Feeding Your Spirit and Soul

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

Feeding Your Spirit and Soul | Are you feeding your soul? What is your spiritual health and how can improve upon it? In this episode we dig deep. | #chrisitianpodcast #podcast #catholicpodcasat #feedingyoursoul #christianpodcast #christianliving #afewminuteswithgodpodcastFeeding Your Soul ~ Episode 248

We feed our bodies, but are you feeding your spirit and soul? Everything we put into our bodies affects our physical health, but the same happens with our spirit and soul. Who do you surround yourself with, what do you read or watch, and how we engage with others? In this episode, we discuss ways to feed our souls that benefit our spiritual health.

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Have you heard the saying “Garbage in, garbage out?” I’m sure you have, yet we don’t consider it means anything else than the food we eat. If we are careful about eating well to feed our bodies, why are we not careful with our spiritual being?

We know from the beginning of the creation of the world that God meant for us to live a life of abundance. To live in a garden without sin and to live essentially forever. We are created in the image and likeness of God, we are told. Genesis 1:26-27 God wants a relationship with us and is there waiting. We are the ones avoiding Him. Sin, at its root cause, is an issue of relationship. Relationships that are broken, harmed, and sometimes destroyed.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are made up of spirit, soul, and body. We know what a body is, but what about our spirit and soul? While we have a spirit, we are not spirits in the sense of Heavenly Ages or the Holy Spirit. The spirit is the entity we have that connects with God; it is the “relationship” part. It gives us a sense of longing; we long for God, who has made us for Him. If we are unaware that this longing for happiness is essentially a longing for God, we are unhappy and unfulfilled.

People try all types of things to become happy. Whether it is eating, friends, drinking, or shopping. Have you heard the term “retail therapy”? That is a term that refers to shopping to make you happy when you are sad, as if new clothing or some other purchase can take away the sadness that is rooted in brokenness. Let me ask you – have you ever thought, “I would be perfectly happy if I had…” (Fill in the blank.) Whatever that need is, and again if you get that thing, you want, it will be a temporary fix. Money does not buy happiness, only God.

The spirit is also the reservoir, if you will, of faith. It is important for the life of the believer. Once again, it is that God connection, that belief that you know that you know, beyond doubt, that the Almighty lives and He cares for you in an intimate way. Not as some afterthought but designed purposely for this life. That craving is not for chocolate; it is for God!

Our souls and spirits are connected. The soul is shrouded in a body; it is called the “life principle,” all living bodies have a soul; if they do not have a soul, they would not live. Every living thing has a soul; however, man is unique. Why? Because we have rational powers, that makes us different.

Luke 12:19-20 states  (Read online.)

Our souls are where our selfish and sinful nature resides, and our souls are part of our bodies that leave our physical selves at the time of death. In Genesis, we read about the death of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. Genesis 35: 18 (Read online.)

Our soul and spirit combined are where our emotional experiences reside. The soul can refer to the entire person, whether we are alive or have passed on. So shouldn’t we feed our souls with all that is good and pure? If our consciences are well formed, we will know when something is not right, when we shouldn’t watch, listen or be around something we know isn’t good for us.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (Read online)

And in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, (red online.)

So now what will you do? How will you feed the part of yourself that is tempted by sin or the part of you that wants a closer relationship with God but does not have the time? My challenge will surprise you. Sure, reading Scripture, praying, keeping a prayer journal, reading a good Christian faith book, and works of charity, all these are wonderful and can indeed fill your soul with nourishment. But there is more. Feeding your soul means working on your conscience. This means making an effort to do what is right. Just like forgiveness, making an effort means making a decision and doing it. Is it easy? No. Is it worthwhile? Yes, and yes.

Feeding our souls means taking the time to put our decisions in alignment. What road do we travel as Christians? The road that is less traveled. Giving into sin may seem like the easy way, but like our diets, eating what is good for our bodies, so too, filling ourselves with what is right and will be a blessing. Think of the people you hold in high regard. Is there a time when you saw someone fail? How did that make you feel? I know I’ve felt let down, especially if this is a person you care about. With all of the scandals going on in churches across our world, people have lost faith in God. That is a shame and truthfully not warranted. Yes, we can be heartbroken, but our eyes should never be on the pastor, the choir, or the Bible teacher; our eyes should only be on Christ because He will not fail us.

A very popular Christian author, speaker, and associate pastor left his faith behind when an extreme scandal at his church came crashing down. While he had nothing to do with this on the surface (maybe he could have done something or not turned a blind eye), the point is he allowed this tragedy to take him away from God. But what else happened? It was a domino effect because he had led many people toward God with his writings and sharing about relationships. We have his books on our own shelves. His downfall came from placing the wrong emphasis on the wrong people. Did God fail him? No. Did man. Yes.

Almighty God gave us life and gave us a chance to do things right. This is the only life you have, so live it well, and that means not in the sense of selfishness. I hear the words, “Live your best life,” as if anyone would purposely live their worse life — yet sometimes, while living your best, you live a life that is devoid of putting others first. Or, maybe if you are a parent, you put everyone else first but yourself and then find you have nothing left to give.

Not surprisingly, last Sunday, our pastor talked about the soul and its need to be considered. He is the same pastor who often talks about sin being a broken relationship with God. He shared that filling our souls in repairing that relationship with God and with the important people in our life. It does not mean we ignore others, we should have Christian charity, but it does mean we do not lose sleep over what people think about our walk with God. Many times people care about what people think of those who are unimportant in their lives.

When God is not a factor in our life, the evil one gets in and causes havoc to our souls. So decide today–what will you do? How will you fill your soul? How will you encourage that sense that nothing is fulfilling in your life (because it can’t be without God as the focus), and make an effort to change? Do you think you need to change, or are you content with your life as it is now?

I pray you to take this idea of feeding your soul to heart and find a way to make it happen. Only you can decide, and only you can create that effort and dedication to place God first in your life and lead by example, which is your challenge this week.

 

 

 

Fruits of Prayer

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

The fruits of prayer |The fruits of prayer are all around us. This is a challenge to not only enjoy the fruits of your prayer life, but ways to pray for others| #prayer #fruitofprayer #christianpodcast #christianliving #afewminuteswithgodpodcastFruits of Prayer ~ Episode 247

The fruits of prayer are all around us, and we should be encouraged, right? Yet we walk around carrying the burdens of the world on our shoulders. No more! This is a challenge to not only enjoy the fruits of your prayer life, but ways to pray for others.

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In the Holy Bible, fruit is the symbol of many things. It is the symbol of good faith; it is the symbol of avoiding (such as the tree of life and the tree of good and evil), it was the apple that symbolized temptation because of what it represented.

Good fruit is also a sign that we are on the right path. Matthew 7: 17-20 (read on air).

This is important because in Salvation history and throughout Scripture we are shown again and again the sinfulness of mankind. Bad choices are made, even those selected by God, fall into sin. Yes, we should accept the Lord as our God and Savior, as my pastor calls it, and I love it, the “Fundamental Option.” Yes, Lord I repent, I believe, I will sin no more and follow you. But… there is always a but! We must show our decision by our fruits our decisions, and constantly be in prayer.

I love learning new things, and I appreciate this because it is the only way I can grow in faith. I was talking to one of our pastors after church and asked him some specific questions. Finally, he said to me, when you pray think of the Holy of Holies. I knew what he meant, the Bible refers to this place, as I remembered in the Old Testament.  We read in Leviticus 16:12 (Read on air.)

There are other references in Scripture, but the point is envisioning this place, the Holy of Holies… can you picture it? It is a quiet place that is filled with goodness, light, and grace. It is where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reside.

Then, he asked me to think about bringing God into my problems instead of bringing my problems to God. Wow – think about this. It is such a beautiful analogy of allowing the Lord into our hearts, and that is truly a blessing. Do you see the difference? Bring our prayers to God, or bring our God into our lives and thus into our prayers!

When we think about the fruits of prayer, we consider how God has answered what we want, our prayers, and our petitions. Our happiness often hinges on what God has done for us. When you think about it in this way, it sounds awfully selfish! But it does not have to be, especially when we begin to thank and praise God for our past blessings and what he has done for us.

Can you make a list? What has God done for you in the last year? The last few months? The last few weeks? How about today? Stop this recording, or come back to this question later. The fruits of prayer are, in essence, our life. Our ability to live each and every day, for some it is difficult, especially if you are ill or caring for someone in need. We all have something to be thankful for, and early on in this podcast, I shared the idea of a journal that was filled with thankfulness for what the Lord has done for you.

The fruit of prayer is thankfulness and awe, and wonder. The Creator of the Universe cares for you and for me in a powerful way! Even in our darkest times, we can be thankful for the sun that rises and warms the earth, the glistening of the raindrops, or the gentle breeze that cools us off on a hot day. The fruit of prayer is contentment. That joy that surpasses all understanding, as I paraphrase Philippians 4:7 – one of my favorite scripture verses: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Fruit of Prayer Joy – Peace – Contentment – Satisfaction – Understanding

No matter what is on your list of feelings you may have when your prayers are answered, it truly gives us a sense that God is with us, but not only that, it is a sense of hope. 2 Corinthians 5-7 – For we live by faith, not by sight. Or “We walk by faith and not by sight.” helps us when we do not feel his presence. Out of obedience, we say, “Yes, Lord,” daily.

The hope that God gives us is the understanding that no matter what, He is with us—a personal story on the air.

This is the fruit of prayer, a turnaround, and a change of heart. We want our hearts to be on fire for God, but often we can only consider our needs or those of the people we pray for daily. Instead, consider how you fall short, and make a turnaround. A turnaround to do better, to try harder, or to do something differently. When something does not work out well, why do the same thing expecting a better outcome?

Peace, joy, and contentment are wonderful, but a change of heart is even better. It helps us on our journey, and we can consider the prayer, “Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you give me; I need nothing but you.” If we can truly say that with conviction, we are on the road to healing of mind, heart, and will. Our will is being given to God the Almighty!

This week I would love you to join me in prayer and acknowledge the fruit of our prayers. Consider what God has done for you, the good fruit in your life, and praise Him in all things.

 

 

Following Christ

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

Following ChristFollowing Christ

Episode 40

Third episode in the series on Christian Living

A life following Christ may not be what you think. In the last two podcasts, a Christian Life, and Christian Life Restrictions we explored first, what it means to be a Christian and second why it is a myth that a Christian life means you in a world of do’s and don’ts instead of true freedom. In this podcast, we explore some of those rules and look at how living a life that follows Christ is indeed a life of freedom.

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A Life Following Christ and we will explore the freedom, happiness, and joy that a Christian truly has—not just believers!

We strive to live a life following Christ but what exactly does that mean in the everyday? I know that I fail so many times and with this failure, guilt starts to crop up …

As a Christian, I strive for peace yet many times find myself in turmoil due to things I cannot help or prevent. I know in my heart that all that is good comes from God but often we have trials.

Doesn’t living a Christian life mean living a life free from trials, turmoil and living a life that is truly happy?

First, this isn’t heaven. I know that when I looked at a Christian college friend and saw that her life was one big mess – everything that could possibly go wrong in her life went wrong. And I thought at the time, as a believer but NOT as much as her, she told me her entire life was devoted to God… I thought, “If this is how God treats her I’m not sure I want any part!”

I am using my “college self” as an example of lukewarm faith – faith that is not mature and is not tested by fire.

Christians who do walk around glumly are certainly not encouraging those who are borderline or lukewarm Christians. However, that is not what my friend showed me. She showed me that she was going to praise God in all things.

What about all those rules that the Bible gives us on how we should live our lives. Let’s look at some of the Scripture verses beginning in Ephesians 5 do read all of it I’m going to highlight parts of it:

What is Christian Living?

This verse tells us to be imitators of God.

Be Imitators of God

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

 How do we do that? How can we walk as an imitator of a Divine being? Only with the grace of God and His Holy Spirit. Friends, are we really open to God’s will in our lives? Truthfully? I struggle with this daily especially if I am praying – as I am right now for a solution to two problems that have nothing to do with me, and everything to do with my family. There is nothing I can do, it is out of my hands, but I do know and believe that GOD is victorious in all things and for Him, the problem is very minor.

All I can do as a Christian is try to imitate God, with the help of the Holy Spirit… be obedient no matter what the outcome and continue to walk in love (not because I want to but because I will myself to – out of love.)

Ephesians 6-11

“…for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.  Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them…” 

I surely do not want to walk in darkness – and I love the thought that we are children of Light which is goodness and righteousness and truth! That makes me so happy – and that is what it means to walk as a Christian.

In Ephesians 20-21, the verse mentions something I talk about often because I have seen the impact in my life when agreeing to do this…

“…always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

Thanking God when things are going wrong is something that is a good habit to get into. Each night we try very hard as a family to sit down, pray and thank God for the day. Even if one of my sons says, “I’m thankful that today is over.” He is at the very least still thanking God.

Galatians 5 explains the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

And Luke 6:43 

“…For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.”

Who doesn’t want to have love, joy peace, patience kindness, gentleness, and self-control in their lives? If this is a life following Christ, then sign me up! In addition, the verse in Luke explains that a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. So many times we hear, you will be able to identify other Christian’s by their good fruit. Is this something they can do on their own? No—it is by the grace of God and through the Holy Spirit. So, what about people who are not Christians but “good people?” I’ve always wondered what that meant. How can you be good without God?

The Lord once showed me through a very personal example that we cannot put Him in a box. There are people who do not yet know God but seem to have God in their heart. Are they truly saved? That is a question for the Almighty. A person that I knew, who I would call “a good person,” embraced Christianity at some point in his life and it was through the example of someone he loved. This is a happy ending and many times these endings remain unfinished.

I recently spoke to someone who was making excuses for a spouse who is an unbeliever. He explained the same thing as above, that being a good person was important and it was not up to him to judge. And, I agree, that judging is the job of God. Yet, today in another conversation he explained how his spouse loved a show that centered on a medium – and I explained that mediums typically get their information from the “dark side.” He didn’t believe this and explained that while he didn’t agree with Ouija boards and that could open a dark portal this was different. I directed him to speak to our pastor—this is something that he needs spiritual guidance on, and I am not in the position to give it to him.

Yes, we should love our neighbor as yourself and show others the love of God, but friends do not compromise your faith, even for a loved one.

Colossians 3 explains in detail how to live a life following Christ

Colossians 3:1-4 urges us to put on our new self –our Christian self, one that is focused on a life that is waiting for the time we will be reunited with Christ.

Put On the New Self

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

We are urged to put aside all of the sinful and “evil practices” as believers…

Colossians 3: 8-11

“But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—“

Colossians 3: 12

Continues with the verse that explains we’ve been chosen by God. In the last episode of A Few Minutes With God I discussed the belief that many have that as Christians we are restricted because of all the rules, but I explained that it is, in essence, a gift – that faith is a gift that we receive if we are open to receiving, because again—a reminder, we have free will.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful…”

Look at the verse above and rejoice! Please take the time to look at the words and see which ones speak to you – if you can add the verses I shared today to your journal – write them out, study them and let them penetrate your heart. The Bible spells out the way to live a life as a follower of Christ – and it is so wonderful. It is truly a blueprint for living life to the fullest!

Let’s pray—

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift and the joy of being called by You to a life following Christ –as a Christian I pray you allow me to have a Holy boldness to proclaim Your Name to others and to allow me to walk, each day on the path of righteousness. I ask that you hear all of the needs deep within our hearts, especially for those we now pray…  I ask that you answer our prayers, Lord and you bless those for whom we pray. Please help us to forgive, help us to have all the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and more – we want every good thing you have for us! Thank you for giving us the time today to spend a few minutes with You and I praise you in everything. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

 

Christian Life Restrictions

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

Christian Life RestrictionsChristian Life Restrictions
Episode 39

Christian life restrictions are the norm, right? Christians have no fun, Christians have so many restrictions placed on their shoulders, people think it is a list of do’s and don’ts. Christianity is much more than that, and living a Christian life can bring us true freedom. In this episode, we will explore these restrictions and see if there is any truth in the accusations that Christian life is full of rules.

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Show Notes: Christian Life Restrictions

Those of us who consider ourselves Christians do live by a right and a wrong. We believe, through our formed conscience that things are either one way or another. You will find many who consider that to be a form of restriction.

Why be a Christian? What’s in it for us? I don’t want to follow a list of do’s and don’ts – being a Christian is no fun.

Is this true? Let me share with you the truth, that being a Christian and living a Christian life is indeed freeing.

It always amazes me when I hear people who say there is no God because there is no right and wrong and everything goes – well, actually when you get right down to it, that isn’t true. If you ask this same person who believes there is no right or wrong (a moral relativist) if someone broke into their house and stole their computer, money and jewelry if they would be okay with that, they would say, “No! That isn’t fair. They broke the law.”,

How can you have laws, what is considered a law of the land, and not have a moral law? What is the difference? A movie worth watching is God’s Not Dead. In this film, the main character is a college student, a Christian, who takes a class on philosophy with a professor who is an atheist. The first thing he does is require each of the students to fill out a sheet of paper with the words, “God is Dead,” sign it and turn it in because he does not want to deal with the arguments that follow along the line of Christianity in his classroom.

One student refuses to sign this paper and is challenged by the professor to take the end of the class period, in the subsequent weeks and “prove’ that God is truly alive. These arguments come up, and one of them is that rules serve us all and protect us. They are not restrictive to those who are morally right. They only restrict those who want to do what is wrong.

Christian Life Restrictions–No! It is a gift.

Ephesians 2:8:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Through God, we are saved and this is an amazing gift – I’m not sure how you can say a gift is a burden.

  1. A Gift
  2. A Choice
  3. A Blessing
  4. Allows for Freedom From Sin
  5. Opens the gates of heaven

What makes me realize that while God gave us a choice and allows us to make up our minds, many are so biased in their belief.

If Christianity is restrictive in that we cannot do certain things, I would say that everyone is under restrictions in some way or another.

For example, just because you want to run a red light you can’t do it – unless you want to harm yourself or someone else. If you want freedom of speech you can’t just go out and make a racist remark or defame someone else (well these days people are doing this but you should not!) Our society has norms and the evil one is disrupting those norms by causing dissension.

Just because I don’t agree with you—it does not make me wrong. There is a set of boundaries in our world. We can’t travel without a visa or passport, we can’t travel without paying for a ticket, we can’t use a credit card without paying for our bill. Our world, our lives, in essence, are bound by rules and regulations, so why shouldn’t faith also have some guidelines?

When God handed down the 10-Commandments he asked Moses to spread the Word. These are the guidelines we use to lead our lives. These guidelines set us free – they bring us peace, joy and happiness.

Just like any good parent, our God watches over us – it is amazing the same people who accuse Christians as having their freedom restrictive are themselves, restrictive parents. Would any parent allow their child to play in traffic, to play with matches or to stick their fingers or worse in an electrical outlet? No. And why is that? Because of imminent death. Does that mean the person is too restrictive, not the person is loving?

The same way for a Christian we have a God who cares about us and wants us to have everlasting life.

We can never understand the mind of God or anything about God other than reading the Bible, our interpretation and allowing the Holy Spirit to enter our lives in a deeper way. The Bible does talk about how we should live, and we will discuss that in the next podcast.

CS Lewis recounts in his book, Mere Christianity, which I recommend every Christian read, that when he was an atheist he rationalized his belief about why Christians were wrong based upon a set of notions that he later found were false. And, one of them was moral relativism, that there is no right or wrong. That is the crux of this is free will – we have the intellect to decide for ourselves.

Those who believe Christianity is too restrictive are the same people who want to defy all that is good and holy. Or they say that Jesus was a good man but not the Messiah. How can you be good and a liar? Jesus said He was the Son of God – either He is who He said or He is not.

Freedom of regulations does not bring us joy in and of itself. Giving children limitations and rules allows them to flourish. Those who break the rules often find themselves in trouble doing things they should not to the harm of their bodies or their souls or both.

True freedom is knowing we are loved and loving others. The rules help us to live lives that are God-honoring and honoring to each other. What is wrong with Thou shalt not kill? Thou shall not commit adultery? Honor thy Mother and Thy Father? Honor Thy Neighbor? I think we would all agree there is nothing wrong with wanting to live the best lives we can.

Further, the commandments begin with, “I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-6; Deuteronomy 5:6-10), 2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. (Exodus 20:7; Deut 5:11)
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

God is love and while again, we are so limited in our own understanding and human usage of words for a Divine being, we know that he saved us from eternal damnation by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to set us free and the Holy Spirit to reign with us always.

Eternal life can only be found in the true God. Let’s pray.

Dear Lord, I pray in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…I thank You for the gift of freedom, the gift of free will, the gift of faith, the gift of opening the gates of heaven by Your death and resurrection. Thank you for setting us free, for giving us a renewed gift of faith—for allowing us to believe in Your Divine Providence for our lives and those of our families. I am blessed that You have called me to live a life that is honoring to You but I can only do this by Your grace in my life, so I pray for an outpouring of Your love and grace to fill me. Please Lord, hear my petitions which I now pray__________________________, I ask that as a community of believers, all those who are listening to this broadcast, that we join together in prayer for each other and for our personal needs. I thank You for all that is good and Holy and I praise You with every breath I take, In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.