December 21, 2025 • 28 mins
Gifts For A King
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Kfi A six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Giving to give to someone else is at the heart
of human kindness, and when it's done right, when it's
done in the right spirit, it is an absolute reflection
of the spirit of God, the ultimate giver. Wikipedia defines
(00:29):
gift as the transfer of something without the expectation of
receiving something in return. The hustle and bustle of the
holiday is in full swing, and I bet you your
right smack dab in the middle of it as well.
That's your focus. That's where a lot of your attention
(00:50):
is going to. Knowing that the day is coming soon.
Stores are filled up with people just like you, trying
to find that perfect gift for all the friends and
family in their lives. Unfortunately, people can often get so
(01:10):
concerned with what others might think of what they're giving
they forget to focus on the thought and meaning behind it.
Many times on this very show, you've heard me say
that the purpose or spirit of the law is more
important than the law it self. Likewise, the purpose or
(01:30):
spirit of the gift should be more important than the
gift itself. You've heard it said a bunch of times, right.
You can finish the sentence. It's the thought that counts,
and this is absolutely true when you're giving a gift.
(01:53):
The thought is that person means to you why you
wanted to give them a gift in a first place? Right,
You're not going around giving gifts to everyone body just
to give them a gift. There are people in your
life that mean something to you, people that have moved
(02:15):
you in some way, and that's what motivates you to
want to give them something. And gifts don't have to
be expensive, they have to be thoughtful.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Giving is not.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
About yielding to the pressure of the holidays, and I
know you feel them so so much pressure goes with
the holidays, but it's not about giving in to that pressure.
It's about about using the holidays as a reminder to
(02:49):
give to those who have touched your life in positive ways.
You know, the people that mean something to you, the
people that have affected your life in some way or another. Gifts,
these gifts that you're giving during the holidays, they let
people you care about know how you feel about them,
(03:10):
that you're thinking of them. And your gifts should be
about who this person is to you and to show
them you really know who they are. As a person.
That's a very powerful thing. The gifts you bring, the
gifts you give to someone should point to that thought,
(03:33):
that thoughtfulness, and who you know them to be. Not
just hey, I got you something because you're a name
on my list of many names. It's that you are
a name of someone who means something to me, and
I wanted you to be on this list of a
(03:56):
small group of people, friends, family, who I believe are
very important, who are special, and who have touched my life.
So I have you on this list, and this list
is a reminder of those people that have come in
and out of my life, that are in my life now,
(04:17):
that are important, that are meaningful. And in doing that,
you want to give something that says, hey, I know
who you are, or I listen when you talk and
I hear the things that you seem to like or
enjoy or participant in, and that I've been attentive to
(04:37):
you in your life. Isn't that what means something more
than someone just goes out and spends money to spend
the money. For example, and there's a great example in scripture.
The Magi came to Bethlehem and brought gifts to me
that were meaningful. They were significant to who I was
(05:00):
and who I am. And these gifts have often been
overlooked as zoe. Well, they were just, you know, some gifts.
This is kind of what people brought two thousand years ago.
But it's more than that. Did a closer look at
these gifts, being attentive to what scripture says, shows very
(05:24):
specific gifts chosen for very specific reasons. So what were
those gifts?
Speaker 3 (05:32):
You know them?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
There was gold, This was to show my royalty the
newborn king, frankincense, This pointed to my deity as the
Christ and mir What might seem like a and rightly so,
(05:55):
a strange gift for a newborn child. I wouldn't suggest
if you're invited to any any you know, baby showers
or parties for young children, that you bring mur I
don't know that anybody will get at It's a seemingly
strange gift for a newborn child. But murr was often
used for embalming, and this represents the importance of my
(06:19):
death and resurrection to come. So if you look at
these gifts, the goal, the frankensnse and murr, they actually
had very specific and important meaning and it was the
magized way of showing we're here because we know who
you are. Sadly, nowadays, there's so much stress that comes
(06:45):
when people get caught up with the whole idea of
giving and you put extra pressure on yourself as to
what you know, who you need to get things for,
and what you need to get them and what the
price point is that you need to do. It's got
to be this much for this type of person, much
for that type of person. Where it should really come
from a place of freedom and caring. It should come
(07:07):
from a connection or a way of nodding to the
abilities or the strengths of someone or the way they've
helped you, or whoever they are, whatever they've done, and
in doing that, that's when you hit the chord and
you show people that you really care, no doubt about it.
(07:30):
God teaches that giving should always be a joy, whether
you're giving to God, whether you're giving to the Church,
whether you're giving to family or friends. The best way
to give is to give in that state of joy,
and that if you're not there, if you're not in
that place, that freedom of giving, that place of a
(07:55):
joyous heart, a joy filled heart when you give, and
it's not worth doing. It's like an exchange of money
between people. You give them something worth a little money,
they give you something worth little money, and you might
as well have both kepture little bits of money. The
(08:16):
true gift is to show that insight from one person
to another, that you know who they are, or that
you have been attentive to the things that they do,
things that they say, things that they seem to react
to or enjoy. Tewod Corinthians nine seven says each man
(08:39):
should give what he has decided in his heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
And that doesn't mean just to the Church. That verse
can be seen to as a universal cheerful giver. To
(09:00):
be in a place of real joy when you're giving
to someone else. And what a neat thing, What a
neat way of saying, I see you, I know who
you are, I know what you like. I've noticed how
you react to whatever it might be. And in that
process of seeing you and knowing you, I've grown to
(09:24):
appreciate you. And here's a little gift. Here's something, a package,
something that I picked out that made me think of you,
so that whenever you see it, you know that you
are loved and you are appreciated. So giving it's really
(09:48):
at the center of human kindness. If you don't have
the desire to give, that points to a deficit in
who you are. If you don't enjoy giving and being
that type of giver, that says a lot about you,
seeing as God is the ultimate giver. You're created in
(10:09):
the image of God. Your desire should be to want
to give. And Christmas and I realized that you go
from zero to sixty that might even surprise you. You're going,
oh my goodness, it's Sunday and we're that close.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, But.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
The pressure should not be about the gift itself. It
shouldn't be about oh, I need to spend this amount
of money or I need to do whatever it is.
Because the stores are already filled with people that are crazed,
that are running around just trying to just put a
line through the name on their list. And I don't
(10:49):
want you to be that. I don't want you just
to go down to check off people. You want to
be in that state of thoughtfulness. It is true that
it's the thought that counts. And if you're not in
that place, If you're not thinking about the individual and
why you want to give what you want to give
to them, then you miss the point we talked about
(11:13):
in scripture. It talks about the magi coming, Well, they
brought me specific gifts because that showed that they knew
who I was. Gold frankensns and mer talks about my royalty,
my deity, and my death and resurrection. But with all
the stress going on and getting caught up in those
types of things, you forget that God calls you in
(11:35):
Second Corinthians nine seven to give with a cheerful heart,
says God loves a cheerful giver. That's if you're giving
money to the church. That's if you're giving and donating.
That's if you're giving a gift of family and friends
any giving and I realize that receiving a physical box
(11:57):
with a gift inside is exciting. Are the best gift
is a gift of your time during the holidays. So
if you don't have money, that's okay. There are no
other commodities in life like this because you can't make
more time. You just can't, So slow down this holiday season.
Give your family and friends the gift of your time.
(12:19):
Holidays or Holy days as they were once known, are
supposed to be for relaxation, bonding with your family and God,
and focusing on your beliefs. So during this holiday season,
be the giver who's sincere spontaneous and who willingly and
joyfully gives. It's not about what the gift is, It's
(12:41):
about why you're giving it. Reees, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show. Hi, rees Hi, I am well, how are you?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Good things? So I guess I'll just start off by
saying the other night I found myself praying for the
well being and goodness of my family, and then I
started to have some doubts as I read some Bible scripture.
Result play what I read, Mark eleven twenty four. Therefore,
I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that
(13:17):
you have received it, and it will be yours Luke
eleven nine. And I tell you, ask and it will
be given to you. Seek and you will find, knock
and it will be open to you. And if the
Bible should tell us that whatever we pray for we
shall receive it, why does this not always happen?
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Well?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Because, for one, you're taking them out of context. If
you read in the entirety. There you'll see as the
qualifier that happens every single time Reese is that it
if you're praying along with God's will. So imagine it
this way. If you take any instructions, any instruction manual,
and you're taking pieces out and you don't read it
(13:58):
in its entirety, you end up putting the wrong piece
in the wrong place, and it doesn't end up being
what you want it to be. Those scriptures are often
used by health and wealth gospel types TV preachers that
want people to believe that it's kind of like a
magic lamp, and if you rub the lamp the proper way,
that you're going to get everything you want. And those
(14:20):
verses out of context may sound that way, but if
you read them in their entirety, not just those verses,
it talks about the will of God, and the will
of God enters into that and becomes very very important.
As a matter of fact, something in scripture called hermeneutics
is the harmony of the entirety of scripture race. So,
for instance, if you go to the ultimate prayer, that
(14:43):
prayer and I say this just because ultimate in the
sense that people recall it, not that it's a better
prayer than anything else. But really it's kind of a
structured breakdown of how to pray race. And this is
in Matthew six, and you may know it as the
Lord's Prayer, verse nine. It says, pray then this way,
so you can see that it's an example of how
(15:04):
to pray. It's not hey, repeat this prayer over and
over like a mantra. It's simply saying, here's a way
of praying, and I'll break it down for you. Pray
then in this way, our Father, who art in heaven,
helloed be thy name, Thy Kingdom, Come, Thy will be
done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us
(15:25):
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not
lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Now,
if you break down this prayer, it's interesting how it
(15:47):
starts as our Father, who art in Heaven, Hello be
thy name. The first part of the prayer is focusing
on who God is, Thy Kingdom, Come, Thy will be done.
We look forward to heaven, but ultimately Thy will be done.
So before any petitions of any kind, any requests of
(16:12):
the of the prayer to God. It starts with Thy
will be done. Nothing else matters. Prayer is there to
teach you the will of God, not for you to
teach God your will. And a lot of people confuse
that and they read things like Mark eleven twenty four
(16:33):
and Luke eleven nine and they think, well, it's just
this verruk assault from Willie Wonka and the Chilcolate factory
concept of I want it and I want it now, daddy,
And that's not what prayer is. It all is centered
on God's will. Imagine it this way. When you go
to the grocery store and you see the children with
their parents, and the children are asking every aisle, going
(16:57):
up and down the aisle, pointing at what they want.
I want this sugar cereal, I want that snack, I
want these chips, I want that candy bar. The parent
is there to guide them to recenter and reguide them
to understand what they really need. No, honey, we're gonna
(17:22):
get these foods because they're good for you. And prayer
is similar. Just like the child, you may ask for
everything and even things that you think are good and
that will be helpful, the health of someone, whatever it
might be more money, whatever it might be, But if
God sees different in the bigger plan, it won't won't
(17:43):
come to be because you prayed it. And going through
the entirety of those scriptures, you will see that that's
really what it comes down to. It comes down to
the will of God, not the demand or the will
of man, terry. Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Hello, hi there. I was wondering what does the Bible
say about cremation versus burial?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Not much, really nothing. There are different groups of thought. Obviously,
a Jewish brothers and sisters don't believe in cremation as
a viable way to preserve or take care of the
body at the end of life. However, Christians, there's really
(18:36):
nothing that puts the you know, lands them on one
side or the other. There are some that talk about
Corinthians fifteen thirty five, thirty five through fifty eight, and
first Thessalonians for sixteen talking about God resurrecting the bodies
and reuniting them with the soul spirit, and people get concerned.
Some Christians go, well, that concerns me. How is he
(18:58):
gonna now listen to this question, how is God going
to resurrect a cremated body. Let me let me state
that again. How is God going to resurrect it a
cremated body? He thinks God's going Oh great, No, no,
they burned it all up. I got nothing to work with.
(19:18):
It's all ashes now, nothing to work with. It's exactly
And see what people don't understand is that. And this
is not to be crass or graphic, but to understand
the beauty and the mechanics of the human body is
important as well. And the human body through through cremation
(19:40):
really is just speeding up the process that's going to
happen natural, naturally due to oxidation and the like as well,
and other things that aren't so pleasant to think about.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
But people who have been had their ashes, half of
them someplace, and then a thousand miles away of them
spread over there, and not.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
A problem for God. Okay, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
What about your pets?
Speaker 2 (20:08):
What about them? As far as being cremated, the same
animals are not. They don't have souls in the same way,
in the same sense as a human being. Otherwise I
would have had to have come in the shape of
humans and come in the shape of animals. There are
differences there, but as far as cremation, I think that's
a lovely way to dispose of the physical part of
(20:31):
your animal, and either to display them in an urn
the same way or those can be nice momentos for
people that hold on or memories. Not all people like that,
But as far as the theological ramifications of those things,
no worries. There's a God created man from the dirt
(20:57):
in the ground, and there's there's nothing to say that
God's going to have a problem. This is one of
those very human type things where humans get really wrapped
up in the physical body, when the physical body really
is a vessel, it's a vehicle, it's your car for
your soul, and really it has nothing. It's it's that
(21:17):
you get so wrapped up in the personality of somebody,
in their physicalness, and you assume that their physicalness is
their personality and it's not. So when the physicalness is
gone and that physical shell is in the ground, you
still like to think, well, it's in the ground intact,
but it's not. It starts to decompose immediately, and through
(21:40):
that decomposition will eventually become dust. So to sit there
and go, well, don't do it. That's really that's where
social norms and things like that get kind of tied
into things and and they get kind of lost in
(22:02):
it and things like that. Elias, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Hey, good morning. I just I have I have a question.
I have trouble getting ruded into the world of God.
Sometimes I go to church and I feel all these
emotions and I feel happy. And other times I go
to church and I feel like I'm wasting my time.
And I don't know how to explain it. It's just
a weird feeling.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Well, it's bound to happen. It's depending. You could be
in different places, and you know, mentally, you can have
things on your mind. It could be a lot of
different things. What are you looking to get out of church?
Speaker 4 (22:43):
I just want to I just want to know about God.
I want to know about his word, and I want
to live by the Bible. I want to I want
to be happy.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Okay, And you feel that when a preacher is talking
about God, you're not really listening or what's the problem.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
I don't know. Sometimes I feel like you're stending a
good message. Sometimes I feel like the message is not
coming through, and and I don't know if it's just
temptation or the flesh that that drives me away from
from the world of God.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Well, it's hard, and even to read it on your
own or to try and consume scripture can be difficult. Sometimes.
I don't want you to to beat yourself up, whether
you are hearing a preacher talk about it or you're
reading it yourself. It's not like it's a super easy
book to read.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
So, yeah, exactly exactly when I started to read it,
I feel like I'm not grasping anything, and I don't
know what would you recommend me how to start reading that?
What verses or what chapters or what books.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Well, there's some verses in chapters I can give you,
But I'm going to give you a recommendation, and it's
he's got one of these himself, He's given one to
his wife, he gives them to friends. Uh, do you
know what a graphic novel is. It's like, it's kind
of like a book, but it's got a little deeper
(24:03):
story than just Superman Saves the Earth. Well, the graphic
novel is a style of novel that that really uses
pictures as well as words to move the story along
and there is one called the Picture Bible, and often
it's given to kids. But I will tell you it's
(24:24):
it's not a kid's book. It's no more a kid's
book than the Bible is a kid's book. And it
the pictures kind of help. Here's the thing. Everybody learns
at their own, their own pace, and they learn differently.
My producer, Neil, he's a he's an artist. He likes
to draw, he likes shape, so he tends to just
reading empty words. It doesn't always work for him. Sometimes
(24:45):
if he sees visuals that go along with it, it
embeds it in his memory. So maybe maybe if you
went and you found yourself, you can go on Amazon
or a local bookstore should have it. It's called the
Picture Bible, and it's not word for words. I mean,
it's not a study Bible per se. It's just to
give you an idea of what took place, and then
(25:06):
you can read along or be when you're at church
you can have a better idea who everybody is or
all those things, so you don't get lost. Uh is
get it? Just get a picture Bible and read through
that at night, and it's like reading a big comic book.
But it gives you an idea of the people that
played in the timelines and the things that took place
(25:27):
during scripture.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Okay, sounds good, so I'm good. And I also had
another quick question. I don't know if I could ask
you real quick sure? It is it bad that when
I when I look for God is when I needed
the moles and I'm going through struggles and then when
everything goes back to play like normal, I started arriving
away from God like it kills me.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Like it's just well, Elias, I don't want you to
I don't want you to be a from God just
when times are good. So that's not a great thing.
But but does it Is it some great, big thing
that separates you from God? No, most people reach out
to God when they need something. It doesn't mean you
(26:12):
love your parents anymore when you reach out to them
when you need something. It just is a it's it's
a push. I do encourage you through reading and through
spending some time or drawing or doing anything. It doesn't
have to be just being in church or just reading scripture,
but there are anything that you do, just remember you
do it for God. And that's an easier way to
(26:35):
kind of allow God to be a part of every
segment of your life. Everything you're doing, without it being
in a church or in scripture or anything you're doing.
If you're building a car, build it for God. If
you're you know, working a cash register, work it for God.
Just do everything that you do, do it with a
pure heart, and do it to the glory of God.
(26:57):
And I think that will balance things out for you.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
All right, Well, thank you and them. I appreciate the
comments anytime.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Brother, I appreciate you calling.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
You go in peace. So there's a kind of an
attitude and it permeates the entirety of Christianity that there
is some sort of big thing that you need to
do to please God. And I always say, rake the leaves.
You know, if you if you love your parents, you
want to do something for them, break their leaves. Just
be human, be normal, do stuff because that's why God
(27:33):
has you here. Get stuff done, to do, stuff to learn,
things to adapt, to explore, and it's okay to do
those things. And you'd be surprised how many times you
were really connecting with God when you're not just doing
a physical prayer or you're reading scripture or you're in
a church, You're still connecting with God. God is everywhere,
(27:57):
and what you want to do is you want to
see Him and you want to make note of Him
and thank him for just the tiniest of things. Be
connected to him for the littlest of things every day
in every way, and that's all he wants. And then
when something big comes along, you got to talk to him.
There's no problem. But he really isn't a god of
(28:18):
checks and balances in that sense. And he loves you
and he misses you, and he wants to see you.
It's really that simple.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
KFI AM six on demand
You're listening to Kfi A six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Giving to give to someone else is at the heart
of human kindness, and when it's done right, when it's
done in the right spirit, it is an absolute reflection
of the spirit of God, the ultimate giver. Wikipedia defines
(00:29):
gift as the transfer of something without the expectation of
receiving something in return. The hustle and bustle of the
holiday is in full swing, and I bet you your
right smack dab in the middle of it as well.
That's your focus. That's where a lot of your attention
(00:50):
is going to. Knowing that the day is coming soon.
Stores are filled up with people just like you, trying
to find that perfect gift for all the friends and
family in their lives. Unfortunately, people can often get so
(01:10):
concerned with what others might think of what they're giving
they forget to focus on the thought and meaning behind it.
Many times on this very show, you've heard me say
that the purpose or spirit of the law is more
important than the law it self. Likewise, the purpose or
(01:30):
spirit of the gift should be more important than the
gift itself. You've heard it said a bunch of times, right.
You can finish the sentence. It's the thought that counts,
and this is absolutely true when you're giving a gift.
(01:53):
The thought is that person means to you why you
wanted to give them a gift in a first place? Right,
You're not going around giving gifts to everyone body just
to give them a gift. There are people in your
life that mean something to you, people that have moved
(02:15):
you in some way, and that's what motivates you to
want to give them something. And gifts don't have to
be expensive, they have to be thoughtful.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Giving is not.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
About yielding to the pressure of the holidays, and I
know you feel them so so much pressure goes with
the holidays, but it's not about giving in to that pressure.
It's about about using the holidays as a reminder to
(02:49):
give to those who have touched your life in positive ways.
You know, the people that mean something to you, the
people that have affected your life in some way or another. Gifts,
these gifts that you're giving during the holidays, they let
people you care about know how you feel about them,
(03:10):
that you're thinking of them. And your gifts should be
about who this person is to you and to show
them you really know who they are. As a person.
That's a very powerful thing. The gifts you bring, the
gifts you give to someone should point to that thought,
(03:33):
that thoughtfulness, and who you know them to be. Not
just hey, I got you something because you're a name
on my list of many names. It's that you are
a name of someone who means something to me, and
I wanted you to be on this list of a
(03:56):
small group of people, friends, family, who I believe are
very important, who are special, and who have touched my life.
So I have you on this list, and this list
is a reminder of those people that have come in
and out of my life, that are in my life now,
(04:17):
that are important, that are meaningful. And in doing that,
you want to give something that says, hey, I know
who you are, or I listen when you talk and
I hear the things that you seem to like or
enjoy or participant in, and that I've been attentive to
(04:37):
you in your life. Isn't that what means something more
than someone just goes out and spends money to spend
the money. For example, and there's a great example in scripture.
The Magi came to Bethlehem and brought gifts to me
that were meaningful. They were significant to who I was
(05:00):
and who I am. And these gifts have often been
overlooked as zoe. Well, they were just, you know, some gifts.
This is kind of what people brought two thousand years ago.
But it's more than that. Did a closer look at
these gifts, being attentive to what scripture says, shows very
(05:24):
specific gifts chosen for very specific reasons. So what were
those gifts?
Speaker 3 (05:32):
You know them?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
There was gold, This was to show my royalty the
newborn king, frankincense, This pointed to my deity as the
Christ and mir What might seem like a and rightly so,
(05:55):
a strange gift for a newborn child. I wouldn't suggest
if you're invited to any any you know, baby showers
or parties for young children, that you bring mur I
don't know that anybody will get at It's a seemingly
strange gift for a newborn child. But murr was often
used for embalming, and this represents the importance of my
(06:19):
death and resurrection to come. So if you look at
these gifts, the goal, the frankensnse and murr, they actually
had very specific and important meaning and it was the
magized way of showing we're here because we know who
you are. Sadly, nowadays, there's so much stress that comes
(06:45):
when people get caught up with the whole idea of
giving and you put extra pressure on yourself as to
what you know, who you need to get things for,
and what you need to get them and what the
price point is that you need to do. It's got
to be this much for this type of person, much
for that type of person. Where it should really come
from a place of freedom and caring. It should come
(07:07):
from a connection or a way of nodding to the
abilities or the strengths of someone or the way they've
helped you, or whoever they are, whatever they've done, and
in doing that, that's when you hit the chord and
you show people that you really care, no doubt about it.
(07:30):
God teaches that giving should always be a joy, whether
you're giving to God, whether you're giving to the Church,
whether you're giving to family or friends. The best way
to give is to give in that state of joy,
and that if you're not there, if you're not in
that place, that freedom of giving, that place of a
(07:55):
joyous heart, a joy filled heart when you give, and
it's not worth doing. It's like an exchange of money
between people. You give them something worth a little money,
they give you something worth little money, and you might
as well have both kepture little bits of money. The
(08:16):
true gift is to show that insight from one person
to another, that you know who they are, or that
you have been attentive to the things that they do,
things that they say, things that they seem to react
to or enjoy. Tewod Corinthians nine seven says each man
(08:39):
should give what he has decided in his heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
And that doesn't mean just to the Church. That verse
can be seen to as a universal cheerful giver. To
(09:00):
be in a place of real joy when you're giving
to someone else. And what a neat thing, What a
neat way of saying, I see you, I know who
you are, I know what you like. I've noticed how
you react to whatever it might be. And in that
process of seeing you and knowing you, I've grown to
(09:24):
appreciate you. And here's a little gift. Here's something, a package,
something that I picked out that made me think of you,
so that whenever you see it, you know that you
are loved and you are appreciated. So giving it's really
(09:48):
at the center of human kindness. If you don't have
the desire to give, that points to a deficit in
who you are. If you don't enjoy giving and being
that type of giver, that says a lot about you,
seeing as God is the ultimate giver. You're created in
(10:09):
the image of God. Your desire should be to want
to give. And Christmas and I realized that you go
from zero to sixty that might even surprise you. You're going,
oh my goodness, it's Sunday and we're that close.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, But.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
The pressure should not be about the gift itself. It
shouldn't be about oh, I need to spend this amount
of money or I need to do whatever it is.
Because the stores are already filled with people that are crazed,
that are running around just trying to just put a
line through the name on their list. And I don't
(10:49):
want you to be that. I don't want you just
to go down to check off people. You want to
be in that state of thoughtfulness. It is true that
it's the thought that counts. And if you're not in
that place, If you're not thinking about the individual and
why you want to give what you want to give
to them, then you miss the point we talked about
(11:13):
in scripture. It talks about the magi coming, Well, they
brought me specific gifts because that showed that they knew
who I was. Gold frankensns and mer talks about my royalty,
my deity, and my death and resurrection. But with all
the stress going on and getting caught up in those
types of things, you forget that God calls you in
(11:35):
Second Corinthians nine seven to give with a cheerful heart,
says God loves a cheerful giver. That's if you're giving
money to the church. That's if you're giving and donating.
That's if you're giving a gift of family and friends
any giving and I realize that receiving a physical box
(11:57):
with a gift inside is exciting. Are the best gift
is a gift of your time during the holidays. So
if you don't have money, that's okay. There are no
other commodities in life like this because you can't make
more time. You just can't, So slow down this holiday season.
Give your family and friends the gift of your time.
(12:19):
Holidays or Holy days as they were once known, are
supposed to be for relaxation, bonding with your family and God,
and focusing on your beliefs. So during this holiday season,
be the giver who's sincere spontaneous and who willingly and
joyfully gives. It's not about what the gift is, It's
(12:41):
about why you're giving it. Reees, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show. Hi, rees Hi, I am well, how are you?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Good things? So I guess I'll just start off by
saying the other night I found myself praying for the
well being and goodness of my family, and then I
started to have some doubts as I read some Bible scripture.
Result play what I read, Mark eleven twenty four. Therefore,
I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that
(13:17):
you have received it, and it will be yours Luke
eleven nine. And I tell you, ask and it will
be given to you. Seek and you will find, knock
and it will be open to you. And if the
Bible should tell us that whatever we pray for we
shall receive it, why does this not always happen?
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Well?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Because, for one, you're taking them out of context. If
you read in the entirety. There you'll see as the
qualifier that happens every single time Reese is that it
if you're praying along with God's will. So imagine it
this way. If you take any instructions, any instruction manual,
and you're taking pieces out and you don't read it
(13:58):
in its entirety, you end up putting the wrong piece
in the wrong place, and it doesn't end up being
what you want it to be. Those scriptures are often
used by health and wealth gospel types TV preachers that
want people to believe that it's kind of like a
magic lamp, and if you rub the lamp the proper way,
that you're going to get everything you want. And those
(14:20):
verses out of context may sound that way, but if
you read them in their entirety, not just those verses,
it talks about the will of God, and the will
of God enters into that and becomes very very important.
As a matter of fact, something in scripture called hermeneutics
is the harmony of the entirety of scripture race. So,
for instance, if you go to the ultimate prayer, that
(14:43):
prayer and I say this just because ultimate in the
sense that people recall it, not that it's a better
prayer than anything else. But really it's kind of a
structured breakdown of how to pray race. And this is
in Matthew six, and you may know it as the
Lord's Prayer, verse nine. It says, pray then this way,
so you can see that it's an example of how
(15:04):
to pray. It's not hey, repeat this prayer over and
over like a mantra. It's simply saying, here's a way
of praying, and I'll break it down for you. Pray
then in this way, our Father, who art in heaven,
helloed be thy name, Thy Kingdom, Come, Thy will be
done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us
(15:25):
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not
lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Now,
if you break down this prayer, it's interesting how it
(15:47):
starts as our Father, who art in Heaven, Hello be
thy name. The first part of the prayer is focusing
on who God is, Thy Kingdom, Come, Thy will be done.
We look forward to heaven, but ultimately Thy will be done.
So before any petitions of any kind, any requests of
(16:12):
the of the prayer to God. It starts with Thy
will be done. Nothing else matters. Prayer is there to
teach you the will of God, not for you to
teach God your will. And a lot of people confuse
that and they read things like Mark eleven twenty four
(16:33):
and Luke eleven nine and they think, well, it's just
this verruk assault from Willie Wonka and the Chilcolate factory
concept of I want it and I want it now, daddy,
And that's not what prayer is. It all is centered
on God's will. Imagine it this way. When you go
to the grocery store and you see the children with
their parents, and the children are asking every aisle, going
(16:57):
up and down the aisle, pointing at what they want.
I want this sugar cereal, I want that snack, I
want these chips, I want that candy bar. The parent
is there to guide them to recenter and reguide them
to understand what they really need. No, honey, we're gonna
(17:22):
get these foods because they're good for you. And prayer
is similar. Just like the child, you may ask for
everything and even things that you think are good and
that will be helpful, the health of someone, whatever it
might be more money, whatever it might be, But if
God sees different in the bigger plan, it won't won't
(17:43):
come to be because you prayed it. And going through
the entirety of those scriptures, you will see that that's
really what it comes down to. It comes down to
the will of God, not the demand or the will
of man, terry. Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Hello, hi there. I was wondering what does the Bible
say about cremation versus burial?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Not much, really nothing. There are different groups of thought. Obviously,
a Jewish brothers and sisters don't believe in cremation as
a viable way to preserve or take care of the
body at the end of life. However, Christians, there's really
(18:36):
nothing that puts the you know, lands them on one
side or the other. There are some that talk about
Corinthians fifteen thirty five, thirty five through fifty eight, and
first Thessalonians for sixteen talking about God resurrecting the bodies
and reuniting them with the soul spirit, and people get concerned.
Some Christians go, well, that concerns me. How is he
(18:58):
gonna now listen to this question, how is God going
to resurrect a cremated body. Let me let me state
that again. How is God going to resurrect it a
cremated body? He thinks God's going Oh great, No, no,
they burned it all up. I got nothing to work with.
(19:18):
It's all ashes now, nothing to work with. It's exactly
And see what people don't understand is that. And this
is not to be crass or graphic, but to understand
the beauty and the mechanics of the human body is
important as well. And the human body through through cremation
(19:40):
really is just speeding up the process that's going to
happen natural, naturally due to oxidation and the like as well,
and other things that aren't so pleasant to think about.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
But people who have been had their ashes, half of
them someplace, and then a thousand miles away of them
spread over there, and not.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
A problem for God. Okay, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
What about your pets?
Speaker 2 (20:08):
What about them? As far as being cremated, the same
animals are not. They don't have souls in the same way,
in the same sense as a human being. Otherwise I
would have had to have come in the shape of
humans and come in the shape of animals. There are
differences there, but as far as cremation, I think that's
a lovely way to dispose of the physical part of
(20:31):
your animal, and either to display them in an urn
the same way or those can be nice momentos for
people that hold on or memories. Not all people like that,
But as far as the theological ramifications of those things,
no worries. There's a God created man from the dirt
(20:57):
in the ground, and there's there's nothing to say that
God's going to have a problem. This is one of
those very human type things where humans get really wrapped
up in the physical body, when the physical body really
is a vessel, it's a vehicle, it's your car for
your soul, and really it has nothing. It's it's that
(21:17):
you get so wrapped up in the personality of somebody,
in their physicalness, and you assume that their physicalness is
their personality and it's not. So when the physicalness is
gone and that physical shell is in the ground, you
still like to think, well, it's in the ground intact,
but it's not. It starts to decompose immediately, and through
(21:40):
that decomposition will eventually become dust. So to sit there
and go, well, don't do it. That's really that's where
social norms and things like that get kind of tied
into things and and they get kind of lost in
(22:02):
it and things like that. Elias, Welcome to the Jesus
Christ Show.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
Hey, good morning. I just I have I have a question.
I have trouble getting ruded into the world of God.
Sometimes I go to church and I feel all these
emotions and I feel happy. And other times I go
to church and I feel like I'm wasting my time.
And I don't know how to explain it. It's just
a weird feeling.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Well, it's bound to happen. It's depending. You could be
in different places, and you know, mentally, you can have
things on your mind. It could be a lot of
different things. What are you looking to get out of church?
Speaker 4 (22:43):
I just want to I just want to know about God.
I want to know about his word, and I want
to live by the Bible. I want to I want
to be happy.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Okay, And you feel that when a preacher is talking
about God, you're not really listening or what's the problem.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
I don't know. Sometimes I feel like you're stending a
good message. Sometimes I feel like the message is not
coming through, and and I don't know if it's just
temptation or the flesh that that drives me away from
from the world of God.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Well, it's hard, and even to read it on your
own or to try and consume scripture can be difficult. Sometimes.
I don't want you to to beat yourself up, whether
you are hearing a preacher talk about it or you're
reading it yourself. It's not like it's a super easy
book to read.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
So, yeah, exactly exactly when I started to read it,
I feel like I'm not grasping anything, and I don't
know what would you recommend me how to start reading that?
What verses or what chapters or what books.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Well, there's some verses in chapters I can give you,
But I'm going to give you a recommendation, and it's
he's got one of these himself, He's given one to
his wife, he gives them to friends. Uh, do you
know what a graphic novel is. It's like, it's kind
of like a book, but it's got a little deeper
(24:03):
story than just Superman Saves the Earth. Well, the graphic
novel is a style of novel that that really uses
pictures as well as words to move the story along
and there is one called the Picture Bible, and often
it's given to kids. But I will tell you it's
(24:24):
it's not a kid's book. It's no more a kid's
book than the Bible is a kid's book. And it
the pictures kind of help. Here's the thing. Everybody learns
at their own, their own pace, and they learn differently.
My producer, Neil, he's a he's an artist. He likes
to draw, he likes shape, so he tends to just
reading empty words. It doesn't always work for him. Sometimes
(24:45):
if he sees visuals that go along with it, it
embeds it in his memory. So maybe maybe if you
went and you found yourself, you can go on Amazon
or a local bookstore should have it. It's called the
Picture Bible, and it's not word for words. I mean,
it's not a study Bible per se. It's just to
give you an idea of what took place, and then
(25:06):
you can read along or be when you're at church
you can have a better idea who everybody is or
all those things, so you don't get lost. Uh is
get it? Just get a picture Bible and read through
that at night, and it's like reading a big comic book.
But it gives you an idea of the people that
played in the timelines and the things that took place
(25:27):
during scripture.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Okay, sounds good, so I'm good. And I also had
another quick question. I don't know if I could ask
you real quick sure? It is it bad that when
I when I look for God is when I needed
the moles and I'm going through struggles and then when
everything goes back to play like normal, I started arriving
away from God like it kills me.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Like it's just well, Elias, I don't want you to
I don't want you to be a from God just
when times are good. So that's not a great thing.
But but does it Is it some great, big thing
that separates you from God? No, most people reach out
to God when they need something. It doesn't mean you
(26:12):
love your parents anymore when you reach out to them
when you need something. It just is a it's it's
a push. I do encourage you through reading and through
spending some time or drawing or doing anything. It doesn't
have to be just being in church or just reading scripture,
but there are anything that you do, just remember you
do it for God. And that's an easier way to
(26:35):
kind of allow God to be a part of every
segment of your life. Everything you're doing, without it being
in a church or in scripture or anything you're doing.
If you're building a car, build it for God. If
you're you know, working a cash register, work it for God.
Just do everything that you do, do it with a
pure heart, and do it to the glory of God.
(26:57):
And I think that will balance things out for you.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
All right, Well, thank you and them. I appreciate the
comments anytime.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Brother, I appreciate you calling.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
You go in peace. So there's a kind of an
attitude and it permeates the entirety of Christianity that there
is some sort of big thing that you need to
do to please God. And I always say, rake the leaves.
You know, if you if you love your parents, you
want to do something for them, break their leaves. Just
be human, be normal, do stuff because that's why God
(27:33):
has you here. Get stuff done, to do, stuff to learn,
things to adapt, to explore, and it's okay to do
those things. And you'd be surprised how many times you
were really connecting with God when you're not just doing
a physical prayer or you're reading scripture or you're in
a church, You're still connecting with God. God is everywhere,
(27:57):
and what you want to do is you want to
see Him and you want to make note of Him
and thank him for just the tiniest of things. Be
connected to him for the littlest of things every day
in every way, and that's all he wants. And then
when something big comes along, you got to talk to him.
There's no problem. But he really isn't a god of
(28:18):
checks and balances in that sense. And he loves you
and he misses you, and he wants to see you.
It's really that simple.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
KFI AM six on demand
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.