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You're listening to KFI AM six forty
on demand. Thanksgiving is Thursday. But

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unfortunately, sometimes during trying times,
maybe you're going through something in your life,

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relationships or work, maybe finances aren't
so great. All these things,

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Life continues to do what it does
on earth regardless of holidays. Right but

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as Thanksgiving approaches, and you have
these things in your life that have caused

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turmoil or pain or frustration, it
can be very difficult to find things individual

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things in your life to be thankful
for. But being thankful shouldn't be a

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state saved for good times alone.
If you wait till things are good and

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going well to only be thankful,
you miss a little bit of what God's

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doing in your life. God calls
the believer to be in a continual state

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of thankfulness. God's sustaining love doesn't
change for you. Right in good times

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are bad. God doesn't say,
oh, well, I don't love you

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anymore. Your relationship may change with
God if you're doing things that are harmful

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to you, or you're living a
lifestyle that may be damaging. That may

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cause issues with your relationship. But
God doesn't change how he feels about you.

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And good times are bad now.
Likewise, your thankfulness should be the

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same in good times or in bad
times. If you look around and you

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get caught up in just the circumstances
in your life, you may not feel

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like there's much to be thankful for. But I assure you there are things

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to be thankful for at every moment, in any time of your life.

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And if you get into that rut
that why me, or woe is me?

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Or look at all the bad things
going on in my life, you

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may miss the picture, the true
image that God has for you and the

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things that He's creating for you in
your life. One Thessalonians five eighteen says,

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give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God's will for you in

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Christ Jesus. So are you in
that place where you can give thanks for

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everything, not just for what you
want or what you enjoy. If you

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get the attitude like a child,
where the child's only happy when they get

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what they want, when they get
exactly the thing they want when they want

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it, then you're being like that
child to God. If you get that

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mindset that kicking and screaming or throwing
a tantrum the grocery store or the toy

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store or whatever it might be.
You become that child to God. Your

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relationship has to be bigger, broader, and more realistic. I remember seeing

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on one of the home video shows
not too long ago, they were showing

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clips of the holidays, in particular
Christmas. They were showing kids receiving gifts,

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and the parents were sometimes playing jokes
on them or doing gag gifts or

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goofy things. And then there were
some videos where it was merely them videotaping

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their holidays and it would show the
kid's reaction to a gift. Now,

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if you're a parent, you know
it's not always easy to guess exactly what

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kids want or get the right specific
one, or maybe they have an eye

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for a particular color or something or
other, and sometimes you're going to get

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it wrong. Well, in this
video, it's exactly what took place.

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Had you have this child receiving something
slightly different than what they had wanted,

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but it was quite sweet. I
was this young child opened it up and

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said, oh, this is so
great. It's not the exact one that

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I wanted, but this is so
great, and that kind of attitude of

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well it may not be exactly what
I want, but the more important thing

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is that this shows me that my
parents care. Now, God, unlike

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parents, knows exactly what you need
and exactly what you want, and they're

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not always the same thing. They're
not always the things you want aren't always

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what's best for you. So God, in his infinite wisdom, will always

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do what's best for you, and
you may not always like it. But

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being in that state where you learn
to be blessed in the place you are

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right now, that place you're standing
right this moment, not just where you

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want to be, not that next
time or if I get this then I'll

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be happy. No, being blessed
in the place you are right now,

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knowing that that godly promise that God
will never leave you or forsake you.

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And it's it's difficult to be thankful
all the time. It's difficult to be

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in that state of thankfulness, and
I understand that. But the key,

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as always on as it is on
everything, is to remain focused on God,

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putting God first, putting God above
all all else is what puts you

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in that mindset of thankfulness. Is
it difficult to always be thankful? Absolutely,

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it is difficult, But if you're
focused on God, you'll see it,

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you'll be in that thankful moment Psalm
one oh seven, Verse one,

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give thanks to the Lord, for
he is good, for his steadfast love

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endures forever. Not getting lost in
the circumstance and being lost in God is

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to know that God is steadfast in
his love, that the things that God

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promises will endure forever. During each
show here on the Jesus Christ Show,

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I refer to you all the time, all the time, and you've heard

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it over and over that the trial. I refer to the trials in your

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life as life situations. Now we
say that in the show because they change

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just as circumstances. Circumstances change.
I want you to know that these life

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situations will change. You must remind
yourself that God transcends situations. God transcends

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something that is going on just in
the moment, these situational issues, and

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that He has a plan for you. And I know when you're in the

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middle of the pain, when you're
in the middle of the frustration, it's

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hard to remind yourself of that.
It's hard to remember that God has a

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plan for you. But he does. And the key to this this time

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of the year, with Thanksgiving just
around the corner is to find that mindset

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of being thankful always, not being
caught up in the circumstances. The enemy

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would love for you to be caught
up in the minutia, to have the

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little things in life in your face
all the time, to where you can't

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think about anything else. It's just
about those things. If you get focused

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on the little picture, you miss
out on everything around you. And there's

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so much going on, so many
things where God is putting blessings in your

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life or taking away those things that
are cursing it. And like the child

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illustration we talked about earlier, the
child may not understand that a particular sugary

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cereal or candy or something is not
always good for them. They'll kick and

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scream and be frustrated and mad at
you as the parent for not allowing them

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to have it. But ultimately,
it's not only what you give that is

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going to be the blessing to a
child, it's what you take away and

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protect them from. Same way God
in your life. God not only is

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blessing you by putting things in your
life, placing the things that you need

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when you need them, but God
blesses you by the removal of things that

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are damaging or threatening to you,
the things that may pull you down or

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may have you spiral out of control
down a path that's not going to be

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beneficial for you. And only when
you are there in that mindset, only

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when you sit in the present and
understand that God will give you what you

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need when you need it and take
away those things that are are not good

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for you. Only in that moment
are you truly able to be thankful for

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all things, not just circumstances and
the things going on around you, but

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for everything. Thanksgiving right around the
bend. It's coming up quickly. Unfortunately,

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when Thanksgiving is coming up in the
primary focus of the the whole holidays

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to be thankful, maybe things aren't
going so well in your life or you're

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going through something. Then when you're
in the middle of that, it's hard

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to go, Okay, I'm going
to dust it off, all of the

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ugliness that I'm going through and just
be thankful. Could be financial things,

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relationship things, but all of that
plays a part in where you are in

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your mind, and it's hard to
find that place to be thankful to God

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when you feel that your life is
in an upheaval, When you feel that

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your life is turned upside down.
But God calls you as a believer to

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be in a continual state of thankfulness, not something that is bent or twisted

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by the things going on in your
life, but always is steadfast focusing on

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the things of God, always knowing
that it's about God and what God brings

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in your life or what God takes
away, not just the stuff. So

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good times, bad time, times
doesn't matter. First, Thessalonians five eighteen

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says give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in

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Christ Jesus. So it doesn't say
give thanks in all circumstances except for A,

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B, C and D. It
says, be thankful, give thanks

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in all circumstance. We talk about
on the show often about life situations,

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and we say that because they change, and I want to remind you over

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and over that they're going to change. So if you call today and we

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talk about your life situation, I
want you to think, hey, this

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can change. If it goes from
good to bad, it can go from

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bad to good. You got to
know that God transcends any of these situations,

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these issues that are in your life. God has a plan for you.

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It's easy to be thankful when wonderful
things are happening, when great things

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are going on. But about those
desert times in your life, when God

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seems to be gone and good fortune
drives up. You have to be in

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a state of thankfulness there, so
you can call them desert times versus dessert

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times. The dessert times everything always
seems to be going well and you're thankful,

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But in the desert times you have
to be thankful. Also, look

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for the little things in life you
might be taking for granted. Thank the

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Lord for them. Thank God not
only for what he provides, but also

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for what he takes away. Be
consistent in your gratitude towards God. Remember,

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life is not just those circumstances.
And when you get to that place

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where your spirit is louder than your
head, where you're aware that He is

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consistent regardless of what's happening around you, then you can truly be thankful in

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all circumstances. Jim, welcome to
the Jesus Christio. Oh I would I

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am well? Jim? How are
you? I'm good? Kind of what's

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going on? Well? I've got
a long term amatrum shorting up just because

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I know you don't have a lot
of time. I have since two thousand

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and six been struggling with my faith
in you, and I know it's not

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the right thing to do, but
it's been a struggle. I've lost both

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my parents at a very young age. My dad died in two thousand and

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six and fifty five, and my
mom died in two thousand and ten at

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fifty eight, and I've kind of
taken it out on you and held you

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responsible. Now, within the last
three months, I've had my dad heavily

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on my mind. I've seen him
in the mirror when I look just like

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him. I've seen him in the
mirror when I looked in the mirror.

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I've had I don't even necessarily that
there were dreams about him, but I

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think he's come and seen me in
my dreams and basically telling me everything that

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I'm doing right now is wrong.
And the other day I was listening to

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some country music and the first four
songs to come on country music were my

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dad's favorite four gospel songs, and
it was on a country music station,

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not a gospel station. So it
got me thinking that what I have been

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doing is wrong now, whether that
come from my Dad. Where that come

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from you, I'm not sure.
But what I'm calling you for today is

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I know that God waits patiently,
He doesn't give up on us. I

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know. I know that you guys
are gonna sit there and wait for me

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to come back to you. But
how do I go from in lacks of

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a lack of a better term,
pure hatred for the loss of my parents

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back to where I used to be
with faith in God and basically giving praise

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every day for the life that I
have and not make it seem like it's

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a selfish gesture, No, I
understand. Part of that is to understand

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that that the Father is your father
as well, in the sense that it

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seems that your family has has all
graduated to go on to heaven and you're

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looking around going, hey, that
that doesn't seem fair. They seem too

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young. But to keep in mind
that that God is part of that equation

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as well, and that God is
part of your family, and that you

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still do have family in a different
way. Absolutely, But that's kind of

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the first step is to understand that
that's still that still exists and that still

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takes place. As far as the
other part goes, that being angry at

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God and thrusting your fist to the
heavens is not the antithesis of the love

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of God. There there are a
lot of people you don't talk to in

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life that you don't know and you
don't care about. This is not one

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of them. This is a situation
where you were hurt and you want to

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get God's attention in a very specific
way, and you do that by doing

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what you do in a human relationship
to try and get their attention. And

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I don't think any of that is
wrong to begin with. I think it's

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okay to be mad. I think
it's okay to be upset and to feel

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like you were cheated or that something's
missing, or that too much burden was

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put upon you. But if you're
not in God's word, if you're not

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reading it, if you're not trying
to understand those things, if you're not

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in prayer, if you're just in
thrusting fists mode, that it takes longer

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to heal because you're not actually in
that relationship with God at the time,

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And the only thing that's going to
help you heal from this and understand it

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is being in that relationship. But
God's not judging you. It's not like

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God's some sort of ex friend or
something who's going to hold a grudge and

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say, well, I don't know, you didn't talk to me for so

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long, therefore I'm not gonna I'm
not gonna talk to you. Now.

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That's not the way God works.
God's ready, willing and able and right

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there. He never leaves you,
never forsakes you, and is right there

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and all you need to do is
need him and he'll be there. No

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magic tricks. Okay, So the
process is one of honesty, and I

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know that that's a concern of yours. It's like you don't want God to

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think one or the other. But
God's not reading your actions that way.

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God's reading your heart, and to
go into it honestly, start reading again,

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start spending time with God. You
may never get an answer as to

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why your parents were taken at the
time they were, But as you know,

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there are people that grow up with
their parents at all. There's everyone

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has their their life and the process
of that life, and everybody's assumption is

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that it's going to go to a
certain way for a certain length of time,

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and there's no guarantees. So the
the place to be is that place

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of of appreciation to appreciate you.
Do you feel that you appreciated your parents

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less because they died early? No? Not at all. Okay, do

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you think you would have loved them
more if they stayed longer? Yeah?

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How so? Well, I would
have had more time to love them,

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I guess. I mean I still
love them, don't get me wrong,

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But I'd have had more time to
spend with them. So I don't think

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I would have loved them anymore,
but I would have I would have had

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more time to love them. Yea
more time to love them. But it's

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not like you would have loved them
more in some sort of you know,

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qualitative sense. It's just it would
have just been more and there will be

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that time. There will be time
to say, spend with them again,

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just not here. And their purpose
was for God, just as your purpose

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is for God, and you need
to go continue on that. It's it's

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sad and it's frustrating when you lose
people. I get it, but you

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can't lose God. He's He's got
the keys to the understanding, for one,

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but also that it's the first thing
you learn, you learn that death

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is imminent. It's strange that it's
the one thing that everybody knows is coming,

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and that it doesn't have a particular
date. It's not set the way

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people think it is. People think, ah, though people live to ninety

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or whatever, there's no set date. Yet. It's the one thing that

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everyone's surprised by. Yeah, can
I ask you one more just one more

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quick question? Of course, what
is I don't know the Bible very well

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as far as where to find things. Is there a section of the Bible

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that will help aid in the healing
of the healing process basically, well,

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go to and read the entirety a
scripture. Scripture is there for understanding and

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healing, it really is. But
if there's if you're looking for tiny morsels

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that will be helpful, uh,
you know, just to be able to

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pick up and read. I would
suggest reading front in the Book of Psalm.

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If you go through the Book of
Psalms, it's filled with people in

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different states of pain or frustration or
things going on and still in their in

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their their their state of loving God. The Psalm three, for instance,

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is title Victory in the face of
Defeat. So uh, it's often about

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looking for guidance in times of pain, or when you go down a path

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that you didn't think you were going
to go down to through and I think

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that that can be very very helpful
for you as well, just to give

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you some peace at times. So
there's a place to start. Thank you

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very much. I appreciate it.
You're welcome, and I hope that we

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hear back from you as you kind
of understand little bits and pieces or there's

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you know, epiphanies that you come
across or you build, continue to build

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that bridge. Feel free to call
back anytime. I will. Thanks.

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I appreciate that in the process of
pain, in the process of going through

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these things, it's hard to continue
to have faith. I will also recommend

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as some nonscriptural books that tie into
that. The problem of pain and a

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grief observed by C. S.
Lewis are really wonderful ways of seeing somebody

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deal with those with those very issues
as they pertain to God. You can

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find them just about anywhere on any
bookstore or online, but they really are

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a great insight towards a godly person
going through or looking at, either academically

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or in his own life, the
process of pain, losing someone and not

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understanding things, and it can be
very powerful to see somebody be honest about

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those things from a theological standpoint,
because the assumption is the moment you raise

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your fists or you get mad,
that you've cut yourself off from God,

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and that's just not the truth.
It's still a very honest and responsive feeling.

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God is still listening. It's when
you shut God out completely and you

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have indifference. As it's been said
before, many, many times, the

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opposite of love is not hate.
It's indifference. It's not caring at all,

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one way or the other. That's
the place God doesn't want you to

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be. But being at a place
where you're angry is at least still in

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a place of caring and having real, deep and authentic emotions. And if

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you're still if you're in that place, that's still a place God can reach

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you. That's still a place that
God can work with, and it's still

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a place of great honesty and focus
upon God. It's not turning yourself away

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from God, it's actually focusing directly
smack dab in the middle of God,

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just with anger. Joe in Glendora, Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.

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It's a pleasure to talk to you. Jesus. I had a question that

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once I knew him, I knew
somebody who gave ten percent to their church.

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Yes, put, I think the
Bible says, and then they treated

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people lousy the rest of a week, the church or the person. No,

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the person treated the people lousy always. But he gave us ten percent,

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so he, you know, really
thought he was doing the right thing.

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Maybe with a ten percent, but
I wanted to compare that to somebody

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who couldn't afford the ten percent but
treated people nice. Well ten percent,

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How could you not afford ten percent
of something. No, I'm talking about

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ten percent of your income you're supposed
to give to the church. Well,

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that's not accurate. The Bible doesn't
say to give ten percent. And this

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is often, you know, a
misconception of tithing. There's tithing deals with

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a tenth in Hebrew and it was
an Old Testament principle and basically it was

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taxes. But you pay taxes now
because you're not under a theocracy. You're

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under in the case of the United
States, you're under a republic, and

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that particular case, you're paying taxes
and so that's taking care of the running

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of things. Now. The new
Testament principle is different. It talks about,

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you know, Christians are commanded to
give entirely of who they are.

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It's considered a living sacrifice in Romans
twelve one and two when it talks about

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giving materially or giving of the goods
that you have. Second Corinthians eight one

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through five, it says give as
the Lord leads, and it says to

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give with a joyous heart, and
it says to give till it hurts at

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times, you know. So the
sharing of material goods is absolutely a principle

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in Christianity, and in the New
Testament the tenth giving a tenth or what

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people call a tithe, and the
tithe doesn't exist for today, but a

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lot of churches still refer to it
as that. And that's fine. But

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taking a portion of what you get, Joe and giving it is a wonderful

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thing. Now, as far as
saying that you knew someone who gave to

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ten percent of his income, but
that was a jerk all all week long,

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well that's I don't know what to
tell you. There are people that

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are jerks out there. I'm not
sure how they coincide with one another.

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Because I know people who don't give
to the church anything in are jerks.

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So I'm not sure how I think
people look for excuses not to give the

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church. If you don't go to
church, then don't give. But if

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you're in that church, if you're
taking from them, if you're taking the

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air conditioning, if you're taking the
seating, if they wear and tear on

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the carpet, if you're hearing the
message, if you're utilizing their daycare,

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if you're using their services as a
church, you're part of that community and

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you're putting in to that community.
You're saying that. Listen, I don't

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want my pastor to have eight jobs
like some of them do, because they're

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trying to serve God. And now
they've got to be all over the place

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just to try and make ends meet
so they can serve God. And in

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addition to that, they're on call
twenty four to seven because people need their

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pastor. And yes, there is
the other side of that coin. There

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are pastors that live very high on
the hog and they're hard to get a

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hold of, and they have security
detail on them and people with walkie talkies

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and all kinds of stuff. And
you're going, wait, when did church

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become this, but there's places in
between as well, and to understand that

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balance and how that works, I
think is important. There's nothing wrong with

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a church taking in money. There's
a lot of usage usage of that money

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that people don't know about, Joe, Philippians funds and different funds where those

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churches set aside that money so that
when people discreetly and quietly come to them

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that are part of that family,
not just somebody off the street saying now

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I want you to give me money, but somebody who's a part of that

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church family is in stress or in
unfortunate circumstance. Church often without blowing bugles,

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without you know, running around telling
everybody and putting it in the daily

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paper help them out, and you
don't see those things. Everybody wants to

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condemn the church for receiving money.
And in the particular case that you bring

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before us, Joe, yeah,
there are people that think that tithing is

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going to get them into heaven and
if they just give ten percent everything say

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okay. But if you know,
throughout scripture there were examples the young widow

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who had very little money and she
gave what she could, and the rich

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man gave more didn't mean that the
rich man was worth more to God.

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It's about giving and making sure you're
a part of it and that you're not

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just taking. People look for excuses
not to give at church, not to

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give, not to spend money,
not to you know that like this,

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make an excuse that this person thinks
they're so great because they gave. Well,

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no, I don't know about that
person. They didn't call. But

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Joe, I sure hope you don't
use it as an excuse not to participate

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if you are actually involved in the
church. KFI AM sixty on demand