What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Night - Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel’s memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel’s testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again. 

The Martyr’s Song - “Make Me Beautiful.” That’s what Marci asks from the old woman. The woman offers the girl an unexpected gift in the form of a stunning story. At the end of World War II a band of embittered soldiers enter a peaceful Bosnian village. The cruel game of life and death that unfolds will forever change your understanding of life and eternity. Dive deep into The Martyr’s Song and see how you would respond when heaven and hell collide, when the unseen is more real than the seen, and when you view beauty through God’s eyes—and hear the music of heaven—for the first time.  

Every Prophecy of the Bible - Prophecy is much more than the events predicted in the Book of Revelation. It is not just for Bible scholars, pastors, and seminary students. Nearly one fourth of Scripture was prophetic when it was written, so obviously God intended through these predictions to reveal something about His character and His faithfulness—not just to the people who first heard them, but to us who read them today. Indeed, prophecy does much to demonstrate not only our future hope as believers in Jesus Christ but also the accuracy of the Bible, the righteousness of God, and the meaning of history. John F. Walvoord, one of the preeminent Bible prophecy scholars in the world today, explains in one volume every key prophecy from Genesis to Revelation—those already fulfilled as well as those yet to be fulfilled. He also discusses the importance of prophecy and guidelines for interpreting it. 

One of my most favorite things in the world is books! The smell, the texture, but most of all I love the way they make me feel on the inside. The way that the authors can place us in the lives of the characters they have created. They invest so much time into giving them a backstory, a conflict and a resolution, and somehow even tie it all up into a perfect little bow at the end of 200 pages or more. But what is even more fascinating is that not all of those “bows,” or endings are perfect. I guess that’s not the point either is it? What I found in each of these books this week, was how the stories of our past, no matter how horrible, will always lead us to our present. Depending on how we react to the events of our past, will determine how wonderful the present will be. In The Martyr’s Song we discover that the old woman is the mother from the story, who was put through so many horrific events in her past. She had lost so much and was put through so much pain. Since this was a book that was written by an author who writes thrillers, I was half expecting Eve to want revenge and do terrible things with it. But she was better than that and did good with her life. She moved to America, opened a flower shop, and dedicated her life to telling the traumatic story that changed her life so many years ago. Stories of the past don’t just have to be shown in fictional stories, but are often played out in autobiographies too. Night is a great example of that. Elie Wiesel walks us through his terrifying experience that he underwent in the Auschwitz concentration camps. Finally Every Prophecy of the Bible makes clear the “present” of those in the New Testament and even prophecies we are waiting to come true in our future. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and discover these life changing books.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called present.

—Anonymous

Can they take my God from me?

Artist: Sue Perez

It is true that the church is the Body of Christ and that the body functions best when all members are meeting together and working together towards the goal of bringing glory to God. However, it is also vital to make sure that your own personal relationship with God is not dependent on any other human being. If every other Christian in your life were to disappear, your personal relationship with God should still have such a solid foundation that it stands strong on its own.

Just the other day, a friend and I were talking about a woman we know and care about. We were worried about her, and heartbroken for her, because it seems she has gone from one abusive relationship to another and continues to be a target for manipulative abusive men who promise her an amazing love story while starting out, but only end up giving her nightmares. And the rub is, every single one of these men were professing Christians who had upstanding reputations in Christian circles. 

In our frustration, our initial reaction was to think, “It’s amazing that she continues to trust God and believe in God when these Christian men keep destroying her life.” 

This touches on an unfortunate truth. Many Christians gauge their walks with God based off of their experiences with other Christians. 

Some kids only believe in God while under their parents’ roof. As soon as they are off on their own, it becomes obvious that what seemed like a relationship between God and them was only a relationship between their parents and God. Other people start going to church because their boyfriend or girlfriend wants them to go but their connection to God always travels through that other person, instead of creating their own connection with Him. And when the human relationship falls apart, they throw God out with the rest of it. 

Your relationship with God should be its own thing: a back and forth between only you and God. Otherwise when life gets hard and other Christians crumble under the pressure, you will crumble with them.

This may seem like a troubling and even daunting realization, but while I was sitting in church a few Sundays ago, I had an epiphany which caused me to see this from another perspective.

---

I have always been a hopeless romantic. I am a big fan of the friendship turned to love trope. I love the idea of finding someone who knows you completely and will be by your side through everything in life. But, I’ve started to wonder if a romantic relationship is even worth the cost. Because in my life, and in the lives of many of my friends, the cost has been immense. 

Over the last few years many, not all, but many of the men in my life have “dropped the ball” in colossal ways. Now, I know that men aren’t the only ones destroying love in the world, but in my personal life, it has been a bit gender specific lately. 

Here’s a quick summary of the bigger examples just so you can understand my emotional and logical journey at the time of my epiphany (note: all of these men are Christians).

• My now ex-husband kept his bi-polar disorder a secret from me and became dangerously violent.

• A close friend and father of four got arrested three times within a month for dealing meth.

• Another close friend is on trial for rape accusations. I’ve since found out he used to abuse his ex-wife and has abused at least one other friend of mine while they were in a relationship. He targets vulnerable women and manipulates and abuses them.

• Another friend had to leave her emotionally and physically abusive husband.

• Another friend’s husband has now confessed to cheating on his wife multiple times.

• Ravi Zacharias, my favorite apologist, apparently used his position to rape women.

Each of these men had life destroying secrets; a part of their identity which they kept behind closed doors and thought they could get away with.

My heart was hurting, not only because of the obvious damage they caused, but also because I had thought we were all working together to spread God’s Word. It felt as if they had not only abandoned the rest of the team, but had taken a bat and kneecapped everyone. 

When stuff like this happens, people start asking the obvious question: “How can we still trust in God, when His people are doing such terrible things?” 

And I couldn’t help but wonder… “Are they right? Are the actions of my brothers in Christ capable of destroying my relationship with God? Can they take my God away from me? If I get married again, and that man also turns out to be a monster, will I start to hate God? How many more blows can I take from people I had trusted, before I am so weakened and blinded by pain that I no longer trust God?”

Throughout my life God has been my rock, my one constant companion. Because of Him, I know I will see every loved one I lost and will loose who has put their faith in Christ, again. And even though God hates divorce, He held me tight in His arms every step of the way as I escaped my dangerous marriage. I can not, and do not want to imagine what it would be like to go through this life without God by my side.

Psalm 46:1-3 NIV God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Matthew 11:28-29 ESV Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Without God I would be empty: without purpose or hope. He is my everything, and everything good in my life comes from Him. Even the slightest chance that something could shake my faith enough to have me deciding to try life without God, had me terrified. 

So, I was sitting in church that Sunday wrestling with my jaded heart, wondering if trying to date again was worth the potential cost, when God opened my eyes to this life altering truth:

I don’t have to let anyone influence my relationship with God, besides me and God. Only God and I have any say in our relationship.

If I get married again and that man decides to be an atheist. My personal relationship with God can still stand strong on its own. Even if every single Christian friend I have turns out to have a secret identity that gut-punches the Body of Christ, I can still choose to turn towards God for help and comfort instead of away from Him. 

My relationship with God is its own separate relationship, it is not tied to any other relationship I have. My brothers and sisters in Christ are not God. Just because a human being has messed up, doesn’t mean God has messed up.

(Also see: “If God loves us why does He let bad things happen?”)

God is His own being and He is always faithful.

God even promises that when it comes to His side of the relationship, He will not falter. 

Hebrews 13:5b NIV God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

No matter what other people do. They cannot take your relationship with God away from you. No matter what you go through, or how alone you feel, God will always be with you. 

Romans 8:38-39 NIV For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yes, it is tragic when people fall away from the church because they depended on the walks of other Christians instead of cultivating their own relationship with God. It can seem daunting knowing that each person has to form their own relationship with God. But just as we can’t rely on other Christians to create and maintain our relationship with God, we also don’t have to give them any power to damage it. The responsibility is ours, alone, the choices are ours, alone. And our place in God’s family is always secure because of the priceless sacrifice Christ made for us.   

Romans 5:18 NLT Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Romans 5:8 ESV But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Revelation 3:20 ESV Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

---

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Views On How The Scriptures Were Written - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Poole and Gary Schick.

Ben Poole
All right, so kind of a big question or topic that we're discussing today that maybe a lot of these words you've never heard of, and we'll try to kind of make this understandable and easy for us to walk through. So, they asked if we could take some time to walk through some of the different views of inspiration regarding the scriptures. Views like modernism orthodoxy, Neo orthodoxy, verbal and plenary inspiration. Essentially, what do we believe as to how the scriptures were actually written and what do other people believe as to how the scriptures were written? And then what does that mean for us? And that's really kind of, I think where we need to go with that is, what does this mean for us as Christians, who are Bible believing people, and how do we place our trust in that? And so Gary, I just kind of wanna open up and let you take off with it.

Gary Schick
Yeah, and that's a great question, it's huge. I don't know if we'll get through it today or not, I guess we'll just kind of keep an eye on the clock and see where it goes. But what you believe about the Bible is huge. Is it God's word? Is it not God's word? If it is, you know, how did we get it and even you know, how do we know it's true? So I didn't dig into quite all of the things there, but, I dug into a couple of them a little bit. There are different viewpoints as to the nature of God's word, and there are some big words that are thrown around. Inspiration is one of them, which "to inspire," literally means in breathe. And we get that from Paul's letter to Timothy, where it says all scripture is God breathed. Literally God breathed it out and profitable for teaching, reprove correction, and training and righteousness. So that's, I guess a starting point, and what does God's word say about itself? So I want to kind of define some of this, but then I think that's where we really need to go. What does the Bible say about itself? So in terms of orthodoxy, and I picked up some of this from a website called Got questions, Your answers, Biblical answers. So in terms of orthodoxy, the Orthodox view holds that the Bible is the revealed word of God, given by the inspiration of God. By inspiration both verbal and mechanical, is meant that the holy spirit was in full control of the biblical writer by either verbally dictating everything he was writing or using the person as a vessel through which to work. This doctrine of inspiration comes to the logical conclusion that the original manuscripts are without error or contradiction. In other words, yes, there's a human author, but they are writing what God has given them to write. And God has taken that person with their vocabulary, their viewpoint, their understanding, and gotten His words in print for us. Plenary is this concept that the Bible is complete and sufficient revelation of God, and a couple of passages that would support this are 2 Timothy 3:16--17, which I just quoted from. And also 2 Peter 1:20 and 21, which I'm hoping to get to here in a few minutes. Neo orthodoxy is kind of a semi liberal view. The liberal viewpoint would be, "You know, the Bible's written by a bunch of human authors, it's full of errors, it's basically what different people have believed over time." Neo orthodoxy kind of tries to come at least part way to the Orthodox position. It defines the word of God as Jesus, and so that would appeal to us. John 1:1 "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God," it's Jesus. However, here's where we part ways with the Neo Orthodox. It says, "That the Bible therefore is simply man's interpretation of the word's actions, Jesus actions." And thus the Bible itself is not inspired, it's a human document, various parts of it might literally be true, but various parts might not be. And so, the Neo Orthodox you would be essentially, the Bible contains the word of God, without being the word of God. I happened to have a professor when I was in college, drove me crazy until I figured out this is really where he was coming from. We were in a class called Bible and Culture, and I was like, "Great, and we're gonna talk about Moses and the parting of the Red Sea." And I'll never forget him standing up in front of the class and saying to us, "There are true stories and truth stories. And the Bible is full of truth stories." Well, you know what? Aesop's fables are great stories full of truth, but they're not true, they're fiction. And I woke up in the middle of the night and my roommate's like, "What was going on with you last night? You sat up in bed and you're like, Ryan Arnold will tell you it's a truth story." It's just like choking on this idea. I'm sorry, friends, I have not dedicated my life to teaching people a bunch of truth stories. Yes, God's word is full of truth because it's true. And so with that, first of all, I wanna let you know what my denomination, the foresees, a conservative congregational Christian conference believes. We believe the Bible---consisting of the old and new Testament---referring to the 66 books of the Protestant Bible to be the only inspired inherent, infallible authoritative word of God written. Inspired, God breathed, inherent, without air, infallible. It won't lead us astray, authoritative, it's what we base our Christian life and practice on. Word of God, written down, as opposed to Jesus, the living word this is the written word. What does the Bible say about itself? I think that's the key. I've already quoted 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is, God breathed." 2 Peter 1:21 says, "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the holy spirit." I think it's important to remember that Jesus quotes from the breadth of the old Testament. If you look at the Hebrew Bible, it consists of three parts, the law, the prophets, and the writings and Jesus quotes from all of them. He never quotes from the apocryphal book. The books that we find in the Apocrypha that's included in the Roman Catholic Bible, but he does quote from the books that we consider the Bible of the old Testament, that the Jews consider the Bible of the old Testament, the Jews also don't include the Apocrypha. And in terms of the new Testament, we have evidence that the new Testament writers knew exactly what they were doing. For example, Paul writes 1 Thessalonians 2:13, "Therefore we never stopped thanking God, that when you received His message from us, you didn't think of it as our words, as mere human ideas, you accepted what we said as the very word of God, which of course it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe." And the Bible's a powerful book, there's so much we can go off into, in terms of what the Bible says about itself. Hebrews 4:12, it's one of my favorites, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edge sword. Piercing to the division of soul and spirit, joint and marrow, discerning the very thoughts and intentions of the heart." Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The scripture describes itself as a lamp, as a fire, as a hammer, as a sword, as bread, as milk, as honey, as meat. If we had time to look at all those scriptures, it really is complete and without error and good for us. It's not only do we base our faith on it, but we grow in our faith from it. Just so much could be said on this topic.

Ben Poole
Yeah, there really is. And I think if you're listening and part of a church that is in any way really associated with even KCMI, I think that we would all fall on that same understanding of scripture. That we believe and hold scripture to be our beginning and end of our understanding of faith. That we believe that it is perfect in and of itself, we believe that it is God's word. There's times where the writers wrote, like dictations, specifically wrote exactly what Jesus said. You can see that through Jesus' teachings, you can even see that from the gospels. Even in Revelation where John writes and records what Jesus said, to specifically the seven churches. But we also see that they didn't write just verbatim what Jesus was saying, they wrote stories. They wrote, you know, John's seeing this vision of the Revelation and he's writing what he sees. You see Luke who writes the book of Acts, and he's writing about the growth of the church. He's writing a history lesson essentially, of what is taking place. You see Paul, Peter, James, they're writing letters to churches, encouraging them. Paul says, "These people say hello and blessings to you, and I pray for you and I think of you." And so all of that though, we believe is 100% inspired through the Holy Spirit, speaking through the apostles. And sharing God's word from Genesis to Revelation that it is completely God breathed through them. It very well could have been different for each of them. Obviously, John writing Revelation had a very different experience, than maybe Paul did in writing his letters. But, yeah, I mean, this is huge and I would just encourage you to probably try and make a grasp of this, if you don't already, because this understanding can affect our spiritual walk. Because like, if you have a professor like you had Gary, who really doesn't believe. I mean, and what if we take that stance? How does that affect our faith? Well, that can make massive lifelong changes in our world and in ourselves.

Gary Schick
What it really means is, and this is where the liberals and the modernists part ways with us, that means they can pick and choose. They get to be actually the authority of God's word, not God Himself. And so, if they don't like something, you know, like, "Oh, the Genesis. That doesn't match with our views of evolution, so therefore that's just a story with truth in it, it's no longer true." And not just Genesis, although Genesis is foundational to everything. But, you know, we look at all the moral questions of our times and we see how, what we call Biblical churches have parted ways with what we call Mainline and Liberal churches. Well, what what's going on there? The Mainline and the Liberal churches are following the culture and wherever culture contradicts scripture, "Scripture's wrong, scripture's wrong, scripture's wrong. We've moved on, we've evolved beyond that. And so our understanding has evolved." Well, God said it, I believe it, that settles it, and you know what, cultures change, our viewpoints change. What people consider morally right culturally, a hundred years from now, may be radically different from what it is today. But God's word and His view on marriage, sexuality, on so many things, it stays the same. And thank God that it does, because it's a foundation you can build your life on. Jesus said, "Whoever hears my word and puts them into practice, is like a wise man who builds his house on a rock." And every other path is what the other guy built, the fool built on sand. So I'm gonna stick with God's word, I'm not saying it's always easy. You're right, you pointed out there's every kind of, I guess what you'd call genre, in scripture. There's history, there's poetry, there's prophecy, there are parables, which, you know, they aren't things that literally happen when they're parables. But that's different than when we're reading a history that is saying, this is what happened. And so, do we have to kind of understand what we're reading there to get the right interpretation? Absolutely, but the key is, God has given it. It's true and it contains truth because it's true.

Ben Poole
Yep, absolutely. I would encourage if you've never really looked into this, this kind of goes with it, but maybe a history of how we got our Bible. It's a beautiful history actually. There's so many books, I studied one when I was in college. It's simply, How we got the Bible from Lightfoot, I just looked it up on Amazon, it's the first one that pulled up. A phenomenal, just really great view, for me it helped solidify my foundation of my faith. That I can trust God's word, that what we're reading is true and accurate today.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Children’s Century Classics - When it comes down to getting kids excited about reading their Bibles, it can sometimes be a challenge. The Children’s Century Classics can help. With interesting illustrations and prompting discussion questions, kids can better understand the concepts that are found in our Bibles. Inside each volume, includes QR codes that can take you to bonus content online, along with the audio of the story so kids can experience the story as it is read. Starting in Genesis and going all the way to Revelation, these books help us experience the lives of the most well known people, who appear in the Bible. People like Abraham, David, Ruth, Paul, and John come to life on the pages. All of our favorite stories can be found too, like Balaam and the Talking Donkey, Daniel and the Lions’ Den, The Parables, and The Sermon on the Mount. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and check out these engaging volumes.

What Does It Mean To Be God's People? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Gary Hashley, Tim Hebbert and Brad Kilthau.

Brad Kilthau
Our question today is one that's very extensive and we'll try to get through it as quick as we can. There's a lot of subject matter to cover, but the question is, "Often 1 Peter 2:9-10 is quoted in the church about who we are as believers in Christ. But being chosen or called a Royal priesthood or a holy nation or His own special people is really hard to comprehend for some of us. And so could you guys explain a little bit of the meanings of those titles?" So I'm gonna just take the first one if you don't mind and then I'll let you guys take the other ones. Maybe mine's a little easier, I don't know. But when we get into verse nine of 1 Peter chapter two, the apostle Peter identifies the church, that is believers, as a chosen race. And as I was looking at this in the context of scripture, of course, when you go back to chapter one, verse two, Peter already told us that we are the elect, according to the foreknowledge of God, the father. When you start bringing up the subject, obviously of being the elect, that's a very controversial subject. And it has a lot of problems within the church and there's a lot of divisiveness, but I think if we look at it in light of what Peter already wrote in 1 Peter chapter two, when he said "We are the elect, according to the foreknowledge of God, the father," that clears up a whole lot of things. That means that before God created the world, that he chose us in accordance with His omniscient knowledge, which includes all of our free choices. And when I look at this, I know there's those who stand on one rail as compared to the other rail, free choice or God's sovereignty. I don't see that in the Bible, I see both rails running to heaven as has been shared in some of the commentaries that I've read in past years. And what I see it as is, really it means that God doesn't violate our free will, even though He is sovereign, even though His will is going to be done perfectly, He doesn't violate our free will. He doesn't force anyone into His heaven, kicking and screaming, not wanting to go. We do know that God didn't create us as robots, He doesn't wind us up and we walk around as a programmed robot and loving Him. In fact, I love what C.S. Lewis said some years ago, he said, "Without choice, you cannot have true love." And I think that's something we have to always keep in mind when we think about the sovereignty of God, and also our free choice is, if there's ever gonna be real love, there always has to be choice. And we know that even in our own personal relationships, there can't be true love between a husband and wife, unless there's a choice to love one another in that relationship. But then on the other side of things, we know that God is in the eternal now. That means that He's not limited to time, He's not limited chronologically like we are. I know for myself, I can't even operate unless things are chronologically put into order. And I think this is one of the problems that we come up to with this debate, is that many people wanna make God think like us. They try to make God limited, they try to make God finite, they try to make God in a box. And that is not our God, our God is eternal, our God is infinite, our God is necessary, and our God is the first cause. We have to remember that God's above space, time and material universe that we live in, He's not bound by it. And therefore in His order to determine who's elect and His omniscient knowledge of our free choice, they run together. In fact, some of the commenters that you'll study on these passages of scripture will tell us that those two are coextensive. In other words, God's sovereignty does not outreach our free choice, they run together. There's not one more powerful in the way God does things over the other. So since God has transcended again over time, space and material, universe, He's not limited to the ways we are. In time and chronologically again, He exists in eternal now that means that God can look into the future just in the same accuracy as we can look in the past. In fact, I love what Norman Geisler wrote in his book that I read just recently, called Free But Chosen. And he talks about how often he'd be out, giving lectures and there would be a football game at home, and he wanted to watch the game, but he couldn't get home to watch it. So his wife would record the game and then he would go home and watch the game, the film. And what he said is, "Of course the game would always end up the same way on the film. I mean, you could watch it over and over and over again, the play, the players, the referee calls, everything was always the same. It was fixed, you couldn't change it. But the day they played that game, the players all had a choice in which way they ran, what play they ran as the game was played." And I think we can look at the same way of our life, is we are players in the game of life. We have a free choice, even though God has His will determined of what's gonna happen in the future. But I think we have to keep in mind the consequences of our choice, understanding that you and I, we will always absolutely be held responsible for our choices. Our choice of accepting the Lord or rejecting the Lord, that is determining our eternal destination. God has always projected Himself before all men that He exists. As we know in Romans one and two, and God has always shared that He is there. And if man would reach out and pursue that light, God will give more light until eventually it accumulates to that gospel, bringing that person to the knowledge and understanding of our lost condition and our need for Christ. It's not a case of if we see God or not, the Bible tells us all man sees God, but the Bible also tells us it's man's choice to accept or to reject Him. So I guess what I'm saying is we are responsible for our decision to accept or reject the Lord. But at the same time, God has in His foreknowledge accepted us according to the choice, obviously that we've made to accept or reject Him too. So the chosen race, yeah. We either choose God or we suppress the truth and walk away from Him. So that's one of the ways I would try to, in a nutshell, try to quickly explain why we are called a chosen race. And so Tim, I'm gonna hand off the next one to you a Royal priesthood.

Tim Hebbert
You know, guys, I think this is a passage of scripture that all Christians need to read more than once, maybe once a week, remind ourselves of who He's called us to be in Him. So when Peter's writing this letter and he refers to the church as God's chosen, as a Royal priesthood. For the Jews anyway, he's hearkening back to something that they would've understood from scripture, all the way back in Exodus, 19th chapter. Moses has led them out of Egypt, two months into the journey they make a stop at Mount Sinai, and it says this, "Exactly two months---." This is chapter 19 verse one of Exodus, "Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai after breaking camp in Rephidim. They came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp at the base of Mount Sinai, then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, 'Give these instructions to the family of Jacob, announce it to the descendants of Israel. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on Eagles wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you'll obey me, keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth, for all the earth belongs to me.

Tim Hebbert
And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel." God's intent for His children, that He delivered from Egypt is that they just wouldn't be a band of followers, but that they would be king priests, Royal priesthood that would declare to the world who God was. They were to be the on earth, living example of what happens when you follow the king of the universe, they struggled to do that. And so what Peter's telling us, I think in this passage is, "Okay, we're the new Israel, that's our calling now. That calling that he gave the nation of Israel so long ago, he's calling on his church now to take up that mantle, to be my Royal priesthood, to be the king priest, if you will, here on earth, declaring to the world who I am. And whenever I read this passage, I think of growing up as a kid, when my dad was leading song service at church, that was back before worship teams, right. We'd do a couple of hymns and invariably, his favorite chorus was Child of the King, oh yes, oh yes I'm a child of the King. And this is the phrase he loved the best, "His Royal blood now, flows through my veins." And I think we forget that we get worn down in the day to day minutia of life. And yes, we love Jesus, yes we're following in as best we can, but we forget He's calling to a higher purpose. He's called us to live a Royal life, just like He did. And that's what I get from that. but I'm gonna turn it over to Gary, cause he's gonna talk a little bit about, what does it mean to be a holy nation?

Gary Hashley
You know, there's a lot of confusion today over the role of Israel, the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob and Jacob's 12 sons. And today the church, which is comprised of yes, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who've put their personal faith in Jesus Christ, as their savior, and those of us who aren't Jewish. I remember on the way home from church one Sunday after hearing this term circumcision and uncircumcision in a sermon, you know, I asked my dad what all that meant. And he says, "Well, if you're uncircumcised, it's referring to you as a Gentile." What's a Gentile? How do you know if you're a Gentile? He said, "If you're not a Jew, you are one. If you're not a Jew, you are a Gentile." And so what this isn't saying as I look through the entirety of scripture, it's not saying that we, as the church today have totally replaced Israel in God's purposes, in God's plan, in God's prophetic realities because you know, we are not Israel. Though we are still a chosen people, we are still a holy nation. Kenneth West does great work with Greek, and I don't know a lot of Greek, but I love to know guys who do know Greek. And Kenneth West says the word nation is the translation of a Greek word, meaning quote, "A multitude of people of the same nature." It doesn't mean that we're of a nationality as a nation, as the Jewish people are a nation, but that we have this commonality in Jesus Christ. We have this new nature in Jesus Christ as His followers. The word holy means set apart, set apart for His service. And so let me quote, Matthew Henry who says, "All Christians, wheresoever they be, composed one holy nation. They are one nation collected under one head agreeing in the same manners and customs and governed by the same laws. And they are a holy nation because they are consecrated and devoted to God renewed and sanctified by His holy spirit." So it doesn't matter what nation we belong to physically, as in whether we are of the United States or we are of Bolivia, or we are of Brazil, or we are of Russia, or we are of China. We are a special people to God, and we're special people, not because of the land we live in or the boundaries of our country, but because we are all followers of Jesus. As we used to sing as children, "Red and yellow, black and white, they're precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." And as His children, through faith in Jesus, no matter the color of our skin, no matter where our ethnic background goes, we are His people. We're a holy people, but we're set apart for Him. And I love what Warren Wiersbe says, because in the old king James, it says we're a peculiar people. And I remember as a young person, peculiar was not something you wanted to be, because we think of strange, we think of weird. But Warren Wiersbe said it so well he said, "It doesn't mean odd, it means refreshingly different. That there's something about us that when the world looks, it's refreshingly different." And if we read a little farther, Peter in verse 12, just a couple verses later says, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." Peter says, "We are chosen, a chosen people, a chosen race, a Royal priesthood, a holy nation." And the whole purpose of that in God's scheme of things is to have a way to glorify Himself through people who are refreshingly different. And if the world wants to look for something to complain about, something to pick at us about, all they can find is we live a wonderfully different lifestyle that is respectful and kind, and honorable and ethical. And that just like with Daniel, when said, "They went to look for some reason to accuse Daniel, the only thing they could find was he prayed a lot." And so they worked against him because he prayed a lot. So what a joy to be a part, no matter where we live on the planet, as followers of Jesus. We are God's nation. Does He still have a plan for Israel nationally? Yes, He does. I believe fully. We didn't replace Israel in that sense, but we are His people in a very special way.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

The Beirut Protocol - Marcus Ryker has spent his whole life protecting others, first as a Marine, then as a Secret Service agent, and finally as a clandestine CIA operative. But this time it’s his own life that’s in danger. When a routine advance trip along the Israeli-Lebanese border goes horribly wrong, American operatives are ambushed and captured by a rogue Hezbollah special forces team. For the White House, it’s a nightmare scenario. If Marcus and his colleagues are tortured and executed on live television, the president will have no choice but to embroil the American people in yet another war they have no stomach for and likely can’t win. Marcus now faces a life-or-death battle, and the odds of survival are narrowing by the hour. Escape seems impossible Rescue is a quickly fading hope. All Marcus has to rely on is his training, his experience, and his faith. 

The Auschwitz Escape - As the Nazi war machine rolls across Europe, young Jacob Weisz is forced to flee his beloved Germany and join an underground resistance group in Belgium. In occupied France, assistant pastor Jean-Luc Leclerc and his wife find themselves the accidental organizers of a relief movement involving their entire town, as Jews from all over Europe arrive at their door, hoping for shelter from the growing political storms. As World War II rages, both men find themselves in a living nightmare. When a rescue operation goes horribly wrong, Jacob ends up trapped in a crowded, stinking cattle car on a train to southern Poland, while Luc is arrested and beaten by the Gestapo for helping Jews. Both men are sentenced to hard labor at Auschwitz. There they will be pushed to the very limits of human endurance … and beyond. The Protestant pastor and the Jewish freedom fighter seem an unlikely pair, yet these two are chosen to risk one of the most daring and dangerous feats imaginable—escape from Auschwitz. Their task is to get beyond the fences, evade the Gestapo trackers, and make it to the Allied forces, where they must reveal the awful truth of what is happening in Poland before Fascism overtakes all of Europe. The fate of millions hangs in the balance

Operation Joktan - Nir Tavor is an Israeli secret service operative turned talented Mossad agent. Nicole le Roux is a model with a hidden skill. A terrorist attack brings them together, and then work forces them apart—until they’re unexpectedly called back into each other’s lives. But there’s no time for romance. As violent radicals threaten chaos across the Middle East, the two must work together to stop these extremists, pooling Nicole’s knack for technology and Nir’s adeptness with on-the-ground missions. Each heart-racing step of their operation gets them closer to the truth—and closer to danger. In this thrilling first book in a new series, authors Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn draw on true events as well as tactical insights Amir learned from his time in the Israeli Defense Forces. For believers in God’s life-changing promises, Operation Joktan is a suspense-filled page turner that illuminates the blessing Israel is to the world.

Where Does The Sanctity Of Life Come From? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Poole and Gary Schick.

Ben Poole
So, like I said, we're gonna continue in our discussion. We have a few questions that we'd like to cover, but I'm just gonna start with this next question. "We use the term, sanctity of life. What does that mean? Is it right to use this term? And if so, where does this sanctity come from?" So Gary, what are your thoughts on that?

Gary Schick
Well, you know, it's a great question. And sanctity is one of those, you know, 50 cent, well, I guess we live in an inflated world, $300 words. But you know, it's a kind of a pricey word that we're not sure really what it means. Basically it means, to be holy, to be set apart, to be sacred, these are all ways of translating the basic meaning of that. And so what we're saying is, that human life is very precious in the eyes of God. We are, as the scripture tells us, Genesis chapter one, "In the image of God, He created them, male and female. He created them." So we are created by God in God's image. And of all the rest of creation, go back and read to Genesis chapter one. It's a beautiful chapter, great place to start the year. As we enter this new year, all life, all creation is precious, God made it. And we should have a care for it, but above all human life is unique in that we reflect the image of God. And so that's why there's such a priority on life, and with sanctity of life Sunday, this is something that has come about. Since the advent of Roe v. Wade, bringing attention of Christians to the sacredness and the specialness of life, right from conception, right from the womb. We talked a little bit about scripture on that you know, "You created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb," Psalm 139. In Job, it actually talks about how Job reflects on how God actually caused his conception. So yes, there's a physical process involved, but there are no human mistakes. You know what? I've talked to people, I spoke with somebody this week, just basically said, "You know what, all my life, I felt like I was a mistake." And I don't think they were even referring to conception, it's just the way this world treated them. And you know what good news it is when we discover that the Bible tells us the truth about ourselves, it doesn't deny sin or evil. These are real, I've heard people to deny that too. No, these are real, but you are still precious in God's sight. Jesus died for your sin, Jesus died to save you. And so, right from conception, life is precious. We need to protect it we need to honor it, we need to treat it as sacred. We need to make ready for it to come into the world, but at the same time, you know, I'm just gonna touch on this real lightly, cause I don't want any fuses blowing. But unfortunately this has become a kind of a politicized issue, and you know, there are basically two parties out there. I don't have to know what they say or say what they are. One of them, at least in its platform stands for life, and the other one seems not to. I just wanna caution us all, that when we say we're pro-life biblically, that means womb to tomb. And unfortunately one side is really good at saying, "We need to protect life in the womb." And the other side is actually better at saying, "And we want to care for that life once it's out of the womb." And as Christians, we need to speak to both parties, we need to say to the one, "Yes, thank you. This is precious from conception, but guess what, what is it that's pushing people toward those hard decisions? How can we help them care for this life once in the world?" The other side, "Thank you for your care for the life that's in the world, by the way, it's in the world even when it's in mama's tummy."

Ben Poole
Yeah, a hundred percent!

Gary Schick
And so that's as far as I wanna go with that. And I think whatever, and I do know Christians of both political persuasions, whatever party you're in, stand for all sides of life within it, stand for the biblical concept of life.

Ben Poole
That is such a powerful statement you made. And I know we don't wanna, you know, pop a cork with anybody, or blow a fuse. But that's speaking truth, plain and simple. And I was thinking about the sanctity of life and why, which actually, kind of coincides with the last question. Why do we seem to place more value in the life of animals than we do on humans? And man, we see that, honestly, I've thought about that even in movies, you know, the dog dies and everybody's, you know, crying, but a person dies and it's like, well, maybe they had it coming, you know. And we just have this kind of a twisted view in the world, but why do we consider human life a sanctity? And I think it goes back to that Genesis one in creation, that we were created in the image of God, but even later at the crucifixion. Jesus didn't come to live this perfect sinless life to become sin for animals. Animals don't sin, they are just animals. We are the ones in need of being saved, because we sin and we mess up and it's because of what God had done. And sending His Son Jesus to save us is really what I think sanctifies us. In life and why we believe life is so precious, and you know, I've really struggled with, you know, people talking about, babies in the womb are not alive and I can't grasp it. My wife is pregnant right now, she's due in March and so right about now is really when, you can really start feeling the baby move. And just the other day my wife said, "Come here, come here," and I mean, she was just kicking and punching and I mean, you could feel her moving and alive and active. And I personally just, I don't grasp how you can say that is not a living human.

Gary Schick
Well, and the reason that you would have to say that, is because if you were in the position of aborting, there's no anesthesia given to that child. There's brainwaves there, there's a heartbeat there, they feel, they even dream, they suck their thumb. And unfortunately, you know, we live in a world where people can abort right to the point of delivery. If it's still in the womb, we can still kill it as long as it's in there and cut it apart in the womb. Again, this might be a little graphic for some, but abortion is brutal. I mean, yes, they'll give maybe the mom, some anesthesia, but they treat the baby as if it was a non entity. With no feeling and just a clump of cells. I mean, even you talk about, you know, do we love our animals more? If we have to put our dog down, it's a horrible day, but we're gonna make that as painless for the puppy as possible. And yet here are lives that some of them are to term, and I think a lot of people would have a problem with that. It gets harder when you can't see it doesn't look like a baby yet, but where in that process, do you suddenly magically, you know, wave a wand over it and it becomes a person? You're there, your soul is there. And even the ancients believe this, I don't have them with me today, but I have some quotes from the earliest Christians saying that, "You know, all life is human from conception." Christians have just understood it because of what God's word says about this right from the beginning.

Ben Poole
Yeah. So with this, I just was thinking, maybe you're hearing this and you're like, you are struggling with this decision or, you know somebody that is, "Okay, what do we do about that? Where do we go? What are the resources? We don't really wanna send them to the hospital." Or you know, you've heard things about certain organizations like planned parenthood, which I don't think we have one real close by here, I'm not sure. But in town here, we do have a Christian pregnancy center, it's called Options Pregnancy Center.

Gary Schick
That's the place to go.

Ben Poole
Here in Western Nebraska, it's a Christian organization. They're, I'm just gonna throw this out there, 1308 avenue B, suite B. They're on avenue B next to, I believe it's Nexus Mechanical Shop. If that is a resource, you need, seek them out. They are there for you and want to help you and just love you through this time.

Gary Schick
And you know, for those who find themselves in a pregnancy situation, and they're just saying, "But I can't raise this child." I just want you to know my family is so grateful to two families out there that we don't even know, that we adopted our children very, very young from, one of them a little older, one of them just a few months old. And I'll tell you what, we honor those moms and those biological fathers. We pray for them and we're grateful for them because our family would be incomplete without all of our children, adopted and otherwise.

Ben Poole
Absolutely. Both of our older girls are adopted, and so I know that there are so many families that would gladly support you in that decision, if that's what you chose. But I want to jump in, in just the last few minutes because a lot of times I think a lot of, young ladies especially, feel like, "I've made this decision, now everybody's looking down on me." Or, "I don't know if God can forgive me." And so one of the questions that came in was, is abortion the unpardonable sin? And you know what, there's probably some people that would say yes to that. And I'm gonna go ahead and say no.

Gary Schick
And the Bible says no.

Ben Poole
And the Bible says, no, too.

Gary Schick
We support you in that.

Ben Poole
So, we are here for you, but I just want to just maybe close with this thought. That whether you've had an abortion or are thinking of it or feel like maybe that's your only way out, God absolutely still loves you. And you are never so far from His grace that you can't come to God. And He is there to receive you and to welcome you into His arms, which is way better than anything in this world can offer. What are your thoughts on that, Gary?

Gary Schick
Well, you know, I mean, yeah, for those who are at a crossroads, I just beg you to call one of us, call Options, and find out your options. But for those, for whom the moment has passed and you're looking back at it and saying, "You know what? It was a hard moment in life, but I took a life and now what do I do for the rest of my life?" That is hard. It is not the unforgivable sin. Jesus in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the place where this comes up is, the Pharisees were basically saying Jesus in the miracles He performed had an unclean spirit. And He's like, "You know what? You can be forgiven any sin, including blasphemy against me," Jesus said. You know, against Jesus. But He said, "Whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will not be forgiven." What was the holy spirit? He was giving testimony that Jesus is the Christ. And so if you turn against the witness of the spirit, you are rejecting Jesus. And as long as you reject Jesus, you can't have salvation, cause Jesus is salvation. So as long as you reject the witness of the spirit, that Jesus is the savior, that's where you get forgiveness. As soon as you come to Jesus, all sin is forgiven, and it is really as simple as that. Does that mean that there are no consequences? Well, of course not, there's always consequences. And so, you know, again, for those who may be considering abortion and you're in a tough place, realize that you will get past this day of your life, you will get through this. But if you take that life, you can never undo that, and so forgiveness absolutely. Consequences to your life and even your potential ability to have future children, it can mess up a womb when you do this. You might be cutting off all life from your womb, and so I just wanna caution people about that. That, yeah there's forgiveness, but we don't walk into it and say, "Well, I'm gonna go ahead and do this and be forgiven and it's all okay." There's still some things to carry from that. And again, for those who are on the other side of it, well then it's a question, "Okay, so now how do we go on from here?" But never walk into a situation saying, "Well, I'm gonna do what I know is wrong and I'll be forgiven anyway." But yes, forgiveness is there.

Discussing Abortion - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Poole and Gary Schick.

Ben Poole
All right, so if you are not aware, January in the Christian world, more so, is known as, "Sanctity of human life month." There's a particular Sunday where we celebrate it in churches. This year's January 23rd. So be aware of that, just something that we can celebrate, and share the truth of God's love for all people. So this morning we got some questions that came through on this topic and I'm sure to some degree, it's a touchy topic for many people and probably some would disagree, but we want to do something a little bit different this morning. But in leading up to what we're gonna do, I just wanted to share a couple of, or a few of these questions that came out and then, have a little bit of discussion time. And we're gonna read some scripture as well. So first, "Does the Bible say anything about abortion?" And secondly, since we just celebrated Christmas, consider where we would be, if Mary had aborted the savior. And then thirdly, "Is God pro-life or pro-abortion? So obviously, some pretty, pretty deep questions, if we really start to consider them. And we're gonna get into some discussion, but first we wanted to, as we come to the close of this year and the beginning of a new year, we thought of a scripture fitting kind of around this, but also maybe a breath of fresh air.

Gary Schick
Yeah, we both turned to it together. I'm like, "I'm thinking let's read Psalm 1:39," and you're like, "I just opened to that." Which is really, if you're talking the life question. You know, the sanctity, the holiness, the preciousness of life from the womb. This is the chapters. But it's also a great place to end the year and begin the year.

Ben Poole
Yes, I agree. So Gary, why don't you start us off?

Gary Schick
Yeah, I'll take the first half, and then you take the second. Psalm 139, for the director of music of David, a Psalm, "Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me, you know, when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely oh Lord. You hem me in behind and before, you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, to lofty for me to attain, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the Dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there, your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to you."

Ben Poole
Man, that first half is beautiful. Just amazing. So we're gonna start in verse 13 and close out this chapter, "For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts oh God. How vast is the sum of them? Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I wake, I am still with you. If only you would slay the wicked, oh God. Away from me you blood thirsty men. They speak of you with evil intent, your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you oh Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them, I count them my enemies. Search me oh God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." That's a beautiful Psalm and really listening to David's heart here is just so pure and raw. And I remember actually just reading this, we actually talked about kind of that last bit of that chapter a while ago, addressing that issue. But what you see is this, I mean, David was called a man after God's own heart. Even in his sinfulness, even in his struggles, he had this amazing relationship with God. And he talks about this idea of life and creation of life. And it's not simply science that builds a human in a womb, it's God knitting us together. It is knowing our life from beginning to end before the beginning happens. And so we see this really beautiful picture, I see, of a God who loves life.

Gary Schick
Yeah, and God's connection to life from beginning to end. I mean, the beautiful part of the beginning about, "You know, no matter where I am. You know, I could go to the far side of the sea, no matter where I go you're there, you are with me. Your eye is on me and was with me and on me from the time you were putting me together in the womb Lord." And I think that these are verses that, for the pro life movement, have been significant in our understanding of what life is, where it begins and how precious each of us are. And what makes it great for this moment at the end of this year, as we move into the next is just to say to our listeners, "Hey, don't know where this year has brought you in your personal life, but just know this, you are under a watchful and loving eye. The Lord who formed you in the womb, you are precious to Him. And He's there, He's carrying us through."

Ben Poole
Yeah, you know, we were talking before this. There's a lot of talk, especially now, even in the last years about abortion. And almost this fight between pro-life and pro-choice, and it's easy to get into a fight, it's easy when you believe your right to argue your point. I've struggled with this myself, cause I believe we should be pro-life and I enjoy arguing, but I've also learned that, we're not gonna lead people to Christ by arguing with them. We're gonna lead them to Christ by loving them. I met a guy who was part of a Christian organization, and was leading this huge event. And he was talking about his wife who worked at a pregnancy center that was pro-life, and it was right down the street from an abortion clinic. And a lot of people were picketing and standing outside and yelling at the women that were going in, and really claiming to be Christians, but not really showing the love of Christ. And this guy's wife decided one day, she had this heart for these women. She bought dozens of roses and she walked over there and just started handing out flowers to these women that were there. Telling them that she loved them, that God loves them, and not preaching at them, not beating them over with scripture or telling them their sinning or anything like that. She just wanted to love them, and through that women came over to the pregnancy center and made different decisions to have their children. And so I believe simply from what we just read. Among all the other things, God is absolutely pro life, He creates life.

Gary Schick
Life is what He does.

Ben Poole
That's what He does, that's who He is, He is light and life. And so I think we can come to that conclusion, but that does not mean that He's absolutely against those who are making decisions, because guess what I make sinful decisions too. And He's not against me, He is for me. And so I think that needs to be the heart of the Christian. As we come to this time of year, as we close out this year, we are people of life and light because we are followers of Christ. And Jesus didn't come just for the good people. He didn't come for the people who were righteous and holy already. He came for the sick and the needy and to call sinners to repentance. And that should be our heart's desire as Christians, is to love these people, no matter what they're going through. You know, we're talking about abortion okay, but that's a broad stroke that we can cast, is we are to love people, period. That's who we are, it's not our job to judge the world, that's already taken place. They're living in judgment, it's our obligation and our privilege to love the lost. And this is a month where we celebrate life. Maybe we can do that in a way where we take steps that may be different than what we've ever done before. By loving people in the mess they're in and sharing the gospel of Jesus.

Gary Schick
I one hundred percent agree. You know, it's been a grimier in certain ways. I think we're coming up on, who knows maybe by the time this broadcast will have crossed it, a million people having died of COVID. But you know, many more than that die of abortion. Abortion's the leading killer in this country, and if only that got the airplay that COVID has, right? So it's a tough subject, life is precious and of course it stirs deep feelings. And of course we understand that those who feel motivated to move toward abortion are, just by definition, they're in a tough place. But truly, God's love has a power to change minds, to move decisions in a new direction. And in fact, as we close out the year, as precious as biological life is, it is absolutely, Jesus came that we might have eternal life. And listeners, you are alive, you were born and you've made some terrible mistakes and you've gotten some things right. But you are like all of us, a sinner who Jesus died to save. You know, and you mentioned, Jesus, didn't just come for the good people. Good thing, cause we're not, we are all sinners in God's eyes. He is the good one, He is the one who is good. And yet He in His goodness, loves us right where we are regardless. That's the other side of it. We need to let people know, who are on the other side of this debate, that they are loved too and that their lives matter too. And it seems so obvious to me, to those of us on the pro-life side, "Hey, if I'm in a body, I know how precious that is. How could I ever take it on myself to deny another living person?" As Dr. Seuss would say, "No matter how small, a person's a person, no matter how small." But obviously there's a lot of blindness and darkness in this world, and God's love is what starts to open us up to even be able to hear His truth.

Ben Poole
Yeah, one hundred percent. We know that there's probably listeners that maybe have had an abortion. Maybe even considering it, or maybe you're in a situation where you ended up pregnant and you, from whatever happened, we want you to know that we love you. And God loves you no matter what, even if you've made that choice, you are not so far from God that you cannot be loved and given grace and mercy. And so we're actually gonna continue this conversation a little bit next week. Cause there's some other questions that come up that I think are really great questions. And maybe something that some of you, or you know someone that's struggling with this about, "Can I be saved after making this decision? Where do I stand with God?" So we want to give you some hope and some reason for joy, even in this situation and even in this topic. We know that sometimes we say things that we don't mean or are heard a different way. And so if you ever have questions about this or where we stand on this, feel free to reach out to us and just ask those questions. You can call into the radio station, you can ask the questions it's completely anonymous and we would love to answer those questions.

Great Authors in Cross Reference Library

What Are You Afraid Of? - For many people, worry, anxiety, and fear are constant companions: fear of death, fear of danger, fear of disease. And too often, these fears are crippling, keeping us from the life God has called us to live. But it doesn’t have to be that way, says Dr. David Jeremiah. As Christians, we have been given all we need in order to face down even the most frightening, unexpected, and overwhelming obstacles in life. In his new book, What Are You Afraid Of? Dr. Jeremiah explores the top ten fears that are holding so many of us back from the life God has called us to live and shares the supernatural secrets for facing down these fears with faith.

I Never Thought I’d See The Day! - Many people are blind to the destructive cultural trends of the day. At the same time, others see the dangers but are too quick to minimize the negative impact these trends are having on society. Then there are those who see the chaos all around them but believe that resistance to the prevailing culture is useless. In the middle of all this confusion, Dr. David Jeremiah issues a prophetic warning: “We must understand that we are in a war for the very heart and soul of civilization or the consequences will be catastrophic.” In, I Never Thought I’d See The Day!, Dr. Jeremiah identifies the nine major indicators of this looming disaster and then issues a strategy for turning the tide and equips us with the weapons we need for the battle ahead. Above all, he brings a message of hope that our “culture at the crossroads” can be put back on the right path. 

Where Do We Go From Here? - The more we look around today, the more it seems our modern world and contemporary way of life are hanging by a thread. We’re emerging from the pangs of a pandemic, yet society remains haunted by the specters of socialism, globalism, and cancel culture. The economy is in flux, the church is in decline, and Jerusalem once again sits atop the powder keg of global politics. What should we do now? How can we move forward as citizens of God’s kingdom even as the world teeters on the brink? In Where Do We Go From Here?, bestselling author and respected Bible teacher Dr. David Jeremiah shows us that the colliding crises in our culture are not isolated incidents or random misfortunes. They are as connected as a spider’s web. With each passing day, tectonic forces are pushing us closer to the end of history. Yet this is not a time for despair! Instead, this is a time to examine ever more closely the calm assurance of God’s prophetic plan. These pages will help you do just that by exploring ten current moments and movements in light of that plan. Each chapter highlights what’s happening, what Scripture says, and where we can go from here.

Who Were The Magi? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Poole and Gary Schick.

Ben Poole
All right, so our question this morning, or questions, I guess.

Gary Schick
There's about three of them here.

Ben Poole
Yeah, "Regarding the magi, who were they? When did they arrive in Bethlehem? Shortly after the shepherds or much later? If much later, why were Mary and Joseph still there and not back home in Nazareth?" So I know there's a lot of thoughts on this, and a lot of different interpretations on what happened and when it happened. And so, yeah, Gary, why don't you just kind of open us up with some thoughts?

Gary Schick
What a great topic for Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas, everyone. Yeah, so the magi, and they're such an intriguing topic, aren't they? I think we always want to know more about the magi and about the star and all of those things. In terms of, who were they, you know, if you watch the movies, I think, Jesus of Nazareth comes to my mind. You would kind of get the idea that they sort of met on the way from the three different corners of the globe. One from the east, one from Europe, one from Africa, and coming together and sort of finding their way to Jerusalem from some place like that. But really, most likely I think they probably came together from a location, because it specifically says that they came, you know, from the east. And I believe in that time there kind of, I guess what you almost might call a cast of priest, philosophers, magicians among the ancient Persians. May have been just kind of a phrase in general for such holy men or sages, philosophers, wise men, we might call them. And while their country isn't named specifically, you know, they state, when they get to Jerusalem, "We saw His star in the east." And I think we interpret that to mean, from the east, you know and, "We've traveled west to find Him." So Persia, Babylon, these would've been starting points and I think there's often even some thought that Daniel, as one of the wise men of the Babylonian empire, was kind of at the source of these people. But regardless of exactly who they were, you know, I think many Christmas cards that we've seen over the years sum it up well, "Wise men sought Him then wise men seek Him still." It's of course assumed that they were three, but that's because of the three gifts they brought: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. I mean, the scripture actually only tells us more than once, it could have been two, it could have been 20. But the point is again, not only that they were wise, but they also were representative. Whether they came from one place or----many of us Gentiles, people from the outside. Who, one way or another God alerted to come seeking the one who would be born king and to worship before Him. And I just kind of wonder if when they got there and kind of figured things out, they began to realize just what a special king they had come to. It wasn't that the king inherits palace that they were to find. Then of course, there's this question about when did they get there? And again, if you look at our nativity scenes, it's obvious, everybody showed up the first night. You know, there was a star hanging there, there were angels in the breeze and there were shepherds and wise men, and that fits really nicely at our little nativity sets and scenes. Of course, if you follow the traditional days, it's given that the wise men show up around what, January 6th, which I don't know about in your house, and in your church, but we are pretty much done with the Christmas carols and the Christmas decorations are down by then. So, but how do we know? Well, Luke's gospel is real specific, there was no room in the Inn, Jesus is born in a manger. Probably some kind of a cave-like structure just outside of the Inn or outside of town. But by the time the wise men come, or the magi come in Matthew chapter 2, they find Mary, Joseph and the child in a house. And so that's kind of our indication as to why, there's a period of time lapsing here. Also, although Herod doesn't actually ever hear directly back from the wise men after they've seen Jesus, he does know based on when they saw the star, to kind of figure something under two years old. Now in a way, that's a little bit unhelpful because does the star appear at the time of His birth and that's when they begin their journey or did the star come ahead of time and kind of provide? I mean, they could have showed up the same night as the shepherds, other than the fact that there's kind of these, these two statements. One, "He's born in a manger or placed in a manger and found by the magi in a house," which to me would indicate that they stuck around. And then the third question, "Well why don't they go right back to Nazareth, you know, family, friends, home?" Well, you've got to remember, they didn't have car seats for camels and donkeys in those days, you know what I mean. Traveling with an infant would've been difficult, and so it would just kind of make sense that once Mary and Joseph, and he had a very, he had a trade that he could practice anywhere, he was a carpenter. That they would kind of settle down until forced to flee by Herod's hunt for the baby. And of course, that's exactly what the scripture tells us happened.

Ben Poole
Yeah, that's really great information. And I know that, just reading up on it, there's so many different thoughts on the timeline. And I think that we can easily get caught up in those. I was just actually looking up approximately how far it is to walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And per Google, where all good things are found, obviously, it looks like about 31 hours of walking. So I know my wife had a baby a little over a year ago, I can tell you, she would not be in a rush to be walking 31 hours back home if that was the option. So I think that they probably stuck around and really invested in the health of baby Jesus, learning to be a family. Learning this new dynamic, because you gotta remember this, we see these beautiful portrayals of the manger scene and how beautiful it was. And having a baby is one of the most beautiful experiences ever, in my opinion, but it was still real life. It was still very real in changing diapers, and however they did that, whether it was cloth and hopefully some clean water and things like that. I mean, it was still very real, Mary had to heal after giving birth. I mean, it was real, it was messy, it was having a baby in a barn. I mean, just consider what that would've been like. And so, but going back to the magi, I think that I've looked into this and again, still a lot of theories on who these people were. Obviously were of wealth to some degree having Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

Gary Schick
Pricey gifts.

Ben Poole
Pricey gifts, which they also say probably helped take them into Egypt and to cover expenses and to give them a livelihood while they were on the run. But thinking about these guys, these Magi, whether they were simply just wise men, or even some say they were magicians, some have even said they were Kings themselves, they were royalty. And I really like that picture, and I'm not sure we can totally say one way or another, but I think the picture there is beautiful, nonetheless. That these grown men, full of wisdom and wealth and probably power, chose to follow this star to find a baby. I love my baby boy, but it would be super weird if someone came and bowed down in worship of a baby. But something in them knew this is someone different. This is someone worthy of our worship, this young child, whether he was a few days old or he was two years old. That they would come and bow down and worship a baby is powerful to me. What we know on the other side of this story, we know who Jesus is, we know the story, we know the outcome, we know why He came, but these guys followed a star. Knowing what the old scriptures had taught, that the baby would be born in Bethlehem and He would be the king of the Jews and they showed up in worship of Him. And I think it is just humbling, I guess, to me, to know that this is something powerful that maybe we forget sometimes. You know, we celebrate Christmas and we get a lot of different ideas and, in our culture, especially, you know, we get really wrapped up in consumerism and shopping and gifts and all these little things. And not that we're not taking our eyes off of Jesus, but I think the importance of why He came. I talked a little bit in my sermon on Sunday that, one thing that we have really ingrained as Christians is to help kind of keep our focus as "Jesus is the reason for the season." We hear that a lot, and I kind of challenged my church to say, "That's part of it." That's part, He's part of the reason for the season. But as we know what scripture teaches, Jesus didn't come for Himself. He came for you and me to be our savior. And so really, when we look at this from the magi coming, from Mary being obedient, to Joseph having to make a hard choice to even stay with her, all of these things, the point comes back to is, Jesus lives His life. As He goes to the cross, as He's resurrected from the dead, what changes is, Jesus isn't so much the reason for the season; you are. You're the reason for the season, you're the reason Jesus came to live among sinful people. And it is our opportunity and privilege and a great blessing that we can bring our gifts to Jesus. We can give our life to Jesus, we can give our worship to Jesus as our king.

Gary Schick
Amen. Give them the best we have, like they did.

Ben Poole
Yeah. And that's really what we're called to do, is to lay everything at the feet of Jesus, our life, our worship. And essentially we're to give up the promise of our salvation to Him and placing our eternity in His hands. And we get to live that out. And that's really what I think the world needs to hear. There's a lot that went on and a lot of hard things you think about. Herod and the decree he sent out. "Okay, I don't want to lose my place, and if I hear of another king coming up, baby or not, I want him dead." And you think about the pain and the suffering that ensued from that point on, for some time. And thank God, He has a greater plan than even a king on earth can do. And so we get the privilege to worship a living king for all of eternity.

Gary Schick
Well and you know, you talked about the hardness of life. You know, it could have been, I mean, we know the hard choice Joseph made. Maybe, you know, town in Nazareth didn't have that information, but they probably knew Mary was pregnant. And you'll notice that even when they do go back home, they only ultimately go back to Nazareth because they hear a son of Herod is in place. And so they decide not to be so close to Jerusalem and so forth, but you know, it could be, they were just kinda waiting for the gossip to die down. Even you know, as Jesus is an adult later, you know, isn't this Mary's son, you know, aren't His brothers, "And wait Mary's son?" They knew it's part of the story, they didn't know the whole story. And boy, that's the tragedy. As Christmas approaches the world still doesn't know the whole story. This is the son of God who came for us, came for you my listening friends. I hope that you receive the gift of Christ above all this Christmas.