlikable to others and less Christ-like overall.  To acknowledge the spiritual pain or malfunction is an all important place to start!
This brings us to the all important second step - to seek help.  There is a clearly defined path, for this step that can bring you to a Physical Therapist but it is a bit more of a challenge when it comes to spiritual matters.  Find out why and find out how this step - along with all eight steps - can really have an impact on not just dealing with our spiritual pains but actually helping to remedy them as well.  Check out our December 19, 2016 podcast, “Can Physical Therapy Teach Us Spiritual Wellbeing?”  It won’t hurt, I promise!

What would you think of a powerful leader who sanctions rape, pillaging, the destruction of thousands of lives for the wrong doings of one, racism and genocide? No matter who we are, if we have a conscience in any way tuned to the sanctity of human life, we would have to label them a monster – a maniacal psychopathic egotist. Sadly, there are many who read certain parts of the Bible and handily conclude that the God of the Bible – the Creator of all things - is such a being. They call Him out for the horrible and harsh things written in the Old Testament and boldly claim that a God who presides over those things is no god at all – He is instead a monster. Now look – there are terrible things written in the Old Testament, but do they point to a heartless dictator or is there another explanation?
To set things in order right from the start I need to tell you I am unequivocally convinced that God is not only NOT a monster, but on the contrary, He is a just, benevolent, wise, loving and thoughtful Creator.  Further, I get personally frustrated by those who make these monstrous claims because I truly believe their claims are based on cherry picking Scriptures from very specific contexts and parading those verses around as fact and proof of God’s character – or lack thereof.  I see this treatment of the Bible and of God as rash, incomplete and foolish, and therefore it becomes the basis for an entirely unfair assessment of the character of God.  We don’t want to be unfair, do we?
Think about it – the Bible covers thousands of years of history from the dawn of mankind all the way through the few generations that followed the time of Jesus.  Have any of those who would call God a monster ever questioned why this lengthy history was covered and why such a diverse set of experiences, both extremely positive and negative, were written down?  You see, the answer to that question of “why” actually holds the answer to the accusations that God is a monster.
The bottom line is this:  God from the start had (and still has) a plan.  It is a plan founded in justice and includes the fully fair treatment of every man woman and child who ever lived.  Did you get that?  It includes the fully fair treatment of every man woman and child who ever lived.  To understand this plan in the context of some of the horrible things written in the Bible people complain about is doable but certainly not easy.  You cannot simply explain 4,000 years of history in five minutes and without asking the key questions – what does God want from all of this evil and why would He oversee things like one nation conquering another or strict laws that forbid religious freedom?
This is why you really need to listen to our December 12, 2016 podcast, “Why Do Some Think God is a Monster?”  This broadcast step-by-step explains the “why” of things…Why did God let evil in?  Why did God let Satan rule?  Why does God use evil as a tool?  Even better, it explains the “where…“ Where is God leading us through all of this evil?  What will be the end result?  Check it out – it may help to shed important light in a world filled with the darkness of misunderstanding.

Stress is all around us and unfortunately, within us.  We know stress is not good for us.  Physically it wrecks havoc with our bodies.  Mentally it causes us to make poor, rash decisions and not work up to our full capacity. It causes us to lash out at those around us and causes damage to relationships we once cherished.  Having the peace of God does not mean all is quiet in our lives.  It means that even though everything is falling down around us, we are still able to hold onto our anchor in the storm and remain balanced and content.  Easier said than done!  What are some practical ways we can accomplish this so we can have a strong, steady walk with the Lord instead of being distracted and always giving our second best?  Stay with as we explore true peace to combat all of the anxiety this world has to offer.
We often think about the “good ol’ days” when life moved slower so stress seemed lower.  Sometimes we look back fondly to those earlier times with thoughts of living with more simplicity and clarity.  The thing that escapes our little dream is that stress, no matter when and where life is lived, is always an ever present threat to upend our equilibrium.  Take the early church, for example.  They had the Apostles there, they had the miraculous gifts of the Spirit working and Christianity was growing by leaps and bounds.  You would think that Christian life in that era was not only good but easier than it is now.  While that is a nice thought it certainly is not grounded in any reality.  The truth is the early church not only had to deal with continual persecutions all around them, they also had to deal with internal stress and strife – serious internal issues that could have crumbled the very foundations of Christian belief.  By God’s grace, the Christian leaders of the day addressed these issues (Acts the 15th chapter) and headed off a catastrophe.
What about us today – how does stress manifest itself here and now?  Julie, our “CQ Rewind Chief Editor” joined us for this conversation and shared some of her own difficulties in dealing with stress.  Turns out that she has an autoimmune disorder (these are far more common than you realize) and while it has proven to be a long term and challenging experience, it has also proven to be fertile ground for Christian growth and development.  Julie laid out MANY insights and suggestions regarding the stresses of our day.
The following is one key point from our conversation:  Stress is cumulative.  Most of us go through our everyday experiences managing the everyday stresses of life with at least some small measure of success.  The trap is sprung when other things pile on – additional family issues, sickness, tragedy, work issues, etc. and we continue to try and manage it all in the same way that we were previously treading water.  Now we sink.  Now we open our eyes one day and feel that overwhelming sense of hopelessness that makes us think that we are done.  Over.  Defeated.
WAIT!  DO NOT PANIC!  There can be a happy ending to all of this.  While I will not promise you it will be easy, I will promise you it is attainable.  Please check out our December 5, 2016 podcast, “Why are We SO STRESSED?” and open the door to ideas, solutions and peace as you confront the stresses of your own life.

How would you like access to power?  This power can change your life, give you things, protect you and even heal diseases!  This power is from a source that is unlimited, a source that is generous and a source that truly has your best interest in mind.  Sound intriguing?  For many Christians, this power is the Holy Spirit and these enticing claims come across as very real.  But are they real?  Is this what the Holy Spirit is really about or does the truth of the matter look entirely different?  Who “gets” the Holy Spirit?  When you get it, what does that mean?  What does it change?  Can we, should we be trying to have the Holy Spirit working in our lives?
If you consider yourself a real and dedicated Christian, the obvious answer to that last question is "yes."  Yes, you should be trying to have the Holy Spirit working in your life.  The follow up to this question is where we begin to find trouble, because that is where we as Christians diverge in our understanding of the matter.  Defining what the Holy Spirit is, what functions it performs and how the Holy Spirit actually changes one’s life is daunting.
To begin to deal with this, we decided to look at when the Holy Spirit was first introduced in the Bible.  The result of this search is instantaneous because the second verse of the very first book of the Bible reveals that “God’s Spirit moved upon the face of the waters.”  There it is, right at the beginning of all earthly beginnings - God’s Spirit exerting the power of change and creation.  The most strict and literal sense the word for “Spirit” in Genesis is the Hebrew word for "wind" or "breath," which gives us a picture of an unseen force or power.  This thought is actually born out in the New Testament as well.  The two Greek words that make up the phrase “Holy Spirit” can be literally translated “sacred” and “current of air or breath” so we might take this as a description of “God’s sacred and unseen power” used to work with us in our lives.
When you think about that, it is pretty astounding.  God’s power at work in my life!  The same power that drove creation wrote prophecy and worked miracles.  How does this even happen?  The answer to that question is equally as astounding, for when we look at the way God’s Spirit - His sacred and unseen power - worked in the Old Testament with humanity, we can see a clear and distinct mode of operation.  When we look at God’s sacred and unseen power in the New Testament there is an obvious change in not only method but the operation as well.
Find out what the differences are between the Old and New Testament applications of God’s sacred and unseen power as well as finding out the specifics of what the Holy Spirit does and does NOT do for us here and now.  Listen in to our November 28, 2016 podcast, “How Can I Get the Holy Spirit?” and begin to put the pieces of God’s power applied in their proper places.  If God’s power is going to work in your life, don’t you think you should know what to expect?