Light of the Word Radio

Today Pastor Ray is going to show you that Real faith shows up in real life! And this is what it looks like when you're making the plans, you first listen to God. The first thing you do is ask God what He wants for your day, for your week, for your year. It's a daily thing, and God is in the details! But He's also in the big picture. And the great thing is, when you follow His plan, you can't go wrong! Things around you can go wrong—and they will!--but when you follow in faith He will guard every step.

Nineteen degrees doesn't feel like too much of a difference when you're talking about sailing in the entirety of the ocean. But when it's time to come into the harbor, nineteen degrees is the difference between a safe landing and running aground! Right now, you're sailing the ocean of your life. Whether the water is clear and blue or murky, you're ok out in the open seas. In today's message, Pastor Ray is going to remind you to check your heading, because one day you'll be heading into port.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” But how do we do that? If you look at the other verses surrounding this one, it's already pretty clear! Want to have God draw near to you? First, be a person of peace. Let peace characterize your relationships. Submit to Him and be humble. In other words, you draw near to God by emulating Him and how He loves people. There's so much more surrounding this verse and Pastor Ray is going to dive into it all in today's message!

Do you know the will of God for your life? Pastor Ray does! It's to live in peace with each other. We know that it's not always possible, but are you doing everything you can do to be at peace with the people around you? It might mean swallowing your pride and apologizing for things you've done wrong. It might mean forgiving what's been done to you. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be in relationships that are covered in the peace of God? Pastor Ray has more to share about that peace today!

How about you? Are there dead things in your life that are dragging you down? What Pastor Ray is going to share with you today is more than just words from an old book. What he has to share with you today is the power of God that takes the dead things and makes them alive again. Sound good? Stick around and watch God do miracles in your life today! God is ready and waiting for you with arms WIDE open. And those dead things? Don't worry about taking care of them first—He's got you covered!

Have you ever found yourself compromising in a situation for the sake of peace? While it can certainly be understandable in certain circumstances, we as believers are to never compromise when it comes to The Word of God, no matter the situation. In today’s message, Pastor Ray discusses how we as believers are to speak the truth no matter what, but in meekness and humility. In his study, you’ll learn that while the world often demands compromise or tolerance, we should practice neither when it comes to truth.

Have you ever been so determined to win an argument or prove a point that you found yourself compromising on your source of wisdom? Whether we recognize it or not, it can be easy for us to rely on worldly wisdom and strife, rather than the peaceful wisdom of God. In today’s message, Pastor Ray discusses the importance of being able to distinguish between worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. In his study, you’ll learn that if there’s any form of malice, strife, or bitterness, it’s certainly not from God.

Each and every one of us go through life having to make decisions. While many of them are simply day-to-day decisions, every now and then we come across life-altering decisions. It’s none other than these types of decisions that we should heavily rely on the wisdom of God. In today’s message, Pastor Ray will remind you that God eagerly awaits to give us His wisdom. In his study, you’ll learn the importance of seeking the wisdom of God when it comes to the big decisions of life so that you might live out His will.

“No man can tame the tongue.” That’s certainly a strong statement that can be rather discouraging if we’re, to be honest. However, the key word in that verse we read in James is “man.” As you’re probably well aware, we as believers rely on The Spirit, not the flesh. In today’s message, Pastor Ray reflects on how we can either choose to speak from the flesh or The Spirit. In his study, you’ll learn the importance of committing to building others up with wholesome speech and encouraging words.

Many of us have experienced our fair share of moments where we immediately felt regret after saying something we wish we didn’t. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re absolutely oblivious to the damage caused by words we thought were completely harmless. As Pastor Ray will teach you in his message today, this is why it’s extremely crucial that we mind our tongues as believers. In his study, you’ll learn the importance of filtering your words through the power of The Spirit and God’s Word.

It’s rather unfortunate how so many of us have a complete lack of awareness when it comes to our choice of words as we interact with others. This can be especially true when it comes to confrontations, arguments, or even simple disagreements. In today’s message, Pastor Ray reflects on the power of the tongue and its ability to either build others up or tear them down. In his study, you’ll learn the importance of guarding your tongue by being quick to listen, slow to speak, and mindful of your heart.

As believers and followers of Christ, it can be easy for us to get so caught up with an interpretation that we fail to let Scripture speak to us. When it comes to James discussing faith without works being dead, we all too often get hung up on the legalism debate. In today’s message, Pastor Ray will speak clearly about what it is that James is addressing in his letter to The Church. In his study, you’ll learn how coming before the throne of grace with belief in God’s promise is a work of faith in and of itself.

Whenever we hear the word “works” many of us are quick to throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. However, it’s important that we understand the definition and context of the word works when it comes to our faith as believers. As Pastor Ray will teach you in his message today, the works in the life of a believer speak to the transformation that should be taking place. In his study, you’ll be reminded that while grace comes by faith alone, faith should show the working fruits of The Spirit.

What type of faith would you say you have? Is it a dead faith that was once thriving and needs revival? Is it a faith no better than that which demons have, who believe and shudder as James says? Or is it a dynamic faith that’s regularly growing and learning? In today’s message, Pastor Ray discusses the importance of reflecting on the state of your faith. In his study, you’ll gain a better understanding of how faith and works speak to the state of your faith as a believer in Christ.

I’m sure that you can think back on a time when you did something as a child that you got away with. You can probably also think back on something you did that you should’ve been more severely punished for. This is an example of mercy and grace. Today, Pastor Ray is going to be talking about the difference between the two. He tells us that mercy is not getting what we do deserve, but grace is getting what don’t deserve. God offers both of these. He is the ultimate source of both mercy and grace.

Sin is something that is completely inevitable. Why? Because we were born into sin. We are all naturally sinners. There is no one perfect except for God. Today, Pastor Ray is going to be talking about the penalty of sin. God tells us that the penalty for sin is death; however, if we will cling to Him and turn from our sin we will have ETERNAL life. This is the greatest gift anyone on this earth could ever receive. We can never completely stop sinning, but we can always turn to the one who saves us from our sins.

If you have cracked open a Bible even once in your life, there is no secret that our world today is living completely contrary to how God designed it. Things that were once forbidden are becoming a cultural norm. Today, Pastor Ray is going to be talking about the standards that God has set for us. These things that God put into place for us have never changed, and they never will. Though the world may change, the Word of God never will, and it ensures us the best life imaginable.

Let’s face it, now more than ever we are seeing division in our communities. Yet, what is so incredible about our Jesus is that He doesn’t focus on the political view, the favorite sports team, or even look at the ethical background we come from - He looks for the one in need. Today, Pastor Ray is going to be sharing a message about Partiality. Through this, you will see how regardless of who you were or who you still are, Jesus not only sees you, but He is standing on your side.

Partiality is defined as an unfair, biased opinion about someone or something. I’m sure you could come up with an example of how you have shown that before. It’s a part of our human nature and it isn’t always a bad thing; however, today Pastor Ray is going to be talking about how we as Christians should not show partiality to the people around us. Why? Because Jesus did not show it to us. He chose to love us despite what He knew we would do and how many times we would fail Him. We are called to love as Jesus does.

In life, we will face difficult circumstances, and odds are, we won’t always deal with them the right way. We will fall, we will hurt people, and we will do things that we are not proud of. This is why when Jesus was hanging on the cross He shouted, “Forgive them; for they know not what they do!” Jesus knew we would fall short, BUT the beautiful thing is that He still loves us the same. In today’s message, Pastor Ray will be talking about how we are ALL called and sealed with God’s saving grace, regardless of our past.