Lean On Jesus Audio Podcast

In this, the final session of Learning to Enjoy the Bible, we discuss the theme of the BiBle and the various perspectives people take when reading it. With this understanding you will be set to really learn how to enjoy the Bible.

One of the most important aspects of enjoying the bible is learning to properly understand what the auth is communicating. In this session Dan walks us through some very simple but important principles so we can do exactly that when we read our bibles.

People have claimed the Bible is the Word of God but admittedly people can claim anything and that does not make it true. What proofs are there that the Bible truly is of divine origin. In this video Dan discusses a number of solid evidences that the Bible is what it says it is. These are evidences every Bible student should know.

In this session we learn exactly who God intended the words of scripture for and we also see what is the Bibles purpose.

Most all religions have their sacred writings. The Bible is the sacred text of both the Jews (Old Testament) and the Christians, both Old and New Testament. In this session we learn why they consider the Bible to be a sacred book and what does it mean when we say it is holy? 

People often encounter problems reading the Bible because they approach it like they would a novel. Unlike a novel the Bible is full of various writing styles such as narratives, prophetic sections, wisdom literature, poetry and correspondence between people, and more. Recognizing the various types of writing is the first step in learning to enjoy the Bible.063: 

Have you or anyone you know ever had difficulty reading and understanding the Bible? Why would anyone even want to read the Bible? And why does it seem difficult to read and understand for those who try for the first time? Here is the first in a series of teachings called Learning to Enjoy the Bible which will help put the pieces together for you. For more information on this and other topics visit us at LeanOnJesus.com

In this final teaching the in the Truth Matters Series Dan discusses what it means to "walk in the truth." As a truth seeker there is a price you will pay for the truth. It may be the loss of friends, family, job, or position. But God tells us that He has no greater desire that to know that his children walk in the truth and that truth is worth the all the wealth of the world. We hope this series of teachings has inspired and challenged you to always be a truthseeker.

In this session Dan explores the universal, exclusive, and objective nature of truth. Understanding these final three characteristics is very helpful for those who desire to pursue and find truth.truth 

This is part four in the series of Truth Matters teachings. In this video we examine how truth always has correspondence with what is real and can have no contradictions. These are very elemental aspects of truth but they are good to keep in mind as we continue to understand the nature of truth.  

The concept of truth is something many desire but they frequently fail to understand the nature or characteristics of truth. This causes confusion and incorrect understandings of what truth is. In this teaching Dan breaks down what it means when truth is described as being absolute.

Adversity is something everyone must face. Some times it comes in the form of sickness, a bad job or boss, bad choices we've made or maybe even spiritual oppression. No matter what the source, to be successful in life we must learn how to face adversity and properly deal with it. In this teaching Dan discusses three sources of adversity and how to properly deal with it.

People inherently want truth but many fail to discover it because they are not genuine truth seekers. Truth seekers share some common traits and in this teaching Dan discusses what is required to of all truth seekers.

In this teaching Dan Gallagher explores a level of wicked bevaior that is characterized by mocking. When a person becomes a mocker they have entered a serious stage of wickedness that God gives very stern warnings about. THis is the kind of person that God says has destruction in their heart. They seek to destroy others through words by hertful words that tear down their reputation with slander and malice. This is a sero=ious level of behavior and we must avoid it at all costs. In this teaching Dan also clearly explains the serious methods that must be employed when dealing with mockers.

In this introduction to the series of teachings titled Truth Matters, Dan Gallagher discusses the concept of truth and how it matters. The fact is that we interact with what is true daily as we go about our lives. The concept of truth is frequently misunderstood nowadays as people mistakenly substitute personal options, perspectives and experiences for truth. Some even believe that truth is a relative matter, meaning I can have my "truth" and you can have yours. In this episode Dan discusses why truth is important as he lays the groundwork for the next few episodes in which we will explore the characteristics of truth. 

God repeatedly tells us in the Bile that He wants us to be thankful and yet, in spite of us knowing this, we oftentimes we struggle with being thankful. In this teaching Dan discusses a a critical key to living with gratitude. When we live in the past thinking about all the "should-have" or "could-have" we miss the present. The same holds true when we dwell on the future too. Living with thoughts focused on the past or the future causes us to miss the reality of "NOW," which is the only reality there is for us. :earn to focus on present and you will always have something to be thankful for.

A principle few Christians understand is the need to protect ourselves from the evil influences we unwittingly bring into our homes. Far too often we are ignorant of the spiritual influences objects can have on our lives, evil influences that can have a tremendous impact on our walk with Christ. In this teaching Dan discusses the need to make sure we are vigilant in protecting our physical environment from evil.

Everyone desires to be successful in life, whether it be learning to play a musical instrument, school, work, or friendship. But oftentimes the greatest hinderance to success is our lack of understanding how to approach failure. The reason tis is true is because failure is much more common than success and when we learn how failure properly then it will lead to success. In this teaching Dan takes the time to look at what God has to say about failure and success. He also explores biblical examples of those who have failed or succeeded as well as giving practical examples of how to turn failures into success.

Many Christians approach there lives with an Old Covenant mentaltiy instead of the New Covenant reality that we live in now. In this short teaching Dan Gallagher encourages to challenge our thinking regarding such a fundamental truth. 

Sickness and infirmity is something that afflicts all mankind, even those in the Christian community. We know that God is love and that sickness is never His desire for mankind so what is the truth concerning healing? Many have heard of accounts of where miraculous healings have occurred so we must ask, "Is healing a right that every Chrisitan can "claim" because of the death and sacrafice of Christ," as some teach? Do the followers of Jesus have the authority and right to command healing of all sickness and infirmity whenever they choose to do so in faith? Is healing now simply a matter of having enough faith? In this teaching Dan Gallagher tackles these often asked questions and navigates through this difficult and often misuderstood subject. 

What exactly is a Chrisitan's responsibility concerning how they handle money and material possessions. Is the "Prosperity Gospel" true when it promotes that God wants His children to be rich with worldly goods. Or is the poverty gospel true, the preaching that we are to own nothing and give everything to the poor. In this teaching Dan explores both model and then clearly demonstrates that we are to be wise stewards of our money and rsoureces, generous in giving, but never foolish in our lifestyle.  Note: This teaching was originally recorded in 2003 and so the sound quality is not as good or up to ur standards today, but we felt the content was valuable and so decided to distribute it as is. 

In Matthew 28:18-20 we have the record of Jesus very last words, words that should arrest our attention. Having been given "all authority in heaven and earth" Jesus instructs his followers to "Go make disciples." It is the heart of what he wants us all to do. Making disciples should be our number one responsibility. This is a responsibility to teach others "all he commanded to do." There is no ambiguity in his instructions. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strnght, and to love others as we love ourselves. making disples is how we desmostrate our love for God and others. 

It's true that we should give thanks simply because God commands us to give thanks on all occassions, it is also true that there are tremendous benfits that happen to us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually when we give thanks. No one is immune from the difficulties of life so we all need encouragement to help us train our minds to turn from the negatives to the things we can be thankful for. This teaching is intended as an encouraging word to help you learn to do yourself a fave and give thanks.

In biblical times people didn't have the ability to have pure white clothing the way we do today with our bleaches and washing capabilities.  So God used snow as an indicator of how pure he was going to wash and cleanse them. But God tell us He will cleanse and wash us to that we are even whitier than snow. God alone is the One who will wash us by cleansing us of our red scralet sins, as difficult as blood stains are to remove, but He will wash us and remove the stains of our sins. The key is submiting to Him and staying humble. 

Life has a way of getting us down as we face its many challenges. But in spite of how tough things can be at times, there is a way to have joy in the midst of sorrow. In this teaching Dan shows how joy flows from a heart that is giving thanks, and i the middle of the greatest trama we can still find things to be thankful for when we focus our thoughts on God. 

Forgiveness is so central to the Chrisitan faith that if it is removed Christianity would cease to exist. Forgiveness is required of every follower of Christ and yet it is one of the hardest things we must do. Every person has been lied to, cheated, abused, and oppressed, and most of us have done the same to others. The one thing that frees us from the bonds of bitterness is learning to practice the disciple of forgiveness. Unforgiveness opens the door to spiritual oppression as well as physical and emotional problems. Learning to truly forgives others brings freedom and the ability to walk in spiritual power. 

One of the keys to walking by the spirit is to learn how to practice daily the presence of God in our lives. In this teaching Dan breaksdown what it means to be in God's presence and then how we can genuinely practice it in ways that will transform ourself and others. We beleive you will find this teaching inspiring and helpful in your spiritual life.

Tattoos have become a very popular thing in western culture with entertainers, athletes, and now the average person sporting them openly. Christians often ask, "What does the Bible say about tattoos? In this teaching Dan addresses the question by looking at the common verses cited regarding tattoos and explores the truth on this topic. This particuilar teaching is part one in a multipart part series on tattoos. Check them all out to learn what the Bible says, what you should consider, and what to do about ungodly tattoos. 

This is the third and final teaching in a three part series on demonic possession, more properly understood as demonization. What exactly are symptoms that a person is under the influence of a demon or spiritual attack by evil forces? In this teaching Dan identifies and explains practical examples of demonization.

This is part 2 in the Series "Can A CHristian be Demonized?" In this teaching we continue to look at bible verses that add additional understanding on what it mean for a person to be "demonized." We beleive you will enjoy increasing your understanding of the nature of God's spiritual enemy and how we can defeat him.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding concerning evil spirits and the impact they can have on Chrisitans. Can a Christian really be possessed by a demon? In this teaching Dan discusses the term "possession" and the misunderstandings surrounding it. He also explains what it means to be demonized and why this is a better understanding of the Greek word diamonizomai that is commonly translated as "possessed." This material is an essential understanding for those who truly want to be successful in helping others in the spiritual battle.

Rarely do we think about all the various kinds of lines that surround us everyday. There are lines that guide us on our travels down the road and highway. We have lines marking  crosswalks and people standing in lines as they wait for the bus or subway train. There are lines at the airport ticket counters followed by security lines as we pass through the TSA check-point. We also have lines at the post office, department of motor vheicles and even lines as we wait to enter many popular resturaunts. But the most important line we are all in is the 'line of life.' In this short teaching Dan talks about this line as he provides a sobering wake up that we all need as we progress forward in this line.

In this final session on prophetic foreshadows we look at how GOd also uses time, or events, to point us to future details of the messiah and His plan of redemption.

This series of teachings has been on how God uses the concept prophetic foreshadows to reveal great truths beforehand about the Messiah and His plan of redemption. In this session we look at His use of "things" from the Old Testament that give us greater insight.

Unlocking hte understanding of God's use of prophetic foreshadows in the scriptures provides a greater richness to your reading and also points to His divine moves through history. In this session Dan discusses God's use of 'places' as a type of foreshadow with examples from the life of Abraham and Issac and also the prophetic call of his son from Egypt.

In this teaching Dan discusses specific examples of prophetic foreshadows as we examine the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis. From this story we can clearly see that Joseph's life is a type of shadow pointing to characteristics of the coming Messiah.

Prophetic foreshadows are a powerful literary device that God uses to provide us details of the Messiah and His future moves. In this teaching Dan Gallagher looks at the life of David and shows how David, as a man after God's own heart, demonstrates some great truths about the life of Christ trhought he principle of prophetic foreshadows.

We will not fully understand the New Testament if we don't understand the Old Testament. In this teaching Dan discusses a number of specific New Testament passages and shows how God is using events in the Old Testament to reveal future greater spiritual realities. These Old Testament events are a shadow pointing to the future truth. Understanding God's use of prophetic foreshadows will add a much deeper appreciation and knowledge of the story God is telling and the moves He has made.

Every author determines how they are going to tell the story and what they will emphasize. In the very same way, God as the author of the Scriptures uses prophetic foreshadows to draw attention to the things He wants us to focus on so that we can clearly see His plans, purposes, and moves through history. In this series of teachings Dan explains the role of prophetic foreshadows and shows how understanding them will bring a deeper experience to the reader of the Bible.

Correctly understanding what faith truly is is vital to a walk that pleases God for God says, "Without faith it is impossible to please him." People frequently misunderstand what faith really is. In this teaching Dan shows how it is not some metaphysical force or some special magical power of the mind. Jesus has called us to do his works today in this world but if we don't properly understand what faith is, we will never be able to do those works. In addition to faithfulness or allegiance, one  basic understandings of the Greek word "pistis" is that it simply means to trust or to have confidence. 

As far back as Genesis 4 God warned Cain about sin. God uses the figurative of speech of personification when he warns Cain, giving him an indication that sin is like a predatory cat, one that is seeking an opportunity to pounce and devour us. The warning is to take heed, be careful in what we do and how we act so that we can take preemptive steps to avoid the sin that crouches at our door.  God also gives great encouragement that when we do right we are accepted but we must be very careful because when we do wrong then sin we seek opportunity to devour us. We must learn to be honest and call out sin for what it is. When we sin we must take full responsibility it, then we confess it, repent (meaning change) and then grow through it. In this teaching Dan gives some very practical examples of things we can do to master the sin that is crouching at our door.  Please share these episodes withothers and also check out our website, www.LeanOnJesus.com for more resources and videos.

Jesus tells us that it is from the heart of a person that come the thoughts and intentions of our actions, which is why God tells us that we must take great care to guard our hearts. THe best way to do this is to be aware of the two major pathways into a person's heart. In this teaching Dan explains these two pathways and how they directly influence our heart. Unfortuantely, amny of the problems we see today are the result of peole not being more careful in these two areas,a nd with knowledge of them we can guard and protect what is in our hearts.

How do we show God that we love Him. It's one thing to say we love God and quite another to show Him we really love Him. In this short teaching Dan inspires and encourages us to live a life of loving others, one by one as we fulfill the many commands to love, encourage, and care for one another. When we do this we transform our thoughts of loving God into tangible deeds and this is how we show God we love Him. 

In this final teaching Dan examines the second type of wicked person, what God calls in Herew the Nabal. The wicked are known by the destruction in their hearts. This kind of person is an extreme from of wickedness and evil. They are corrupt in all their ways and they work against God. They are indifferent to the pain and suffereing they cause., They lack empathy and copmpassion for others. In this teaching Dan identifies clear "nabalish" behaviors that we must be aware of so that we can avoid the destruction they sow and avoid their ways. The nabal is the most extremeform of evil. There is no amount of reproof or intellectual interruption that we can do that will help them. Their conduct reveals planned cunning and we must avoid them.    When we do unreasonable things we must interrupt it. We must avoid being stubborn fools and train oourselves to avoid the path of the wick and be, what God says, is the wise. 

The third type of fool is a stubborn fool. This is the person who knows what thye should do, they refuse to do it, and they are stubborn about it. God equates a stubborn fool to the kind of person who is like a dog who eats his own vomit. This is the kind of person who actually is beginning to take pleasure in evil. As we follow the path of foolishness we now can see how a person is increasing in pride and sinful behavior. In this teaching Dan gives some very pratical examples and also the sever actions that are required to correct this type of foolishness. It should give us pause when we see that this is the largest type of foolishness that God addresses in Proverbs.

THe HEbrew word 'eviyl' is properly translated as an unreasonable fool. This is the kind of person who knows what to do but just decides not to do it. Everyone is at times an unreasonable fool and the proper correction for this type of behavior is not instruction like for the simple fool, but an increased level of corrective action. IN this episode Dan Gallagher discusses the characteristics of the unreasonable fool and gives many scripture verses that describ eit and it's correction.

In the Bible God uses five different Hebrew words to describe fools and wicked behavior. Understanding the difference between these types of fools helps all of us identify follishness in ourselves and others. In this episode Dan Gallagher specifically discusses the nature of a Simple Fool. 

In the Book of Proverbs God divides people into three categories: the wise, the fool and the wicked. In this teaching Dan Gallagher lays a foundational understanding of the topic and what it takes for a person to be considered by God to be "wise." We encourage you to listen to each of this teaches and examine yourself to see where in life you act as the wise, the fool and the wicked.  

God is always working to bring about His will in our lives, but there are also four specific areas where He is working to help us conform into the image of his son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. These four areas are pride, fear, unforgiveness and ungodly habits. In this teaching, Dan provides practical examples from his life that we hope you find encouraging and inspirational in your walk with Jesus. To see all our resources, go to www.LeanonJesus.com

Christians are often defeated in everyday life because they fail to fully grasp the spiritual power that is available to them from the Father by virtue of the gift of the holy spirit. In this episode Dan helps bring clarity to this matter as well as inspire the listener to step out and begin exercising their spiritual power. 

Prophecy is intended to be a great blessing from God to His people by providing encouragement, comfort, and inspiration. However, words delivered as coming from God come through people and that means mistakes can be made. We all have a responsibility to carefully evaluate those words to make sure that we are not setting ourselves up for problems and potential harm. In this teaching Dan Gallagher explains how to run all prophecy through the filter of the Four W's.