Bible in Life

Was Jesus really born in a barn? Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem? Were Joseph and Mary all alone at Jesus' birth?

All of us bring assumptions and pre-understanding to our reading of Scripture and that is certainly true when it comes to the common (western) understanding of the Christmas story. The goal is not to pretend like we don't have such assumptions but to acknowledge them and try to inform and clear them up with solid research. In this episode I compare some of our common traditional understanding about the nativity story with Luke 2 in its cultural context.

And then I consider why it matters. 

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You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

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As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Christmas invites us into a familiar story, a story told in Luke 2 and Matthew 1-2: In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a tax census should be taken of the entire Roman world...

Mary and Joseph and the little town of Bethlehem. Shepherds and wisemen and angels and stars. 

But, according to Revelation 12, there's more to the story than all of that. Revelation 12 presents another nativity story, a sort of a behind-the-scenes expose' of Christmas. 

And in telling its story, Revelation 12 shows us that Christmas is about two kingdoms in conflict: the evil empire and the eternal empire. The superficial kingdom (the one we can see and experience all around us right now) and the real kingdom (the eternal one).

And Revelation 12 dramatically depicts the outcome of this most celebrated of births. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

What if instead of criticizing each other prayed for each other? If instead of blaming and faultfinding, we prayed? 

In context, Matthew 7:7-12 instructs us to do just that ... to treat others the way we want to be treated. Wouldn't you want people to refrain from self-righteous criticism of you? Wouldn't you want them to avoid pushing their "pearls" on you with a holier-than-thou attitude? Wouldn't you want them to pray for themselves and for you with a humble heart? So would I. 

And that, I believe, is how Matthew 7:1-12 all fits together, which is what I explore in this podcast. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. To help you get started,  sign up for a free reading plan here or watch a free 15 minute mini-course on how to read the Bible and pray here.

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Like many of you I have been afflicted by a plank in the eye. As a follow up to my first podcast on Matthew 7:1-6, this episode explores in more detail what plankeye looks like and what are some spiritual practices that will help cure it.  

if we want to be disciples of Jesus and follow Him into surpassing righteousness, Jesus' wisdom on this topic is crucial to us. We must listen to Him with an eye on ourselves, ready to see any tendencies towards having a "superiority complex." 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Like many of you, I've been confronted by a blaming, faultfinding spirit. From others for sure. But also in myself. That posture towards someone that makes our heart resistant - a little stiff and hard- towards them, so that even if our behavior is technically fine they can sense something's off in us. We've all experienced that from others and I'm pretty sure we've all done that to others.

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 7:1-6, which we explore in this episode. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Wouldn't you love to live without worry? But it doesn't seem possible, does it? There's so much to worry about! The bills. The kids. The future. The job doesn't seem secure. The ...

So how can Jesus say, "Stop worrying!" 

"But Jesus," we protest, "you don't understand."

But what if Jesus understands the world far better than we do? What if He understands the cause and cure for worry like we never could? What if He has a prescription that could help us live a lot more of a worry-free existence? 

In this episode we listen to Jesus' wisdom concerning worry. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

Just about all of us struggle with believing that if we just had a little more, then we'd really experience the good life. If I just had a nicer house ... If I could afford to go on vacations like that ... If I could buy ... If I ____  you fill in the blank. Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. 

Now let me be clear about one thing right up front: wanting nice things is not bad. Poverty is not more spiritual! 

But putting our faith in money and stuff to give us the good life, however, is a problem. A real problem that more than likely we all have wrestled with, especially those of us who live in places like the USA. 

Which is why this episode is so important. In it, we get to listen to Jesus' assessment of money and stuff and where He believes we should focus our energies for experiencing the good life. 

If you haven't yet subscribed to the podcast on iTunes, I'd encourage you to do that. That way you won't miss an episode plus it helps other people find it. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

Prayer is central to our walk with God, but prayer isn't always as easy as we'd expect. I have struggled to be a person of prayer for years and I've wrestled with the Bible's teaching on prayer. 

Listening to Jesus' teaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount sparked listeners to ask some of their questions on prayer, so in the last episode and this one we pause teaching through the Sermon on the Mount and answer listeners questions on prayer. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

Prayer is central to our walk with God, but prayer isn't always as easy as we'd expect. I have struggled to be a person of prayer for years and I've wrestled with the Bible's teaching on prayer. 

Listening to Jesus' teaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount sparked listeners to ask some of their questions on prayer, so in the next couple of episodes we pause teaching through the Sermon on the Mount and answer listeners questions on prayer. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram

A friend stabs you in the back. A spouse is unfaithful. A parent abandons you. The fact is, life is full of people who wrong us in both big and little ways. 

So how do you respond? 

Jesus teaches us to respond with forgiveness, which is exactly how He Himself responded. In this episode, I explore Jesus' teaching on forgivness and reflect on what's involved in forgiving others. 

Forgiveness is the only path to peace. As Peter Kreeft says, "Unless we forgive, we fight." This teaching of Jesus is crucial to our well-being and our world desperately needs followers of Jesus to embody His mercy and forgiveness. 

If you want to stay in the loop and get updates and offers from me, subscribe at johnwhittaker.net. 

You can deepen your walk with God by reading the Bible and praying consistently. Get a free reading plan here or take a free 15 minute mini-course here to help you get started. 

Do you want to help support John’s podcast? Become a patron and support the show by clicking here. You'll get access to bonus material and help me create an audio commentary on the New Testament.

As always, if you appreciate this teaching share freely - on Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, via email. 

Connect with me on facebook and instagram