July 31, 2025 • 46 mins
We're going to drive through the Bible and you get to steer the bus! What passageturned the light on for you? Did you hear a message from your pastor or someone on the radio that helped change the course of your life? What was that passage and what difference did it make? The story you share might be just the thing someone else needs to hear. Share your encouraging passage on Chris Fabry Live.
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Drive Through the Bible by Colin S. Smith
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Drive Through the Bible by Colin S. Smith
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:05):
Hey, friend, get on the bus. Today we're going to
open the gate to the radio backyard fence and let
you get on the Bible bus with us. And your
response today might be just the thing somebody else needs
to hear. The light bulb that went on for you
might do the same for somebody else. So writer number
down and let me hear your voice, your heart. Today
(00:26):
as we begin a journey together on Chris Fabry Live,
the program from the heart to the heart for the heart.
I have been looking forward to this and asking some
friends this question. So I think today's conversation is going
to be meaningful and I hope a little bit of
fun for you and me, and it might get deep
as well. My main objective today is to hear from
you because as I often say, you are our most
(00:49):
valuable resource. You give us your lived experience, but you
have to call us for you to hear your voice.
So write the number down. 5483675. Questions. This is their
Bible verse or a passage that really turned the light
on for you 20 years ago or yesterday? What scripture
(01:11):
touched a nerve in your heart and is still resonating
with you. (877) 548-3675. Just you and me and a few
friends here today at the back fence. Let me thank
our friends and our team. Ryan McConaughey doing all things technical.
Trish is on vacation. Lisa is in the chair. Today.
Tara will be answering your calls. That's right. Here we go.
(01:34):
Get it started. Time to start that Bible bus. And
here's what you get to do. You get to be
in the driver's seat today. Take us anywhere in the
scripture that you would like. Preferably someplace where you heard
those words that I say. The light went on for you.
Something happened inside. You heard the 23rd Psalm for the
(01:56):
very first time. Or you read the red letters in
the Gospel of John and something stirred in your heart.
Usually this is what I find. It's the first thought
that comes to your mind when I ask this question.
That's the best thing to share. That's the first spark
of memory that kind of ignites in your soul. And
(02:17):
it might do the same for somebody else. And here's
what I really hope. There's somebody listening right now who
has never called us. And this invitation to not only
get on the bus, but get in the driver's seat
is going to compel you. So call me at (877) 548-3675.
And you do not have to have a seminary education
(02:39):
or be a pastor in order to answer this question.
In fact, I want to hear how people in the
pew like me answer this question. I'll explain where the
idea came from in a little bit. I had a
conversation in February with the man who challenges people to
open the Bible. But before we get to that, let
me give you an example of what I want to
(02:59):
do today. After the program on Tuesday with Ray Pritchard,
we were talking about how can God be good and
allow bad things to happen. I said, I said, Ray,
before you go, I'm doing a program on Thursday on
a Bible verse or a passage that turned the light
on for you. And then I continue, I said something
(03:19):
that and he said, wait, stop, I got it. He
was like, he didn't even have to think about it. Wait,
I got it. Here's what Ray said.
S2 (03:27):
I'd go back 56 years to the moment when, as
a teenager, at the end of a youth retreat, having
already been a member of the church for seven years,
but finally realizing I did not know the Lord, I
ran smack dab into first John chapter five, verse 13.
(03:49):
These things have I written to you who believe in
the name of Jesus Christ, that you may know that
you have eternal life. And that hit me. That hit
me like a ton of bricks. Me, I a teenager
that I could know that my sins were forgiven. I
(04:10):
could know that my destiny was secure. I could know
that I had eternal life. That verse redirected the course
of my life and pointed me to Jesus Christ. Set
me on the course that I've been on ever since then,
and I'm glad that it was true then. And I'm
glad it's true now that if you know Jesus, you
(04:32):
have eternal life now and for all eternity to come.
S1 (04:38):
And you have been able to tell others that as well, right?
S2 (04:43):
I've been doing that for I mean, that's been my
whole life since I discovered that verse. Really? That's what
that's not only the verse that God used to bring
me to The salvation, but to give me my call
into the ministry to say to people in this world
where there is so much uncertainty, would you like to know?
Would you like to know for certain, as they, you know,
(05:06):
the old time preachers would say, do you know for
sure if you died tonight? Hey, that's a good thing.
In today's uncertain world, it's a good thing to know
that if you died tonight or tomorrow, that you're going
to be with Jesus in heaven forever. That's the promise
of the gospel. And that verse first John 513 changed
(05:28):
my life.
S1 (05:30):
Know that you know that you know I have written
these things to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God, so that you may know that
you have eternal life. That's a good one to write down.
First John 513. That's Ray Pritchard. Now, how about you? (877) 548-3675. Robinson, Ohio. Robin,
(05:53):
get on the Bible bus. What do you want to
say to us today?
S3 (05:57):
Um, the second Corinthians 517 therefore, if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become new. When I
heard that scripture, I knew that I didn't have to
be the person that I had been for so long.
And I knew that that Jesus Christ could radically change
(06:17):
my life. And he has.
S1 (06:19):
Hmm. In what way? How did he change you?
S3 (06:24):
Well, I was a drug addict for many years, and
now not only in my sober, but I'm really involved
in our church, and we're going to start an addictions ministry.
So to reach people that have been through the same
thing that I've been through.
S4 (06:40):
Robin, look at what you just did.
S1 (06:42):
You you told other people, and you probably didn't wake
up today and think, I'm going to be on the radio, right?
S3 (06:49):
No, no, I've never called the radio before.
S4 (06:52):
We got you. We got you today because.
S1 (06:54):
Because the the healing, the power, the internal, uh, recreation, redemption,
renewal that happened inside of you is available to anybody.
And it sounds like you're saying, look, I was I
was long gone. I was far down the road, and
God did something for me. And he can do it
(07:15):
for you, too. Is that right?
S3 (07:17):
Yes, absolutely.
S1 (07:19):
Amen. See, I told you.
S4 (07:21):
This is going to be good.
S1 (07:21):
Friend. Uh, Robin, thanks for your call today. Again, if
you don't know where that is, we'll keep, uh, we'll
keep a record of these second Corinthians 517. Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is or she is a
new creation. The old has passed away. And see the
new has come. That's what God wants to do for you.
(07:43):
And the light bulb went on for Robin. How about you?
483675 is our number. We'll take a quick break here.
And then you just call that number. I've got three
lines open for you. I'm going to get to as
many as I can here in this hour. As we
get on the Bible bus, you tell me when the
(08:04):
light went on for you. What is the verse that
turned that light bulb on? (877) 548-3675. Bible bus is here.
S5 (08:24):
We got enough diesel in that engine to go for
a long time today.
S1 (08:29):
And I'm looking at some names on the screen here. Oh,
this is going to be good and it's going to
be encouraging for you. How would you answer that question?
The light bulb went on for me when I read this.
Or I heard this verse read, Christians in New York. Christian,
tell me why you called today.
S6 (08:47):
Yes. Um, My verse is revelations one, verse eight. I
am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,
says the Lord God Almighty. I was in Afghanistan and
we were in a pretty nasty firefight, and several hours
had gone by through this, this event. And, uh, I,
(09:14):
I was on the verge of giving up because I
didn't think I could make it through the moment. And
I looked over and next to me was a burning
Bible that had come out of this building that had
just been blown up. And, uh, there was it was
opened up to revelations, chapter one, verse eight. Wow. And
(09:36):
I read it while I was hiding or taking cover
up behind this wall. And it just made me realize
that or not realize. But I was able to. I guess,
determine that if God is real and this verse is true,
(09:58):
then I can make it through and stay alive.
S1 (10:03):
And you did.
S6 (10:05):
I did, I asked him right then and there to
take over my part and help me get through this,
because I didn't know what to do. I, I had
my training, but it was that moment where I believe
God took over and put me through.
S1 (10:24):
Somebody needed to hear that today, Christian. Somebody needed to
hear that today, because that's a really dramatic story. You know,
not everybody's story is dramatic as that. But you seeing
you being in this life or death situation and then boom,
you see this burning Bible and I am the Alpha
and the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is,
(10:45):
who was and who is to come the Almighty. That
turned the light on for you. That there's something more
than this life, right?
S6 (10:55):
Yeah, I, I thought that was the end. And I
read that verse and realized there's more than just pitiful
old me.
S1 (11:05):
Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad that you made it through that.
Thank you for your service, by the way. And, uh,
and it sounds like from that point when, when was
this was this early 2000?
S6 (11:19):
This was, uh, 2010 to.
S1 (11:22):
2010. Okay. So 15 years ago, would you say you're
a little further along in knowing who God is today
than 15 years ago?
S6 (11:34):
Uh, yeah, definitely. It was. It was an eye opener.
I had to like. I grew up in a Christian home,
and I grew up as a father. My father was
a pastor, a Southern Baptist pastor, and I just kind
of ignored it the whole time because you're forced into
church and I'm there every Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday. And it
(11:58):
kind of put me in a position to where, uh,
I was opened up to the real truth and not
just having memorized truth, I guess.
S1 (12:12):
Right. And that's why I say the lived experience. I mean,
you just that'll preach what you just talked about because
God is there. He he does care for you. He
cares for you in all of those different life situations.
And he brought you through that. God bless you, friend.
Thank you for taking the time to call today. I'm
so glad Christian got on the Bible bus today. How
(12:34):
about you tell me what scripture. Uh, we're going all
through the scriptures. We want to take a ride through
the scriptures today. And we just went to revelation. Where's
Bill going to take us from Florida? Hey, Bill, go
right ahead.
S7 (12:49):
Hi. Uh, so nine years ago, I was in church
one Sunday morning, and my wife had been on me about,
why don't you get involved in this or that? And
I said, I don't feel led to. And a guy
to my right who became a good friend said, uh,
he started talking to me about kairos, this, uh, prison ministry, uh,
(13:09):
the moniker is listen, listen, love, love. And it means
God's special time. And when he said this to me,
I heard the Lord say, uh, Matthew 2536. In my head,
I was in prison and you visited me, and I
was like, Lord, that's the scariest thing I can think of.
You don't mean it. He meant it. I got involved
(13:32):
and I've seen the Holy Spirit, the Lord work through
the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men in ways
that I never could have conceived to see. Um. So
when the Lord wants you to go, you go. And
when you go and you're in the center of his
influence and what he wants you to do, he blesses
(13:53):
the socks off you much more than you bless anyone else.
S1 (13:58):
So. So here's what I'm hearing you saying. And all
of these, uh, stories are kind of similar in that
it's not enough to see the truth. It's not enough
to see the verse. The light coming on is something
about me. I have to respond to this. I have
to act on the truth that I'm understanding. Right?
S7 (14:22):
Absolutely. When the Lord says, go, you go. And he
means it. And if you obey, he will reward you
in ways that there are no no words in language
to explain. It's it's a love that comes from him
through your heart to others and blesses you on the way.
S1 (14:43):
Yes. And that's the thing. You you think if you're
going to do this ministry, that you're the one who's
giving to the people who are in need? But what you.
I'm hearing from you. And I've heard others who've done
the same thing. What you realize is you gain as much,
if not more, than the people you're ministering to.
S7 (15:03):
Yeah, it'll change your life.
S1 (15:07):
I was I was naked and you clothed me. I
was sick and you took care of me. I was
in prison and you visited me. That's. That'll preach as well.
I'm glad you heard that verse. Thanks, Bill, for calling
in today.
S7 (15:24):
God bless you. Thank you. Sir.
S1 (15:26):
Uh, John is in Indianapolis. John, get on the Bible
bus and tell me.
S8 (15:33):
Hey. So, Chris, I'm reading a sermon on the Mount
one day, and, um, You know, Jesus is preaching probably
one of the greatest, most powerful sermons. And he talks
about blessed is the are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God. And I, I got to thinking
about it for a minute and I go, you know,
(15:53):
where's my heart at? And then I went to Psalm
51 and I said, wait a minute, we can pray
like David did. Create in me a pure heart, O God. Right.
And so I connected those two verses together, because sometimes
our heart might not be in the right place. But,
(16:13):
you know, through Jesus Christ we can get a new heart.
And so I sometimes I have to work on my heart,
you know.
S1 (16:24):
Well, there it is again. It's the response that you're
talking about. It's not like salvation is a as Ray
mentioned from first John, you know, this is the thing
that takes you from death to life. But what you're
talking about a clean heart is a continual day by day,
sometimes hour by hour or minute by minute thing. It's
(16:45):
like God searched me and know me. I don't want
to live complacent about my sin. I want you to
do the work inside of me. So when you see that,
when the light goes on. That's why I say a
lot of times here that I'm a bigger sinner now
than I was when I first became a Christian, because
(17:05):
God keeps showing me how far away from holiness I
really am, and how far away from his heart I am.
And that's it sounds bad, but it's a good thing,
isn't it?
S8 (17:18):
Well, it is, and it's like I've heard it said
that the Bible is shallow. Shallow enough for a mouse
to get a drink and deep enough for an elephant
to drown. And the closer I get, the further away
I realize I am. And it's like, do you want
to be Christ like? But that's a journey and not
a destination. I don't think we will ever be just
(17:38):
like Jesus, but we want to strive to be like
Jesus and it is a daily, a daily thing. You know.
S1 (17:47):
John, I'm glad you got on the Bible bus today
on Chris Fabry Live.
S9 (17:51):
Hey, I'm going to hop on the Bible bus. This
is Ernie Haas of Ernie Haase Signature Sound, and some
of your listeners will remember the grand old days of
the Cathedral Quartet. Chris, love your program and I love
our newfound friendship, even though we've been connected a lot
of years. Uh, just really enjoy talking to you. And
(18:11):
and so I want to share a verse that's really
meant a lot to me lately. Um. My life first
let me go back is first Peter five, six and seven.
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he
will exalt you in due time, casting all your cares
upon him because he cares for you. I've clung to
that verse ah, since high school. It's Still one of
(18:35):
my favorite verses, but I've been doing a deep dive
in Ecclesiastes, and I've had some time to relax. And
I'm on a little sabbatical here, and I always have
to struggle with working too much. And the Bible has
something to say about that. And I love the fact
that the Bible gives you wisdom, and it doesn't tell
(18:57):
you what two plus two equals four. It just gives
you the wisdom to know what will help you in life.
And I want to read from Ecclesiastes four. I'm gonna
start there at four, verse five, chapter four, verse five
and six. The first part of the verse is to
lazy people. The second half is to workaholics like me.
(19:17):
Both are not balanced. The fool folds his hand and
eats his own flesh. Better is a handful of quietness
than two hands full of toil and striving after the wind.
The balance is finding. You've got to work to do.
(19:38):
God's got a calling for you. God's got a thing
for all of us to do and gifted us all.
And so we find that. Don't fold your hands. Don't
sit back and be cynical. But then don't be like me.
At times when you just fill up both hands with busyness.
And as the author of Ecclesiastes says, you're striving, you're
(19:59):
chasing the wind and everything feels like vanity. Better. Here
it is again. Ecclesiastes four six. This is the verse
better a handful of quietness than two hands full of
toil and striving after the wind. The word of the Lord.
May it be a blessing to all those who hear.
S1 (20:20):
Thank you Ernie, I appreciate that. If you get a
chance to see Ernie, they're going to go out on
the on the road here soon. Go do it. Ernie
Haase signature sound that speaks to me. How about you?
Are you one of those strivers? Are you one of
those people on the treadmill? And it's just got to
keep going, going, going, going, going. In order for you
to feel worthy or worthwhile because it's what you do
(20:43):
for God that's important. Better a handful with rest. That's
what my version says with quietness, than two handfuls with
effort and a pursuit of the wind that will calm
you down and turn the light on for you, even
in the back of the bus. So if you're just
(21:03):
joining us, this is Chris Fabry live. We're asking you
to tell us the verse of Scripture, or the passage
that turned the light on for you last night in
the middle of the night, or 50 years ago, or
anywhere in between or 60 years? You go back as
far as you want. (877) 548-3675. Gail is on the line. Gail,
(21:25):
get on the bus and tell me what's rolling around
your soul.
S10 (21:30):
Thank you very much. This is this is fun listening
to everybody. And yes, mine was 30 years ago when
I became a new believer. And the Bible verse, when
I started reading the Bible, because I had never been
taught that before. And the verse that popped out to
me was Philippians 413, I can do all things with
Christ who gives me the strength. I never really resonated
(21:51):
totally with that until a couple years later, I was
diagnosed with lung cancer and I was like, oh my goodness, right?
I had no idea. They thought I was going to die, whatever.
But the Lord had another plan, and I wore that
verse out of the Bible. And then a couple years
after that, breast cancer, uh, I had breast cancer. And
I'm like, Lord, okay, here we go again. I can't
(22:12):
do this without you. So, you know, Philippians 413, I
just it's I mean, it's highlighted everywhere in my house. So, um,
and uh, by that was what, I don't know, 20
or 30 years ago. And by the grace of God,
I'm still here, and now I'm a law enforcement chaplain.
So I'm.
S1 (22:28):
Really.
S10 (22:29):
Grateful that yes, the Lord is with me and I
can do all things only because of him. So who
knew I would be a law enforcement chaplain? Which I
use that verse a lot still.
S1 (22:41):
You know the verse that I. And I'll insert myself
in here because you mentioned Philippians and that is just
such a rich book. So 413 I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me is kind of a
parallel to chapter one, verse six that says, I am
sure of this, that he who started a good work
(23:01):
in you will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus. So the he wasn't done with you.
The though cancer reared its ugly head. He wasn't done
with you and he's still not done with you. And
you're going to keep on going until he is right.
S10 (23:17):
Amen. Absolutely. Amen. It's been so fun to watch all this. Uh,
you know how his word is very true. If we
open it up and continue to stay close and read
it And, um. Yeah. Just walk it out and see
where he takes you. I had no idea. As a nurse,
that I would end up in law enforcement years later. And, yeah,
(23:37):
I'm still here, and I'm grateful. So thank you, Lord.
S1 (23:40):
What is the what is the most encouraging that has
happened to you as a law enforcement chaplain? Is there
something that pops into your head?
S10 (23:50):
Oh, it's just being here to support, to listen and
support my officers and their families. That has just been
amazing because they walk through some very difficult stuff. And, um,
for them or me to know that we're here. I'm
here for them. They're here for me. They protect us
and I protect them. I'm a representative representation of God
(24:12):
to them. And, um. And I'm grateful. I'm very, very
grateful for all of the the things that the men
and women in law enforcement do for us. So, yeah,
we help each other.
S1 (24:23):
Same here, same here. Oh, I'm so glad you and
I knew. I put at the very top of my
page here today, Gale. Have fun with this. Let's have
some fun with this, and let's see how deep we
can go in the changes that God makes in us
because of His word. Uh, so thank you for jumping
(24:43):
on the Bible bus today. Okay.
S10 (24:45):
Yes, absolutely. Thank you for having me. God bless you guys.
S1 (24:49):
Well, we have more callers. I don't have time to
be fair to the next one, but I want to
tell you the the way that I got this idea
was back in February. We had opened the Bibles, Pastor
Colin Smith on the program and the topic that day.
This was that the National Religious Broadcasters, the topic that
day was hearing the voice of God. And in the
(25:10):
middle of that conversation, he mentioned the resource that we're
sending anybody who supports the the program this month, we
end today. This is the last day of the month,
the final day for our offer of drive thru the Bible,
and I want you to hear how he frames this
(25:31):
exciting project when we come back from a break. Um,
so this Colin Smith drive through the Bible is our
thank you. This month, if you want to go to
the website and find out more about it, you can
do that. Today's the last day though. Go to Chris. Chris.
Moore straight ahead. Thank you for your support in July.
(26:05):
We can't do what we do here at the back
fence without you calling getting involved in the program. And
then some of you actually go the extra mile and
give a gift. And this month we have been giving
away Drive Through the Bible, a 30 day journey by
Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible broadcast Podcast. And
as I mentioned just before the break, we had him
(26:27):
on in February and he mentioned this is less than
a minute, but I want you to hear how he
kind of framed what this drive thru the Bible is
all about.
S11 (26:37):
We're actually engaged in a three part project fly through
the Bible, drive through the Bible, and by the end
of the year, God willing, we'll have hike through the Bible.
And the idea is fairly obviously that there will be
journeys through the entire Bible story at different levels and
therefore appropriate for different audiences. Um, but all with the
(26:58):
one central aim that understanding the big picture of the
Bible story is critical for us, um, in terms of
sharing the gospel, in terms of growing in our knowledge
of Christ and in terms of developing Christian leadership all
the time. I'm asking the question of people, who is
there in your life, who needs to know the God
(27:20):
of the Bible and just might be willing to open
the Bible with you if you ask them.
S1 (27:25):
Do you hear that question? That's why I'm excited that
we're sending this book to anyone who supports us, because
it's going to help you in your journey through the
Bible to get the big picture. So the fly through
the Bible is like it's a shorter book and it's
just a bird's eye view. Drive through the Bible is
just like taking the interstates. So you get down on
(27:46):
the ground, you see how everything connects. The next book
that comes out is going to be like walking the
dusty trails of it. But I'd love for you to
get this and then grow in your faith yourself and
be able to live it out from the heart. Drive
through the Bible. That's why we're getting on the Bible
bus today. Get the big picture and give that picture
(28:08):
away to those you care about. So give a gift
of any size. We'll send it to you. 86695 Faberry
is the number 2279 or go to Chris Fabriclive. Scroll
down on the home page. You'll see right there how
you can support us. Who is there in your life?
Who needs to know the God of the Bible and
(28:30):
just might be willing to open the Bible with you
if you asked them? This is the tool that will
help you drive through the Bible. Today's the last day.
We're almost to our goal. Would you help us? 86695
Faberry or go to Chris Fabry live?
S5 (28:50):
We're still on the bus. Grab the steering wheel.
S1 (28:54):
Mark in.
S5 (28:55):
Illinois.
S1 (28:56):
And tell me why you called today.
S7 (29:00):
Well, I want to.
S12 (29:01):
Mention that the apostle James, who wrote this verse was
skeptical of Jesus. He was his brother, and he lived
in the same house with him, and he did not
initially accept him as Messiah. So this is who is
writing this. And the second thing is that often when
we're driven to ask God for wisdom. We deserve a scolding.
(29:22):
And yet, here's what the verse promises. If any of
you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the
giving God who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly without
reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given to him.
Now another version says that God will give us wisdom
(29:44):
without reprimand. And I came from an abusive and narcissistic father.
So the pleasant byproduct of this is that whenever God
does give me wisdom, it's always gentle and encouraging and
humorously creative. And so he he always ends up treating
(30:06):
me better than I expect him to. And so when
I get his wisdom, I always go, oh, thank you God.
S1 (30:13):
Yes. Well, and that whole idea.
S12 (30:16):
Cited.
S1 (30:17):
You have to fight the idea that God is tight
fisted and that he. If you've grown up in the
way that you did, you know that he's tight fisted.
He doesn't want you. He doesn't have you. He's narcissistic.
He only thinks about himself. You know, he's for his
own glory. That's all he can think about. He doesn't
care about me. But when you read this.
S12 (30:36):
Then it's going to have an agenda.
S1 (30:38):
Yes. Or he's going to give me something that he
says he thinks is good. And I don't, you know,
he's going to send me to some foreign country I
don't want to go to. But if that is true,
if anyone lacks wisdom when you ask of God, he
will give it to you generously and ungrudgingly and and
he will give it to you that way. That is
(30:59):
a comfort, isn't it?
S12 (31:01):
Oh, yes, and that's the amplified version. And the New
English Testament says without reprimand. Boy, that is precious. Yes,
because they often deserve, as I say, we often deserve
a reprimand when we're asking for wisdom. And yet and
yet God says, oh, no, my child, just, just, just
(31:21):
ask and you shall receive.
S1 (31:24):
Yes. Do you know there's a corollary to this on
our Facebook page? Because I asked the same question. And
if you're listening on the podcast, you know, sometime when
we're not live, go to the Facebook page and answer
that question. Because Frances said this, I wanted to know God.
I had been in a women's Bible study for 16 years,
(31:44):
and my fifth or sixth time reading the whole Bible. Okay.
So she's she's been around the Bible and Bible studies
and people who know a lot about the Bible for
a long time. Then I read meaning the light came
on Exodus 34, verses six and seven, and I'll read
(32:04):
that for you. Uh, start with five. The Lord came
down in a cloud, stood with him, Moses there, and
proclaimed his name the Lord, the Lord passed in front
of him and proclaimed, the Lord. The Lord is a
compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in
(32:26):
faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations,
forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. So if you get the
idea that God is this tight fisted God, that's not
going to give to you, listen to what Mark said
(32:46):
from the book of James, and listen to what Francis
said in the Old Testament. This is who God says
he is, and he shows it again and again. In fact,
that's one way you can read the Bible. Okay, God,
show me your goodness. Here in the book of Exodus
in Leviticus. You know, it's hard sometimes in the Old
Testament because it feels like he's a he's full of
(33:07):
wrath and he's full of judgment. Well, it's a good
thing that he's, uh, he's full of justice and judgment, right?
Because he's holy and we are not. But read those
verses from Exodus 34 six and seven, and you'll get
a big view of who God really is. Uh, Maureen
(33:27):
is calling from Florida. It says, Maureen, you're calling. You're
getting on the Bible bus for the very first time.
Is that right?
S13 (33:34):
That is correct. Good evening. Afternoon.
S5 (33:38):
So glad.
S1 (33:39):
All right. Tell me the scripture that turned the light
on for you.
S13 (33:43):
So it is Isaiah 61, verse three. And it it
does say to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
(34:04):
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
But the part that really hit home for me was
where it mentioned the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness. So I have always been a happy person,
always singing songs. I love praising God, love doing worship songs, choruses,
(34:29):
you name it. I enjoy doing them all. And, um,
I'm like I said, I'm a happy person. But there
are times when the best of us have moments that
come to cloud that joy, or try to rob us
of that joy or that peace, that happiness. And I
found that whenever it would come on me, it would
(34:50):
not stay. Mainly because as soon as I would feel
it coming on, I would just start singing a song
and instantly that spirit. Well, I didn't know then that
it was a spirit, but that feeling would leave and
I would just go back to being marine happy, singing,
(35:10):
Joyful Self, but then reading that scripture one day and
saw where it says the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness. It truly impacts me where I said,
so that's what this is. So while I have always
enjoyed being, you know, just praising and worshiping and singing
(35:35):
songs and feeling that feeling of sadness leave, I realized
that it really wasn't Maureen with her happy self, but
the Lord did clothe me. He put it on me,
that garment of praise for that spirit of heaviness, and
it cannot sit on me at all. And well.
S5 (35:57):
That's something, Maureen, here's the thing.
S1 (35:59):
If there's something that. Because I'm thinking of it immediately,
I thought of Colossians three, you know, take off this.
Paul writes, take off this and put on this. So
you have the option to put that it's given by God,
but you have to actively put it on. You have
to do the activity of the praise and the worship
(36:20):
for him. So there's a response. There's both. And it's like,
this is a gift of God that we pick up
and we exercise so that it changes us from the
inside out. Right.
S13 (36:32):
Truly, truly. So.
S1 (36:34):
Look at that. Look at you, Maureen. You got on
the Bible bus and you just drove us. Drove us
in the good direction.
S13 (36:40):
Yes. Yes.
S1 (36:42):
God bless you, friend.
S13 (36:44):
Praise.
S1 (36:44):
You keep singing. And you call us back again as we, uh,
take a quick break here and we'll come back with
more of your calls. And a couple of friends who
stopped by. Actually, one of them who stopped by this week.
I want you to hear what Sheridan had to say
yesterday when we come back. This is Chris Fabry live
on Moody Radio. Again. Drive through the Bible is our.
(37:06):
Thank you. Find out more.
S14 (37:07):
Chris Okay, so I'm jumping into the Bible bus. I
have got my foot on the accelerator. And here's where
I'm taking you. I'm taking you to Ephesians five, verses
one and two. Follow God's example as dearly loved children
(37:31):
and walk in the way of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering to God. Those verses hit me at a very,
very particular time in life. It would have been, my goodness,
maybe about ten years ago now. And I had a
kind of a favorite Bible verse before that, and these
ones just pushed them out of the way because I
(37:53):
was wrestling with that big question of who am I?
I was wrestling with a big question of what should
I be doing with my life at the moment? And
you know what? It not only answered those questions, those
big human questions, it has continued to guide me pretty
much every single day. Follow God's example. That's all about
developing character and in context. It's all about kindness and
compassion and, you know, being slow to anger. It's basically
(38:16):
a kind of a paraphrase of God's own character as
dearly loved children. That's my essential identity before I'm a writer, speaker,
broadcaster or founder of a nonprofit friendship lab. I am
a dearly loved child of God and walk in the
way of love. That's my mission. Whatever I do today,
that is what I'm called to do, whether it be
through radio, whether it be through writing something, or, more importantly,
(38:40):
helping somebody in the street who's just fallen over, either
literally or metaphorically, follow God's example as dearly loved children
and walk in the way of love that answers some
of the biggest questions of humanity.
S1 (38:52):
Bingo! Do you see? Do you see what happens when
we start talking about this from our own perspectives? What
the Bible does it call us to life? Call us to, uh,
Of to not only righteous living. You know, we put
a lot of emphasis on that, but receiving the grace
(39:12):
of God. Um, and that's where, uh, Ryan, I want
to play this by trivia next, because that's where I
want to go. I want to make sure we get
this in before the end of the program. Trillia Newbell
hosts living by Faith on Saturday mornings. If you're not listening,
you got to listen on Saturday mornings on Moody Radio.
Here's what she wanted to say.
S15 (39:31):
One of the texts, the scriptures, that just really has
always meant so much to me. And and in many ways,
God turned on the lights for me when I read
this was Ephesians two eight through ten. For by grace
you have been saved through faith, and this is not
(39:51):
your own doing. It is the gift of God, not
a result of works, so that no 1st May boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them, and to understand and know that the gospel
is free, that God freely gives. This gift of salvation
(40:12):
is remarkable to me and I. I had spent my
whole life earning, earning, earning, earning. But to know that
with God it is a free gift. I'm in awe
of it. Even today and before the foundation of the world,
he had good works for me and not just me.
For every one of you who are listening is amazing.
(40:34):
God is so kind to think of us. So I,
I just love the whole book of Ephesians, but Ephesians two,
that whole chapter, but specifically those verses mean so much
to me.
S1 (40:44):
Same here Julia. And again, listening. Listen to living by
Faith with truly a new bell on Saturday mornings here
on Moody Radio. But that whole idea of God has
prepared in advance even today's conversation with you calling in here,
God prepared this in advance for you to walk in.
(41:05):
And the question is, are we going to be obedient? Well, Donna,
was she called me from Nashville. Donna, tell me where
you want to take us in the Bible bus.
S16 (41:14):
Uh, I started to memorize passages in the Bible, so
I memorized Proverbs three, and I found out that my
husband had memorized it. Two before that, my mom had
had me memorize Psalm one. But then I started thinking
the the word says, keep it in your heart. So
then I just started memorizing other passages in the Bible.
(41:36):
I memorized Psalms 101, 21, and first Corinthians, so I
always have His Word in my heart. Most recently, I
memorized passages from Psalm 17 about his commands, his precepts,
his ordinances, and at the end of that it says,
by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there
(41:59):
is great reward, and it is so true. God's been
good to me all my life. I recently lost my husband,
and the kind of comfort that God gives is amazing
to me. And he's only been gone since January 1st.
But people often say, well, you don't act like someone
who lost your husband. It's because his word stays in
(42:20):
my heart and he's always with me.
S1 (42:24):
So there is great comfort there. It's not that you
don't grieve. I mean, you're you're grieving, but you know
you're going to see him again, right?
S16 (42:33):
Yes, absolutely. And then, uh, because of the life that
we had together, we were married for 56 years. And
so we talked about everything, including the other side. So
I know that he's at peace and I'll see him again.
It's the most wonderful feeling.
S1 (42:51):
Well, thank you for taking that romp through Proverbs and
the Psalms and the other scriptures that you mentioned there.
His word is a lamp to my feet and a
light for my path. And I think you'd agree with
me on this, Donna. That it's. You know, I want
God to speak to me. I want God to tell
me exactly what to do, when to do it, and
how long and all that. But he he seems to
(43:15):
want me to exercise my faith. And he gives me
enough light for my day and enough wisdom for the
next step. Not ten steps down the road or ten
years down the road, but for the next step. And
that's that's a grace. That's a his loving kindness, isn't it?
S16 (43:33):
Absolutely, absolutely. And you can't see it. And some days
you think, oh, I'm going to do this or I'm
going to do that. He shows you, he sets your
schedule for you, and your schedule gives you comfort and
helps you to move forward every single time.
S1 (43:50):
The the last Psalm that you mentioned was Psalm 17.
Is that right?
S17 (43:54):
Yes, yes.
S1 (43:55):
All right. Because I'm writing all these down. There's Donna
on the bus. We've got enough time to get to
Cindy in Florida. Cindy, the door is open for you.
Take us to someplace in the Bible.
S18 (44:06):
Well, I would like to take you to John chapter nine,
verse three. It's where Jesus heals the man born blind.
And as the disciples passed the blind man by, he
asked Jesus. They asked Jesus, who sinned, his parents or
this man, that he was born blind? And Jesus's response
has provided much healing through the course of the wilderness.
(44:31):
The Lord has allowed me to struggle and walk through,
and his answer was, neither this man nor his parents sinned,
that he was born blind, but that the work of
God might be displayed in his life.
S1 (44:44):
Wow. And what does that what does that turn the
light on for you today?
S18 (44:49):
Well, for me, it turns on the light of healing
because I was raised in a spiritual environment Where if
there wasn't enough faith, bad things happened. It was a
very works oriented. And as I've walked through cancer financial struggles,
the Lord has provided the perspective of the fact that
(45:09):
he is at work doing something that I can't fathom.
S17 (45:14):
Yes.
S1 (45:15):
And you can trust him. You can put your full
faith and hope and trust in what he is doing
in your life, right?
S18 (45:24):
Absolutely, absolutely.
S1 (45:26):
Cindy, thanks for being the last on the bus today.
God bless you, friend. And that goes for the salvation
story as well. You know, if I believe that what
what it means to be a Christian is I abandon
my ability and I see myself as not able to
do what only God can do. So I'm putting my
(45:49):
full faith, my full trust, my full hope in what
he accomplished for me on the cross, and he didn't
stay on the cross and he didn't stay in the tomb.
He rose again to new life, just like Lazarus did,
you know? Was raised to new life. Lazarus. Lazarus died again.
(46:09):
Jesus never died again. And he wants to give you
that eternal life. And if you go to Chris Fabry, archive.org,
we've got at the top and the bottom you can
see how to know Christ or knowing Christ. If you've
never placed your faith fully in what he did for you,
I encourage you to do that and I also encourage
you if you can. We've got a few more copies
(46:31):
of Drive Through the Bible by Colin Smith. I'd love
to send you a copy. Just go to Chris. Thanks
for your support in July and come on back tomorrow
for Chris Fabry Live, a production of Moody Radio, a
ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Hey, friend, get on the bus. Today we're going to
open the gate to the radio backyard fence and let
you get on the Bible bus with us. And your
response today might be just the thing somebody else needs
to hear. The light bulb that went on for you
might do the same for somebody else. So writer number
down and let me hear your voice, your heart. Today
(00:26):
as we begin a journey together on Chris Fabry Live,
the program from the heart to the heart for the heart.
I have been looking forward to this and asking some
friends this question. So I think today's conversation is going
to be meaningful and I hope a little bit of
fun for you and me, and it might get deep
as well. My main objective today is to hear from
you because as I often say, you are our most
(00:49):
valuable resource. You give us your lived experience, but you
have to call us for you to hear your voice.
So write the number down. 5483675. Questions. This is their
Bible verse or a passage that really turned the light
on for you 20 years ago or yesterday? What scripture
(01:11):
touched a nerve in your heart and is still resonating
with you. (877) 548-3675. Just you and me and a few
friends here today at the back fence. Let me thank
our friends and our team. Ryan McConaughey doing all things technical.
Trish is on vacation. Lisa is in the chair. Today.
Tara will be answering your calls. That's right. Here we go.
(01:34):
Get it started. Time to start that Bible bus. And
here's what you get to do. You get to be
in the driver's seat today. Take us anywhere in the
scripture that you would like. Preferably someplace where you heard
those words that I say. The light went on for you.
Something happened inside. You heard the 23rd Psalm for the
(01:56):
very first time. Or you read the red letters in
the Gospel of John and something stirred in your heart.
Usually this is what I find. It's the first thought
that comes to your mind when I ask this question.
That's the best thing to share. That's the first spark
of memory that kind of ignites in your soul. And
(02:17):
it might do the same for somebody else. And here's
what I really hope. There's somebody listening right now who
has never called us. And this invitation to not only
get on the bus, but get in the driver's seat
is going to compel you. So call me at (877) 548-3675.
And you do not have to have a seminary education
(02:39):
or be a pastor in order to answer this question.
In fact, I want to hear how people in the
pew like me answer this question. I'll explain where the
idea came from in a little bit. I had a
conversation in February with the man who challenges people to
open the Bible. But before we get to that, let
me give you an example of what I want to
(02:59):
do today. After the program on Tuesday with Ray Pritchard,
we were talking about how can God be good and
allow bad things to happen. I said, I said, Ray,
before you go, I'm doing a program on Thursday on
a Bible verse or a passage that turned the light
on for you. And then I continue, I said something
(03:19):
that and he said, wait, stop, I got it. He
was like, he didn't even have to think about it. Wait,
I got it. Here's what Ray said.
S2 (03:27):
I'd go back 56 years to the moment when, as
a teenager, at the end of a youth retreat, having
already been a member of the church for seven years,
but finally realizing I did not know the Lord, I
ran smack dab into first John chapter five, verse 13.
(03:49):
These things have I written to you who believe in
the name of Jesus Christ, that you may know that
you have eternal life. And that hit me. That hit
me like a ton of bricks. Me, I a teenager
that I could know that my sins were forgiven. I
(04:10):
could know that my destiny was secure. I could know
that I had eternal life. That verse redirected the course
of my life and pointed me to Jesus Christ. Set
me on the course that I've been on ever since then,
and I'm glad that it was true then. And I'm
glad it's true now that if you know Jesus, you
(04:32):
have eternal life now and for all eternity to come.
S1 (04:38):
And you have been able to tell others that as well, right?
S2 (04:43):
I've been doing that for I mean, that's been my
whole life since I discovered that verse. Really? That's what
that's not only the verse that God used to bring
me to The salvation, but to give me my call
into the ministry to say to people in this world
where there is so much uncertainty, would you like to know?
Would you like to know for certain, as they, you know,
(05:06):
the old time preachers would say, do you know for
sure if you died tonight? Hey, that's a good thing.
In today's uncertain world, it's a good thing to know
that if you died tonight or tomorrow, that you're going
to be with Jesus in heaven forever. That's the promise
of the gospel. And that verse first John 513 changed
(05:28):
my life.
S1 (05:30):
Know that you know that you know I have written
these things to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God, so that you may know that
you have eternal life. That's a good one to write down.
First John 513. That's Ray Pritchard. Now, how about you? (877) 548-3675. Robinson, Ohio. Robin,
(05:53):
get on the Bible bus. What do you want to
say to us today?
S3 (05:57):
Um, the second Corinthians 517 therefore, if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become new. When I
heard that scripture, I knew that I didn't have to
be the person that I had been for so long.
And I knew that that Jesus Christ could radically change
(06:17):
my life. And he has.
S1 (06:19):
Hmm. In what way? How did he change you?
S3 (06:24):
Well, I was a drug addict for many years, and
now not only in my sober, but I'm really involved
in our church, and we're going to start an addictions ministry.
So to reach people that have been through the same
thing that I've been through.
S4 (06:40):
Robin, look at what you just did.
S1 (06:42):
You you told other people, and you probably didn't wake
up today and think, I'm going to be on the radio, right?
S3 (06:49):
No, no, I've never called the radio before.
S4 (06:52):
We got you. We got you today because.
S1 (06:54):
Because the the healing, the power, the internal, uh, recreation, redemption,
renewal that happened inside of you is available to anybody.
And it sounds like you're saying, look, I was I
was long gone. I was far down the road, and
God did something for me. And he can do it
(07:15):
for you, too. Is that right?
S3 (07:17):
Yes, absolutely.
S1 (07:19):
Amen. See, I told you.
S4 (07:21):
This is going to be good.
S1 (07:21):
Friend. Uh, Robin, thanks for your call today. Again, if
you don't know where that is, we'll keep, uh, we'll
keep a record of these second Corinthians 517. Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is or she is a
new creation. The old has passed away. And see the
new has come. That's what God wants to do for you.
(07:43):
And the light bulb went on for Robin. How about you?
483675 is our number. We'll take a quick break here.
And then you just call that number. I've got three
lines open for you. I'm going to get to as
many as I can here in this hour. As we
get on the Bible bus, you tell me when the
(08:04):
light went on for you. What is the verse that
turned that light bulb on? (877) 548-3675. Bible bus is here.
S5 (08:24):
We got enough diesel in that engine to go for
a long time today.
S1 (08:29):
And I'm looking at some names on the screen here. Oh,
this is going to be good and it's going to
be encouraging for you. How would you answer that question?
The light bulb went on for me when I read this.
Or I heard this verse read, Christians in New York. Christian,
tell me why you called today.
S6 (08:47):
Yes. Um, My verse is revelations one, verse eight. I
am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,
says the Lord God Almighty. I was in Afghanistan and
we were in a pretty nasty firefight, and several hours
had gone by through this, this event. And, uh, I,
(09:14):
I was on the verge of giving up because I
didn't think I could make it through the moment. And
I looked over and next to me was a burning
Bible that had come out of this building that had
just been blown up. And, uh, there was it was
opened up to revelations, chapter one, verse eight. Wow. And
(09:36):
I read it while I was hiding or taking cover
up behind this wall. And it just made me realize
that or not realize. But I was able to. I guess,
determine that if God is real and this verse is true,
(09:58):
then I can make it through and stay alive.
S1 (10:03):
And you did.
S6 (10:05):
I did, I asked him right then and there to
take over my part and help me get through this,
because I didn't know what to do. I, I had
my training, but it was that moment where I believe
God took over and put me through.
S1 (10:24):
Somebody needed to hear that today, Christian. Somebody needed to
hear that today, because that's a really dramatic story. You know,
not everybody's story is dramatic as that. But you seeing
you being in this life or death situation and then boom,
you see this burning Bible and I am the Alpha
and the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is,
(10:45):
who was and who is to come the Almighty. That
turned the light on for you. That there's something more
than this life, right?
S6 (10:55):
Yeah, I, I thought that was the end. And I
read that verse and realized there's more than just pitiful
old me.
S1 (11:05):
Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad that you made it through that.
Thank you for your service, by the way. And, uh,
and it sounds like from that point when, when was
this was this early 2000?
S6 (11:19):
This was, uh, 2010 to.
S1 (11:22):
2010. Okay. So 15 years ago, would you say you're
a little further along in knowing who God is today
than 15 years ago?
S6 (11:34):
Uh, yeah, definitely. It was. It was an eye opener.
I had to like. I grew up in a Christian home,
and I grew up as a father. My father was
a pastor, a Southern Baptist pastor, and I just kind
of ignored it the whole time because you're forced into
church and I'm there every Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday. And it
(11:58):
kind of put me in a position to where, uh,
I was opened up to the real truth and not
just having memorized truth, I guess.
S1 (12:12):
Right. And that's why I say the lived experience. I mean,
you just that'll preach what you just talked about because
God is there. He he does care for you. He
cares for you in all of those different life situations.
And he brought you through that. God bless you, friend.
Thank you for taking the time to call today. I'm
so glad Christian got on the Bible bus today. How
(12:34):
about you tell me what scripture. Uh, we're going all
through the scriptures. We want to take a ride through
the scriptures today. And we just went to revelation. Where's
Bill going to take us from Florida? Hey, Bill, go
right ahead.
S7 (12:49):
Hi. Uh, so nine years ago, I was in church
one Sunday morning, and my wife had been on me about,
why don't you get involved in this or that? And
I said, I don't feel led to. And a guy
to my right who became a good friend said, uh,
he started talking to me about kairos, this, uh, prison ministry, uh,
(13:09):
the moniker is listen, listen, love, love. And it means
God's special time. And when he said this to me,
I heard the Lord say, uh, Matthew 2536. In my head,
I was in prison and you visited me, and I
was like, Lord, that's the scariest thing I can think of.
You don't mean it. He meant it. I got involved
(13:32):
and I've seen the Holy Spirit, the Lord work through
the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men in ways
that I never could have conceived to see. Um. So
when the Lord wants you to go, you go. And
when you go and you're in the center of his
influence and what he wants you to do, he blesses
(13:53):
the socks off you much more than you bless anyone else.
S1 (13:58):
So. So here's what I'm hearing you saying. And all
of these, uh, stories are kind of similar in that
it's not enough to see the truth. It's not enough
to see the verse. The light coming on is something
about me. I have to respond to this. I have
to act on the truth that I'm understanding. Right?
S7 (14:22):
Absolutely. When the Lord says, go, you go. And he
means it. And if you obey, he will reward you
in ways that there are no no words in language
to explain. It's it's a love that comes from him
through your heart to others and blesses you on the way.
S1 (14:43):
Yes. And that's the thing. You you think if you're
going to do this ministry, that you're the one who's
giving to the people who are in need? But what you.
I'm hearing from you. And I've heard others who've done
the same thing. What you realize is you gain as much,
if not more, than the people you're ministering to.
S7 (15:03):
Yeah, it'll change your life.
S1 (15:07):
I was I was naked and you clothed me. I
was sick and you took care of me. I was
in prison and you visited me. That's. That'll preach as well.
I'm glad you heard that verse. Thanks, Bill, for calling
in today.
S7 (15:24):
God bless you. Thank you. Sir.
S1 (15:26):
Uh, John is in Indianapolis. John, get on the Bible
bus and tell me.
S8 (15:33):
Hey. So, Chris, I'm reading a sermon on the Mount
one day, and, um, You know, Jesus is preaching probably
one of the greatest, most powerful sermons. And he talks
about blessed is the are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God. And I, I got to thinking
about it for a minute and I go, you know,
(15:53):
where's my heart at? And then I went to Psalm
51 and I said, wait a minute, we can pray
like David did. Create in me a pure heart, O God. Right.
And so I connected those two verses together, because sometimes
our heart might not be in the right place. But,
(16:13):
you know, through Jesus Christ we can get a new heart.
And so I sometimes I have to work on my heart,
you know.
S1 (16:24):
Well, there it is again. It's the response that you're
talking about. It's not like salvation is a as Ray
mentioned from first John, you know, this is the thing
that takes you from death to life. But what you're
talking about a clean heart is a continual day by day,
sometimes hour by hour or minute by minute thing. It's
(16:45):
like God searched me and know me. I don't want
to live complacent about my sin. I want you to
do the work inside of me. So when you see that,
when the light goes on. That's why I say a
lot of times here that I'm a bigger sinner now
than I was when I first became a Christian, because
(17:05):
God keeps showing me how far away from holiness I
really am, and how far away from his heart I am.
And that's it sounds bad, but it's a good thing,
isn't it?
S8 (17:18):
Well, it is, and it's like I've heard it said
that the Bible is shallow. Shallow enough for a mouse
to get a drink and deep enough for an elephant
to drown. And the closer I get, the further away
I realize I am. And it's like, do you want
to be Christ like? But that's a journey and not
a destination. I don't think we will ever be just
(17:38):
like Jesus, but we want to strive to be like
Jesus and it is a daily, a daily thing. You know.
S1 (17:47):
John, I'm glad you got on the Bible bus today
on Chris Fabry Live.
S9 (17:51):
Hey, I'm going to hop on the Bible bus. This
is Ernie Haas of Ernie Haase Signature Sound, and some
of your listeners will remember the grand old days of
the Cathedral Quartet. Chris, love your program and I love
our newfound friendship, even though we've been connected a lot
of years. Uh, just really enjoy talking to you. And
(18:11):
and so I want to share a verse that's really
meant a lot to me lately. Um. My life first
let me go back is first Peter five, six and seven.
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he
will exalt you in due time, casting all your cares
upon him because he cares for you. I've clung to
that verse ah, since high school. It's Still one of
(18:35):
my favorite verses, but I've been doing a deep dive
in Ecclesiastes, and I've had some time to relax. And
I'm on a little sabbatical here, and I always have
to struggle with working too much. And the Bible has
something to say about that. And I love the fact
that the Bible gives you wisdom, and it doesn't tell
(18:57):
you what two plus two equals four. It just gives
you the wisdom to know what will help you in life.
And I want to read from Ecclesiastes four. I'm gonna
start there at four, verse five, chapter four, verse five
and six. The first part of the verse is to
lazy people. The second half is to workaholics like me.
(19:17):
Both are not balanced. The fool folds his hand and
eats his own flesh. Better is a handful of quietness
than two hands full of toil and striving after the wind.
The balance is finding. You've got to work to do.
(19:38):
God's got a calling for you. God's got a thing
for all of us to do and gifted us all.
And so we find that. Don't fold your hands. Don't
sit back and be cynical. But then don't be like me.
At times when you just fill up both hands with busyness.
And as the author of Ecclesiastes says, you're striving, you're
(19:59):
chasing the wind and everything feels like vanity. Better. Here
it is again. Ecclesiastes four six. This is the verse
better a handful of quietness than two hands full of
toil and striving after the wind. The word of the Lord.
May it be a blessing to all those who hear.
S1 (20:20):
Thank you Ernie, I appreciate that. If you get a
chance to see Ernie, they're going to go out on
the on the road here soon. Go do it. Ernie
Haase signature sound that speaks to me. How about you?
Are you one of those strivers? Are you one of
those people on the treadmill? And it's just got to
keep going, going, going, going, going. In order for you
to feel worthy or worthwhile because it's what you do
(20:43):
for God that's important. Better a handful with rest. That's
what my version says with quietness, than two handfuls with
effort and a pursuit of the wind that will calm
you down and turn the light on for you, even
in the back of the bus. So if you're just
(21:03):
joining us, this is Chris Fabry live. We're asking you
to tell us the verse of Scripture, or the passage
that turned the light on for you last night in
the middle of the night, or 50 years ago, or
anywhere in between or 60 years? You go back as
far as you want. (877) 548-3675. Gail is on the line. Gail,
(21:25):
get on the bus and tell me what's rolling around
your soul.
S10 (21:30):
Thank you very much. This is this is fun listening
to everybody. And yes, mine was 30 years ago when
I became a new believer. And the Bible verse, when
I started reading the Bible, because I had never been
taught that before. And the verse that popped out to
me was Philippians 413, I can do all things with
Christ who gives me the strength. I never really resonated
(21:51):
totally with that until a couple years later, I was
diagnosed with lung cancer and I was like, oh my goodness, right?
I had no idea. They thought I was going to die, whatever.
But the Lord had another plan, and I wore that
verse out of the Bible. And then a couple years
after that, breast cancer, uh, I had breast cancer. And
I'm like, Lord, okay, here we go again. I can't
(22:12):
do this without you. So, you know, Philippians 413, I
just it's I mean, it's highlighted everywhere in my house. So, um,
and uh, by that was what, I don't know, 20
or 30 years ago. And by the grace of God,
I'm still here, and now I'm a law enforcement chaplain.
So I'm.
S1 (22:28):
Really.
S10 (22:29):
Grateful that yes, the Lord is with me and I
can do all things only because of him. So who
knew I would be a law enforcement chaplain? Which I
use that verse a lot still.
S1 (22:41):
You know the verse that I. And I'll insert myself
in here because you mentioned Philippians and that is just
such a rich book. So 413 I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me is kind of a
parallel to chapter one, verse six that says, I am
sure of this, that he who started a good work
(23:01):
in you will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus. So the he wasn't done with you.
The though cancer reared its ugly head. He wasn't done
with you and he's still not done with you. And
you're going to keep on going until he is right.
S10 (23:17):
Amen. Absolutely. Amen. It's been so fun to watch all this. Uh,
you know how his word is very true. If we
open it up and continue to stay close and read
it And, um. Yeah. Just walk it out and see
where he takes you. I had no idea. As a nurse,
that I would end up in law enforcement years later. And, yeah,
(23:37):
I'm still here, and I'm grateful. So thank you, Lord.
S1 (23:40):
What is the what is the most encouraging that has
happened to you as a law enforcement chaplain? Is there
something that pops into your head?
S10 (23:50):
Oh, it's just being here to support, to listen and
support my officers and their families. That has just been
amazing because they walk through some very difficult stuff. And, um,
for them or me to know that we're here. I'm
here for them. They're here for me. They protect us
and I protect them. I'm a representative representation of God
(24:12):
to them. And, um. And I'm grateful. I'm very, very
grateful for all of the the things that the men
and women in law enforcement do for us. So, yeah,
we help each other.
S1 (24:23):
Same here, same here. Oh, I'm so glad you and
I knew. I put at the very top of my
page here today, Gale. Have fun with this. Let's have
some fun with this, and let's see how deep we
can go in the changes that God makes in us
because of His word. Uh, so thank you for jumping
(24:43):
on the Bible bus today. Okay.
S10 (24:45):
Yes, absolutely. Thank you for having me. God bless you guys.
S1 (24:49):
Well, we have more callers. I don't have time to
be fair to the next one, but I want to
tell you the the way that I got this idea
was back in February. We had opened the Bibles, Pastor
Colin Smith on the program and the topic that day.
This was that the National Religious Broadcasters, the topic that
day was hearing the voice of God. And in the
(25:10):
middle of that conversation, he mentioned the resource that we're
sending anybody who supports the the program this month, we
end today. This is the last day of the month,
the final day for our offer of drive thru the Bible,
and I want you to hear how he frames this
(25:31):
exciting project when we come back from a break. Um,
so this Colin Smith drive through the Bible is our
thank you. This month, if you want to go to
the website and find out more about it, you can
do that. Today's the last day though. Go to Chris. Chris.
Moore straight ahead. Thank you for your support in July.
(26:05):
We can't do what we do here at the back
fence without you calling getting involved in the program. And
then some of you actually go the extra mile and
give a gift. And this month we have been giving
away Drive Through the Bible, a 30 day journey by
Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible broadcast Podcast. And
as I mentioned just before the break, we had him
(26:27):
on in February and he mentioned this is less than
a minute, but I want you to hear how he
kind of framed what this drive thru the Bible is
all about.
S11 (26:37):
We're actually engaged in a three part project fly through
the Bible, drive through the Bible, and by the end
of the year, God willing, we'll have hike through the Bible.
And the idea is fairly obviously that there will be
journeys through the entire Bible story at different levels and
therefore appropriate for different audiences. Um, but all with the
(26:58):
one central aim that understanding the big picture of the
Bible story is critical for us, um, in terms of
sharing the gospel, in terms of growing in our knowledge
of Christ and in terms of developing Christian leadership all
the time. I'm asking the question of people, who is
there in your life, who needs to know the God
(27:20):
of the Bible and just might be willing to open
the Bible with you if you ask them.
S1 (27:25):
Do you hear that question? That's why I'm excited that
we're sending this book to anyone who supports us, because
it's going to help you in your journey through the
Bible to get the big picture. So the fly through
the Bible is like it's a shorter book and it's
just a bird's eye view. Drive through the Bible is
just like taking the interstates. So you get down on
(27:46):
the ground, you see how everything connects. The next book
that comes out is going to be like walking the
dusty trails of it. But I'd love for you to
get this and then grow in your faith yourself and
be able to live it out from the heart. Drive
through the Bible. That's why we're getting on the Bible
bus today. Get the big picture and give that picture
(28:08):
away to those you care about. So give a gift
of any size. We'll send it to you. 86695 Faberry
is the number 2279 or go to Chris Fabriclive. Scroll
down on the home page. You'll see right there how
you can support us. Who is there in your life?
Who needs to know the God of the Bible and
(28:30):
just might be willing to open the Bible with you
if you asked them? This is the tool that will
help you drive through the Bible. Today's the last day.
We're almost to our goal. Would you help us? 86695
Faberry or go to Chris Fabry live?
S5 (28:50):
We're still on the bus. Grab the steering wheel.
S1 (28:54):
Mark in.
S5 (28:55):
Illinois.
S1 (28:56):
And tell me why you called today.
S7 (29:00):
Well, I want to.
S12 (29:01):
Mention that the apostle James, who wrote this verse was
skeptical of Jesus. He was his brother, and he lived
in the same house with him, and he did not
initially accept him as Messiah. So this is who is
writing this. And the second thing is that often when
we're driven to ask God for wisdom. We deserve a scolding.
(29:22):
And yet, here's what the verse promises. If any of
you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the
giving God who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly without
reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given to him.
Now another version says that God will give us wisdom
(29:44):
without reprimand. And I came from an abusive and narcissistic father.
So the pleasant byproduct of this is that whenever God
does give me wisdom, it's always gentle and encouraging and
humorously creative. And so he he always ends up treating
(30:06):
me better than I expect him to. And so when
I get his wisdom, I always go, oh, thank you God.
S1 (30:13):
Yes. Well, and that whole idea.
S12 (30:16):
Cited.
S1 (30:17):
You have to fight the idea that God is tight
fisted and that he. If you've grown up in the
way that you did, you know that he's tight fisted.
He doesn't want you. He doesn't have you. He's narcissistic.
He only thinks about himself. You know, he's for his
own glory. That's all he can think about. He doesn't
care about me. But when you read this.
S12 (30:36):
Then it's going to have an agenda.
S1 (30:38):
Yes. Or he's going to give me something that he
says he thinks is good. And I don't, you know,
he's going to send me to some foreign country I
don't want to go to. But if that is true,
if anyone lacks wisdom when you ask of God, he
will give it to you generously and ungrudgingly and and
he will give it to you that way. That is
(30:59):
a comfort, isn't it?
S12 (31:01):
Oh, yes, and that's the amplified version. And the New
English Testament says without reprimand. Boy, that is precious. Yes,
because they often deserve, as I say, we often deserve
a reprimand when we're asking for wisdom. And yet and
yet God says, oh, no, my child, just, just, just
(31:21):
ask and you shall receive.
S1 (31:24):
Yes. Do you know there's a corollary to this on
our Facebook page? Because I asked the same question. And
if you're listening on the podcast, you know, sometime when
we're not live, go to the Facebook page and answer
that question. Because Frances said this, I wanted to know God.
I had been in a women's Bible study for 16 years,
(31:44):
and my fifth or sixth time reading the whole Bible. Okay.
So she's she's been around the Bible and Bible studies
and people who know a lot about the Bible for
a long time. Then I read meaning the light came
on Exodus 34, verses six and seven, and I'll read
(32:04):
that for you. Uh, start with five. The Lord came
down in a cloud, stood with him, Moses there, and
proclaimed his name the Lord, the Lord passed in front
of him and proclaimed, the Lord. The Lord is a
compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in
(32:26):
faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations,
forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. So if you get the
idea that God is this tight fisted God, that's not
going to give to you, listen to what Mark said
(32:46):
from the book of James, and listen to what Francis
said in the Old Testament. This is who God says
he is, and he shows it again and again. In fact,
that's one way you can read the Bible. Okay, God,
show me your goodness. Here in the book of Exodus
in Leviticus. You know, it's hard sometimes in the Old
Testament because it feels like he's a he's full of
(33:07):
wrath and he's full of judgment. Well, it's a good
thing that he's, uh, he's full of justice and judgment, right?
Because he's holy and we are not. But read those
verses from Exodus 34 six and seven, and you'll get
a big view of who God really is. Uh, Maureen
(33:27):
is calling from Florida. It says, Maureen, you're calling. You're
getting on the Bible bus for the very first time.
Is that right?
S13 (33:34):
That is correct. Good evening. Afternoon.
S5 (33:38):
So glad.
S1 (33:39):
All right. Tell me the scripture that turned the light
on for you.
S13 (33:43):
So it is Isaiah 61, verse three. And it it
does say to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
(34:04):
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
But the part that really hit home for me was
where it mentioned the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness. So I have always been a happy person,
always singing songs. I love praising God, love doing worship songs, choruses,
(34:29):
you name it. I enjoy doing them all. And, um,
I'm like I said, I'm a happy person. But there
are times when the best of us have moments that
come to cloud that joy, or try to rob us
of that joy or that peace, that happiness. And I
found that whenever it would come on me, it would
(34:50):
not stay. Mainly because as soon as I would feel
it coming on, I would just start singing a song
and instantly that spirit. Well, I didn't know then that
it was a spirit, but that feeling would leave and
I would just go back to being marine happy, singing,
(35:10):
Joyful Self, but then reading that scripture one day and
saw where it says the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness. It truly impacts me where I said,
so that's what this is. So while I have always
enjoyed being, you know, just praising and worshiping and singing
(35:35):
songs and feeling that feeling of sadness leave, I realized
that it really wasn't Maureen with her happy self, but
the Lord did clothe me. He put it on me,
that garment of praise for that spirit of heaviness, and
it cannot sit on me at all. And well.
S5 (35:57):
That's something, Maureen, here's the thing.
S1 (35:59):
If there's something that. Because I'm thinking of it immediately,
I thought of Colossians three, you know, take off this.
Paul writes, take off this and put on this. So
you have the option to put that it's given by God,
but you have to actively put it on. You have
to do the activity of the praise and the worship
(36:20):
for him. So there's a response. There's both. And it's like,
this is a gift of God that we pick up
and we exercise so that it changes us from the
inside out. Right.
S13 (36:32):
Truly, truly. So.
S1 (36:34):
Look at that. Look at you, Maureen. You got on
the Bible bus and you just drove us. Drove us
in the good direction.
S13 (36:40):
Yes. Yes.
S1 (36:42):
God bless you, friend.
S13 (36:44):
Praise.
S1 (36:44):
You keep singing. And you call us back again as we, uh,
take a quick break here and we'll come back with
more of your calls. And a couple of friends who
stopped by. Actually, one of them who stopped by this week.
I want you to hear what Sheridan had to say
yesterday when we come back. This is Chris Fabry live
on Moody Radio. Again. Drive through the Bible is our.
(37:06):
Thank you. Find out more.
S14 (37:07):
Chris Okay, so I'm jumping into the Bible bus. I
have got my foot on the accelerator. And here's where
I'm taking you. I'm taking you to Ephesians five, verses
one and two. Follow God's example as dearly loved children
(37:31):
and walk in the way of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering to God. Those verses hit me at a very,
very particular time in life. It would have been, my goodness,
maybe about ten years ago now. And I had a
kind of a favorite Bible verse before that, and these
ones just pushed them out of the way because I
(37:53):
was wrestling with that big question of who am I?
I was wrestling with a big question of what should
I be doing with my life at the moment? And
you know what? It not only answered those questions, those
big human questions, it has continued to guide me pretty
much every single day. Follow God's example. That's all about
developing character and in context. It's all about kindness and
compassion and, you know, being slow to anger. It's basically
(38:16):
a kind of a paraphrase of God's own character as
dearly loved children. That's my essential identity before I'm a writer, speaker,
broadcaster or founder of a nonprofit friendship lab. I am
a dearly loved child of God and walk in the
way of love. That's my mission. Whatever I do today,
that is what I'm called to do, whether it be
through radio, whether it be through writing something, or, more importantly,
(38:40):
helping somebody in the street who's just fallen over, either
literally or metaphorically, follow God's example as dearly loved children
and walk in the way of love that answers some
of the biggest questions of humanity.
S1 (38:52):
Bingo! Do you see? Do you see what happens when
we start talking about this from our own perspectives? What
the Bible does it call us to life? Call us to, uh,
Of to not only righteous living. You know, we put
a lot of emphasis on that, but receiving the grace
(39:12):
of God. Um, and that's where, uh, Ryan, I want
to play this by trivia next, because that's where I
want to go. I want to make sure we get
this in before the end of the program. Trillia Newbell
hosts living by Faith on Saturday mornings. If you're not listening,
you got to listen on Saturday mornings on Moody Radio.
Here's what she wanted to say.
S15 (39:31):
One of the texts, the scriptures, that just really has
always meant so much to me. And and in many ways,
God turned on the lights for me when I read
this was Ephesians two eight through ten. For by grace
you have been saved through faith, and this is not
(39:51):
your own doing. It is the gift of God, not
a result of works, so that no 1st May boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them, and to understand and know that the gospel
is free, that God freely gives. This gift of salvation
(40:12):
is remarkable to me and I. I had spent my
whole life earning, earning, earning, earning. But to know that
with God it is a free gift. I'm in awe
of it. Even today and before the foundation of the world,
he had good works for me and not just me.
For every one of you who are listening is amazing.
(40:34):
God is so kind to think of us. So I,
I just love the whole book of Ephesians, but Ephesians two,
that whole chapter, but specifically those verses mean so much
to me.
S1 (40:44):
Same here Julia. And again, listening. Listen to living by
Faith with truly a new bell on Saturday mornings here
on Moody Radio. But that whole idea of God has
prepared in advance even today's conversation with you calling in here,
God prepared this in advance for you to walk in.
(41:05):
And the question is, are we going to be obedient? Well, Donna,
was she called me from Nashville. Donna, tell me where
you want to take us in the Bible bus.
S16 (41:14):
Uh, I started to memorize passages in the Bible, so
I memorized Proverbs three, and I found out that my
husband had memorized it. Two before that, my mom had
had me memorize Psalm one. But then I started thinking
the the word says, keep it in your heart. So
then I just started memorizing other passages in the Bible.
(41:36):
I memorized Psalms 101, 21, and first Corinthians, so I
always have His Word in my heart. Most recently, I
memorized passages from Psalm 17 about his commands, his precepts,
his ordinances, and at the end of that it says,
by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there
(41:59):
is great reward, and it is so true. God's been
good to me all my life. I recently lost my husband,
and the kind of comfort that God gives is amazing
to me. And he's only been gone since January 1st.
But people often say, well, you don't act like someone
who lost your husband. It's because his word stays in
(42:20):
my heart and he's always with me.
S1 (42:24):
So there is great comfort there. It's not that you
don't grieve. I mean, you're you're grieving, but you know
you're going to see him again, right?
S16 (42:33):
Yes, absolutely. And then, uh, because of the life that
we had together, we were married for 56 years. And
so we talked about everything, including the other side. So
I know that he's at peace and I'll see him again.
It's the most wonderful feeling.
S1 (42:51):
Well, thank you for taking that romp through Proverbs and
the Psalms and the other scriptures that you mentioned there.
His word is a lamp to my feet and a
light for my path. And I think you'd agree with
me on this, Donna. That it's. You know, I want
God to speak to me. I want God to tell
me exactly what to do, when to do it, and
how long and all that. But he he seems to
(43:15):
want me to exercise my faith. And he gives me
enough light for my day and enough wisdom for the
next step. Not ten steps down the road or ten
years down the road, but for the next step. And
that's that's a grace. That's a his loving kindness, isn't it?
S16 (43:33):
Absolutely, absolutely. And you can't see it. And some days
you think, oh, I'm going to do this or I'm
going to do that. He shows you, he sets your
schedule for you, and your schedule gives you comfort and
helps you to move forward every single time.
S1 (43:50):
The the last Psalm that you mentioned was Psalm 17.
Is that right?
S17 (43:54):
Yes, yes.
S1 (43:55):
All right. Because I'm writing all these down. There's Donna
on the bus. We've got enough time to get to
Cindy in Florida. Cindy, the door is open for you.
Take us to someplace in the Bible.
S18 (44:06):
Well, I would like to take you to John chapter nine,
verse three. It's where Jesus heals the man born blind.
And as the disciples passed the blind man by, he
asked Jesus. They asked Jesus, who sinned, his parents or
this man, that he was born blind? And Jesus's response
has provided much healing through the course of the wilderness.
(44:31):
The Lord has allowed me to struggle and walk through,
and his answer was, neither this man nor his parents sinned,
that he was born blind, but that the work of
God might be displayed in his life.
S1 (44:44):
Wow. And what does that what does that turn the
light on for you today?
S18 (44:49):
Well, for me, it turns on the light of healing
because I was raised in a spiritual environment Where if
there wasn't enough faith, bad things happened. It was a
very works oriented. And as I've walked through cancer financial struggles,
the Lord has provided the perspective of the fact that
(45:09):
he is at work doing something that I can't fathom.
S17 (45:14):
Yes.
S1 (45:15):
And you can trust him. You can put your full
faith and hope and trust in what he is doing
in your life, right?
S18 (45:24):
Absolutely, absolutely.
S1 (45:26):
Cindy, thanks for being the last on the bus today.
God bless you, friend. And that goes for the salvation
story as well. You know, if I believe that what
what it means to be a Christian is I abandon
my ability and I see myself as not able to
do what only God can do. So I'm putting my
(45:49):
full faith, my full trust, my full hope in what
he accomplished for me on the cross, and he didn't
stay on the cross and he didn't stay in the tomb.
He rose again to new life, just like Lazarus did,
you know? Was raised to new life. Lazarus. Lazarus died again.
(46:09):
Jesus never died again. And he wants to give you
that eternal life. And if you go to Chris Fabry, archive.org,
we've got at the top and the bottom you can
see how to know Christ or knowing Christ. If you've
never placed your faith fully in what he did for you,
I encourage you to do that and I also encourage
you if you can. We've got a few more copies
(46:31):
of Drive Through the Bible by Colin Smith. I'd love
to send you a copy. Just go to Chris. Thanks
for your support in July and come on back tomorrow
for Chris Fabry Live, a production of Moody Radio, a
ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
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