You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand. Jeff, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show. Hi Jesus. I'm a grateful believer and I love your show.
Oh thanks, Jeff, I appreciate you listening. How can I help
you? Well, I'm going to get my emotions under control here. I
was divorced about twenty years ago and didn't have much contact with my kids.
Basically was an addict, and now I'm not. And I'm trying to talk
to my kids about you, and I think they don't want to listen to
it because of a messenger, okay, And I just want to hear what
you have to say about it, or ask me questions about it, or
just come and get my head on straight around it. Well, I hear.
I get phone calls and emails of all kinds from people in situations where
they're going I really want to share Christ, but for reason x Y and
Z, I can't because of something I did or the place I'm at.
And that may be the case that you're looking at. You may be the
worst person to bring that information to them, And the best way to bring
that information to them is not from the hole in your face, but from
the thing that beats within your chest, and that is to act in a
way and let them see the experience that you have and not just try to
proselytize. It's very difficult, especially somebody who's been through the ringer like you
have, and has gone through addiction and gone through these types of things and
a divorce and you haven't seen them for a long time. They're going to
look at you and say, who are you? And why should I trust
you? And why would I hear this from you? And and don't tell
me about living a good life or about focusing in on God. They they
that you don't have that place in their life yet, And I think it's
best just to be living in a way that is is an example. Then,
yeah, sometimes taking we're talking about, you know, taking the shortcuts
or not having consequences. Sometimes talking about things becomes this simple way and the
obvious way and the easy way, rather than living in a way that asks
that promotes people to ask you about why you're living the way you are.
You understand the difference there. It's you know, one thing to say,
hey, do this, and it's another thing to do it and have people
go, wow, why do you do that? Why do you do it
that way? And it's I mean, look at the way. You know,
you watch a golf and these shows on on the weekends or these infomercials
about golf swings, and do this with a golf swing. Do that with
a golf swing. You will find men that will parse and vet every nook
and cranny of a golf swing because they see the results of that golf swing.
Nobody wants to know how to do a really bad golf swing. Wow,
you really you knocked that into the you know, the beach there,
so I want to find out how you did it. No, it's not,
it's not about that. It's about wanting to replicate success or replicate something
that you see to be of value and in life. That works the same
way as well. If you're doing something that people see that is valuable and
healthy and efficient and loving and all these things, they're going to ask you
naturally. But sometimes believers think, oh, it's easier, I want to
do it just this way, and I'm going to shove it down their throat
or I'm gonna, you know, just preach to them. And it's not
that you know that doesn't have value to to express verbally. But I think
in this particular case, there's way they're going to receive that from you.
In that way. It's going to be too be too simple. It's not
going to have the weight or the value of just seeing you and your life
turned around and you loving on them and doing your best to be in their
life in a way that's healthy. They're going to be out of the country
for two years now and I won't be able to see him, and I
don't know how they're going to see the change in me. Well, there's
nothing. While I was saying, you know what, I know, we
don't have a whole lot of time together. I know you're going to be
out of town, and you know, forgive my zeal, but I want
so much for you to see the things that have helped me change, change
and grow. And I know you're not going to be able to see that.
And if you know, if I get so excited about it, forgive
me. But understand that I've been through a lot and that I've missed a
lot, and so I feel like I'm trying to cover ground. But just
know that that's where it comes from. It comes from a place of excitement
and a desire to connect and and so when I share these things with you,
it's it's not a shortcut. It's just to kind of bringing up to
speed at where I am in my life and the things that have really helped
me. And I feel like I haven't been able to impart a lot during
under the circumstances. And and this is this may seem like it's, you
know, a lot to consume right now, but I feel like I've been
out of the loop for a while. And I think feel like I haven't
been in your life in the way I like to, or I haven't been
able to teach you or to show you these things. And and I I,
you know, I don't have gold, I don't have silver, I
don't have any of these things necessarily to give you. But what I do
have is this, And on your on your trip for the next two years,
if you can take this with you, whether whether it's a Bible or
whether it's just that notion that at least you've planted that seed. I get
that I do, but you're not going to do it all in one.
If it was that easy, it wouldn't have any value. Yeah, it's
not an amulet, you know, it's not some magic water you're going to
give them. It's not a necklace, it's not there's it's nothing like that.
It's not the kind of it's not the way this gift is passed on.
It's really about you know, experiencing in them, seeing that that difference
in you. It's okay to talk about it, just don't make that.
You know, people always look Jeff for that right word, as if you
know that right word is going to get them saved. And it's not about
that right word. It's about being available when they have the questions. It's
about being honest and open and not being ashamed of your faith. But you
know, if you if you crammed food down their throat, they they'd vomit
it up as well. So it's you know, and so would you.
You know, people came to you before, people try to teach you things
and show you things, and you had to do it in your own time,
right when you're ready, as do they so plant the seed. Scripture
says that that there are many participants in that. There's the person who plants
the seed. There's a person who plows the field, there's a person who
waters. There's all that and that's going to happen. You have to trust
God for those things. That's where your faith comes in as well, to
know that you can just plant that little seed and that they can go,
you know, away for two years, go away for twenty years. It
doesn't matter. God's still there. God hasn't fallen off his throne. And
worry about just the planting of the little seed, not trying to grow a
tree instantaneously. That's just not the way it works. Matt, Welcome to
the Jesus Christ Show. Hey, Jesus, how you imagine? Good?
How you doing? Excellent? Sir? What's going on? I just got
a quick question, theology question. I'm Catholic. My family was some of
themes to our catholic A lot of them went to the Evangelist movement or whatever
you want to call it now, and they they, you know where it's
very followed just the scripture, the Word of God, and that's what it
is. Nothing wrong with that and a lot of respects. I like it.
My question is is from what I understand at least and the church history,
is that the pope sometime in the fourth century or so, actually compiled
the Bible. And I guess or compiled the books that we know today that
are in the Bible. And my biggest struggle with maybe possibly either going over
to that church with my parents, The biggest struggle I have is if the
Pope compiled those books and chose what's in it, and they so outright least
speak, you know, against the Catholic Church, why it just seems kind
of ironic to me when the book that they consider the Word of God,
which it is, you know, was compiled by the pope speak. I
just need more clarification to try to understand it myself. Well, talking about
unfortunately, to go through, you know, and parse all the specifics of
history is kind of outside the scope of the time that we have. But
I do want you to understand that's it's not a fair statement to say that
the Pope put together the Bible, right that what takes place is there are
councils that do take place. There are groups where they come to ecumenical councils,
and there are groups that come together to make decisions based on certain things
about scripture. But the scripture itself was already pretty much because of its usage
and the context of its usage, determined and canonized. Canon just means like
measuring rod, like a measuring read. So it's it's saying this is the
measure of God. This is that this has shown itself or proven itself to
be the word of God. Now there's disputes between the Catholic Church and the
Protestant Church as to certain books that would be you referred to as apocryphal books.
Now those books aren't damaging necessarily and that they're just not seen as scripture
so by some. So the battle that takes place there is really dealing with
an understanding of how the Bible came to be. It wasn't that some guy
sat there and said this is what I determined to be. It's not one
person's job. Also, going back, it's very easy for the Catholic Church
to say, well, this was the Catholic Church, when really Catholic means
universal and at the time, it wasn't talking about necessarily the structure of the
Catholic Church as you know it today. It's talking about the early Church because
until the Reformation, it's just the Church. So it's kind of hard to
say, well, the Protestants weren't a part of that. You know,
technically they were, because the Protestants means Protestants came from the first Church as
well. So the branching off of that came from disagreements as to the way
the structure of the church was the path that the church was going, and
some disagreements there, but the essentials always remained, which is the most important.
And also to look at the fact that the decision making wasn't just done
by one particular person. Throughout the centuries, there have been people that have
tried to add things and subtract things. And the key to the canonization,
and the most important part of it was to determine that nothing was to be
added at this point, that all the revelation that was to be given by
God has already been given. That way that people don't start writing things into
it and putting new things into it and modifying. And there are new testaments
that other groups that people would refer to as non Christian cults add to the
scriptures, and there's new covenants and new things like that, but the scripture
it was decided as these groups. Nothing changes throughout history. You'll be happy
to note that the same craziness that goes on today, when you know a
thousand years ago two thousand years ago, you had groups. Even when you
read through scripture, you read through the epistles, and you see the Church
at Corinth, the Church at Ephesus, and they had these major problems at
the time. They was all kinds of craziness going on, and so a
lot of times these groups would come together to reinforce the belief for the understanding
that had been the universal belief or understanding. And now that a group comes
in they start teaching something else, they'd come together and say, no,
we still all agree this is the way things should be. Let's weed out
this particular problem. And that's when they would get together on these councils as
well, to kind of decide, well, it's getting crazy out there.
People are starting to say this and teach this, and that's not what we
all believe correct, And it would be ecumenical in the sense that it would
be the entirety of the best representatives possible to come together and say, no,
this is what we've always believed. This has always been the tradition.
We continue to push forward on that. But to say that the Pope canon
I Scripture is not a fair statement, Laurie, Welcome to the Jesus Christ
Show. Hello Jesus, thank you for taking my call, my pleasure.
How can I help you? Well? I hear people talking about surviving horrible
situations where they say they just believe in God and put their faith in God.
And I do that too, but I'm having trouble dealing with issues that
someone can be blessed by God and a follower of Jesus and still get cancer,
especially like if they have young children. I know several people in this
situation now, and they're no less a believer than I am. And I
pray every day I will not be tested in this way. And I why
why would you pray that when Scripture says you will be tested that way?
Scripture says, well, that you should rejoice in your trials because that's where
God is seen. You're not going to walk through life in perfection. You're
told at the very beginning of life that it will end. That's temporary and
there's no guarantee. No, I understand that. I think the part that
I see is that when I we've got a situation. We have a friend
that has two little children and she was just diagnosed with stage four cancer and
we're talking, you know, not a lot of time, and I just
don't understand with two little kids that this is. I guess I'm just having
trouble with that. Of course, it's it's normal to worry, worry,
and be frustrated with the things of this world. It is, and to
see children like that put in a situation. But you only have, you
know, two choices there. You know, to live life in the that
is given to you, regardless of what that is good, bad or otherwise,
or not to live at all and refrain from having children because you might
get sick or and these types of things, and both have their their pluses
and minuses. So in this situation, if you look at scripture over and
over, it says be not afraid in one way or another. Be not
afraid of the one who can kill the flesh, be afraid of the one
that could kill the spirit. It's never been about this life. This life
is only a preparation and an understanding for the life to come. So there's
going to be cancer, not because God created it and God wants it,
but because in this world there are the options of those things in the you
know, whether it be pollution and things that are put into the atmosphere,
whether it be genetic problems, whether it be whatever that brings someone to that
particular place in their life, you have to understand that the glory of God
can still come from that situation. And that's what it's about, not being
in it, you know, having the life you expected you were going to
have or for the length of time. And I think if you get it
in that mindset, get in that mindset of going, well, we're going
to live ninety years and we're going to be healthy for those ninety years,
and that's just not no. I understand that a legitimate way to think.
Yeah, no, And I don't think that way is it pertains to me
And I think it's just I think it's throwing the little kids into the mix
that always, you know, kind of sets me apart on that that.
I don't know, I just have a harder time. I have a harder
time with that, of course, but it's the quality as well. I've
had people call up who lost the children, and would do you think for
one second that a parent whose child dies at the age of two or five
thinks that that child was less important or less valuable because of the length of
their life. So it's really not the length of life, it's it's what
it's your experience and the quality of interacting with one another and and creating those
relationships. And there are there are parents that will live to eighty that aren't
going to be one modicum of the parent that your friend has been and the
life that they have. So there's is it is it horribly sad situation,
Absolutely, And I know that that is something that is a battle with believers.
And you see, you know, you see like somebody driving in a
beat up old car that's falling apart and there's a bumper stick on the back
that says the Lord provides, and you go, wow, provides what to
whom? And and I know that that becomes this this kind of dichotomy of
you know how you're supposed to say that it's a blessing, but really,
if you think about the word blessing when people pray, it's it shouldn't be
this is what I want God. It should be for understanding for what you
have and and and really that kind of infusion of God into this situation becomes
the important part. Let me do this gracefully, let me do this with
dignity, Let me do this in a way that glorifies you God. That's
where you're at it this point. If God chooses in his infinite wisdom to
reach into the situation and heal, hallelujah. And if he doesn't, hallelujah.
Because all of that glory should be given to God. And this is
where the community of Christ should come together and take care of those children and
and help that. You know it's and that and God's glory will be seen
in that. But you certainly wouldn't say that you know all is lost for
these children. It's a horribly sad situation. These children God's will be done,
will grow through it, and it will be a part of who they
are in a way that gives them understanding and a deep understanding of the temporary
nature of life in this world. And that will give them the strength to
push forward and do things in a manner that they may not have before.
There's all kinds of things that will go on. But does it stink absolutely
on its face, it stinks to live in this world that is not covered
in nerve, that has sharp edges, that people die in, that people
get hurt in. But that is to help understand the preciousness and the value
of life. And that's for Christians as well. You don't get a pass.
It doesn't change how life will be or what happens to you. It
should change how you perceive it and how you go through it, but it
won't change that you'll go through it or won't go through it. Okay,
thank you very much. You're welcome, Laurie, and we will be praying
for you and the families involved. And it's one of those things where Christians
often look around and say, hey, you know I believe I have faith.
I've been on my knees, I have you know, holes worn in
the carpet next to my bed, and bad things still happen. It's not
about avoiding those things. You're going to have those things in life. Life
will be difficult, you will have trials Christian and non Christian alike. Period.
It says in scripture in Matthew that the that the sun will rise and
set, and it will rain and have sun on the righteous and the unrighteous.
And what Matthew five forty three and forty five is saying there is that
you know what good things and bad things. Good things will happen to bad
people and bad things will happen to the good. That's just the way it's
going to happen in this world. God gives you armor, but that spiritual
armor to deal with the spiritual things that come at you. And those spiritual
things are that in times of trials and weakness and frustration and sadness, that
the enemy wants to sit there and go where is your God. One of
the most beautiful scenes, the most powerful scenes in mel Gibson's Betrayal of the
last twelve hours or so of My Life was his interpretation of what took place
in the garden of Gasemine where I'm alone and I'm praying. And it doesn't
say this in scripture, but I think it was a legitimate, a legitimate
use of what could have been going on there as someone who has vision as
a director, and it shows the enemy kind of walking around me or pacing
like a tiger ready to pounce, and this kind of ambiguous creature male female,
you don't really know, kind of beautiful kind of repelling is the enemy
saying you can't do this alone. He should never put this on you.
It's too much for one person saying those doubts, putting those doubts, trying
to infuse my head with those things from the pit hell. And the enemy
does the same thing to you when you are at your weakest. The enemy
wants to sit there and do a dance and say, see where is your
God? Now? They said it to me when I was on the cross.
It's implied that it's said to me throughout temptation. They're going to say
it to you. The glory of God comes not from a miraculous healing,
which is a human thing. That's what the humans want. The glory of
God is when man goes through things that are inherently scary, frustrating, sad,
frightening, and does it with the poise and the grace of someone that
can only only have that strength and ability if they knew God. Bonnie,
Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show. Yes, Hi, Bonnie, Hi.
I was listening to one of your last callers that said that her face had
been a little bit shaken because she had friends that were young and dying or
thought they might be dying of cancer and couldn't understand why God would do that,
And I was I just had to call because I know one reason is
that when a person of faith like that. That is how I came to
know Jesus Christ through a young woman who had two young children, everything to
live for, and she was literally dying of cancer. And through her I
saw a faith and a trust. She was happier than anybody I knew that
had everything going for them. And I watched her carefully. I couldn't believe
this what I just she was set apart. And I watched her and what
I began to go to a Bible study that she actually would give you.
She would be in the hospital for a week and she'd get out for two
hours to come and teach a Bible study. And she asked me to go,
and I went and began to understand what it was that she had the
faith in. It was something that I embraced, and for the woman that
was concerned, I also paid attention to what was what her heart's desire was.
That she knew she was dying, that she wanted God, and the
prayer was watch out for my husband and my two children, m and to
look over those that were they are going to be less, Yes, And
that was her only prayer and that request, and she I watched when she
died, and the most God took care of her husband and her children in
the most miraculous ways, and there was it just increased my faith. I
became a Christian. But even more importantly, I think they're probably were There
were probably about fifty more people that came to the Lord through that one woman.
We'll see there there's and and I thank you so much, Bonnie for
calling people. Don't understand that things do him from this and it is sad.
But you even remember Randy Pausch, Professor Pausch from the last lecture if
you haven't read the book, it's a lovely book and a tribute to a
man who loved his family very much and wanted them to know it even when
he passed. There is much that can be done in those last hours,
those last moments, and you can touch people. Randy Paush touched a world
who continued to read his book that was written due to the pain and the
suffering and the sadness and the frustrations that he went through. Don Welcome to
the Jesus Christ Show. Hello Jesus, thank you for doing my call,
my pleasure. What's going on? Done well? I've always been curious about
God the Father in the sense of taking his deity to other cultures, not
just through you, but to other cultures. Say, you know the Buddhists
and uh uh and the Vishnu. You know that that sort of thing as
well as the Native Americans does does does? Does he manifest himself you know,
to different cultures in different ways. Well, that's that. That's the
difference between motherhood and your mom. Your mom is your mom. You can't
repackage her. She is your your mother. And although other cultures have the
term for mom or mother, there is only one your mom, only one
mother of Dawn. So in a like sense, it's more likely because they
they aren't all the same. Even though some people can say, oh,
well, Buddha's a manifestation of this, or fish News a manifestation of that,
they don't jive. They don't have the same philosophy's beliefs. And in
every other walk of life you came by somebody who claimed to be someone or
something and they didn't have those same defining properties, you'd say it wasn't the
same person or thing. And so it's not just well, gosh, all
these different belief systems or cultures have an idea of God. It's what is
that idea of God that's important, and so they don't mesh. So to
say that they are all the same manifestation of the Father God in different areas
or cultures, it doesn't make sense because culture shouldn't be more powerful than God.
So a culture can't define God. God has to define the culture.
And if you come across these other manifestations for lack of a better term of
God, they still have to be defined as to what they are, just
like your mother would be defined by who she is. I if I was
seeking God, I was raised Roman Catholic, if I was to you know,
to attempt to find you know, the Father through Buddhism. Buddhism is
completely different than the Christian God. Vishnu completely different from the Christian God.
And that's not to put a value on that. It's to say that,
well, one, this is the Jesus Christ show. If it was the
Vish New Show or the Buddhas show, I'm sure they'd be talking up their
beliefs. But ultimately that's to say there is a difference. There's an old
saying everyone can be wrong, but they can't all be right if they contradict
each other. There are contradictions inherently in all those belief systems that don't match
up. They are not interchangeable, and you can because of the freedom,
you can believe what you want. But keep in mind they are not interchangeable
and they do not all believe the same things. That's where problems arise.
KFI on Demand