Improve your life with insight from the Bible - 2014
Three simple things you can do to make your year great
Three easy things you can do to transform your next twelve months.
Sometimes God's gifts are so wonderful, you have to grow into them. But God gives great gifts.
You can live in God's promised future
You can wait for the future to arrive. Or you can trust God's promises and see the world as God sees it. Like Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, you can live in God's promised future.
There are seasons where things are easier than they would be earlier or later. Take advantage of the season you are in.
God calls people who wouldn't call themselves
God calls people who wouldn't call themselves. God encourages you to do things that you think are beyond what you can do.
How to follow Jesus in three simple steps. The second part of this video shows how God is working far in advance to give you what you need.
Don't follow evil plans, even if you are pressured to do so. But bless your enemies. That's advice from the Bible that we need to hear, since we are often inclined to do something different.
Faith trusts in things not seen
Sometimes people know where they are headed right from the start. Other times dreams unfold one step at a time, like they did at the beginning of the Kahn Academy. In both cases the vision of where a person is headed can give people the courage to make it through the challenges along the way.
God told Cain, "Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." It would be best if we followed that advice. But even if we give in to sin, God loves us and Jesus advocates for us, knowing what we are going through.
God brings dreams into reality
Some of God's promises come true immediately. For others we have to wait, but they will come to pass in our lifetime. Other promises of God are made centuries ahead of their fulfillment, but they still can be trusted. As Joseph found out, the path towards the dream God has given us can sometimes look like we've lost our way. But God keeps God's promises.
Power and influence are not the same. A tiny, weak, insignificant light can change darkness. A small amount of salt can change its environment. You do not have to feel (or be) powerful to have significant influence on the world around you. God, who called the earth into being, calls you into the light, and transformed by the light of Christ, you can transform the world.
Believers will bear the image of Christ
If you believe in Jesus, you will start to look more like him, act more like him, and talk more like him. You will start to bear his image. Paul and John both wrote in the Bible that people who follow Jesus will eventually become like Christ.
Your body is a perishable seed
Your body is not you. You will exist long after your body dies. This video looks at some things Job, Paul and Jesus say will happen after your body dies.
500+ witnesses saw Jesus after his resurrection
More than 500 witnesses saw Jesus after his resurrection. In their day, you could get firsthand accounts from all of them.
Hundreds of years before, a king was able to talk to a firsthand witness about a young boy who had been raised from the dead.
It would be good if you asked people a question similar to what the king asked: "What great things have you seen God do?"
Paul says the most important thing we should know about Jesus is that he died for our sins according to prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth -- and that he was raised from the dead on the third day.
This video is the first of a five part series on the basics of Christianity, the five most important things you need to know about Jesus. Paul says that the most important thing you need to know is this: Jesus died so you could be restored to God who loves you.
You can do anything, but what will last may be surprising. Paul says the only things that last are faith, hope and love. (This message concludes our summer series on what Jesus calls us to do and how God equips us for the task.)
Stuck situation? Faith, fasting and prayer help
How about running an experiment on some stuck situations that bother you? See if faith, fasting and prayer will help. This video gives tips based on a time Jesus' disciples hit a stuck situation.
People who realize all they have are apt to express their thankfulness in ways that can be seen. Don't listen to critics. Express your gratitude, even if it embarrasses others.
People who realize all they have are apt to express their thankfulness in ways that can be seen. Don't listen to critics. Express your gratitude, even if it embarrasses others.
Sometimes people wonder, "God, why don't you DO something about that?" Usually God is waiting for us to take action on that very thing.
How to prepare for disruptions at work
Many students, workers and leaders are all preparing for a future that doesn’t exist any more. This video gives students five tips for preparing for a workplace filled with chaotic change.
God enables you to do miracles
God enables you to do miracles. To you, it may seem like a very natural process, one that involves lots of hard work and effort. But to someone else? It's a miracle that you could do such a thing.
Daniel was an extraordinary leader who helped several kings. This video looks at the secret of Daniel's leadership. The video begins with a discussion of the context revealed in the prophecies of Jeremiah.
Pray for nations and see results
There's no way to prove it, but your prayers for the nations make a difference. You can improve the trajectory of nations by interceding for them.
Pray for healing and see results
The Bible says there is more power for healing available today than when Jesus was with his twelve disciples. This video gives eleven simple tips on praying for healing.
If you want to do something, you have to start
Using what the Bible says about speaking in tongues as an example, this video reveals a general truth: If you want to do something, you have to start. You may not have all the facts. You may be nervous. The day may not be perfect. Just start.
Build up, encourage and console others
It's important to have people who know how to speak God's word to others. Paul says people who prophecy build up, encourage and console others. You can start today.
Ask for wisdom (but it's not enough)
Wisdom is a gift from God that is worth asking for. But if you get wisdom and ignore what God has told you, it won't do you any good. It's good to get wisdom, but you also need to follow God's advice.
It was the message of John the Baptist: The kingdom of heaven is near. When John was arrested, Jesus started proclaiming the message. Then Jesus taught all his disciples to spread the same message. It's a message that people around the world are still waiting to hear: The kingdom of heaven is near.
Everybody hears from God, but not everybody knows how to recognize God's voice. This video gives simple tips on how to tell the difference between what God is revealing and all the other ideas trying to get your attention.
Don't let slowpokes set the pace
You have some abilities where you're faster than anyone else. Don't let others set the pace on those things. Going slow is exhausting if you're built for speed. This video also looks at hearing from God based on Eli and Samuel's conversations in 1 Samuel 3.
Jesus gave his followers a difficult assignment: proclaim good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. On your own it doesn't seem possible. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can do what Jesus told you to do.
God forgives, encourages and restores you
Peter denied Jesus. Jesus forgave, encouraged and restored him. Thomas doubted. Jesus forgave, encouraged and restored him. Perhaps you have done something you're not proud of. Jesus also forgives, encourages and restores you.
Prayer for recovery from back problems
One prayer for recovery from back problems can free people from a lifetime of pain.
Thomas doubted Jesus was risen, even when all his friends told him they had seen Jesus alive. It's easy to doubt, to give up hope, to trust appearances and quit too early. Ryan Lochte got to compete with Michael Phelps this week because he didn't give up hope last year. Don't doubt. Believe.
The solution you're looking for is closer than you think
The solution you are looking for is closer than you think. Likewise, God is closer thank you think. Jesus is closer than you think. The Holy Spirit is closer than you think. The kingdom of God is closer than you think. Your highest and best life is closer than you think.
When Jesus was on trial, the chief priests said something extraordinary. Pilate asked if they wanted him to crucify their king. They responded that they had no king but Caesar, the emperor of Rome. The Psalms (their songbook) say over and over again that God is king -- God is the king of kings, king of the nations, and king of all gods. But the chief priests said their only loyalty was to the emperor so they could crucify Jesus. Who is your king? (Who do you obey? Whose rule do you follow?)
Jesus suffered as an example for us
Peter said Jesus suffered as an example for how slaves should behave when they are mistreated by their masters. Do you think that is true? Should citizens be passive when they are abused by their governments? Should employees be accepting when abused at their workplaces? This Bible Study looks at some very challenging passages in the Bible and asks your opinion of them.
Some people want to live longer than they do. Other people want their life to end before it does. But God's timing is perfect, even though it may not seem like it at times. Jesus said he was would make a place ready for you in the next life, so that when your time comes, you will have a place where righteousness dwells.
David failed because he quit doing what he was gifted at and he became bored. Peter failed because he was afraid. Everybody fails from time to time, for a variety of reasons. But don't let failure keep you from your God-given destiny. Get back up and start anew.
Jesus' humble service was an example for us
Jesus washed his disciples' feet as an example of the kind of humble service we should do for others.
Acting humbly has some significant rewards; Psalm 25 says God leads humble people.
If you're doing good, you will usually encounter rejection, just like Jesus did. Don't let rejection stop you! Jesus was rejected but he became the cornerstone, the most important stone in the building.
God's Spirit gives peace, a great asset in difficult situations. God's Spirit also gives insight and wisdom, which is better than logic. Logic often does not have enough facts to be correct.
God's Spirit gives insight. Paul says it is worth pursuing and striving for that insight so you can build up, encourage and console others (and so you are guided to better decisions for yourself).
God heals people (through us!)
God gives people the gift of healing so they can help others recover from illness, injury and despair.
Jesus says we should tell others what we have seen and heard about God's power, love and mercy.
God prunes people so they produce more fruit
Jesus says you face two possibilities: either be pruned so you produce more fruit (a good thing!) or be cut off from the vine for not producing any fruit (not good at all).
A single seed can produce abundantly
A single seed can produce an abundant harvest. But first it has to die.
Mary got some sharp criticism for being extravagently generous when she anointed Jesus. If you get criticized, check to see if there is anything you can learn from what is being said. But don't let critics stop you from doing great things.
Life with Jesus is not problem-free
Life works on cause and effect, but some causes are hidden. When Jesus' disciples saw a blind man, they assumed either he or his parents were at fault. Jesus said that wasn't the case. Then he healed the man.
This week you have an opportunity to review goals for the New Year and make it a great one.