The Eternal Mindset: Recent Episodes
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What is truly the most important thing? Many times, we tend to view this life with far greater importance than it deserves. As Christians, we live for a greater cause and a higher calling. In this podcast we look at this life in light of eternity and how important it is to know Christ and "Set our mind on things above". The Bible is our all sufficient guide and it is extremely important to know what God is telling us. This weekly Bible Study podcast will examine the scripture and show us the importance of putting it all in perspective and living in a manner that pleases God and prepares us for what's really important.....eternity with Him.
Anxiety is the natural response to uncertainty. As human beings we like to have control. A loss of control and certainty always leads to anxiety. Anxiety fuels the feelings of dread and apprehension. And we all know that anxiety leads to stress, which leads to all sorts of spiritual AND physical ailments. In today's world anxiety is at an all time high. Whether it be geo-political instability, economic uncertainty, or the overwhelming doubt about what tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year hold.....anxiety is a true pandemic. Proverbs 12:25 says "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad" Today on The Eternal Mindset, we are going to talk about our relationship to anxiety and how we can have the peace of God that passes understanding in order to overcome the anxiety this world throws our way.
What a troubled and treacherous world we live in today. Mankind clings to hopes of better days ahead only to be stymied at every turn with something else that crushes that hope. We like to have control. Control brings stability and with stability comes a sense of peace. And peace,by its very nature helps us to relax and be at ease. But unfortunately that peace constantly escapes our grasp like trying to hold water in our hand. The uncertainties of this life, big and small, bring with it anxiety. In the New Testament, the word anxiety literally means "distraction" or "pulling apart" and that is certainly an apt description. This pulling apart is the polar opposite of peace. Christ Himself instructed us by saying "Do not be anxious." But in following His instruction, we must understand one thing. Having anxiety is a natural reaction to uncertainty. BUT IT IS NOT A SIN. We are frail human creatures living in a fallen world that is filled with uncertainty. By default, that uncertainty will bring about a certain level of anxiety. But while it's not a sin, IT IS DESTRUCTIVE if left unchecked. It brings severe consequences. It can damage our mental, physical, and even our spiritual health. It can't be cured by medications however. There is one thing that destroys anxiety and that is trusting God.
2 Corinthians 10:5 "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..."
Matthew 6:25-34 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own."
Phillippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
You can learn more and reach me at www.theeternalmindset.com
Hated By The World Do I worry about offending people? Absolutely not. I would rather offend some and see them turn to Christ and saved from eternal hell than tiptoe through their emotions because I want them to feel affirmed. I'm often very bewildered and perplexed at what I see many contemporary "preachers" doing when they stand up to preach or teach. To open the scripture and make proclamation is a heavy responsibility that should only be done with fear and trembling. When you claim to be speaking the Words of God, you are held under scrutiny of the highest order......that of Almighty God. So you'd better be extremely careful and rightly divide the Word of Truth because you will be held accountable for your teaching. I'm amazed at what passes for biblical teaching today. Many "Bible Teachers/Preachers" turn it into comedy hour. Others try to turn it into a TED talk or a a success motivational seminar. Then others use a few select scriptures here and there, completely taken out of context, and attempt to use it to teach their pop psychology. They would rather be seen as thought leaders, then as men of God declaring the truth's of the Creator. Jesus made it very clear that the cost of following him was high. Part of that cost involves being the object of hatred by a rebellious and sinful world. And that is our subject on this week's edition of The Eternal Mindset
Nobody likes to be on the outside of the group. Human beings have an innate desire to belong. The thought of being excluded from the group is a very lonely place to be. So it's even worse when not only are you excluded, but are also hated and despised. Yet that is exactly the promise that was made to us by our Lord. In a time of promises of health, wealth, and popularity by many "preacher/teachers", what are we to believe? When the words of man are in direct conflict with the words of Christ, that is an easy decision.
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Email: TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
John 15:18-21 "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love it's own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My names sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me."
2 Timothy 3:12 "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
Romans 8:18: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us...."
Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Find out more at https://the-eternal-mindset.pinecast.co
The Fruit of our Own Way A Study from Proverbs 1 and Romans 1
Mankind likes to do things his own way. We are stubborn like that. But even more than that, mankind in his sinfulness and rebellion has the tendency to disregard the invitation and calling of Almighty God and do things in his or her own way. Why choose to fear and honor the Lord when we can do it our own way? This goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. Why choose to depend on the gracious provision of God, when we can depend on ourselves. God provided fruit of the garden to Adam and Eve, yet they chose to eat the fruit of the one tree they were told not to. They chose to do their own thing. They chose indifference to an all powerful God and instead chose to eat the fruit of their own way. Last week, we talked about fruit. This week we are going to do the same thing, just a different kind of fruit. Stay tuned as we look at some haunting words from God for those that choose to ignore his plea and instead choose to go their own way.
Each person is born with a built in sinful nature. Part of that nature is the propensity to want to rebel against God's divine authority and do things our own way. When God calls and offers us his free gift of salvation, we can embrace that gift or we can reject it. In rejecting it, we are choosing to reject the blessing and provision of our Lord and instead choose what Proverbs calls the "fruit of our own way".
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Living A Fruitful Lif Have you ever walked in an orchard? If so, you have seen the trees bearing fruit. I remember as a young child being taken to a peach orchard by my grandfather. I walked through what seemed like endless rows of trees with luscious peaches hanging on numerous branches. They were ripe and ready to eat. I remember I probably ate 4 or 5 peaches during our visit there. Our life in Christ is like one of those branches. The trees in the orchard were tended and cared for, and provided plenty of water and sunlight. Because of that, the roots were able to supply the tree with nutrition to cause the branches to bear fruit. Occasionally, you will spot a branch that is not receiving proper nutrients and is not bearing fruit.......basically a dead and wasted branch that will eventually be removed from the tree. Our Christian life is like those branches. Jesus compared us to branches and expects the believer to bear fruit. The only way to do that is for the branch to remain properly connected to the tree, and more importantly the source of nutrition provided by the tree. This week on The Eternal Mindset, we examine our lives as the branches, and just how we go about living a fruitful life in Christ.
I am always available by email for comments/questions at TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
Background music courtesy of Purple Planet
Scripture Cited:
"I am the vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. "
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain,..."
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control......"
"having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God"
"Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that give thanks to His name."
"I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Find out more at https://the-eternal-mindset.pinecast.co
Delight, Commit, & Rest The Eternal Mindset is back to kick off the New Year! This week, Keith examines Psalm 37. David tells us to Delight ourselves in the Lord, Commit our way to Him, and then to Rest in the Lord.
I don't know what 2022 will bring. Like you, I'm hoping and praying for a much better year. But we know who holds the world and upon whom it's foundations rest. In the midst of turmoil and the temporary triumph of evildoers, the psalmist gives us a treasure of teaching on how to deal with what life throws our way. Having The Eternal Mindset gives us the advantage in knowing how the game ends. We can take refuge in that knowledge in 2022 and beyond.
For questions and comments, you can email me: TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
Background music courtesy of Purple Planet Music
Find out more at https://the-eternal-mindset.pinecast.co
In this life, we pursue many things: Joy, Happiness, Pleasure, and Comfort among others. But one of the lofty and most sought after goals pursued since the beginning of creation has been the pursuit of wealth. While earthly riches in and of themself are not inherently wrong, the zealous pursuit of them above riches of eternal value is a futile one that leads to a dead end. I cannot deny that in my own life I have desired abundance. You would have to look high and low to find a Christian who hasn't desired financial blessing so they can provide more for their family and not have to worry about meeting their physical needs. But where is the balance? What does scripture have to say about earthly wealth and it's pursuit? Well, that's a great question, and one we are going to dive into on this weeks edition of The Eternal Mindset.
Email the Show: TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
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Scriptures Cited on this week's episode:
Proverbs 23:4-5: Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings. Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Matthew 6:19-21: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Proverbs 11:4: Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.
I Timothy 6:9-10, 17: But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
Proverbs 30:8: Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is my portion."
It's always sadly comical to me when I hear mere men declare that God is irrelevant, out of touch, or downright non-existent. The fact that a created thing that relies on oxygen provided by the creator, food provided by the creator, heat and sunlight provided by the creator, and a beating heart that is allowed to continue only because the creator allows it to, would somehow be so pathetically arrogant to claim he has no need of God is a baffling wonder to behold. This week, we look at ourselves in light of an omnipotent God on this edition of The Eternal Mindset.
You can email the show at TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
Background music courtesy of Purple Planet
Scriptures Cited in this Episode:
Psalm 103:14-16: For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.
John 19:10, Pilate said "Do you not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" John 19:11 "Jesus answered, 'You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above..."
Psalm 103:19: The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.
9:20 On the contrary, who are you , O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder "Why did you make me like this, will it" Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?"
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Romans 9:15 ...I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
Romans 9:22-23: What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory"
Romans 11:33 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
Episode Notes In our society today, we hear very little about true repentance......that's sadly true in many of our churches. Repentance doesn't sell......it's hard.......it's incovenient......it interfieres with our sin and our lifestyle. It's uncomfortable. For too many people, they may be sorry for what they've done and they HOPE they won't do it again. But for the true Christian, repentance is a radical transformation......a turnaround......a walking away from the previous life and going in a new direction.
You can email me directly at TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
Background music provided by Purple Planet
Scriptures Cited in this episode:
Colossions 3:2-3 "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"
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 "I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death."
We live in a culture today that constantly promotes and is completely obsessed with SELF. We want to make sure that we walk around with a positive SELF image. Without any doubt, we simply must continue to boost our SELF esteem. The internet is filled with books, video lessons, podcasts, and courses on the boosting of our SELF worth. I think it's clear we are all about the elevation of SELF. But there's another SELF that you won't find many books and lessons on. That is SELF-DENIAL......and that's our topic today. So stay tuned as we discuss Self Denial in a Self Indulgent world on this weeks edition of ...The Eternal Mindset.
Email: TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
Background Music courtesy of Purple Planet
Scriptures cited in this week's episode:
Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."
Philippians 3:7-8: But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ..."
Galatians 5:24: Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires
Romans 6:6: knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.
Colossians 3:3-5: 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. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Episode Notes Fear...... Luke chapter 21 speaks of a coming day when "men's hearts will fail them for fear". It also tells us that in these last days, it will be a fearful time. But what of the Christian? Are we to live in fear and anxiety of the future? God has not given us the spirit of fear, and as we face the trials, storms, and uncertainty of this life, how are we supposed to respond when fear tries to creep in and steal our joy? Stay tuned as we discuss fear and the future this week on The Eternal Mindset
You can reach me via email at TheEternalMindset@gmail.com
Background Music provided by Purple Planet
Scriptures Cited In This Week's Episode:
Exodus 14:13 - But Moses said to the people "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which he will accomplish for you today
Psalm 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
Romans 8:15-18 - For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba Father! The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. So do not fear, you are more valuable than many sparrows.